"The will born in that body is just the purest deity, a creature born with immense power." Kongming stared at Aya, who was still in a kneeling position under the pressure of chains and magic circles, and then chuckled, "But Aya is quite lucky, isn't she, Prince Tiran? Do you remember what I said earlier?"
"Eh… Eh?" Recalling the instructions Kongming gave in the Star Palace, Tiran subconsciously covered his face, feeling his skin heating up.
Of course, he remembered everything clearly, every word, how could he forget such a thing?
...
Let's go back in time to before entering the entrance to the underground deity-making facility from the Star Palace.
"Aya can still be saved? What method?" Feeling like he had caught a lifeline, Tiran grabbed Kongming's shoulder and asked urgently.
"Hey hey, little girl, let go of this guy, let go!" The little dragon on Kongming's shoulder didn't like others approaching Kongming, swatting Tiran's hand with its tail, but being so small, it had little intimidating power.
"Calm down, Dragon Brother." Kongming comforted the dragon with one hand and gently pushed away Tiran's hand with the other, saying calmly, "Prince Tiran, you need to calm down too, we can't talk properly like this."
"... Fine." Tiran let go, stepped back, crossed his arms, and scrutinized the peculiar interaction between this man and dragon – or more accurately, a demon lord and an abyssal dragon, with a subtle expression.
"By the way, what's the relationship between you two? Is this guy really the Abyssal Dragon? I thought you had finished him off," even at such a critical moment, the princess couldn't help but be intrigued by the strange dynamics between these two.
"Eh?" Caught off guard by the princess's sudden change in topic, Kongming answered, "I provide some of my soul power to help the Dragon Brother maintain his consciousness. After all, Dragon Brother is one of the few lives from the same era as me."
"Roar... Soul sharing?" The princess's smile gradually turned lewd, making it seem like she was thinking about unhealthy things, unlike pliers or Magic Girls, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh!
Kongming couldn't bear Tiran's strange gaze and to avoid the conversation going in a weird direction, swiftly shifted back to the most important matter at hand: "Prince Tiran, weren't you asking for a way to save Aya?"
"Oh, right, sorry... I can't control it," Tiran, feeling embarrassed, covered his face, thinking, Gosh, what am I doing?! It's a critical moment to save Aya, how can I still have such perverse thoughts!
Slapping his cheeks and composing his expression, Tiran prepared to listen attentively.
"The formation in this city beneath our feet is a mad creation of an ancient civilization that perished long ago, used to create deities. The best way to separate Aya's soul from the new deity's body is to reverse this formation. Unfortunately, even for the era now known as the Myth War era, 'deity creation' is a legendary concept, and this formation is based on principles of runic symbols and energy flow that are incomprehensible to us, let alone reversing them at this stage."
"So, we need to employ a different tactic: to bypass the effects of the formation and use another method to forcibly extract Aya's soul. The general process of deity creation involves pushing the deity's soul into the body and shaping the body with blood and soul to make it a vessel for the deity, without interfering with the original soul of the vessel. Over time, the original soul easily assimilates with the powerful deity soul as they merge and the process completes."
"But at this point in time, only a few minutes have passed since the fusion was completed. If we can separate Aya's soul now, we can still preserve his consciousness."
"What are we waiting for then? Hurry and go down!" Tiran immediately wanted to jump into the entrance of the cave, but his body was immobilized by Kongming's psychic power.
"Your Highness Tiran, please listen to me." Kongming said helplessly.
"What are we waiting for? You said the longer we wait, the more likely Aya will be in trouble. Why aren't we seizing the time?"
Kongming shook his head, "At least I can guarantee it won't happen so fast. And more importantly, do you know how to separate them?"
Indeed, dealing with a soul, something intangible and intouchable, was not as straightforward as cutting a cake.
"Don't tell me you don't know." The princess's eyes suddenly turned fierce. If Kongming lectured her on theories and turned out to be leading her on, she would pounce on him the next second.
"... Your Highness, restrain your temper. You are human, not Orc." Sensing that Tiran would attack him the next second if he didn't come clean, Kongming decided to be straightforward, "I really don't have that method. But from what I know, Your Highness Tiran, you should have a way to do it."
"What way?" Tiran carefully recalled all the magical artifacts she had encountered since arriving in this world, nothing seemed to relate to ancient gods...
Wait a minute.
Although it had nothing to do with the gods, there seemed to be a connection to the "ancient" matter.
Seeing the princess suddenly covering her face and lowering her head, squatting on the ground, Kongming slowly took out an ancient scroll from the storage bracelet he wore and asked tremblingly, "You don't mean... this, right? No way, no way, no way!"
"While I wish I could tell you there's another way, unfortunately, this is it." Kongming's face showed a rare mix of apology and embarrassment.
...
Creating the main combat unit of the Main Dimension Allied Forces in The First Legendary War—Dragon Knights—required not only mutual recognition between human warriors and Dragons and a sufficient level of soul harmony, but also a rare treasure stored only in the treasury of the once sole human empire from an ancient civilization, the Dragon Knight Covenant.
The writing of this covenant's spell and the creation of the divine formation belonged to the same system. More importantly, the Dragon Knight Covenant involved direct manipulation and connection of the souls of both parties. It was much more effective in this aspect than divine formations. If Aya's soul was imprinted on the covenant, theoretically, it could bypass the influence of the deity and preserve Aya's soul.
"I understand the reasoning, but..."
Tiran stammered, her face turning even redder.
"Um... Could it be that Artemis made a mistake in her judgment? I thought she was able to give the Dragon Knight Covenant to you after assessing the soul harmony..."
"It's not that issue! Don't you know the ritual for signing the Dragon Knight Covenant?!" Tiran couldn't help but ask loudly.
"It's indeed a closely guarded secret." Kongming looked puzzled, "It is said that only when the soul harmony condition is met between a human and Dragon and they jointly activate the scroll will the covenant be imprinted in both parties' minds. It's not well understood by outsiders."
Upon hearing Kongming's answer, the princess actually breathed a sigh of relief. To some extent, this could be considered a good thing, as letting Kongming know how the contract was signed would make her seem like a puppet in his eyes, Aya……
However, Kongming seemed to have completely misunderstood and said, "If His Highness Tiran's soul compatibility is lacking, this lady can actually give it a try."
"Me?"
Xiang Ling, who had been silently observing her surroundings since entering the Shrine of Creation, furrowed her brows.
"That's right, you can give it a try. For a Holy Rank powerhouse, a soul and spirit strong enough to control the laws can to some extent make up for lack of soul compatibility. Our goal is not to increase soul compatibility to create highly intense Dragon Knights, but merely to preserve Aya's soul. As long as we meet the minimum standard, that's enough."
Kongming proposed to Xiang Ling, "And signing the Dragon Knight contract can get you a powerful creature from the Western Continent, the Golden Dragon, which will also enhance your strength. If this young lady is willing to consider it..."
"Well, it is worth considering."
Xiang Ling, her chin in hand, was quite tempted. After the rebellion, the situation she would face was still grim, and the remnants of her two older brothers' forces still needed to be handled carefully. More power in her hands at such a time would certainly be beneficial.
"No!"
Tiran's resolute voice immediately vetoed Kongming's proposal without any hesitation, staring at him with large eyes and saying loudly, "Aya is my dragon! I will never give him to anyone else!"
"Your Highness Tiran, isn't now the time to be concerned about such matters?"
Kongming seemed relaxed, taking on the role of an observer. He didn't have any deep bonds with Aya, and apart from his own reasons, he only helped save her briefly during the possession in the Dark Swamp.
Even if he were to fail in the end, with the birth of the new god, he could leave with his own abilities.
"Argh, how annoying!" Seeing Kongming's relaxed demeanor, the princess knew time was slipping away bit by bit. She felt restless, tugging at her hair, and finally made a decision, gritting her teeth, "I'll sign it! I will save Aya! No need for anyone else to intervene!"
"Then it's up to you, Your Highness Tiran."
Kongming smiled, stepping back and casting a glance at Xiang Ling. "Miss, what's your decision?"
"It's not really my concern, and besides, the Silver War Maiden is my fiancée; what's hers is mine."
Xiang Ling said this quite seriously.
"That's your own idea! I never agreed to it!"
The princess glared back at her, retorting.
After roaring, Tiran turned back and held the Dragon Knight contract scroll in his hand, taking a deep breath as he looked at Aya, who still struggled helplessly while locked in the center, his expression shifting between dominating arrogance and helpless confusion.
Hmm… something seems off about the atmosphere?
Tiran suddenly turned around, only to see Kongming and the little dragon on his shoulder both looking as if they were enjoying the show, eyeing him teasingly.
"Everyone, get out, I want to be alone with Aya for a while."
"Your Highness, I need to remind you that a half-awakened god is very dangerous..."
"Stop babbling and get lost!"
