Chapter Forty-Three: The Tear of Eternity

Ada sneered, looking at Shaya with eyes full of mockery. “You want something good? Good things are naturally hard to come by! If it were easy to make, wouldn’t everyone have it by now? Think about it—over the thousands of years on the continent, how many pieces of dragon-related equipment have there been? If it weren’t so rare, people wouldn’t fight to the death for these things.”

Shaya was momentarily speechless, then, after a stunned pause, heaved a long sigh. “Fine! I suppose you have a point…”

He couldn’t help but glance at the dragon—poor Dora, not yet dead, but already, in this bumpkin’s heart, she had been stripped and flayed. The bumpkin’s greed was still unsatisfied. “Are there any other benefits?”

“Nothing else you’d be interested in.” Ada said coolly, “I told you, I’ll take one thing. This dragon’s body is yours, but her soul belongs to me!”

“The soul?” Shaya curled his lip. “I don’t care about souls, I’m not a magician. What I want to know is… this dragon meat… uh, is there any use for dragon meat?”

Ada was taken aback, staring at this bumpkin in disbelief. “You? Are you thinking of eating her?”

Shaya sheepishly wiped his mouth. “We’ve been living off wild chicken for days. Now, seeing such a big creature, and with things settled, I just remembered we haven’t even sorted out lunch…”

Ada was dumbfounded.

He was a dragon, true, but had been trapped in human form for a long time, living among humans and seeing all sorts of people—yet none as brazen as this bumpkin before him!

Most people, when faced with a dragon, feel at least a little awe. Even those legendary dragon slayers treated dragons with respect.

But this bumpkin… thought of eating it?

Seeing Ada’s stunned expression, Shaya felt no unease at all. In his heart, he was simply used to living without rules or fear. He had no reverence whatsoever. To him, this dragon—whether powerful or weak—was the same, already on her last breath.

Tigers and wolves are powerful too, but after killing them, don’t people eat their flesh?

“But you,” Shaya’s expression was odd, “Ada, you’re a dragon, right? And this female is your kind. You must have some deep grudge, or you wouldn’t be teaching me, in such detail, how to skin and flay her.”

Ada’s expression changed, the light in his eyes quickly retreating, leaving only emptiness.

Normally, even if Shaya hadn’t seen such a scene before, he’d heard enough stories to guess the usual clichés…

The bumpkin cautiously asked, “Could it be… you and this female dragon had a thing?”

Usually, when a story gets to this point, it’s about some tangled romance, a drama of love and hate. Most likely, Ada and this female dragon had an affair! Hmm… and then, who knows why, love turned to hate. Was Ada the male dragon with a mistress, or did the female dragon cuckold him? That was worth pondering.

Or maybe… a forbidden romance? My goodness, that would be quite something!

The bumpkin’s eyes shone, waiting eagerly for Ada to tell the story. Don’t blame Shaya for being nosy—this wasn’t some small-town gossip, this was about dragons, two living, breathing dragons!

But… seeing Ada and this dragon together, there was a bit of a “man and beast” feeling…

(Honestly, the old man’s influence on Shaya in such matters was truly abysmal…)

※※※

This time, Ada wasn’t provoked by Shaya. He seemed to sigh softly, his fingertip tracing the scales on Dora’s neck for a moment, a faint, indifferent smile on his lips. “You’re wrong about all of it.”

His tone carried a trace of loneliness.

“Love… how laughable, that you thought of love. It’s a pity, really. If we’d had love between us, perhaps things wouldn’t have ended in such tragedy.”

“Dora and I were both born in the far northern dragon lands, each belonging to a different dragon clan. When Dora was young, she was the famed beauty of her tribe—her pride, her nobility, her intelligence attracted countless young dragons seeking her favor. But don’t misunderstand, she and I are not from the same lineage. I am an Ice Dragon, and according to dragon tradition, dragons rarely pair across bloodlines. Like her, I was born the most gifted of my clan. From the day I was born, I enjoyed everything—envy, adoration, praise…

Dora and I were of the same class, born to stand above the rest, surrounded by flattery and praise. For a time we were intoxicated by it, even lost ourselves, believing the world was made for us. The sky, the earth—everything naturally belonged to us.

And then, we met each other.

When one lofty being meets another, if they cannot be friends, they can only become rivals. There is no third path.

In dragon society, there is a selection every so often, choosing the strongest, brightest, and most gifted young dragons from each clan. These are allowed into the Sacred Land to pray to the Dragon God. The lucky ones might receive the Dragon God’s blessing and be granted special powers.

Unfortunately, at that selection, there was one candidate too many.

It was either me, or her.”

Shaya felt disappointed…

Where was the expected romantic drama? Was it just a simple rivalry gone wrong?

“That selection was fair,” Ada sensed Shaya’s doubts. “It was overseen by our elders—beyond question. Dora lost to me, and I gained the opportunity. I entered the Sacred Land to pray…”

Ada’s tone grew vague, unwilling to say more, but he quickly continued, “When I left the Sacred Land, I became the brightest star among the dragons. Everyone spoke of me, chosen to pray to the Dragon God.

Of course, this deeply stung Dora, the loser.”

Shaya pricked up his ears, sensing the story’s climax at last.

As expected…

“Soon, Dora sought me out. At first, she feigned admiration, tried to flatter and please me. We quickly became the most celebrated couple among the dragons. Though from different clans, our union was supported by the elders.

But it was all her cruel scheme!

On our wedding day, she poisoned me with a vicious, cursed toxin.”

Ada laughed softly, his fingers trembling, a chilling glint in his eyes. “I had always loved studying transformation magic. Among dragons, it’s just a minor spell—many can shapeshift, some even roam among humans or dwarves in disguise. I was especially fond of it. On our wedding day, she convinced me to take human form, then offered me a drink laced with her poison—the Tear of Eternity.”

Shaya frowned. “The what?”

“The Tear of Eternity,” Ada took a deep breath, bitterness flashing in his eyes, “It’s a rare elven treasure, growing from the seed of the ‘World-Forgotten Flower.’ Extremely scarce, and it has only one use—a strange curse.

Legend says, with a single drop, whatever form you take at that moment is the one you’ll keep forever.”

Shaya was unimpressed at first, but then his thoughts shifted—forever…

“Heavens! Wouldn’t that mean immortality?”

Seeing Shaya’s face twisted with hope, Ada sneered, his voice icy, shattering Shaya’s fantasy. “Of course not.

It only fixes your appearance. If you drank it now, you’d look the same at eighty—but your lifespan wouldn’t be extended. You’d just appear young; your vitality would not increase at all.”

Shaya was briefly disappointed, but then, thinking further, realized that even if it didn’t grant longevity, eternal youth would be enough to drive every woman in the world mad!

Just imagine, if there was something that let a woman look eighteen even at eighty—wouldn’t women everywhere fight over it?

Shaya’s face lit up, rubbing his hands together. “Er, so… this tear, where could one get it?”

Ada saw right through him and snorted. “Forget it. That item is found only in the elven lands, and is exceedingly rare even there. You’d never get your hands on it.”

Shaya was disappointed, but quickly consoled himself—he’d already heard too many “legendary” things today, there’d be time enough to verify them all in the future. For now, he’d just remember it well.

He heard Ada continue, “That night, on our wedding, at her request, I took human form. I didn’t refuse her. Then I drank the poison she offered me.

From that day, I was trapped in this human body—until now!”

“Damn!” Shaya couldn’t help but curse. “That woman—no, that she-dragon is vicious! All because you beat her in some competition, she took such revenge? But… why not just poison you to death?”

Ada smiled, looking at Shaya with a gentle gaze and a calm voice. “Can’t you guess, dear Demon Hunter? I dislike your crude, savage act—you may be rough, but you’re no fool, I know that much.”

Shaya was caught off guard. He gave a dry laugh, scratching his head. “Alright… I suppose she wanted to get you to reveal the secret of the Dragon God’s blessing? After all, you said only you were chosen to pray in the Sacred Land. She must have wanted to know if your god really granted you some great power?”

Ada was silent for a moment, then sighed softly and looked at Shaya, speaking with earnestness. “You truly are clever. Why do you insist on pretending to be such a vulgar lout?”