"Let's forget about this, shall we? Water under the bridge," Kazess said, looking at Dante with something akin to a sentimental appeal for the 'old times.'
Dante smiled at him and calmly said, "Your dear multiversal daughter will love my presence. I still remember the spiritual cradle... she was so cute, the golden fairy of the King. Does she remember that? Probably not, you're too protective, you must have disconnected the memory of her other versions..." Dante said as if he knew a lot about him... and well, he did know quite a bit.
"How have you been? It's been a few years since we last saw each other, the last time was before Sector Prime was erased," Dante questioned. He wasn't quite Dante Scarlet anymore.
"Ah~ After following what Titania wanted, I ended up receiving a punishment... Believe me, you weren't the only one frustrated. Now it makes sense why the administrators went completely insane with me for doing that. Only you would take Voralith out of that world..." Kazess said, inviting Dante to enter the portal that led directly to the spirit world.
Dante didn't refuse; it had been thousands of years since he last saw the spiritual world.
"So, what exactly brought you here?" Kazess asked. "Usually, you wouldn't call me directly, and well... I believe you wouldn't want to see me anyway," Kazess said, walking around. "Etherion isn't really a place I like to come to; the feeling is kind of suffocating..." Dante murmured. "Well, this world is for spirits without physical bodies, and you have a body.
It's just the consequences of that," he explained, shrugging.
"Can you take me to this spirit here?" Dante said, showing the sword still in his hand, which Kazess barely noticed he was carrying. "Are you sure? The state of that one..." he murmured, already knowing how the 'Platinum Dragon' was. "Of course, I'll fix this problem. I need her... well, I don't need her, but the girl who owns the sword interests me a bit, so I'll do her a favor."
"Alright, if that's what you wish," Kazess said, creating a large bridge of light.
They began walking calmly and unhurriedly. Dante observed the ethereal landscape without any dark spots of shadow; it was just radiant lights as if this world were perfect, and well... it was... at least the upper part. "How's the management of the Lower Side?" Dante asked, and Kazess let out a heavy sigh. "If you want to know about that girl, she's still down there...
in deep sleep. She... gave up on her own existence a while ago and just spends her days hibernating infinitely," Kazess said without emotion, but Dante sensed a slight bitterness in his words.
"I understand. The Infinite Dragon forgot how to live. It's sad..." he murmured. "I thought she would come out once she sensed Voralith's rebirth." "Ah, no, most still believe Voralith just died. The Administrators didn't let them know; it would be too troublesome," he explained as they reached an enormous dome.
"She's in there, make the signal and I'll bring you back," Kazess said, disappearing among the small energy flakes.
"So... let's see what we have here..." Dante said, entering the dome calmly, expecting to see anything, but at first glance, he saw nothing but a huge white dragon sleeping, its wings gracefully folded around its imposing body. The sound of its slow, deep breathing echoed softly through the space, creating an almost hypnotic atmosphere.
Dante approached slowly, without any caution, his steps silent on the ethereal surface.
"You're quite beautiful," he murmured, his voice blending with the air around. "I know you can hear me. Come on, wake up. I know you've been wanting to talk to me."
The dragon slowly opened one eye, revealing an intense blue glow. The immense creature didn't make any sudden movements, just observed Dante with its eyes, until finally, a sound came from it, actually, it came directly into Dante's mind...
"Progenitor..." she murmured. Her voice was angelic but clearly extremely weak and distant, as if...
"You are really nearing the end of your life. What is your name?" Dante asked, as he didn't like talking to someone without knowing their name, except for the administrators, of course, who couldn't speak their names.
"Thalassa," she replied, panting as her body seemed to try to move to lift her wings, but they quickly fell again. She had no strength left to keep moving. "Don't strain yourself too much, young Dragon," Dante said, well...
"Young, huh... I wonder how old you must be to treat me like a little girl," Thalassa said, looking at him with her dichroic eyes. "I see... so it's you... The First Primordial Dragon... Now it makes sense," she said as if...
"So, you are someone who focused on your vision, read my soul..." he murmured, but he wasn't surprised. After all, as she herself said, he was a primordial thousands of years ago.
"I'm not that person anymore," Dante said, but the voice didn't relent. "You really want to be that boy, don't you? Both you and I know what's going to happen... How many years until you become a Dragon again? Your soul is already that of a dragon... and considering what could happen, your evolution is clear," she said between tired breaths.
"This is exhausting me," Dante said, raising his hands. "It may not be much, but this will keep you going for a few hundred years." As he spoke, a completely golden energy flowed from his hands...
Dante was no longer the same man who was disordered, having so many problems and so many energies in his body... After properly establishing a deep bond with the Positive World Tree, Dante was now... an unbalanced being... He would be, if he didn't know exactly what to do.
With his old memories, he made the Blessing of Fey's Energy something outside his body, but that his body could somehow withstand, creating a filter within his own body.
Fey's Energy was basically vital essence, and it was simple to control. He just stopped nurturing his body and directed this essence to the dragoness who was lying down, going through a tense problem.
Thalassa's eye narrowed, and the great dragon's head lifted slightly. "W-What are you... that energy... vital essence? How do you..."
"I have my own tricks. Now, try to get up." Thalassa hesitated, but then, feeling the revitalizing strength coursing through her body, she began to move again. Slowly, her wings lifted, and she rose, her scales shimmering with newfound vitality. Her eyes, once dull, now glowed with renewed intensity.
"That's... incredible," she murmured, still breathless but clearly stronger. "I don't know how you managed it, but I feel revitalized."
Dante smiled, satisfied to see that his help had taken effect. "I told you I'd help, didn't I? Now, Thalassa, we need to talk about something... I believe you know about the being causing problems for me," he said, feeling that the sword was already trying to communicate with him, so he presumed it was related.
"Yes..." Thalassa confirmed, lowering her head slightly, realizing it was time to discuss business. "Tiamat, that vile creature... He put me in this state," she revealed, making Dante wonder why.
"Was this when you were still alive?" he asked, seeing the dragoness nod.
"Wow... that's intense," he murmured. "I sealed him using my life force, which is why I was dying," she revealed, and now things made sense.
"You used your essence to seal him... if you were dying, you must have used a lot," he acknowledged, and she agreed.
Dante furrowed his brow, the gravity of the situation becoming clear in his mind. "So, Tiamat was responsible for your condition, and you sacrificed your essence to seal him. That explains a lot. But if he's still out there, we can't let him roam free."
Thalassa raised her head, her eyes shining with renewed determination. "He's sealed, but the seal weakens over time. That's why I need someone strong enough to maintain the seal or destroy it once and for all," she said, looking directly into Dante's eyes.
"I understand," Dante said, thoughtfully. "So, someone is tampering with his seal... to the point of getting his blood." Dante murmured, realizing that only Tiamat's blood was capable of killing him the first time.
"Tiamat is a being of pure destruction and chaos," Thalassa explained, her voice laden with painful memories. "He is an ancient dragon, one of the first like you, but his essence was corrupted by a malevolent force. He seeks not just power, but the complete annihilation of everything good and pure."
"He is an Apocalypse Beast," Thalassa said.
Dante pondered for a moment... This wasn't the first time he had heard about the End Beasts, or Apocalypse Beasts as Thalassa referred to them. He had known one in his past life, but... she was not someone he could tamper with, even he, the supreme lord of his universe, an Overlord, had not been able to properly deal with her. So... now...
what was left for him to do?
"The sword, it has my sealing magic... Just cut off the five heads with it and it will all end," Thalassa said confidently.
"I understand..."