Wasteland Echoer.

The young dragon Seye appears to have undergone more mechanical modifications than Wright had anticipated. Not only his wings, but also a transparent tube inserted into his chest, particularly around his heart, seems to be draining some of his dragon blood while simultaneously injecting federal medicine to defend against the "Heartless Virus."

The other devices on his chest vibrated slightly with his heartbeat, and the wires connected to them were displaying information about Seye's health on a simple screen five or six meters high to the side.

The dragon's claws and feet were covered with sturdy protective gear that looked less like steel and more like a machine made of a newly refined, lightweight, and sturdy alloy using technology inherited from the Crusad Empire.

In fact, the other parts seemed normal in this state. What was most incomprehensible was that when Shaneva or Mikhail modified Seye's head, they deliberately removed all the hair and scales from the surface of the lizard-like head and instead attached a metal layer similar to a helmet or mask.

Even more cruelly, they removed half of the top half of Seraphim's skull and fitted him with a control device connected to his brain. Two antenna-like structures made Seraphim look less like a dragon and more like an ant being manipulated and crushed at will.

“This dragon is truly pitiful; I can feel his pain. He is grieving, he is trying to howl, but he cannot make a sound. Commander Shaneva, do you really need to wake him?” Wright walked up to Seyer, bent down slightly, took off his white gloves, casually tossed them on the ground, and then gently stroked the exposed, unmodified scales on the dragon’s head.

“Of course. Now that the dragons have lost their rule, they must accept their fate of serving humanity. The little emperor of Khitanris, ‘The Lucky One,’ already made an agreement with ‘Rank 3: Dragon Head.’” Shaneva glanced at Seye disdainfully, then turned and patted Wright on the shoulder, continuing:

"The 'Lucky One,' the young emperor, is responsible for summoning the lost floating divine realm through the 'Dragon Clan Celebration,' opening the two 'Dragon Realm Gates' in Flame City and above, and releasing the dragons to reappear in the world. The dragon leader has given him a chance to return to the world. The dragons will either live in anonymity as humans or serve any human as dragons."

“Remember, this is not a simple agreement, but a promise similar to the ‘Wish of Andres.’ The dragon chieftains swore an oath to the Creator in exchange for the chance to escape the Dragon Realm. So, when they break their oath, the Creator’s ‘reason’ will come into play.”

“But we can’t treat this dragon like that, Commander Shaneva,” Dark sighed and said.

“His condition is approaching that of a ‘monster.’ If what you say is true, that dragons serving humanity is constrained by ‘reason,’ a destiny they must fulfill, then ‘monsters’ are not constrained by ‘reason.’ They don’t even have independent consciousness, acting solely on instinct. Commander Shaneva, do you have a weapon powerful enough to restrain Seye in the early stages of his madness?”

"You don't need to worry about that," Shaneva said with absolute confidence, even puffing out her chest.

"In reality, the collapse of the 'Gnady Line' and the series of disastrous defeats in the face of the 'Heartless Wave' were nothing more than strategic errors, the stupidity and stubbornness of the former Federation Council leadership. Our new Federation Council will not make such foolish mistakes; on the contrary, everything in the Federation is recovering."

"Resurrection?" Wright asked doubtfully, looking at Shaneva's determined eyes. For a moment, Wright thought he had misheard, and even wondered if he had entered a parallel universe.

Even a three-year-old child struggling to survive in a desolate outpost knows that the Federation's situation is extremely precarious, and they can only barely find an opportunity by forcibly pushing for war through Shaneva.

If the war is lost, the Federation Council may immediately disintegrate, and the entire Federation will be annihilated. How could Shaneva have such a delusion as "recovery"? Is this the "keen" intuition, "foresightful" judgment, and "inspiring" confidence of a leader?
“I know, Wright, you won’t believe me, and you might even suspect I’m just making empty promises to get you to serve the Federation. Actually, I don’t expect you to stay in the Federation.” Shaneva pulled out the weapon that belonged to her father, a dagger named “Silence,” and brandished it at Wright a few times, a subtle reminder and a slight threat:
"As a leader, the old approach of either recruiting or killing when facing the strong is outdated. After the Steam Age, there is another method, called expulsion. Since you wish to go east, I will naturally escort you to the border between Crusad and Eventlay after the war. I can..." Shaneva held the dagger in her right hand vertically downwards, the tip pointing towards the ground, while her left hand first covered her chest, then extended two fingers pointing directly to the sky, saying:

"I swear by my position as leader of Crusad, and by the penalty of the 'Decree of the Gray,' that if Light Sogra wishes to leave Crusad after the war, I, Shaneva, will allow him to leave and will offer him assistance. If I break this oath, may the frozen blade pierce my chest."

“I believe you, Commander Shaneva.” Wright breathed a sigh of relief, but still pressed down Shaneva’s hand as she swore an oath, and stated:

“I understand what you mean, Commander Shaneva. Since you believe the Federation is ‘recovering,’ then I believe you have enough power to suppress any monsters that may appear. So, I will awaken Seye for you.”

Wright took a half step back, and when Shaneva was back next to Mikhail, he took several deep breaths and chanted the Middle Language words used for binding spirits, and began to circulate the abundant red magic power within his body.

Soon, a low, intricate whisper emerged from the depths of his consciousness and continued to spread. The black power belonging to the "ancient gods" began to pump from the depths of the rich red magical energy, through his throbbing cyborg heart, to every corner of his body.

Soon, ghostly red and black lines, not existing in the real world, began to appear in one of Wright's eyes. Everything around that eye, including Seyer, Shaneva, Mikhail, the heavily armed Federation soldiers, and the various newly manufactured weapons brought in for security, began to twist and sway from side to side in bizarre ways, like weak branches twisting and swaying back and forth in two opposing gales.

Soon, as Wright drew closer to the young dragon Seye's body, he heard the frenzied roars, low sobs, and painful groans of the dragon race.

“You are in pain, you are crying out, you are groaning, aren’t you, Seye? I am Light Socrates. If I remember correctly, I met you a few times at the Church of Hope in Melina. I know you were hatched from a dragon egg by her; she is your mother.” Light whispered gently into Seye’s ear, which was adorned with a large communication device.

The Khitan Ris people once said that the good will escape the cycle of reincarnation and go to a happy world beyond this world, enjoying the happiness bestowed by the gods. The wicked will fall into hell, where they will suffer all kinds of pain in the tempering of iron, blood and fire, to atone for their sins.

“You should have grown up in Melina’s hands and become a beast that protects her or the people of the Zhrine. Unfortunately, Ivante, who held everything, was an impatient but incompetent, ambitious but foolish ruler. He ruined everything, ruined the empire, and ruined everyone, including you and me.”

As Wright spoke, he continuously channeled red magical energy from his body, directly into Seye's brain.

However, what Shaneva and Mikhail, who was observing from the sidelines, were unaware was that Wright did not intend to awaken Seye, but rather hoped to use the power of the red magical source to destroy or erase the remaining consciousness within this body. Once Seye's dragon consciousness existed within his body, the dragon's inherent "mind protection mechanism" would activate. This mechanism prevented dragons from being "tempted," "bewitched," or "manipulated." And if the external force of "manipulation" exceeded the dragon's tolerance limit, this mechanism would induce him into a coma, thus preventing him from doing anything against his will.

Of course, the dragons' intention was to cooperate with the "Lord of the Night" in the First Age to fight against the emerging human race. The "Lord of the Night" did not deceive the dragons; he simply tried to stimulate their inner desires through reality.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't manipulation, but rather choosing the wrong path. Therefore, the dragons didn't fall into a coma; instead, they were fully conscious and ultimately imprisoned in the lava-flowing Dragon Realm because of the war.

Destroying Seyer's brain would cause his body to die as well. If Shaneva had the ability to completely manipulate "brainless" flesh and blood, she wouldn't have asked him for help.

So, all Wright could do was advise Thayer to make his own decision.

"Sleep soundly, Seye." Wright continued to channel red magical energy into Seye's brain. This energy served two purposes: it transmitted information to Wright and provided Seye with a false sense of comfort.

"When you awaken, you will find yourself having passed through the Wasteland Era and arrived in the Star Era, a time of hope, technological advancement, abundant resources, and prosperity. You will become human, with a loving family and all the resources to support your growth," Wright continued gently.
"You can do whatever you want, you can become a scientist, a painter, or an athlete. You no longer have to suffer the pain of the wasteland era, and you can freely ride rockets to explore all unknown planets. The Creator's universe is mysterious and beautiful enough, but it does not belong to the humans of this era."

"Really... really okay?" Seye's childish voice, which belonged to a young child, appeared deep in her consciousness through the red magical energy.

With the "Burning Black Vision" skill continuously activated, Wright's eye, which revealed a distorted world, actually saw a red-clad boy dressed in the traditional clothing of the Khitans standing atop Seye's head.

"You are... Seye?" Wright asked in surprise, looking at the Khitan Ris youth who was the manifestation of Seye's consciousness.

After all, this method of summoning dragons and diminishing their consciousness was merely knowledge or a method "transmitted" to Wright as an accessory during the inheritance of the red demonic power. He had never practiced it before, and although he was confident he could succeed, this was just an experiment.

To his surprise, Seye's spiritual form actually appeared in front of him.

However, in Shaneva and Mikhail's eyes, Wright was simply closing his eyes, placing his hands on Seye's head, and communicating with him mentally.

“These Crusaders won’t hear our conversation. Light Socrates, I’ve heard Melina mention you. You and I are both experiments of the Lost and humans, but you seem to have accepted the fate bestowed upon you by the Creator more.” Sera gave a cute yet pitiful smile and continued:
“I plan to leave this world. Sister Melina said that the human will needs a body as a vessel. If the body does not perish, the consciousness is unlikely to disappear first. This is even more true for us dragons. Only the power of the ‘Ancient God’ or the ‘Flame Lord’ can separate them. I’m glad that you, Brother Wright, possess both of these powers.”

"So, are you planning to leave?" Wright asked tentatively.

“Of course.” Seye blurted out, looking at Wright with her large, red, dragon-like eyes, and nodded.

"My two older sisters who were good to me and took care of me have left. I want to leave too, and I want to get a good night's sleep. But it's difficult. These machines keep sending electric currents into my body, and every time I'm about to fall into that ocean, the machines pull me back into the wasteland to continue suffering."

“I will leave, but Brother Wright, I hope you can grant me one request.”

“You can tell me,” Wright replied, “looking” at Searle.

"Before I came to this world, the memories the 'Dragon Sovereign' passed on to me mentioned that in each era, among humans there are 'Orderers' who can lead or save the world ruled by humanity. And among the dragons, there are also 'Sole Rulers' who save the dragons in the world. The 'Sole Ruler' of the last era was Klett, who existed in human form; his Khitan name was Ye Mingyuan," Seye said in a childish voice.
"And the 'sole ruler' of this era is Long Yuan, who awakened from pain and darkness. Of course, you call him Adaloni. I hope you can take him with you to Khidanris. Only by reaching the kingdom that reveres dragons can the dragon race turn the long-sealed wheel of fate and save this world together with the [Orderers]."

“I can promise you, I promise you I will go to find… to find Adaloni, and together we will travel to the East. Seraphim, I think you can go to sleep now.” Wright said, and gradually, the voice of the human Seraphim in front of him began to fade.

Soon, Wright's eye that had activated "Incinerate Vision" returned to normal, and he awoke from his brief slumber.

He then stroked Seye's head, which had been heavily modified by machinery, and whispered goodnight.

Soon, a few seconds later, the simple display screen connected to Seye's body began to emit urgent alarms, and Seye's huge divine body began to tremble slowly, then stood up and looked around.

“Success! Wright. With this, Nebrius is destined to fail, and the Federation can truly ‘revive’ in my hands!” Shaneva looked excitedly at “Sherry,” who had regained her mobility.

However, the next second, the smile on her face froze as if dried glue had been applied, and "Seye's" large dragon foot was smashing down towards her head! (End of this chapter)