2025-03-16 15:17:11Ethan Lockwood had always considered himself spectacularly mediocre. At a small, forgotten college nestled in the suburbs, his GPA hovered precariously above “academic probation.” While his classmates chased internships and obsessively curated their resumes, Ethan dedicated himself to mastering The End of the Divine Realm—a VRMMO so immersive that reality felt like a faded portrait beside it.
For Ethan, the pinnacle of success wasn’t a high-paying job but securing the Arcane Godslayer Gear—and more importantly, the company of Celestia Draconyx, his in-game companion. Celestia was everything a half‑dragon princess should be: regal, imperious, and fiercely devoted to her “treasure” (namely, Ethan). Her obsidian scales gleamed like polished glass; her alabaster hair cascaded past delicate horns; and her crimson eyes burned with possessive intensity whenever anyone else dared approach him.
That summer, after another round of lackluster exam results, Ethan announced his grand plan: a three‑day, no‑sleep gaming marathon. He barricaded himself in the dorm, surviving on energy shots and half‑eaten pizza. His roommate, curious but exasperated, barged in on the second night.
“Dude, you look like a zombie with bad posture,” he teased, knocking over an empty Red Bull. “Come grab dinner.”
Ethan waved him off. “I’m about to spawn the rarest raid boss in existence. Dinner can wait until I’m a virtual demigod.”
On the morning of Day Four, Ethan’s triumphant grin gave way to dizziness. His vision blurred, the hum of electronics warping into a distant roar. Before he could scream—or log out—he collapsed. The VR headset clattered to the floor, but no one was there to pick it up.
A cool breeze teased his hair as he blinked awake. Tall grass swayed in every direction under an impossibly wide sky, the sun’s warmth wrapping him like a familiar blanket. Gone were the flickering screens and stale room odor; this place smelled of freedom—and something else, something ancient, as though the world itself whispered secrets.
He tried to lift a hand, but every movement was too real—he could feel the weight of the gauntlets, the fine etchings of runes tracing his fingers. Looking down, Ethan nearly laughed in disbelief: he was wearing the Arcane Godslayer Armor, each plate humming with latent power. His greatsword lay strapped across his back, heavier than any prop he’d ever lifted.
“Ethan Lockwood, you absolute dimwit,” a cool voice cut through his awe.
He whirled around and froze. Celestia Draconyx stood poised on a moss‑covered stone, her wings half‑unfurled. In person, she was even more breathtaking—and just as indignant.
“You’ve been gone five seconds in my world and I almost thought you’d died. Again,” she snapped, folding her arms. A small curl of smoke drifted from her nostrils.
“C‑Celestia?” Ethan’s voice cracked. “This… this can’t be real.”
She arched a perfect eyebrow. “It’s real enough. Now stop gawking and tell me why you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
He swallowed, heart hammering. “I logged in… and then I blacked out.”
Celestia stalked closer, her heels clicking against stone. “Typical. You humans collapse when you push yourselves too far.” She softened, ever so slightly, as she placed a hand on his armored shoulder. “But enough about your body’s weak constitution. We need to figure out where the hell we are.”
A translucent interface flickered into existence before them, lines of stats reflecting in his widened eyes:
Level: MAXStrength: 999Agility: 999Endurance: 999Intelligence: 999Magic: 999“Every stat… maxed out?” Ethan murmured.
Celestia’s lips curved into a sly grin. “Congratulations, mortal. You’re now a walking apocalypse. Try not to get yourself killed with all that power.”
Ethan forced a grin of his own. “If I die, I’m sending you the repair bill.”
She snorted. “Cute. Now, let’s move before we attract unwanted attention. I’m sensing… something watching us.”
His excitement fluttered into caution. The grass around them seemed to rustle, even without wind. Shadows pooled at the edges of the meadow, as though the world was holding its breath.
Celestia scanned the horizon. “Lantern lights, maybe a mile ahead. Could be a settlement—or a trap.”
He tightened his grip on the greatsword’s hilt. “Then let’s see which it is.”
As they set off toward the distant glow, Ethan’s mind raced with possibility—and dread. They were no longer in a safe zone with convenient healing potions. Here, danger was as real as the sunlight on his skin, and sleep would not reset their mistakes.
He glanced at Celestia, her horns catching a stray beam of light. Even her eternal pride couldn’t mask the slightest crease of concern around her eyes. Together, they stepped into the unknown—two unlikely allies bound by game code and something far older: fate.
Facing the unknown, Ethan couldn’t help but grin.
“Hey, it beats final exams,” he joked under his breath.
Celestia let out a half-snort, half-laugh—her proud façade faltering for just an instant.
A single thought gnawed at Ethan’s mind as they trudged on: We need supplies. We need information. In The End of the Divine Realm, you always started near a safe zone. But here, safety was uncertain, and time was ticking.
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
The Dragon Emperor of Another World: Awakening of a Legend CHAPTER 2: Find a Town
Feya Town lay nestled in a shallow valley of blue-leaf trees and flowering mana reeds. It was the kind of picturesque place that made you second-guess danger even existed, until you stepped into its alleys after dusk.Ethan adjusted the straps on his Arcane Godslayer Gear, his eyes scanning the cobblestone road ahead. Celestia Draconyx walked just behind him, arms folded, tail twitching lazily.Ethan Lockwood was still struggling to wrap his head around his new reality. The Arcane Godslayer Gear he’d spent countless hours grinding for in The End of the Divine Realm was now strapped to his body in the flesh, and his once-virtual companion, Celestia Draconyx—a proud, humanoid dragon girl—walked beside him, every bit as fierce and enchanting as she’d been in the game.Yet despite his otherworldly power and Celestia’s unwavering protection, he couldn’t help but feel like a lost traveler. At least in Feya Town, he saw a chance to learn the local ways. The town felt less like a settlement a
The Dragon Emperor of Another World: Awakening of a Legend CHAPTER 3: Champion of the Arena
Feya Town’s outskirts had never seen such fervor. The grand coliseum—once a crumbling relic of a forgotten war—now blazed with life. Banners depicting swords, dragons, and arcane runes fluttered above the gates. Crowds roared with anticipation, packed into stone bleachers while food vendors shouted over the noise, hawking flame-grilled meat skewers and fizzy mana elixirs.Ethan Lockwood adjusted the straps on his Arcane Godslayer Gear. The amethyst rune etched into his breastplate pulsed with a rhythmic hum. Celestia Draconyx, ever poised and deadly, stood beside him, arms folded, her silver hair braided tightly down her back."You know," she said with a slow glance toward the thundering stadium, "this isn't exactly a subtle way to keep a low profile."Ethan grinned. "Who said anything about subtlety? I'm here to make a statement.""You? Making statements? Next you'll say you're entering for the prize money."He glanced at her. "It pays in gold and attention. Both of which we need."C
The Dragon Emperor of Another World: Awakening of a Legend CHAPTER 4: Shadows at the Inn
Late one night, beneath the amber glow of lantern light, Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx settled into a modest room at a quiet inn in Feya Town. Though the fire in the hearth offered warmth and comfort, unease lingered in the air like the heavy scent of rain before a storm. The events of the day—dodging Syndicate watchers, enduring the stares of strangers, and surviving whispers in alleyways—had left their nerves on edge.Celestia, now in her humanoid form, paced by the window. Her long, silver-white hair glimmered beneath the flickering candlelight, her features regal yet sharp. Even here, in the supposed safety of a room above a tavern, her instincts remained coiled like a serpent.“You keep staring,” she said, voice teasing yet measured.Ethan smiled faintly. “Just appreciating the view.”Her crimson eyes met his with a spark of amusement. “Careful. Flattery won’t save you if trouble comes knocking.”Trouble, as it turned out, didn’t knock. It kicked the door down.A burst of
The Dragon Emperor of Another World: Awakening of a Legend CHAPTER 5: Master Eileen
Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx had faced shadowy ambushes, enchanted traps, and blood-soaked battles across Endrealm Divinity, but the Town of Dasi brought a different kind of tension—one made not of blades, but blueprints.Their mission: seek out the legendary forge-mage Eileen, whose work blurred the boundary between enchantment and engineering. Rumor had it she could reforge reality itself—if given the right materials.“She really lives here?” Celestia asked, flicking her gaze across towering columns etched with arcane wards.“That’s the rumor,” Ethan replied, surveying the polished cobblestone underfoot. “Apparently, she made a shield that can block dragonfire... and another that explodes if touched incorrectly.”“Sounds trustworthy,” Celestia muttered, her tail twitching.The Town of Dasi was massive. Golems hauled metal crates on rails of light. Markets thrummed with spellsteel traders and elemental jewelers. Overhead, crystalline birds flitted between rooftops lined with
The Dragon Emperor of Another World: Awakening of a Legend CHAPTER 6: Perilous Harvest
For weeks, the road became a blur of danger and discovery. Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx moved like a storm—swift, relentless, impossible to pin down.Their first destination: the Crater of Fallen Stars.Jagged rocks encircled the site like the claws of a giant beast. The land shimmered with residual mana, fractured by the impact of a comet long forgotten. Shards of star metal glinted beneath the shattered earth, but they were guarded.A pack of mutated wyverns had made the crater their nesting ground, their scales infused with cosmic energy. One of them, a two-headed brute with celestial veins glowing across its hide, perched atop the largest shard."They're nesting," Celestia murmured, crouched beside Ethan behind a cluster of charred stones. Her wings were folded tight, her breath steady.Ethan squinted through the shimmer of heat. "We need that shard. Think we can lure the alpha away?"She smirked. "I’ll handle the sky. You take the ground. Don’t die."Moments later, Celest
The Dragon Emperor of Another World: Awakening of a Legend CHAPTER 7: Night of Forging
Dasi’s arcane alarm bells wailed into the storm-colored skies, runes flickering crimson across towers and rooftops like a nervous system jolted to life. But the threat that loomed could wait—if only for a few hours more.Eileen had insisted they delay their departure.“If they’re coming for you,” she’d said with steel in her voice, “you’d better be at full strength when you meet them.”And so, while her forge sizzled with finishing touches, Ethan and Celestia took a final detour into Dasi’s heart.The Arcane Quarter was a kaleidoscope of magical innovation. Floating lanterns drifted through the air above stalls brimming with shimmering relics. Alchemists hawked potion grenades, rune-etched quivers, and scrolls that could call down lightning or open locked doors with a single word.Ethan marveled at the sheer volume of enchantments on display. “It’s like walking through a spellbook,” he muttered.Celestia, meanwhile, was drawn to a boutique nestled in a moonstone dome—the signage glimm
The Dragon Emperor of Another World: Awakening of a Legend CHAPTER 8: Crimson Hunt
The sun dipped low behind twisted jungle canopies, draping the land in a wash of amber mist. Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx had survived waves of slimes and outmaneuvered organized goblin warbands—but the real danger was still on their trail.“They’re watching us,” Celestia murmured, crouching low beneath a thicket of luminous ferns. “I smell blood... but not ours.”Ethan activated a silent detection pulse. Sure enough, faint mana trails spiked behind them—thin, sharp, unnaturally clean.“Syndicate assassins. Three of them. Maybe more.”“Still following us from Dasi,” Celestia growled. “Persistent rats.”Ethan's eyes gleamed. “Good. I’ve got a plan.”They advanced deeper into the jungle, now using the terrain to their advantage. The environment shifted with every step—sludgy swamps gave way to fungal groves and bulbous vines that pulsed like veins. And nestled among this was a natural trap: an abandoned goblin outpost, now overrun by territorial slimes.“Set the bait,” Ethan whi
The Dragon Emperor of Another World: Awakening of a Legend CHAPTER 9: Savage Crown
The mountain wind howled through the cave’s entrance as the first echoes rolled in—a low, guttural growl that made the very rock beneath Ethan’s boots tremble.Celestia had already unsheathed her claws.“They’re not just hunting,” she said, her voice cold. “They’re communicating.”Ethan tightened his grip on the Void-Cleaving Blade. “Multiple signatures. Five, maybe six. That’s not a rogue. That’s a pride.”They moved to higher ground, scaling the cliffs above the ravine. From there, they saw it—beneath the haze of a mist-covered moon, a pride of chimeras roamed the valley floor. Not just one, but at least four fully-grown beasts and two juveniles, each with lion heads, scaled tails, and deformed wings twitching with anticipation.Ethan let out a low whistle. “This isn’t a fight. It’s a siege.”“Then let’s win it with strategy,” Celestia replied.They began the ambush from the cliffs. Ethan launched a barrage of enchanted arrows from his pouch’s hidden quiver system, each one charged
Latest Chapter
CHAPTER 19: Sacred Light
The gates of Avelline City loomed ahead, their iron-bound wood flecked with morning dew. Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx stumbled through them, cloaks torn and stained from the marshes, the stench of cursed magic clinging to their skin like an invisible shroud.Inside the Adventurers' Guild, the mood shifted the moment they entered.Tessa stood behind the counter, her usual playful smile vanished, replaced by a grim tightness around her lips. She immediately dropped the bundle of quest parchments she had been sorting."You’re back," she breathed, hurrying forward. Her gaze flicked to Ethan—and paled. "But you're... cursed."Ethan gave a ragged nod before his knees buckled. Only Celestia’s quick reflexes kept him upright. Tessa cried for help, and s
CHAPTER 18: Blood-Stained Cathedral
The deeper Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx descended, the heavier the air became, weighed down by the spiraling mist that clung to their cloaks like ghostly tendrils. Each step down the crumbling, bloodstained stairs was a battle against the oppressive aura pressing on their minds. The very stones beneath their boots wept with ancient memories—of blood spilled, of lives offered, of hopes crushed.Celestia moved ahead, her wings half-unfurled for balance, the light clack of her talons the only sound in the gloom. She glanced back sharply. "Stay close," she warned, her voice sharper than usual. "This land is steeped in curses. It won't forgive intruders."Ethan adjusted his grip on the Voidrend Blade, feeling it vibrate faintly against his palm, eager for battle.
CHAPTER 17: Bone Dragon
The shadows deepened as Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx descended the winding staircase beneath the ruined basalt tower. The spiral path was slick with algae and time-worn carvings—rituals of death etched into the very stone. The air reeked of mildew, ichor, and unspent magic. With every step, the low thrumming of the cultists' chant grew louder, more fevered.At the bottom lay a cavernous chamber, its ceiling lost in gloom. Bioluminescent fungi clung to jagged walls, casting a sickly green glow. At its center loomed a massive black altar, pulsing with crimson veins of necrotic energy. Around it, cloaked cultists circled like moths to a flame, their voices weaving a ritual that felt older than the swamp itself.And rising from the altar, wreathed in thick mist, was the skull of a dragon—enormous, hollow-eyed, and grotesquely adorned with bone s
CHAPTER 16: Eastern Marsh
At the break of dawn, Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx departed from Avelline, cloaked in moss-hued, guild-issued marsh cloaks woven with enchantments to repel humidity, disease, and spiritual miasma. The trail to the Eastern Marshes wound like a serpent, bordered by twisted reeds and knee-deep brine that slurped greedily at their boots, threatening to drag them down with each sluggish step.Celestia bent her wings low to maintain balance, every motion deliberate and quiet. Ethan’s cloak dragged through the saline muck, trailing ripples like ghostly fingers brushing the surface.“Stay close,” Celestia muttered, her nostrils flaring at the stench. The air reeked of rot, decay, and something older—tainted. “This swamp is cursed. Every stone here holds a memory of suffering.”Eth
CHAPTER 15: Darkness Whispers
The sun had barely kissed the rooftops of Avelline when Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx strode through the guild’s towering bronze doors. Inside, the main chamber buzzed with the low murmur of steel, ink, and ambition. Tessa was already waiting, scrolls and commissions stacked high at her side."Early as always," she greeted with a yawn, offering Ethan a wink. "You’ve got fans waiting outside, you know. Again."Ethan ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. “Maybe they’ll follow someone else for once.”Tessa chuckled and slid a bundle of missions across the desk. Each one bore a red sigil—the symbol of S-Class danger.“Take your pick, Dragon Knight.”
CHAPTER 14: Banquet
The torches along the marble columns of Avelline’s Adventurers' Guild flickered like fire spirits in revelry, casting jubilant shadows across rows of newly stocked commemorative merchandise and food stalls. The celebration of Ethan Lockwood's legendary victory was in full swing.Rumors of his triumph over the elemental hellhound pack had spread like wildfire across Avelline—tales of a mysterious man clad in godslayer armor, wielding void-bending powers with the strength of an S-rank elite. The whispers had become declarations. Awe had turned into obsession.Celestia Draconyx lingered at the edge of the festivities, alabaster hair cascading down scaled shoulders like a waterfall of moonlight. Her crimson gaze swept over the crowd—nobles, mercenaries, spellcasters—all drawn to Ethan like moths to a flame. Her tail flicked in quiet warning.
CHAPTER 13: Brand-New
The city of Avelline had never known such silence.When Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx stepped through the towering doors of the Adventurers' Guild, they were met not with the usual bustle, but with a hush so deep it seemed the walls themselves held their breath.The pair stood side by side, battle-worn and exhausted. Ethan's armor was scorched and dented, a makeshift bandage wrapped around his shoulder. Celestia's obsidian-scaled armor was dull with soot and streaked with dried ichor. And yet, their eyes gleamed with an unmistakable fire.The silence shattered."They did it!" roared Garrett, the grizzled senior officer whose voice rarely rose above a bark. "They actually cleared the hellhound den!"The guild erupted.
CHAPTER 12: Hellhounds
The blood-red sun clawed its way above the jagged horizon, staining the peaks of the Northern Crags in hues of fire and shadow. Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx stood at the final ridge, overlooking a scorched plateau marred by melted stone and sulfuric steam. This was the hellhounds' den.Charred pine stumps jutted from the earth like broken spears, and the acrid scent of brimstone clung to every breath. Ethan tightened his grip on the Void-Cleaving Blade, knuckles white beneath his gauntlet."They’re close," Celestia whispered through their mental link, her claw resting over the lunar runes etched into her cuirass. "I can feel the heat pulsing beneath the rock."Ethan gave a slow nod. "Let’s test our plan."Sliding down a loose slope of shale, they reac
CHAPTER 11: Guild Assessment
Morning in Avelline broke with a golden cascade of sunlight that poured over slate rooftops and chimed against the cobbled streets like music. The city stirred from its slumber, and with it, so did Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx.They stood at the threshold of the grand Adventurers' Guild hall—a towering stone structure with steel-framed windows and the emblem of a phoenix engraved on its twin wooden doors. As Ethan pushed the doors open, a wave of noise, warmth, and clashing personalities washed over him.Sword tips glinted under chandeliers. Quest boards stretched from wall to wall, covered in yellowed parchments. Burly mercenaries laughed over mugs of ale, while cloaked rogues studied maps with whispered urgency. Hawkers offered magically-infused trinkets, trying to tempt every newcomer with "limited-time enchantments."