Volume Dragon: Start by obtaining the Infinity Gems

Chapter 299 Going Home
The scorching sun of the Anauroch Desert pressed the shadow of the scarlet spire into a thin line. Nemesis stood on the terrace of the tower against the light, his dark gold scales flickering with the frequency of his breathing, like a cooling lava. He looked down at the charred battlefield below him - the remains of the siege equipment of the Iron Jaw Fortress were scattered among the sand dunes, and the skeleton of the blue dragon Abronreth was half buried in the quicksand, and his empty eye sockets were still facing the sky with the last solidification of anger.

"They didn't even let you use the second move." The voice of the young Wuermu came from behind, wrapped in an uncontrollable tremor. It was the admiration of witnessing this primitive surging power.

"Strength is not for showing off, Wuermu." He flicked his claws, and a streak of silver light swept across the blue dragon skull, crushing it into powder. "Especially your cursed fire. Remember, an out-of-control fire will first burn the fire bearer himself."

The young man was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand and pointed to the eastern sand sea: "Then why do you still keep it? You can obviously destroy the tower like you destroyed the blue dragon--" His fingertips were pointing at the observation platform at the highest point of the scarlet spire, where a blood-red crystal was suspended. Its surface was covered with spider web cracks, but it still pulsated regularly like a heart.

Nemesis' tail swept lightly over the edge of the terrace, and a granite guardrail shattered. "Because the Scarlet Eye is not an enemy, it's a mirror." He turned and stared at Ulm, with star-like arcane runes flowing in his vertical pupils. "The ambition of the Red Mage Society, Sel's greed, and your fear of yourself... destroying the mirror will not solve any problems."

Juan Celong's deep purple eyes seemed to see through the boy's heart. He was now like an overcorrected wire. Because of guilt and fear of power, he had rapidly expanded his ambitions after being baptized in the past few days.

But this is not a good sign. What he needs is an obedient follower, not an ambitious person who pursues power.

Nemesis looked at Wuermu dimly, as if observing his thoughts. He was a promising young man, but it would be bad if he went astray.

Basu's arrival interrupted the silence between the two. The hem of the necromancer's robe was stained with grave dirt and tar, and the dark green flames in his eyes were much dimmer than three days ago. "As agreed, I'm here to receive the 'reward'." He pulled the corners of his mouth to reveal a stiff smile, and tried to make his tone as relaxed as possible.

There is no way. No one would be disrespectful to the dragon after seeing that devastating explosion.

Basu was very glad for his decision at that time. Submitting to a suspected legendary scroll dragon? Isn't this shabby!

Nemesis threw a dragon scale, which unfolded in the air into a translucent map, with the border of the Kingdom of Cel marked in red. "Will you mention the cursed fire in your performance report?"

"Of course not." Basu stroked a new crack on the surface of the lantern. "I will only hand in the perfect script of 'The Scarlet Spire was attacked by the Zhentarim, and the administrator Basu fought hard to repel the enemy'... and a letter of recommendation for transfer back to the headquarters." He paused, his eyes swept over Wuermu, "As for that 'little accident', let it be buried forever in the desert."

Frightened, Wuermu suddenly stumbled back, and the cursed fire gushed out of his palm uncontrollably, burning black gullies on the ground. "You started it again!" He screamed and fell to his knees, "What do you mean by controlling the cursed fire... it's simply a plague!"

Nemesis glared at Basu, who was speechless, and wrapped his tail around the boy's waist to lift him up, pressing his other claw to his forehead. Silver light seeped out from the gaps between the dragon scales, twisting into a spiral with the crimson of the curse fire. "Breathe, Urumu. Imagine you are holding the neck of a baby bird - too loose and it will fly away, too tight and it will be crushed to death."

“I don’t need your fables!” The boy struggled, but the curse fire was being forced back into his body by the silver light. “You don’t understand at all… Every time the fire gets out of control, I can see their faces! The smell of my adoptive father’s burnt beard, the warmth of my adoptive mother’s last hug… How can a dragon like you understand these!”

The dragon claws suddenly tightened, and Wuermu's curse fire was completely pressed back under his skin. "I really don't understand human emotions." The memories of his previous life were too distant and ethereal. Many times he couldn't even remember whether it was his previous life or just a dream.

Nemesis let go of his tail and let the boy fall to the ground. "But I know one thing - you burned them to death not because of cursed fire, but because of fear. And fear can be tamed."
-
As night fell, the disintegration ceremony of the Scarlet Eye began. Basu carved reverse runes all over the ground of the observatory, and Nemesis's dragon breath poured into the cracks of the crystal like liquid moonlight. Wuermu was asked to stand in the center of the magic circle, and the cursed fire used as an energy medium to burn the core of the tower spirit - the mana pool of the Scarlet Spire.

"Count down 30 seconds, and then cut off the rune chain in the northeast corner at the same time!" Basu roared. His mana was completely exhausted. This massive ritual spell now relied entirely on Nemesis's huge mana to resist the dying counterattack of the Scarlet Eye. A sharp humming sound came from inside the crystal, like the wailing of countless souls being crushed.

Wuermu's cursed fire suddenly trembled violently, and a wisp of black smoke burst out from the flame core. "Something... is eroding me in the opposite direction!" The veins on his neck bulged, and the sand grains at the edge of the magic circle floated up, forming a vague phrase in the air - [Shadow casts his bones, night covers his blood].

"Don't be distracted!" Nemesis inserted his dragon claws into the magic circle, and while the curse fire was devouring the mana of the mana pool, he increased his output, and the magic power surged and engulfed the black smoke. The Scarlet Eye shot out an imperceptible red light at the moment before it exploded, passing through the gap in the top of the tower and disappearing into the starry sky.

"Successful?" Basu slumped in the rune ruins, his black robe soaked with sweat. Nemesis did not answer. He stared at the direction where the red light disappeared, his pupils shrunk into two slits. "Are you sure that the Cel headquarters can't receive any signals from the tower spirit?"

"Unless Sazastan rewrites the runes for it himself." The necromancer forced a dry laugh. "Now, please allow me to take my leave... Sel's troops will arrive in the desert at sunrise tomorrow."

In the darkest moment before dawn, Nemesis took Ulm away from the Scarlet Spire. The sand dunes collapsed in the storm caused by the dragon's wings, completely burying the Red Mage's base. Ulm curled up in the cage made of dragon claws, with a silver scale bracelet on his wrist - a curse fire suppressor made by Nemesis using shed scales.

The power of curse fire can devour all magic power. To be honest, it is difficult to create a magic item that can suppress curse fire.

Fortunately, Nemesis was not only good at magic, as a variant of the Psychic Dragon, he was also proficient in psychic energy. Nemesis had carved a large number of psychic characters of the Psychic Self-shaping and Psychic Transformation systems on the inhibitor, which could forcibly "extinguish" the curse fire when it could not be controlled.

Of course, this is just a temporary solution. In the end, Wuermu still needs to rely on himself to master the cursed fire.

"Where are we going?" The boy looked at the desert rapidly receding beneath his feet.

"Go home." The dragon's breath brushed across the clouds, dyeing the skyline with a touch of light gold. "That's the hometown where I was born."

Behind them, a shadow in the sand seeped out from the eye sockets of the remains of the blue dragon, condensing into a whisper that no one could hear: [The shadow sees you, Oghma's favorite.]

(End of this chapter)