Raine's fingers dug into the scar beneath his reversed scale as tarry mucus oozed from the glacial murals. The ancient depictions of dragonkin sacrifices writhed into living reliefs, the First Dragon Lord's mechanized voice seeping through ice cracks: "Welcome to the incubation ritual, Vessel 299."
Serena's crystallized blood spread across the walls like inverse frost. She gripped Raine's horns, black ichor dripping into his scale crevices: "Hatchling, see clearly—your mommy's gift wasn't a lullaby."
The memory illusion unfolded with mucous rivers. The First Dragon's spine wasn't mechanical but translucent void-matter, countless dragonkin embryos parasitizing it like grubs. Each century, the strongest host would be "harvested"—their reversed scale ripped off alive, embedded into glacial murals as new incubators.
"Divine mission?" The mechanical dragon's voice glitched with infant wails. "Just quality control for breeding pods."
Ellen's remnant chassis convulsed, starlit scales projecting Raine's genomic map: 37% dragonkin, 42% unknown slime, 21% labeled "Voidborne." Garret's ice-claws gouged the floor: "Fuck...your bloodwork's filthier than sewers."
Serena suddenly hurled Dracula's fang necklace into a mural embryo's eye socket. As mucus spurted, the illusion shifted—Elaina strapped to an operating table pregnant, twelve Citadel members pressing her abdomen, implanting the chip now under Raine's scar.
"Vessel brand, eh?" Serena licked crystallized blood off her fangs. "They reuse molds like cheap toys."
The crown constricted, thorns injecting bioluminescent fluid into Raine's scar. The mechanical core projected holograms: harvested dragonkin arranged in DNA spirals, each chip pulsing with the Church airship's navigation signal.
"Surprise?" Serena ripped her sleeve, revealing Slave Brand Ⅲ resonating with Raine's chip. "Your mom wore this too—before turning me into her bloodbank."
Ice coffins shattered deep within the glacier. Three hundred dragonkin corpses shambled forth, mucous tentacles sprouting from their reversed scales toward Raine's scar. Ellen's spine played Elaina's encrypted recording: "...when crown activates...make him drink my blood..."
Serena crushed a crystal vial, forcing black blood down Raine's throat: "Paternity test time—"
As blood merged, Raine's pupils split into compound eyes. Beyond the illusion, he saw the truth—under the Citadel's floor, the First Dragon's true form: a Cthulhu-esque entity 10 with dragonkin skulls sprouting from tentacles, leaching his genetic data through murals.
"'Vessel must survive'?" Serena kicked a lunging corpse, laughing. "No—vessels must ripen till they burst into new gods."
Garret's ice-claw scraped a golden scale off the mural—etched with Serena's Ⅲ brand. Alarms blared: "Rogue Sample #3 detected...initiate purge..."
Raine's scar split open, void-matter cocooning him. Serena's wings carbonized under corrosive slime, yet she grinned madly: "Yes! Turn yourself inside out—"
The final vision flashed—Elaina leaping into the void with baby Raine, dragged back by mucous tentacles. She bit off her own reversed scale into his swaddle, glowing with "Vessel Reclamation Code 098" 17.
Submerged Currents
Ellen's surviving chip detected Raine's corruption rate breaching thresholds. Starlit scales formed Dracula's crest, beneath it a line: "Third Princess Serum—Final Purge Protocol Activated."