The Epic Dragon Titan

"The current Cloud Island is indeed much more beautiful than when I first brought it here," admitted the Wind King Eagle. He had to acknowledge that the island now looked far better than when he initially collected it. However, despite its improved appearance, that didn't justify the actions taken.

After all, these changes were made without his permission. Muria had suddenly appeared and taken over his island under the guise of making it better. Who could tolerate such a thing?

"But did you get my consent for these modifications?"

"You were already asleep at that time, weren't you?" Muria replied with an awkward smile. "How could I wake you up over something so trivial?"

"You must have put a lot of thought into constructing these Cloud Islands," the Wind King Eagle observed as he gazed at Muria.

Muria remained silent for a moment. He couldn't understand why the Wind King Eagle was suddenly asking such questions, so he simply told the truth. "Yes, I invested a lot of effort into it. I've poured my life's work into these islands."

"But you must understand something, Titan and Dragon's child. These islands are mine, and all your constructions are unauthorized. Since you did not seek my approval, I have the right to demolish them."

"So, what now?" The nine divine weapons within Muria's body trembled slightly. If a soft approach didn't work, he would have to resort to force, though he knew he wasn't a match for the Wind King Eagle. Regardless, he was determined to protect what he had built.

"What is your goal?" The Wind King Eagle suddenly changed the topic, asking an unrelated question. "What is your greatest pursuit at this stage?"

"Of course, it's to achieve legendary status!" Muria answered without hesitation. This was a goal he had long set for himself.

"In that case, I will rent my Cloud Island to you for a thousand years. If you return from the void within that time, the ownership of these islands will be entirely yours," the Wind King Eagle said casually. "What do you think?"

"What do I need to give in return?" Muria knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch, so he remained calm, not letting the sudden good news overwhelm him.

"You don't need to give anything, at least not right now."

"I don't believe there's such a thing as a free deal in this world," Muria responded calmly, though his increasingly rapid heartbeat and flushed face betrayed his true feelings.

"What do you think you can offer me right now?" The Wind King Eagle asked bluntly, leaving Muria with no room for argument. "There is nothing you have that I would value."

"If you're willing to rent me the Cloud Island for a thousand years, then you must want something. There must be something you need from me. If not now, then perhaps something I will have in the future."

"Titan and Dragon's child, do you know how long I can live? Do you know how long I have already lived?"

The Wind King Eagle ignored Muria's analysis and continued speaking as if to himself, seeming like he was talking to no one in particular.

"I don't know," Muria replied. He wasn't about to guess how long a creature with the bloodline of a World Beast had lived. If his memory served him correctly, such beings were practically immortal, existing for as long as the world itself.

"I can't even remember anymore. The last time I tried to keep track, I think I was around thirty thousand years old, but after so much time, I stopped bothering to keep count," the Wind King Eagle continued.

"My ancestor quelled the chaos in the world and was rewarded for it. Because of this, we, his descendants, have been favored by the world since birth. We possess endless lifespans, and our power grows to the limit allowed by the world. We can even wield rules that only gods can control. In this world, we are invincible; no one dares to provoke us."

As he spoke, the Wind King Eagle's eyes did not show a hint of pride. "As the Wind King Eagle, I have the fastest speed in the world. But no matter how fast I am, I can't escape the world. The void is just a name to me, an unreachable existence. We are so heavily favored by the world that once we grow strong enough, we can never leave this world."

Muria remained silent, unsure of what to say. A powerful being with an endless lifespan and the fastest speed in the world, yet confined to a single world—for the Wind King Eagle, it was indeed a cruel fate. No matter how vast the world was, it was still a cage for him.

"It's been tens of thousands of years. I've explored every corner of this world, and I'm tired of it. I want to go to the void," the Wind King Eagle said, staring at Muria and speaking each word with deliberate emphasis.

"I can't help with that for the time being," Muria said with a forced smile. He had a vague idea of what the giant beast wanted from him, but breaking the world's bonds… that was no small task!

"I want you to make me a promise, one that you can only fulfill after you become a legend," the Wind King Eagle said, looking at Muria. "As long as you make this promise, I will go back to sleep and won't interfere with anything you do. Everything will return to how it was, and if anyone dares to invade, I will help you defend these Cloud Islands."

Muria took a deep breath and then looked at the Wind King Eagle with a serious expression. He had taken advantage of this being for a long time, and just now, it had even helped him fend off a powerful enemy. It was time for him to give something in return.

"If one day I succeed in becoming a legend, I will sever all your ties to this world."

Thunder rumbled in the skies above Synapse as countless bolts of lightning suddenly erupted from the void, striking the protective barrier of the island and causing it to shake. But when a disheveled old man on the upper Cloud Island looked up and reached out toward the void, all the lightning disappeared, and the air around Synapse became much fresher, with the deathly gray fog dissipating.

"I'm going back to sleep," said the Wind King Eagle, nodding in approval at Muria's understanding. Without further words, it leaped off the crystal throne and headed toward the castle's underground.

Muria followed, and when he reached the underground, he was stunned to see a sparkling crystal egg standing there. At the top of the egg was an inconspicuous crack.

As Muria watched in astonishment, the Wind King Eagle beside him suddenly disintegrated, transforming into a breeze that flowed into the crack in the crystal egg. The egg immediately returned to the appearance Muria had first seen.

"That wasn't even its true body? The one I was just talking to was only a projection, and I didn't even realize it," Muria thought, realizing what had just happened.

"Such cunning, no wonder it's lived for tens of thousands of years," Muria silently grumbled as he looked at the Wind King Eagle returning to its slumber, then began to make his way back up to the castle.

His mental energy spread out infinitely, revealing the scene outside the castle. All the giants were awakening, and the storm clouds surrounding the Cloud Island were beginning to dissipate.

"This Wind King Eagle..." Muria thought about the promise it had forced him to make, and his lips twitched. The seemingly favorable conditions had all been carefully calculated by the Wind King Eagle, who ensured it would not suffer any loss.

The Wind King Eagle had clearly made its offer based on the possibility that Muria might one day achieve legendary status. It was willing to lend the Cloud Island to Muria and even promised that if he succeeded, the islands would be his. In return, Muria would sever the Wind King Eagle's ties to the world, allowing it to venture into the void.

For the Wind King Eagle, who had lived for tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of years, the Cloud Island was merely a collection of trinkets it had gathered out of boredom. It wasn't particularly valuable to it.

And all of this was based on the assumption that Muria would succeed in becoming a legend. If he failed and died in the void, nothing more needed to be said.

The Wind King Eagle would simply wait a thousand years, then reclaim the Cloud Island. Everything would still belong to it, and it would even gain a better-built Cloud Island in the process.

"What would have happened if I hadn't made that promise?" Muria pondered as he watched Synapse return to its original state. Judging by the stance the Wind King Eagle had just taken, it wasn't playing around. If he had refused, the Wind King Eagle might not have attacked him directly out of consideration for his background, but it would have certainly wiped out everything he had built.

"Did I get the short end of the stick?" Muria chuckled to himself. It was a frustrating thought, being so thoroughly outmaneuvered.

"But what if I keep getting stronger, never failing, even after becoming a legend?" Muria glanced back at the castle, as if he could see through the walls to the giant eagle sleeping underground.

"You'll end up just being a guide for me. Everything will be mine." Muria narrowed his eyes. If a thousand years from now, he became a legend and then severed the Wind King Eagle's ties to the world, what then? The Wind King Eagle might head into the void, but would it be able to roam freely? Clearly not. It would need to follow someone stronger, someone to guide it.

And who would it follow? The answer was obvious. It would follow the one who had freed it—the very legend it had waited for.

"As long as I keep getting stronger, everything will belong to me," Muria muttered as he stood at the edge of the castle, looking down at the Obisto Continent, shrouded in the undead plague. His eyes shone with unprecedented determination. He would not let a mere giant eagle outmaneuver him.

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