Spreading out his wings, the Crystal Dragon King managed to slow down his descent before crashing through the canopy of trees and straight into the ground.

THOCK!

CRACK!

The sound of meat slapping a hard surface and cracking bones was heard as the Dragon King made contact with the earth. There were even a few cracks on the floor which was a testament to the Dragon’s growing strength.

However, he had obviously taken quite a bit of damage and it was unknown how that would affect the success of his Tribulation.

“...-nNNGH” The Crystal Dragon King let out a groan of pain in a strangely awkward manner.

The impact of the collision was so bad that it left him winded and incapable of voice, preventing him from making a single peep during the painful crash. It was only now that he was able to freely groan in pain.

“HUUUUH… KAAHK!”

The Crystal Dragon King took in lungfuls of air, trying to regain his bearing before he felt a wave of discomfort which prompted him into letting out a huge cough.

SPLAT!

Blood and what seemed to be small globs of… flesh? Or organs? Splattered onto the ground as the Dragon King emptied his gullet.

‘Look at me, the King of fools! I’m so foolish that I would even fly straight into a Tribulation! None can surpass me! When it comes to stupidity, I have no predecessors and I’ll never have successors. Aye aye, THE KING OF BLOODY FOOLS!’

“ROOOAARRRRR!” The Crystal Dragon King roared with anger as disappointment and frustration vibrated its way through his body.

The Dragon King took in a large gulp of air, preparing to let out his growing age with a Dragon Breath when-

*Flash*

The world around him brightened for a brief second and the Dragon King froze like a deer caught in headlights. It was as if someone had flicked only a light and then turned it off again a second later. However, the Crystal Dragon King knew without a doubt that the Tribulation Magic Circle had just pulsed.

2 more of such things and he was going to have a very unhappy experience.

Again.

Each time he had watched someone undergo a Tribulation, he had noticed that before each of the 3 strikes, there would be 3 pulses that looked like they were either threatening you or warning you. Well… It was all the same.

The Crystal Dragon King had also wondered if each pulse could be some kind of energy gathering tactic, something that allowed the Tribulation to make those 3 consecutive beams of light. Alas, it was impossible to confirm and he was running out of time for idle thoughts.

The Dragon King released the energy he gathered for the Dragon Breath and dispersed it around his body, fortifying his natural defence and recovering his injuries.

For some reason, the speed in which his injuries healed was faster than before. Not by a lot but it was enough for him to notice.

The Crystal Dragon King didn’t think too much and attributed the effect to the strange essence that had been seeping into his body ever since he was struck by the Tribulation Light, and he was right.

Regaining a majority of his strength, the Crystal King sat up on his hind legs in preparation for the incoming Tribulation Light.

*Flash*

‘There it goes again’ The Crystal Dragon King thought as he glared up at the Tribulation Cloud.

…

Gaia looked towards the savage Cloud with her jaw almost hanging.

She had already rounded up her siblings and found shelter by the time the Crystal Dragon King had taken his first Tribulation Light… But that did not stop fear from soaking her body when she witnessed it.

At first, she thought for certain that there was still an Immortal being here and for some reason it was attacking the Crystal Dragon. However the notion immediately evaporated when she felt the aura of the Tribulation Strike.

It was like nothing she had ever had the ability to sense before. Part of it felt Ancient, a lot of it felt Divine, some of it like punishment and even more like retribution. But without a doubt, the most important and attention-grabbing ‘parts’ there was the feeling of… Fate and Fortune.

As an ex-Immortal Gaia knew that although Immortals were all-powerful and were able to do pretty much whatever they pleased; there were a few rules that even they never dared to skate around.

One of them was: No matter what the situation, no matter how damned your future, no matter how powerful you were; DON’T MESS WITH FATE! AND DON’T MESS WITH FORTUNE!

Of course, there were a few exceptions to the rules like the legendary seers, beings that had the ability to look into the future and make decisions that changed fate based on whatever they saw, but there were like what, 1 or 2 of them in the entire Galaxy?

How could any 1 of such distinguished individuals be in a World like this no matter how strange it was. It was ludicrous.

On the other hand, there were actually numerous techniques and even items that could affect one's Fortune. But unless you wanted to suffer a fate worse than 1000 years of fun with the devil; You better not touch them.

And yet here she was, witnessing the manipulation of Fate AND Fortune right before her very eyes.

‘How did this even happen? That cloud does not possess the Aura of an Immortal at all. All attacks whether ejected or not will always possess the aura of their creator, so how can this be? And why these Intents? Punishment and Retribution?’

Gaia was so terrified that a faint rickety sound of her bones shaking could be heard. In fact, because of her knowledge on how serious the situation was, she was more scared of the Tribulation than anyone else!

So what does one do when they reach their breaking point with no help in sight?

Gaia interlocked her claws and tightly shut her eyes in prayer.

‘gods above Sigothia, please save this lost little lamb!’