I Received System to Become Dragonborn-Chapter 1193: Influence
Erend remained suspended in the air, wings spread wide as cold ash drifted past him.
The words burned into his mind and refused to fade.
If Zerathul could influence this place, if his hand could reach into a Dungeon World itself, then the implications were far worse than he had feared.
This world was meant to be sealed, regulated, protected by rules older than most gods, the rules of the Creator. To make him the holder of the System to use it without worry.
If those rules were failing, then nowhere was truly safe.
"If he can invade here...", Erend thought grimly, "then can we still proceed?"
A presence stirred again.
New lines of light formed before his eyes.
[The distortion originates from the Void Echo.]
[You are already familiar with it.]
[With the Creator absent, this Dungeon World has weakened.]
[The Void Echo exploited that weakness.]
Erend let out a sharp breath as understanding locked into place.
The Void Echo. The counterpart to the System that guided him.
The reflection that existed to consume, overwrite, and corrupt rather than stabilize.
"So it finally found a way in," Erend muttered under his breath.
Another line appeared.
[This is not Zerathul directly. He is not directly entering this world.]
[But his influence aligns with it.]
[If unchecked, the corruption will deepen.]
Erend closed his eyes briefly.
Relief did not come. Only dread.
If Zerathul learned to piggyback on the Void Echo and learned on how to spread his will through corrupted layers like this, then future levels would no longer be trials meant for growth.
They would become traps or worse, an execution ground for his allies.
He looked down.
Below him stood the fighters—his friends and his allies—still weary, still bloodied in spirit even after healing.
They had survived because the Dungeon World still obeyed rules. Because pressure came with purpose and their suffering ended when a level ended.
But if that balance broke...
"I brought them here," Erend thought, his chest tightening. "And if this corruption keeps happening, I’ll be leading them into something that would kill them."
The thought of Arty standing against something like this again made his jaw clench. Aurdis. Adrien. Billy. King Gulben. All of them.
Zerathul gaining influence here would mean every future step carried a risk far beyond death. It meant corruption that lingered and damage that healing Magic alone would not erase.
Erend opened his eyes, resolve hardening over his worry.
Whatever Zerathul was attempting, he could not be allowed to turn this place into a staging ground.
But the thought settled heavily in Erend’s mind, pressing down with the same pressure as the dark ashen sky above him.
"If this influence can spread then I can’t just push forward blindly," he thought.
Destroying Zerathul alone would not be enough if the Void Echo continued to gnaw at the Dungeon World from within.
There had to be a way to cut it off at the source. A way to seal whatever crack had allowed this corruption to seep in.
As if responding to that realization, the text in front of him stirred again.
More text formed before his eyes, its glow steadier than before.
[There is a method.]
[The primary breach point manifests at Level 60.]
[A rift exists there.]
[Closing it will significantly weaken the Void Echo’s reach.]
Erend’s eyes narrowed.
"Level 60..." he murmured.
That was far beyond where they stood now and more than he or Eccar had ever reached. But it was also a clear goal and direction.
"I’ll do it," Erend said without hesitation. His voice carried quiet certainty. "I’ll close it."
Another question surfaced immediately, one he could not ignore.
"How about this level?" he asked. "What happens here?"
The response came after a brief pause, as if the System itself was calculating countless variables.
[This level will remain in its current state.]
[The distortion is stabilized, not expanding.]
[Analysis indicates your allies are capable of enduring this trial.]
Erend frowned.
He looked down again at the ruined land and the fighters below. They were strong. Definitely much stronger than before. But he felt that something was wrong with this place and felt in ways strength alone could not solve.
"Are they really ready for something like this?" doubt crept in despite him.
Yet he exhaled slowly and let it go.
He had trusted them to grow and to survive pressure that once would have crushed them. If he lost that trust now, then everything they had endured would mean nothing.
"I’ll believe in them," Erend said quietly. "Yes, they will be able to finish this level."
The text faded, as if saying that he had no more to say.
Erend folded his wings and descended, landing with a soft impact against the fractured ground. Ash stirred around his boots as he straightened.
"Eccar. Aesa," he called.
Both Dragonborn reacted instantly.
Eccar’s wings flared as he launched upward, his relaxed demeanor gone, replaced by sharp focus. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
Aesa followed beside him, her expression serious as she closed the distance.
They landed before Erend moments later, eyes searching his face.
"You felt it too, didn’t you?" Eccar asked.
"Yes," Erend replied. "And it’s worse than it looks."
He explained quickly but clearly about the weakened Dungeon World. The rift at Level 60. The danger of Zerathul’s influence spreading further if nothing was done.
Aesa’s eyes darkened as she listened. "So this Dungeon is becoming a battlefield before the real one even begins."
Erend nodded. "We can’t let it really happen. We need to reach Level 60 and close that rift."
Eccar let out a slow breath, then smiled faintly. "Figures it wouldn’t be simple."
"We keep them moving," Erend continued. "This level stays as a trial for them. But we watch carefully. If anything changes, we will intervene and come back here."
Aesa met his gaze and nodded once. "Alright."
Erend looked past them, toward the others waiting below, unaware of how close the Dungeon World had come to becoming something far worse.
Then Erend moved to them and landed in front of them with a serious face. He would explain what they need to do.
—
