I Reincarnated Into A Single-Celled Organism! - I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 91

I had only really been thirty percent confident in being able to replicate the flower in the first place. After analyzing it thoroughly, I realized that there were magical parts to its growth that I was unable to duplicate chemically. The best I could do was create seeds, and then if someone was able to grow them under the correct magical conditions, they would become the fire purification orchids. To most people, this alone would have been a miracle, and these seeds might be worth something even if the conditions for their growth were strenuous.

However, that wasn’t what the dragon needed. The dragon’s life force was weakening, and it couldn’t afford to wait and nurture another generation of orchids. The one I had taken had been its last chance to be able to hatch its egg. Therefore, I already had a contingency plan in case I failed. That meant I’d need to dedicate my life to nurturing her egg.

I allowed this possibility for two reasons. First off, I could separate my body and only dedicate part of it to the egg, so it wasn’t like I would be indefinitely trapped there… although with my current cell count, dividing things four ways was cutting it pretty short. I had already cut my cell count in half entering this world, and if I did it again to leave a part of myself in the trial, I wasn’t sure of the consequences.

That said, I was fairly confident that the trial would end once the conditions were all met anyway, so I wouldn’t need to worry about waiting to hatch the eggs. Thus, I was happy to agree to these terms because I didn’t need to live with the outcome. I also hoped that Erika understood this as she made the conditions for the peace treaty. It didn’t matter how much land we gave up or how inconvenient the agreement was, as long as peace was established and the poison was cured, the scenario should end.

The dragon looked down at me deeply. “You would sacrifice years of your life? You are a king. Why would you do that?”

“An agreement is an agreement.” I shrugged. “I don’t care much about leadership, and even if I have to wait for a long time in solitude, that’s not something I’m unaccustomed to.”

It continued to watch me consideringly and then appeared to nod to itself. “Alright, I have decided.”

Before I could ask what it decided, it reached out with a claw. I could see a large amount of mana being used, but I had no experience with mana to know what spell the dragon was casting. I didn’t have to wait long though, because a circle appeared on the ground, and a few moments later, an egg rose from it. It was red and outside of its shape, it’d be forgiven for being confused for a colorful rock. I raised an eyebrow at the dragon.

“I give this egg, the last of my offspring, to you,” the red dragon declared. “You may hatch it when it is convenient for you. Please take care of him.”

“This…” I wasn’t sure what to say.

“Although your mana is low, I can tell that you aren’t as simple as you appear,” the dragon said. “I do not have long for this world, and even if I succeeded in hatching the egg, I would assuredly die in the process, leaving my offspring with nothing. I know you are capable of hatching this egg. After seeing how you handled that war, I believe you have what it takes to raise my offspring properly.”

I wanted to argue more, but I recalled that this world was an illusion anyway, so I went ahead and nodded, taking the egg and moving it into my luminal space. The dragon nodded as if this was expected.

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you.” The dragon shook its head, gesturing with its claw and causing a scroll to appear in front of me. “When the time comes, find someone at least at the lord level of magic to use this sealing formation. Use it on my offspring upon hatching. This will allow it to recognize you as family. If you do not, you will be unable to control it, and it may go wild.”

“I will do what you ask,” I agreed, feeling a bit regretful that it was only an illusion.

The dragon nodded. “Then, I’ll be off. Tell it… tell it that mommy is proud.”

With that, the dragon broke into the air as if it couldn’t stand to remain for another minute. I watched as the dragon flew off into the distance. That’s when the world began to fade to white once again.

“The dragon egg has been in my possession for countless eons. I was never able to make the egg hatch.” An old voice spoke up, and I looked to see an old man standing there, looking directly at me. “I never imagined things would play out quite like that.”

“Sovereign.” I bowed politely.

“The dragon egg could be said to be a secret trial within this trial,” he continued. “I never knew what to do with the egg, so I tossed it in here, but since the red dragon felt like giving you the egg, then perhaps that is fate.”

“The egg… is real?” For the first time, I was genuinely surprised, checking my luminal space to see that it was still there.

The immortal nodded. “You have figured out my level was sovereign. You’re quite interesting yourself. If I had known someone like you at the time, perhaps I wouldn’t have wasted the trouble of making a trial like this.”

“Sir?”

“Time waits for no man, and this trial isn’t just about you. Come, the final trial remains. Let us see how you perform as a couple.”

The immortal faded away.

“Spirit!” I was just about to speak when I heard my name called and turned to see Erika running to me within the infinite white. “We completed the second trial!”

I realized that his appearance right now was something Erika hadn’t been privy to. He must have wanted to speak to me separately to let me know about the nature of the dragon egg.

“Mm, you did good.” I reached out and saw her blush slightly.

I stopped just short, clearing my throat and pulling my hand back. She looked a bit regretful, but I didn’t want to start my playboy ways again, certainly not here.

“I was poisoned protecting my queen.” The immortal’s voice echoed in our ears just like before. “However, the Wildmen were coming, so I gathered my army and rode out to meet them. While I did that, my queen went searching for the cure. She managed to cleverly steal it and convince the red dragon that it was the wild woman who had taken it. As the red dragon ravaged the Wildman army, both of us returned to find our kingdom burning. We had no choice but to flee together. On the way, we encountered the red dragon dying from the wound it sustained fighting the army. After that, we were no longer king and queen, but only two paragons on our own.”

He must have gotten the dragon egg upon the red dragon’s death, but he left that part of the story out. At that point, the light brightened until I covered my eyes, and then it winked out. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust. I realized I was in some kind of dark underground catacomb.

“It’s you!” I heard a cry.

The pair of us looked to see three people standing across from us. It was none other than the prince, his father Lord Maxwell, and the girl from earlier. The prince looked enraged while the lord had a cooler expression on his face. The girl had changed the most, her originally cocky and sultry attitude had been replaced with meek obedience. The boy took a step forward, but his father held him back. This was for the best, as he immediately realized there was a giant chasm between us, and we were facing each other across from it.

“Calm yourself, son,” Lord Maxwell spoke in a cool voice. “There is no rush.”

“I have manipulated your perceptions of time so that every trial taker arrived here simultaneously,” the immortal’s voice sounded. “This last trial will be taken together. It is rather simple. Love is a sacrifice, and a true lover will give their life so the other can grow. When it comes to evolution, only one can reach the peak. The technique I offer also requires sacrifice. Before you lies a deep chasm. One of you must choose to sacrifice your life by leaping into the chasm. The side who makes the sacrifice first will ultimately win the trial and by extension the legacy of a sovereign. The other side will be expelled back into my subworld and receive nothing!”