"Immortal what?" The youngster grumbled in a listless manner as he felt his vision fading even further and his senses becoming numb, including his pain. He didn't even hear half of what the old man before him said.
Aldress clicked his tongue in frustration and touched the youngster's forehead.
The youngster's eyes suddenly widened as he felt a tyrannical amount of life force suddenly sweeping through him and invigorating him to the point where he felt that he never felt so energetic in his life before.
Only just a few moments before he was about to die but now he felt as if he was fit as a horse. With spirited eyes, he again took a good look at this majestic old man with an awe-inspiring air around him.
His eyebrows were furrowed like an eagle's, and his eyes were like sunbeams that seemed to be brighter than the stars.
The youngster immediately felt a pressure that made him feel as if he was standing before his creator, and a sense of worship seemed to flood his mind out of nowhere.
Feeling that these thoughts were not from his own will, he tried to steer clear of these feelings as hard as he could.
"Oho, a powerless mortal like you even has the self-awareness of your own will. No wonder...the divination was right…" Aldress mumbled in quiet awe as he saw the youngster resisting the urge to bow before him even though he wasn't exerting his aura or any pressure at all.
Usually, when standing before him, mortals would feel an overwhelming sense of faith and worship even without him doing anything. But this youngster before him was only barely in his twenties, and twenty years couldn't even be counted as a second's passing to him.
However, thinking about it, a strange light shined in his eyes, and with a thought, he made the youngster feel comfortable by letting him regain control of his mind and body.
"Phew...what the heck just happened…" The youngster mumbled as he slowly brought his face up in bewilderment after feeling those foreign feelings vanish. He looked warily at the old man before him dressed in strange clothes that vastly contrasted with the clothing of the modern era.
"No need to be scared, Evan Bentham. I am here to help you in ways you can't even imagine," Aldress said in a dignified tone.
Hearing his name, Evan became even more shocked as he stuttered, "H-How do you know my name and w-who are you?"
Evan was feeling apprehensive having a strange old man call out his full name and with the things he just experienced; like where did the bodyguard even disappear to?
He wondered if this was all just a dream or if this old man was enacting some role out of a medieval drama.
But then he remembered the old man introducing himself as Aldress and claiming himself to be an immortal dragon.
'And I thought I was the crazy one…' Evan's whole mind was in flummox and asked again, "Aldress, right? How...do you know me again?"
Aldress' gaze remained unmoving despite Evan's disrespect of calling him by his name. He flatly replied, "Child, I know more about you and this universe than you think. You, who once enjoyed the wealth and pleasure of this lowly world, now have been reduced to such a pitiful state.
"Your foster parents were the only ones who cared about you. But you ended up as an outcast the moment they got betrayed and schemed against. And then it didn't even end there. Their enemies joined together to put you to death as well just because you know that the death of your foster parents wasn't simple at all. Your life couldn't get any worse than this."
Evan's face twitched, and his features tightened for a few moments before relaxing again as he was even more shocked at how this dignified-looking old man knew even all these details about his life.
He wondered if this old man was sent here by his enemies to silence him. However, it didn't make sense since he would have already died if that was the case, and it just didn't seem right considering what was happening.
"If you still doubt me, then ask yourself if you would even be alive if it were not for me getting rid of that person who tried to kill you. Now not even a speck of his ashes is left. Tell me, child, do you want to go against the heavens for the cruel life you had been granted with? I can give you the power for that!" Aldress said in a fervent manner, but suddenly his expression twisted when dark blue lines spread across his face suddenly.
However, he grimaced as if he was trying to suppress his pain and those dark blue lines, and sure enough, after a few moments, those dark blue lines disappeared.
He sighed, "It seems like my time is coming to an end soon. Child, it's time you made your decision. I can give you my Origin Blood, and you will no longer be a mere mortal but a dragon that could make even the heavens collapse!"
Evan's mouth was agape as he truly wondered if this old man was for real. But owing to the bizarre experience he just had and felt, he considered this all as an after-life dream and decided to play along with it thinking that this was some trial of sorts he had to pass if he wanted to enter heaven.
He had already seen these kinds of scenarios in novels where some mysterious old man would be offering up their treasure or legacy, and the main character would readily accept it to go against or seal the heavens...well something along those lines anyway.
But he wasn't interested in these things, and all he wanted was to just lead a good and peaceful life without being wary of others 24x7.
Of course, he also wanted to take revenge on the ones who killed his foster parents.
But what's the point of blaming the heavens and going against it for him living a shitty life? It just seemed absurd, considering he wasn't really a believer of this stuff.
But for this 'trial', he chose to believe in the concept of after-life for the time being, and thinking about the enticing offer of the old man; he felt that something was fishy.
So, he replied with a smile, "No, thanks. Suppose you were offering me some goddess as a wife, I might reconsider. But what's the use of all this dragon power if I can't live in peace? Sounds like too much work. I would rather stay a good old human being or a mortal in your words."
Evan felt that holding this kind of power would also mean that it must come with a price.
Half of his words were just light-hearted as he thought just simply accepting Aldress' offer would make him fail this trial instantly. And why would he even offer him such an interesting deal when there were literally so many others.
He also thought that the heavens would ban him from entering the so-called reincarnation cycle if he were to accept something that basically could 'collapse' the heavens.
Despite living for eons, his eyes slightly twitched seeing a mortal take his precious Origin Blood lightly. But because of the immeasurable differences between them, he ignored his ignorance.
If it were any other time, he would have surely sliced Evan's soul countless times over for such a slight transgression, but now he needed Evan at all costs!
"Child, don't be foolish. I know you already have played around with the beauties of this world. But they are just ugly toads compared to the true beauties and goddesses in various worlds, planes, and realms you had never seen before. With my Origin Blood, not only would you gain power, but even the most powerful goddess would gladly fall at your feet to take them as your woman. That's also nothing compared to the true benefits you would gain from my immortal blood. You have a chance to live for eternity!"
Evan had to admit he was extremely tempted to hear Aldress' words. But he decided to ask the million-dollar question, "Then why choose a beggar like me? My past is of no use to me, and there should be many so-called geniuses in this world who excel in many things. And most of all, why are you even giving away your Origin Blood if you are already invincible?"
Aldress' sighed, "I don't have much time to live. I may not look injured on the outside, but my soul has been injured beyond recovery, and there is only so much time before my soul dissipates. And I chose you because you are the only mortal who would be able to carry on my legacy based on the divination I got," Aldress said in a tone filled with sincerity that even seemed to convince Evan.
He seemed no more than a dying wise old man who wanted to pass his legacy to a worthy successor.