- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 467
“Being able to use the Thu’um doesn’t necessarily mean you are Dragonborn, but if you can absorb a dragon’s soul, then you are certainly Dragonborn.
If you can kill a dragon and show me that you can absorb its soul, then you’ll have proven that you are the Dragonborn we’ve been searching for,” Delphine said firmly.
Hearing this, Leo casually sat down on a nearby chair.
“To be honest, I want to kill dragons more than you do. The issue is finding them. If you can locate the dragons, that would be ideal,” he responded.
He was eager to slay dragons, but Skyrim was vast, and finding resurrected dragons wasn’t an easy task.
Although he had memorized the locations of dragon burial sites from the Dragonstone, there was no telling which dragons had been resurrected and which remained dormant.
Going to one of the sites only to find that the dragon had long since flown off would be a waste of time.
“You don’t need to worry about that. The Blades may not be what we once were, but we still have a network of informants and sources of information across the land.
Earlier today, I received word from one of my informants about a sighting of a black dragon near Kynesgrove.
If you’re willing, you can accompany me there. Slay that dragon and prove your identity as the Dragonborn,” Delphine said confidently.
Leo’s eyes lit up at her words. He hadn’t expected the Blades to have such extensive intelligence networks.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” he exclaimed enthusiastically.
“Alright, let me gear up first,” Delphine replied.
Without hesitation, Delphine tore off her long dress, revealing a form-fitting leather undergarment beneath.
Despite being nearly forty, Delphine’s body was exceptionally well-maintained, a testament to her years of intense training as the current leader of the Blades and a human capable of facing dragons.
Her physique was lean and muscular, like a hunting cat, which made Leo think of Black Widow from S.H.I.E.L.D.
However, with the natural strength of a Nord, Delphine was likely far stronger than Black Widow—perhaps more comparable to the Asgardian warrior goddess, Lady Sif.
Stripping away her disguise, Delphine quickly began to don her heavy, sturdy armor and prepare weapons fit for fighting dragons.
“Uh… you go ahead and get ready. I’ll be back soon,” Leo said, clearing his throat as he waved and suddenly vanished from sight.
He planned to complete the Greybeards’ trial first before joining Delphine to hunt the dragon.
“Teleportation magic?!” Delphine muttered in astonishment as she watched him disappear.
Teleportation magic wasn’t something that existed in Skyrim, but Delphine, as the former leader of the Blades, had knowledge beyond Skyrim and was familiar with the vast continent of Tamriel.
Although this was the first time she had seen teleportation magic in action, she knew it was real.
The Blades’ archives contained records of the most ancient and powerful mage organization on the continent, the Psijic Order, who lived on the Isle of Artaeum in the Summerset Isles.
The monks of the Psijic Order were said to possess powerful and mysterious spatial magic, including teleportation and translocation.
Most Dragonborn throughout history were powerful warriors, but it was rare to find one as proficient in magic as this current Dragonborn.
In truth, Delphine had believed from the start that Leo was the Dragonborn. There were many witnesses to the dragon’s defeat in Whiterun, and the Greybeards had confirmed his identity.
Her testing of him had not been out of doubt but because she didn’t want the Blades to once again be completely subjugated to the Dragonborn.
To put it bluntly, she wanted to make sure the Blades were *her* Blades, not the Dragonborn’s Blades.
However, the Blades existed for the sole purpose of slaying dragons. Now that dragons had returned and the Dragonborn had appeared, if she didn’t act, she would lose her authority.
As someone who had been trained from childhood to believe in the Blades’ mission to slay dragons, Delphine couldn’t truly turn her back on the cause.
She simply didn’t want to lose control in the process.
Meanwhile, in the blink of an eye, Leo had returned to the tomb of Jurgen Windcaller.
He placed the horn he had retrieved from Delphine back onto the large hand on top of the sarcophagus, and instantly, his soul resonated with it. The dragon soul sealed within the horn was absorbed into his body.
“Yes!” Leo exclaimed in satisfaction.
The dragon soul strengthened his spirit once more, and the first word of the *Become Ethereal* shout that he had learned from the tomb was now unlocked.
“No wonder those who practice dark arts enjoy absorbing souls—it’s much more satisfying than slow cultivation,” Leo remarked with a grin.
Cultivators of the righteous path, whether building their true essence or their soul, had to accumulate power slowly, step by step, while dark practitioners often sought shortcuts.
Once someone experienced the rapid surge of power from absorbing souls, it became difficult to return to the slower, disciplined path of self-cultivation.
It was just as mortals would say:
“It’s easy to go from frugal to luxurious, but hard to return to frugality once you’ve tasted luxury!”
However, dark practitioners often had unstable foundations and faced much greater challenges during their tribulations.
Righteous cultivators followed the flow of the heavens, while dark practitioners defied them, accumulating sins that made the heavenly tribulations even more difficult to overcome.
Still, Leo wasn’t too concerned. With his strength, even if the heavens judged him as a dark practitioner and sent stronger lightning his way during his tribulation, it wouldn’t make much difference to him.
After absorbing the dragon soul, Leo used his teleportation magic once more and returned to High Hrothgar.
“Master Arngeir, I’ve retrieved Jurgen Windcaller’s horn,” he said, handing the horn to Arngeir, who had been praying to Kyne, the goddess of the sky.
Arngeir was visibly surprised that Leo had retrieved the horn so quickly, as the tomb was known to be guarded by powerful draugr.
“Dragonborn, you have completed the Greybeards’ trial. Next, Master Wulfgar will teach you the third word of *Unrelenting Force*, and then we will perform a ceremony to formally recognize you as the Dragonborn across the entire continent,” Arngeir said.
He called the other three Greybeards to the temple hall. Wulfgar taught Leo the third word of *Unrelenting Force*, and then the four of them encircled Leo and began the ceremony in the Dragon Language.
“Long has the Stormcrown languished, without its wearer.
By our breath, we bestow Kyne’s blessing upon you,
And grant you the title of the new Dragon of the North.”
The voices of the four Greybeards resonated with the very land of Tamriel, echoing from the peak of the world across the entire continent, proclaiming Leo’s identity as the Dragonborn to all.
“A new Ismir, a new Dragon of the North has been born!”
At that moment, everyone across Tamriel heard the Greybeards’ proclamation. Some rejoiced, others remained silent, while still others felt anger or apprehension.
**(End of Chapter)**