Early Afternoon - Early Winter : The Well | Siratha
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"S-So.. I didn't die, but I was about to, so you forced into a dragon sleep, used a soul lily on , and then sped up the process inside the void..?" Struggling to piece everything together, Father looked in the eyes with an expression that could only be described as a tangled ss of confusion and disbelief.
"Essentially, yes." It looked like he had countless questions, but at the sa ti, he didn't know which to ask. "It's been about half a year since we went to deal with the convoys, and you got caught."
"I-Is that so..." Slowly starting to calm down, he finally took a more objective look at his appearance, and the pool of mana he was wading in. "If it's only been half a year though, how co you've changed so much..?"
Instantly tensing up as his gaze landed on , I wasn't sure what to say.
On top of the changes that ca with my ascension, my draconic form had sprouted fur around my crown, along my spine, and along the top of my tail, now ending in a black tuff. It was a change that would even catch Mother a bit off guard, so for him it was more than a little jarring.
But I had no reason to lie. "While ti hasn't moved much in the outside world, I've spent a number of years in the void between you, aging the soul lily, and my own.. 'personal endeavors', so I've undergone a fair bit of change." -All the enriched mana I absorbed while trying to study it did speed up the process imnsely though...-
"A-Ah..."
With guilt quickly coming across his face, I was quick to continue. "Please don't feel bad about it. Others might think the void is a rather lonely place but.. it has it's charm." Trying to reassure him with a warm smile, I sat up comfortably. "I'll explain more in depth later, but for now just know that spending ti in the void like that isn't uncommon, nor bad."
Giving an awkward look, he seed to be unsure of how to feel.
"Trust , I'm alright, Dad." Walking over to him, I gently pressed the top of my head into his shoulder, and held it there until he finally relaxed.
"Haah..." But even when he relaxed, finally coming to terms with everything, his face darkened. "I'm sorry, Vasilias..." Speaking softly, his voice was deep and laced with worry. "I just feel like.. I miss all the monts I told myself I wouldn't after being forced to miss your early years..."
-Ah...- Pulling myself away, I used my aura to force him to look at . "We still have many years to go, there's no need to feel bad. You're starting to get interested in science, right?" Seeing him gently nod, I continued. "Then how about this, after you get reoriented with Mother, you co with to recalibrate and repair so satellites?"
A glow quickly found its way into his eyes as I sparked his curiosity. "Satellites? What are those?"
Smiling, I quickly changed to my fenririan form. *FLASH* "I'll show you later, but you can think of them like artifacts of science that orbit Delphi way up in the sky."
Looking up into the sky through the top of the well, his eyes grew bright again.
-There we go...- With my smile widening, I gave him one last look. "But for now, let's go get you reoriented, alright?"
"A-Alright!"
Eventually hopping back up out of the well, I grew my fenririan form out to full size, now almost 98 ters tall, and walked over to greet Leif while Father hopped up out of the well behind , and was greeted by Mother and Krystallo.
Before I knew it, it had beco a serious event, people standing around the well held their hands up in prayer, and Leif knelt before as if greeting a king. -Looks like she's grown used to her new strength...- Smiling with satisfaction, I quickly spoke to her through wind magic. "It looks like you're doing well."
Leif's tail was quick to start wagging. "It is all thanks to you, my lord!"
"Hm..." Pausing to look over the rest of the crowd, I spoke sowhat sternly. "Do you know of a man nad Michael Cotorel?"
But she quickly shook her head. "Is he soone I should look for?"
"No.. I was just curious..." Giving the crowd one last look over with my aura, I turned away. -I wonder how he is doing...-
After that, the afternoon passed in a flash, and before we knew it, the sun had set and the endless night sky had taken its grasp on Siratha.
After Father's awakening, we had gone back to Valtivar in order to spend the evening in Leif's estate and have a small party with so of Mother's inner-circle, mainly being so maids and butlers she was close with, Leif, and a few other people who were allowed to know my identity.
Compared to most dragon sleep celebratory parties, it was incredibly small, especially considering we were next to royalty, but keeping it tight-knit made it quite a good ti. -It's nice to that Father hasn't changed much...- Throughout the evening, he had spent most of his ti talking to an elven researcher Leif wanted us to et because of his endeavors in the realm of science, and they hit it off with one another right off the bat.
-It's a sha Hera isn't here though...- Gently laying my head down, I looked upon the pleasant atmosphere with a smile before a soft voice reached my ears.
"Was Miss Hera unable to co?"
Looking over, I found Chloe sitting next to in her pink-haired humanoid form, and a dress that made her seem more like a noble than a maid. "She's busy with other matters in Bahamut. We're gonna do sothing together soon, so she wanted to knock so of the important stuff out before then."
Smiling warmly, Chloe turned her pure, joyful gaze to . "Is that so?" Her expression slowly turned smug before she turned back to the crowd to enjoy the music. "You know your Mother is proud of you."
"Huh?" -That ca out of nowhere...- "What makes you say that?"
"Haha, you just aren't around very often, so she's made stick next to her with Antonia and Maria so whenever you do return, I can fulfill my duty. But it's made see the things she regularly does in a different light. She's certainly prideful of Krystallo, but I feel like she doesn't seek her out for comfort like she does you."
Looking out toward Mother in the crowd of people, I felt my gaze soften.
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"I say this because today I've noticed that you keep looking toward her with a rather anxious look." Looking toward Mother as well, she spoke freely. "I can promise you, whatever you're nervous about, you shouldn't be. As your Mother, she knows you better than anyone, so just be honest. If you need to get sothing off your chest with her, do it." Pausing as she looked over the crowd, she crossed her legs before leaning back and giving a smug look. "Is the news you want to give her about you and Hera, perchance?"
"Hah," Instantly smiling with a chuckle, the weight on my mind lightened a tad. "Not quite." It was ti for to explain who I really was now that Father was awake, but I was so nervous I felt like my stomach was tied in a knot.
"Well, if you ever need help breaking the news of kids to your mother, just ask-"
"Pftt-" Nearly spitting out the barrel of Piotita sitting in my cheek, I tried to straighten myself up and look normal like nothing happened. "Don't say things like that so suddenly."
Staring up at with a widening smile, her smugness seeped into her voice. "As you wish~, my lord."
"Haah..." Letting out a deep breath that neared a scoff, I laid my head back down to start shifting gears. -It's finally ti...-
I promised Mother I would tell them everything when Father awoke, so I needed to stick with that promise, but the closer that ti ca, the more anxious I beca.
After the party finally ca to an end, people started clearing out. Krystallo had fallen asleep, and after leaving the cleanup to the maids, Mother, Father, and I made our way toward the Tree of Prayer under the pretense that I was going to tell them sothing.
But as we flew up the side of the tree and landed at the edge of the Gods' Abode, the air suddenly changed.
"How beautiful..." Speaking with awe, Mother's eyes seed to glow while looking at the carvings on the wall.
But Father was more confused than anything. "What is this place?"
"It's a place called the Gods' Abode." I was quick to respond in hopes that it'd ease my nerves. "It's where the Ancient Fenrir spent most of their ti."
"Is that so..." Pausing to look around, he took a mont to enjoy the view out over the forest of treants before turning back to a little anxiously. "But why did you bring us here?"
Looking toward Mother, I made sure I had her attention before speaking. "I just thought that this would be the place I tell you two about who I am..."
Quickly Tilting his head, Father didn't seem to understand.
But Mother did instantly, walking over and sitting with Father, completely discarding her curiosity of the Gods' Abode. "Are you sure you're ready to tell us?" Noticing my tenseness, she seed a bit worried.
But with a deep breath, I tried to shake it off. "Yeah... I'd just like to start by prefacing that the Vasilias you both know, is who I am. Regardless of my past lives and mories, I am your son, and that will never change." Lowering my head, my whole body relaxed. "I just wanted to make sure I knew myself before telling you both about why I am such an anomaly."
Finally realizing what I was getting out, Father tensed up.
But Mother was still at ease.
"When I hatched, I had more than just the knowledge from my knowledge inheritance. I had mories of a distant world without mana where I lived as a human... From the mont I hatched, I had a personality, and mories of a life I once lived, but after being reborn as a dragon, I wanted to learn how to be one, knowing if I didn't abandon who I was in my past life, that I would bring trouble to Mother..." -Just like Bahamut…- Hanging my head, I continued softly. "But as ti passed, and I learned how to be myself, as Vasilias Ragnarok, it turned out it wasn’t that simple..." Looking up, my tone fird. "I am the reincarnation of Nott. When you found in the nest with black scales, it was because I touched an artifact that implanted so of Nott's genetics into my body. I still haven't confird how the artifact itself got there because my mories are still blurry, but it's why I've always had so of the characteristics of a halfie, why I've always had unknown knowledge, and where things like my space attribute node and unique aura co from..."
"Is.. that so..?" Speaking softly, Mother sank into thought, but remained completely calm. "So that weird knowledge you seed to get out of nowhere was from the mories of your past lives, yet you still abandoned it?"
Gently nodding, I tried to relax. "I'm sorry I kept it from you both for so long, but I didn't know the full story myself until recently.. and even more so, I was afraid of how you would-" *Pat*
Abruptly cutting off, Mother pressed the top of her head into my chest and closed her eyes. "Don’t be so tense, Vasilias..." Looking up at with a smile, she scooted closer. "I don't know what you expected from us, but there is no need to be nervous. Your Father and I already had an idea that it was sothing like that."
Instantly jolting, my eyes went wide and locked on her.
A smile almost instantly spread across her face. "Haha~, you think we haven’t discussed this?” Her embrace tightened as she continued. “But I knew before you even hatched.”
Grabbing Father’s attention, his gaze stiffened.
“Before I even laid your egg, a spirit reached out to in a dream offering to bless my children with the power to rule the world, saying the cost for the blessing would be the responsibility of raising you, and the alternative was a child that would never make it out of it’s egg..." Her expression darkened as she continued softly. "It wasn't an offer I took right away, but the spirit continued to visit in visions.. and I eventually accepted... When you eventually hatched, I was anxious, and when Fengari never made it out of his egg, I hated myself, thinking that I had taken the hand of an evil spirit.. but as ti passed I started to realize that you were the blessing."
Watching her take a step away and formally bow her head, I felt my chest tighten.
"I don't know if the one I spoke to before your hatching was you as Nott.. or perhaps just the personification of my worries, but I'd like to say thank you, whether it was you or the hand of fate."
But as she lowered her head, Father smiled. "I was also reached out to by the sa spirit after it reached out to your Mother, this ti told to retrieve an artifact... Looking back, it was a bit naive of us to follow the instructions of an anonymous spirit like we did, but after it showed a vision of Zachari only having a single egg hatch from her clutch.. I had to… Even if it was a decision that was made from selfishness..."
Slowly straightening her posture and looking up at , Mother's warm gaze landed on my eyes. "And the spirit didn't lie. He gave us children we couldn't be more proud of."
Feeling a sudden rush of emotions, I could only stand there in silence with a mixture of guilt and relief fighting in the back of my mind. "I.. I'm just sorry..." Eventually finding words to say, I spoke with a heavy tone.
I felt like I had tricked them, believing that I was likely the spirit they were referring to, and that thought made feel sick.
But before I could get a word out, Mother and Father both walked over and caught in their embrace. "Don't be sorry, Vasilias." Mother's soft voice nearly brought on tears as she pressed herself into . "You are our son, are you not? What is there to be sorry about?"
Father gently nodded in agreent with a satisfied expression. "You chose us, and we chose you. You are our child, a child born from fate, blessed with the strength to carry the burdens of the world. Who wouldn't be proud to have you as their child?"
Feeling the gentle thumps of their heartbeats, I had to fight back tears while a part of I thought I had lost took over–I wasn't , but rather the young fenrir who played in endless prairies with his brother, and the young dragon who napped in the warm embrace of his Mother.
Hanging my head, my heart finally found ease. "Thank you.. both of you... I hope you know that I love you both more than anything else in the world..."
Hugging them back, I felt, for a mont, as if all the weight that had been crushing was suddenly lifted, replaced with a sense of comfort and warmth.
I finally felt the bliss I only ever had as a child.
I felt at ease... I felt at ho.
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