Cirri was his youngest child, his little princess. He didn’t want her to feel any pain. However, recalling her face filled with tears every time he came out of the Crucible also made him clench his heart.
And with her continuously rubbing her head against his chest, trying to convince him in her own adorable way, it wasn’t exactly easy to turn her down.
‘I decided to place my trust in her. You should do the same.’
Igni’s words then rang in his mind, and finally, Kael made up his mind.
“Come here.”
Kael spoke as he held Cirri and walked towards the bed.
He then gently placed the Cloud Dragon on his lap, closed his eyes, took a deep breath as he prepared his heart, and…
He activated the <Ancient Awakening>.
The Energy of Genesis surged and moved inside his body in a specific pattern. Then, a bright golden light came out of his palm and enveloped Cirri.
Cirri closed her eyes. She was in pain, but she didn’t show any reaction because she knew her father would worry. Igni, who was observing her in silence from the side, felt proud.
Just as he expected from his brave little sister.
Kael steeled his mind and continued.
However, unlike Igni, whose body went through some changes and became purer, there was no physical change in Cirri’s appearance, probably because she was formed from what seemed like a stone and didn’t exactly have any impurities to shed.
For Kael, however, it was good news. He loved his Cirri as she was. The little thing couldn’t be more adorable.
The golden light continued to envelop her. Cirri’s body started to tremble, worrying Kael, but the little dragon held on.
Igni, noticing something, walked towards the window and stared at the sky.
It was early in the morning. The sun still hadn’t risen yet. The sky, however, was bright, as if it was the middle of the day.
A surprising sight, but not many were awake to see it. This mystic sight lasted for a few minutes, and then, everything returned to normal.
Yes, Cirri’s transformation was over.
[Ding!]
[Ancient Awakening completed]
The System informed.
Kael’s eyes turned golden as he stared at Cirri, unable to control himself.
[Name: Cirri]
[Race: Cloud Dragon -> Primordial Sky Dragon]
[Rank: Mythical -> Eternal]
[Age: 4 Days]
[Level: 7]
[Strength: 19 -> 41]
[Agility: 31 -> 56]
[Speed: 35 -> 60]
[Stamina: 24 -> 47]
[Defense: 15 -> 36]
[Mana: 53 -> 81]
[Intelligence: 18 -> 45]
[Charisma: 23 -> 51]
[Strengths: Intangible Form, High Mobility, Density Control]
[Weaknesses: Fragile in Solid Form, Energy Dependency, Vulnerable to Strong Winds]
…
‘And she is 4 days old…’
Kael muttered in his head as he saw those absurd stats. He, however, was starting to get used to this now.
The dragons were just too unfair as creatures.
He had already accepted this fact in his head.
“Father, I got stronger!”
Kael then heard an extremely adorable voice as Cirri jumped around like a rabbit with an excited smile.
“So you can speak now?”
Kael smiled. As much as he hated Genesis of the Ancients because of how it hurt his children, he couldn’t help but love the fact that it allowed him to talk to his children.
Yes, Kael was a sucker through and through.
“Yes!”
Cirri nodded with bright eyes.
“Now I can also fight with you!”
She exclaimed, still jumping around cheerfully.
“You look excited.”
“I am! I will show you how strong I am!”
“Is that so…?”
Kael chuckled.
“Yes! Even my brother cannot defeat me!”
The little dragon declared confidently.
“Hahaha~”
Kael laughed at those words.
Igni shook his head as well and got close to his sister, congratulating her.
Then suddenly,
Puff
Cirri turned into a large cloud that covered both Kael and Igni’s bodies, pushing them into a cooling sense of extreme comfort.
Then,
Zzzz
The cloud crackled with harmless electricity that seemed to massage Kael’s entire body. It was Cirri’s way of expressing her gratitude.
“Aah~”
Kael groaned in relief. It was as if all his discomfort and exhaustion were sucked out of his body. Igni seemed to be enjoying the massage as well.
Because of how relaxed they felt, the father-son duo was about to fall into slumber, but then,
Zzzzz
“Aah!”
The electric charge strengthened and Kael’s eyes were shot open. The charge still didn’t hurt them, but it definitely jolted them awake.
“You cannot sleep! I know you two were playing together last night when I was asleep! It is my turn now!”
Cirri’s pouty voice echoed in the room.
“Hahaha~”
Kael laughed out loud. He tried to pat her head. Soon, however, he realized something.
He… he couldn’t sense where Cirri’s real body was.
He was literally inside a cloud, a weightless white mist that just felt cool and comforting.
Even if he tried touching this white mist, his hand would simply pass through as if he were touching air, and nothing would happen to Cirri.
All this while, every time he interacted with Cirri, she was in her physical form. She was rarely in her cloud form because the little dragon wanted to be pampered…
But now that he thought about it…
How was someone supposed to attack Cirri when she was in her cloud form?
Of course, Kael was simply trying to reach her to pat her head… but if even he couldn’t touch her then… wouldn’t the enemy be the same?
“Igni…”
Kael decided to confirm his thoughts.
“Hmm?”
Igni, who was enjoying the light massage from his sister, turned towards his father, waiting for his question.
“Can you sense Cirri’s real body?”
“What does that mean?”
Igni frowned in confusion.
“Her real body. Can you sense where she is?”
“Father, I am right here.”
Cirri answered, her tone filled with confusion.
Igni nodded at those words.
“This is her real body, Father.”
“But I cannot touch her.”
“She is in her cloud form. Of course, you cannot touch her.
You cannot touch a cloud, Father.”
“But…”
Kael couldn’t come up with a retort.
After all, clouds were made up of tiny water droplets or ice crystals that were suspended in the air. They may appear fluffy and solid from a distance, but they were actually just collections of these tiny particles.
Kael knew that but…
“The only reason you could physically interact with her is because Cirri turns into a solid form to make that possible. If she doesn’t, you will never be able to interact with her.”
“Yes! I condense my body so I can play with Father!”
Cirri answered excitedly.
“But… what if an enemy were to attack?
How would he deal with Cirri if she doesn’t have a physical body?
No, let me change the question. How would you defeat Cirri?”
Kael questioned directly, and to that question, Igni answered directly.
“I cannot defeat her.”
“What…?”
Kael blinked in disbelief, and at his reaction, Cirri tilted her head in confusion.
“Didn’t I tell you that before…?”
She muttered.
“Even Brother cannot defeat me.”
The Little Dragon repeated what she said before, this time, however, her words felt much heavier than before.