“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”
Kael screeched in unbearable agony as flames consumed him. He tried his best to cover his Igni with his weak arm, but there was only so much he could do when there were flames all around him.
It was unbearable.
His nerves screamed, bones cracked under the heat, and his vision blurred.
It was the worst kind of torture and he wanted nothing more than to die and let this end right this instant.
But then…
Just as he wished.
Everything stopped.
It was unnatural.
The pain didn’t fade away, or decrease, it simply… ceased to exist.
Like something or someone had severed Kael’s very connection to reality itself.
Confused, he tried opening his eyes and surprisingly… he succeeded.
Then, he saw it.
A ceiling.
A ceiling he recognized.
Kael looked around and realized he was back in the room the City Lord had provided him.
Very quickly he glanced at his arm that was ripped off and his expression changed, it was back.
It wasn’t just his arm, all his injuries had healed, returning to how it was before, as if it never existed in the first place.
“Father!”
Igni shouted as he jumped towards him, snuggling into him as tightly as the little Dragon could.
“Father, I am sorry! It was my fault! I promise I will never do that aga-“
“Igni!”
Kael raised his voice as he sat up. With his back resting on the headrest, he grabbed Igni and forced him to look at him.
The Dragon was crying.
It was the first time Kael had seen his moist eyes and face wet with his tears. His heart shuddered as he felt a strange pain in his throat. He quickly wiped those tears away and cleaned his face.
“Igni, you did nothing wro-“
However, before Kael could say much,
“Nyuu!!”
Another Dragon fell on top of him and,
“Nyuuuu!!!”
She started crying as well.
Yes, Cirri had seen everything from the Sanctuary.
She saw how her big brother and father got hurt. She wanted to come out and help them, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t leave the Sanctuary.
She tried to run to them, but—
Bang
She crashed into an invisible barrier, her small body bouncing backwards. She stumbled, then lunged forward again, her little claws scratching against the unseen wall, but nothing happened.
No crack, no ripple, not even a shimmer.
“Nyuuuu!!”
She screamed, but it was as if no one heard her.
Hot, frustrated tears blurred her vision as she curled up, trembling. And when she saw the flames engulfing her father and brother,
“Nyuuu!!”
She cried even louder as she continued to slam into the unknown wall, trying to leave.
And finally, she succeeded.
And when she did, she appeared next to her father and…
She started crying, much more loudly than before.
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“Cirri, everything’s alright. We are fine.”
Kael quickly grabbed his daughter and wiped her tears as well. The Dragon, however, didn’t stop, and Kael helplessly placed her on his chest.
“Cirri, everything’s fine. We are all here. Nothing happened. Both me and your brother are fine, look.”
Kael continued. He had no idea that it was so difficult to take care of crying dragons, especially when there were two of them.
But then,
“Yes, Cirri…
We are fine.”
Igni spoke in a low voice as well, his paws gently patting Cirri’s head.
The Fire Dragon stopped acting like a little child and became the big brother. Cirri stared at her brother with her big moist eyes. Igni continued to pat her head and nodded at her.
“We are fine, Cirri.”
He spoke in an oddly mature and reassuring tone, even if his heart was heavy with guilt, in front of his little sister, he couldn’t cry.
He was supposed to protect her.
Kael started patting Cirri’s back as well, comforting her as much as he could until the Dragon closed her eyes and entered the dreamland, exhausted from all the crying.
“She really likes to sleep, doesn’t she?”
Kael chuckled lightly as he felt Cirri’s rhythmic breathing. The little Dragon still sniffed from time to time, but other than that, it was all okay.
“Father…
I apologize.”
Igni spoke in a solemn tone, his eyes welled with tears again.
“Igni, yo-“
“No, Father.
I was wrong.
I became arrogant and fell right into their trap. It wouldn’t have happened if I had thought things through. You were then forced to use all your abilities and put yourself in danger in order to protect me.
I should be the one protecting you, yet I-“
“Heh.”
At those words, Kael laughed.
“You are just 19 days old, my little Dragon. You are supposed to have fun. Leave all these things to me.
Don’t underestimate your father, okay? I am a lot stronger than you think.”
Kael smiled reassuringly, and Igni finally recalled something.
“Yes! Father, what did you do back then!? What happened to you!? It felt like you became… me?”
Igni wasn’t sure how to put his thoughts into words. At his reaction, Kael smiled. Then, his eyes fell on another one of his EX Abilities.
[Ascendance of the Ancient]
[Description:]
[This powerful skill allows you to temporarily transform into an avatar of the Ancients you have awakened, gaining access to even their most powerful abilities.]
[Effects:]
[Partial Transformation: Your body partially takes on the traits of the awakened Ancient, your attacks gain a part of the Ancient’s unique abilities.]
[Overwhelming Power Surge: All attributes (Strength, Agility, Speed, Stamina, Defense, Mana, Intelligence, Charisma) increase drastically, scaling based on the strength of the Ancient you are channeling.]
[Unbreakable Dominance: Your aura exudes the raw majesty of the Ancients, suppressing enemies of lower rank and empowering your bonded beasts. Nearby allies gain a morale boost and slight resistance to elemental damage.]
[Instinctive Combat Mastery: You temporarily inherit the combat instincts of the Ancient, allowing you to move, react, and fight with the expertise of an age-old being. Removes hesitation and enhances battle awareness.]
[Duration: 10 seconds]
[Cooldown: 24 Hours]
…
“Didn’t I tell you? Your father is a lot stronger than you think.”
“But I still killed more wolves than you.”
Igni pouted.
“Oh? So you have started lying now, huh?”
“I…”
The Dragon lowered his head.
“I-I would have killed more if I was a grown-up like you.”
“Is that so…?”
Kael chuckled as he tightened his hug around the Fire Dragon.
Feeling Kael’s comforting presence, Igni closed his eyes as well. Yes, even the ever-so-excited Dragon was now tired. He had been through a lot today.
Kael, who now had two Dragons sleeping in his arms, heaved a sigh. Seeing them crying broke him. It was as if a foreign force was tearing him apart.
It felt even worse than what happened before.
‘Ah, fuck.’
He cursed in his head.
‘I really am turning into a sucker, huh…
I hate seeing them cry more than my own death.’
He chuckled self-deprecatingly.
He had just died.
He had lost his arm, he had bite and burnt marks all over his body, he was consumed by flames and burned alive, an experience so painful that if it was before, he would still be trembling, unable to even function properly,
But now…
Instead of shaking in fear and helplessness…
He was glad his Dragons were with him.
‘Heh.’
Kael laughed, staring at his children who were sleeping on top of him comfortably and,
‘They aren’t the only ones who calm down in my presence huh…?’
With that thought, Kael slowly closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.