My nameis Myrena Sylianne Taelith, youngest daughter of House Taelith.
We are one family of a whole branch that descend from the ancient Taelith Royal Line, a bloodline started by Plesiduxius Orburom—the Black Dragon Lord. He was once the mightiest among the Seven Dragon Lords, each born from the womb of the Dragon God.
For generations, our house has awaited the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy: the emergence of a true successor to the Black Dragon Lord's crown. When such a successor is found, the Dragon Lords convene at the 'Peak of the World'—a sacred summit hidden high above the mortal realm. There, a ritual is performed to awaken the dormant dragon soul within the chosen heir.
Though one may be named successor, they remain incomplete until the ritual succeeds. Without it, they hold no true claim to draconic power. And should the awakening fail—should the heir prove unworthy—the Dragon Lords will show no mercy. The would-be successor will be slain, to prevent the corruption and misuse of divine draconic might.
My purpose as heiress of the Taelith bloodline is to marry the successor, have his child and help him rule of his draconic empire, an army of 5000 dragons bred in seclusion to fight for their King.
I have found my King.
A king I shall serve him until my dying breath.
◊◊
Through extensive study of Diacree's history, Luke learned of one peculiar family, one that did not rule a nation but possessed the military strength of several—
That was the Taelith Royal Bloodline, born from the unity of a High Elf and the Black Dragon Lord several centuries ago.
Their birthright allows them to communicate and befriend dragons of all kinds.
Even the Ancient Dragon, Tyrgavion Sulphur, the oldest known ancient dragon that has gone through multiple evolutions that granted it incredible strength and wisdom.
The Taelith House's former patriarch tamed "that" dragon two centuries ago. And just from that one action alone, their house that once controlled five dragons, grew by a hundredfold. Having the ancient dragon alone makes them more powerful than all the nations combined.
And today, Luke learned that the heiress of that House was going to transfer to the Ardark Academy—the first of her family members even though they usually get homeschooled to avoid secrets of their other abilities from leaking to the outside world.
These abilities are what they gained from absorbing dragon souls.
Luke had always dreamt of forging an alliance with this powerful family. Being a hero doesn't mean fighting alone, but allying oneself with those with the power to save lives and do good.
But at this moment, he was intimidated by their mere presence.
But there was another person in front of him, a man whose shoulders were as wide as a mountain and radiated the power no human could hope to reach in their entire lives.
That was Arnold, and they called him—
King of the Dragons.
From behind he watched their exchange, his blank stare resting on Arnold's back—
"—Greetings, lowly imperial nobles and peasants—" a young woman's voice echoed atop that flying behemoth, "My nameis Myrena Sylianne Taelith, youngest daughter of House Taelith. I am in search of the Black Dragon Lord's successor, Arnold von Berkley!"
Luke's eyes widened and just like the students surrounding them, he looked toward Arnold.
-She just said… Arnold is a successor to…
-The Black Dragon Lord!? Isn't that dragon a myth!?
-That can't be true, right?
-We just saw the emergence of Promethius' successor and now this? What other bizarre things will we find out in the first week of school…?
The young woman who spoke wasn't visible yet but her voice echoed throughout the surroundings. In the distance, one of the hundreds of dragons flew towards the behemoth dragon and from there, a silhouette wearing a school uniform floating gracefully onto the small dragon.
The small dragon flew towards the crowd rapidly, making people disperse, thinking they were going to be attacked.
'I knew she was transferring to my class, but I didn't expect her to make such an entrance…'
They were told on the last day of school that one of the Taelith family members would transfer to the A Class, a first for their family. No reason was given for this. Why would they suddenly change their tradition of homeschooling their family?
Regardless of their motive, this sparked a rumor that the Taelith Family was planning on allying themselves with the Empire. Letting Myrena join the academy was the first step of many apparently.
The dragon stopped right before it hit the ground, a defiance of physics as humans know it. But dragons are proficient in earth magic so this dragon must've lightened its body weight to move faster and come to abrupt stops quickly.
Above the dragon was a girl with jet-black hair, golden eyes and an elegant smile on her gentle face.
Out of nowhere, Elizabeth appeared in front of Arnold, glaring daggers at the girl atop the dragon.
"My, not only strong but handsome too." The dragon lowered the mysterious girl onto the ground, "But even if you were the ugliest man in this world, I would still serve you with all my heart."
"—Explain yourself. Why the need for this many dragons to show up just for your arrival and what do you mean by King?" Arnold placed a hand on Elizabeth, making her step aside while still glaring at the girl.
"You are the king of my people—heir to Plesiduxius Orburom's legacy." She stepped off the dragon's head, "But since many of you humans have forgotten who that is, I shall refer to our ancestral lord as Black Dragon Lord."
The girl approached Arnold slowly.
"I feared such an entrance wouldn't be enough to please you, My King. But it seems you aren't happy regardless. For that I apologize."
Too stunned to speak, the audience just silently gawked at the two. How does one even cope with so many crazy revelations in one day!?
Even Luke was unable to think or say anything.
Who else knew about this? His family? Then why keep it a secret?
"…How do you know that I am this king you speak of?"
"The dragon lords received a prophecy which they conveyed to us—giving us both your name and where we can find you." She was just a few meters away from him when she came to a stop.
"Is that the reason for their summit?"
"Indeed."
"Is it really necessary for all of them to gather at this meeting?"
"I am unsure… But this is the first time a successor to a dragon lord has been born. Since it is an important task, I just assumed it makes sense for all of them to gather to help with the ritual."
"Ritual? What kind?"
"They are preparing a ritual to awaken the power dormant within your body. That will release all the draconic power Lord Plesiduxius obtained or awakened in his lifetime."
"…"
"My, are you doubting the Dragon Lords' prophecy? I will not blame you since they spend their entire lives in isolation, choosing to watch over us instead of interacting with us." The girl glanced around at the crowd while Arnold was contemplating something.
He suddenly looked up, "It looks like the big guy wants to say something to me."
"Hm?" Myrena followed his gaze, "Ah, Tyrgavion Sulphuru is his name. He is my father's familiar. He has doubts about the authenticity of this prophecy."
"Why is that?"
"According to him, he believes a third party likely started this whole prophecy by brainwashing the Dragon Lords—quite ridiculous, is it not? What human has the power to break past the will of a demigod to use their mind control?"
"I see. He's right to be cautious."
"My King… how could you say such a thing? He doubts his betters' words even when it should be taken as gospel…" Myrena frowned slightly, her pretty lips in a straight line, "That is like an ignorant sister in training not listening to a priest who has been in service to the church for decades."
"I'm talking about the brainwashing thing."
"Eh?"
"Maybe someone was trying to pull the dragon lords away to cause some chaos? Who knows?" Arnold shrugged, "And that guy is probably blaming me for being the cause of all this."
The dragon didn't give any reaction, most assuming it couldn't hear Arnold since it was so gigantic and its head was above the clouds.
"I see… That is... an interesting assumption…"
"Anyone would come to such a conclusion since the dragon lords are the protectors of humanity. They're the locks on the gates. Even one lock is enough to keep the gate closed and yet all the locks were removed temporarily. One would suspect a thief took these locks, leaving the premises behind the gate vulnerable to attack." He explained.
"…Well, regardless of the explanation behind all of them gathering at their palace in the mountains, it still does not affect the prophecy."
"Huh? You're going to believe the prophecy? What if I just inherited the soul of a random dragon?"
She closed her eyes with a rather amused smile, "Surely you jest, My King. I am quite certain that something like that is not possible since dragon souls aren't just given to humans. Even if one could find someone capable of manipulating souls, upon receiving it, it is highly likely an ordinary human's body would combust from the power. The fact that you possess two souls alone should be an indication that you are special."
He actually had four souls in total but he should keep that to himself.
"Is that so…" Arnold looked at her beautiful golden eyes intently, making her blush a little but keep her composure, "You would be able to tell if I'm a fraud by using your Draconic Halo eyes, no?"
-Isn't that the Dragon God's eyes?
-As in actual eyes?
-Yeah, I heard the Taelith Family is capable of using a special visual technique that allows them to use their draconic powers. It's something that only started appearing in dragon offspring, though. Dragons themselves can't use it.
At the question, Myrena's gentle façade broke, as she averted her eyes, "…I am unable to use it."
'What does that eye do…?' Luke was completely left in the dark. He wanted to bombard the young woman with questions. But since the two are going to be in the same class anyway, he could always ask her.
"What about your father? Shouldn't he be able to see if I have your "King's" soul?"
'It allows them to see souls?' Luke listened closely.
"…He is unable to meet you for the foreseeable future. Until I awaken mine, we will have to rely on the words of the prophecy."
"You make it sound easy." Arnold chuckled, "The condition to unlocking it is binding your soul to an ancient dragon—a dragon that lived for thousands of years. And the one who fits that requirement is in front of us—"
He looked up at the Ancient Dragon.
"Yes… I will have to meet Tyr's requirements."
Suddenly, Arnold burst into laughter, "One of those requirements is beating him, isn't it? hahahaha!"
-S-Seriously? Beat… that thing?
-Impossible…
"…."
Both Myrena's arrogance and royal grace from before vanished, but on the surface she looked only mildly upset.
"I…" the moment she began to speak again, everyone listened, "—I vowed to myself that I would only have my King's child when I become the head of the household. It is said that upon awakening the eye, sexual pleasure is enhanced immensely when bonding with the King physically, because both body and soul fuse together in an ancestral bond that was once severed for centuries. It's spiritual lust that laid dormant for that long. Even if I were to be unfaithful—which I would never be—the bond we share as dragonkin would always bring me back to you, My King."
Her face flushed red and she rubbed her legs together awkwardly. The crowd didn't know how to react.
"Slut, slut, slut, slut, slut, slut, slut, slut, slut, slut, slut, slut…." Luke heard Elizabeth mutter something. His shoulders jerked when he saw the killing intent in her eyes. In addition, she was chewing off her nails until it was ripped from her skin. But miraculously, it healed an instant before blood could even fall.
He moved a bit further away from her.
"Why are you telling me this…?"
"B-Because my soul can sense that you are the true King my people need!" she placed a hand on her chest, showing in desperation, "Dragons may be connected to us but their connection is weaker to our true King. Only my family and I can feel that connection at its strongest—it's telling me to never give up and fight until I can unite with my King!"
"You're saying… despite knowing it's impossible to beat that dragon, you want to try regardless?"
"Yes!" her eyes burned with passion.
Luke noticed most of the girls were looking at her with frowns. He was aware that there were many girls who Arnold had relationships with—maybe in the hundreds in this academy alone—but they must've been forced to break off that relationship on order of their parents and now feel frustrated watching this exchange.
He wondered to himself how it would feel to have someone who loves him, express their frustration at him moving on. How would Norn feel? Well, the two of them aren't together and she hasn't shown any interest in him so far so he was unsure if it's fair to make the comparison.
A glow suddenly swallowed up the area. Looking up, a gigantic magic circle formed in the sky before a transparent film appeared in mid-air. The giant dragon then descended onto that film, lowering its head until its snout was right above where Luke and the others stood.
--To embarrass yourself in front of so many humans—you truly are a foolish girl.
The dragon spoke human tongue, speaking in a deep voice that rumbled throughout the surroundings.
"I am simply conveying the feelings I have." She replied after looking up, "I care only for what my King thinks of me, not inferior humans or dragons."
--You will never in a million moon cycles defeat me to claim my soul's loyalty. You may be that man's daughter but you possess none of his powers or talent. At your age, he was already a valued member of Promethius' party. For 300 years, he ruled as the head of your household. Your dream to replace such a powerful dragonkin is a mere foolish ambition.
"…" she silently clenched her fists until they trembled.
--You cannot see either truth—one truth being that this man is not the King you speak of—and the other being that you will never be your father.
"Even though you are a subordinate of their household, you like to talk down to one of its members a lot, huh." Arnold walked forward while looking up at the dragon.
-What the hell is he doing? That thing is gonna kill him!
-This guy is trying to taunt that monster… Why is he like this?
--You speak out of turn, human.
The dragon harrumphed then when "hoh?" when Arnold began to levitate.
"You know, I kind of like being referred to as King." Arnold stopped right in front of the dragon, on the transparent platform, its shadow a hundred times his size.
--Hoh, no chant? Then it isn't magic. I see, you've mastered Aether?
"Huh, you can tell?"
--Having a body capable of flight is only exclusive to those with demigod potential or who have mastered Aether. You do not radiate divine essence of any kind. Thus, the latter is more likely. Aether is the amalgamation of all energies in the Nine Realms and beyond, including gravity. I must say, while I hold my suspicions of you, you are still someone worth watching.
"…How do you know that? About Aether?"
--You've mastered a phenomenon you have little knowledge of? Is it blind luck that you were born with the talent to use this power? No… my instincts tell me it's something else… I will humor you then, human, since you have piqued my interest and made this journey to this capital worth it. The "Creator of Magic", Progenitor 17, another phenomenon from the Between Realms, taught dragon-kind magic. He is the possessor of Aether, the first of his kind. With that power, he taught us magic only we could master. With magic, we are able to make our bodies one percent its total weight. With magic, we can increase the potency of our Breaths. With magic, we can fly faster than our natural bodies are capable of. There are many other examples of how magic has helped us evolve but the aforementioned are just three of them. He may not be the Dragon God but that great entity has contributed to our kind greatly, so I believe he is just as important to our history as our Mother Dragon.
"…Aether is the amalgamation of all energies…" Arnold looked down at his hands, a smirk on his face and a transparent white glow around his hands, "That means… I can use magic…" he looked to the side at something, muttering to himself.
Then finally he sighed, a carefree smile on his face.
"Hey, Lizard. Myrena said earlier that you have doubts about me. How would I go about erasing these doubts?"
-Humph. One would be to defeat me in battle, which will eternally bind my soul to yours if I submit. This will then lead to you awakening the Draconic Halo, confirming that you are truly the King we sought for.
"And the other?"
--Bringing out our King.
"Haha, I see. Awakening the Draconic Halo wouldn't be so bad."
"W-Wait, are you truly considering this, My King?" Myrena asked worriedly from below.
He spoke without looking back, "Becoming the King of Dragons sounds tempting. It will strike fear into the hearts of my enemies without me going the extra mile to make them fear me. If a beauty like you comes with that, then I am happy to accept the title."
"B-Beauty… Me?" she blushed and covered her face with her hands.
From beside Luke, Elizabeth was grinding her teeth, ready to tear Myrena's head off. Luke cried silently at how scary she was.
--HAHAHAHA! YOU ARROGANT LITTLE MAN!
The dragon's voice boomed, echoing at the bottom of Luke's stomach. Its roar alone made his body go stiff.
No, don't do it.
Don't fight the dragon!
He wanted to move… he wanted to scream… But seeing Arnold's confident smirk, that desire and his worries, vanished.
"Elizabeth." Ignoring the dragon, he glanced back.
"Y-Yes!" her killing intent vanished, replaced by the air of an innocent maiden.
"I'm going to need you to revive this dragon after I kill it." He glanced back at the dragon, his smirk stretching even wider, "I can't just let go of a useful dog."