Going back to Anikia.

I turn back to the place where I left Felia and Carmine off. I gotta get them back to the castle.

"Man that thing was weak," I say out loud.

[Only for you.]

Come on… I mean who gets blown away by someone's breath? Rude. That looked so silly when it fell over. I mean, it was about the size of a mountain and it still fell back.

[That's not the thing's fault. You're just too strong.]

I know. I know.

"Now to turn back," I say.

I fly through the short distance and arrive after several seconds at the place where Carmine and Felia are waiting.

Now that I think about it, the Mana amount or… Should I say the Mana Density? It's higher outside my barrier than before. It's probably because the moment I put up my barrier, the Mana got compressed between the Old Barrier and mine. Most of it must have gone outside but even so, the density of mana between these two barriers is higher than before.

"You guys okay?" I ask from the sky while high in the air.

Can they hear me? They can, right?

I flap and stabilize myself to prepare for a landing. Flying in a dragon form is a bit complicated since you gotta keep your definitions in mind. Being a humanoid and also being able to fly is much easier. It's on a small scale so it doesn't take much effort.

"We're fine! Come down now!" says Carmine from afar.

I land down on my legs in front of them. My landing causes the dust in the area to stir up and creates a cloud of black. They cover their faces to guard themselves from the dust gushing toward them as I land. Once I have descended,

"That thing was a bit scary, It was like a thing I've seen in my previous world," I say.

I remember the time when Carmine said that my voice is a bit weird in my dragon form. I don't think it's weird but it reflects my huge size in a dragon form. My voice becomes a bit distorted, like a filter. Is it because it's meant to intimidate people? Anyway,

"You had these things in your world??: says Carmine.

Felia looks at me in surprise.

"No, No. They are in a…." I stop.

Movie? How do I explain that…?

"They are in stories. Stories that are moving pictures….Understand…?" I ask.

Felia and Carmine look at me, confused. They probably don't understand the

moving picture concept. I'm bad t this.

"What is a moving picture?" They ask.

"Forget that. They are called movies." I say.

"Mo…Vies?" asks Felia.

"Yup. Movies. They are stories that we can watch. They are … How do I explain it…?" I say.

What should I do…? I can't think of a way to explain this…

"They are recorded real-life …. AH! Forget it! I can't explain it! Just think of it as an advanced form of art! Very advanced!" I say in frustration.

Hell! I can't even tell them what movies are!

"O-Okay…" says Carmine.

"But even so… That thing sure was weak…" I say.

At that, Carmine looks at m with an annoyed face while Felia gives me an awkward smile.

"Don't you dare say that Velkra! Did you even see what happened when the beam hit it? It absorbed it! And your breath melted it! You're way too strong!" she says.

"Okay okay… I get it." I reply.

"That is one of the things that make me think if I really should be on casual terms with you…" says Carmine.

"Me too…" says Felia.

These girls…

"I already told you didn't I? I mean, I could be considered a kid if you thought about it. Being a superior to others is fine but I want to have several people I can freely talk to, you know?" I say.

"Velkra… Thank you…" says Felia.

"You don't need to thank me. I should be the one thanking you guys. I met you after my first encounter with Twixie. Having you guys in my life livens it up." I say.

Carmine looks at me wide-eyed with mild red cheeks. She's probably surprised.

"We gotta go now. Anikia must be waiting.

I'm sure that she would be excited to see me in my Dragon Form. And I'll love her to see that excited. Her reaction will be my treasure.

They look around for a bit to examine some things and finally get ready to go back. But they don't get on my back. They're just standing there looking at me with a face that has trouble deciding about something.

"What is it? Won't you guys get on?" I ask.

Felia looks at Carmine. Carmine Shakes her head, Refusing something.

"We'll go back on our own. You fly too fast." She says.

"But Carmine!" says Felia.

"No. I won't be riding this high-speed mountain and I'm not allowing you to ride her alone. That's it." She says.

What's even going on here? They won't go back with me? I know it's a hassle to anchor on my back but…

Ah. Carmine pukes a lot. So she's refusing to let Felia ride me alone? Saying ride here is pretty misleading.

"But I won't do anything!" says Felia.

Do… Anything? What was she planning to do…?

"No way I would leave you alone with the person you crush over so hard. You're coming with me." She says.

I guess the one in danger wasn't Felia but me. She wanted to do things to me…? I'll never ride with her alone…

"Hey, Velkra. We'll go back on our own. You can go ahead." She says.

"How? Do you have a spell?" I ask.

"I'm a mage remember? Now go." She says.

It seems she is shooing me away somehow. Meh. Better go on ahead.

"Be careful. We don't know much about this world yet." I say.

"Okay." Says Felia.

I turn around and take off with a whoosh. My wings flap with haste. This haste is the craving to receive a compliment from my cute daughter that's waiting there. Even now, I feel a bit weird when I call her my daughter but my unconditional love for her always outweighs my amount of embarrassment.

I was a man in my previous life. But right now, there is nothing but the influence of womanly traits in my body, mind, and soul. The maternal love I feel for Anikia is one proof.

A person may find it utterly terrifying to have their personality altered. But to clear something up, I never had a distinguished personality after the incident. I may have been cheerful inside at some point and managed to fit in the world. That does not mean my inner self was complete.

Am I the real one? Will I someday be replaced by my alternate self when I get my memories back? Questions and thoughts like these bring fear to my heart. I fear losing my precious memories with the ones I now consider my family. This fear has sprouted just recently.

I am in no way ungrateful to the ones who took care of me in my previous world. They were my family as equally as the ones over here. Unfortunately, I have no memory of my parents so I don't understand the standard scale of the amount of affection given to me. I can't measure it obviously.

I fear that I might have neglected the ones in my former world in some way. Did I ever treat them coldly when they tried to console me and make me feel loved? Did I pay enough attention to them for the amount of care they gave me?

Should I have stayed behind and helped them with their problems? I could've stayed behind and helped them. They would have been way happier if I did so. But I chose of going solo.

If I had chosen to stay behind and help them, I would not be here right now. I guess everything has its own meaning. But honestly, this is one of the most irrational yet amazing situation.

Either way, I hope I can get some of the memories of my previous life. I don't know who my parents could be in this world. Do I have a mother? Or a father? Who knows.

My birth from an egg gives me the idea that that egg must have been created by a skill. The offspring one to be exact. But I have no clue how that egg ended up there in the dark cave without any entrance.

Finding the library and meeting with Twixie was surprising. If I think about it, it seems rigged. Like someone had planned it out from the beginning. The Idea of the library is irrational in itself. Why gather knowledge and magic only to seal it away inside a library with no entrance or exit other than the one accessed by the teleport function? A library inaccessible by any other.

And that book of wisdom. The book that chose someone worthy? The egg that I was inside, was placed in a cave. The cave whose only way led to the library? It is a bit too coincidental.

I've never thought about this too much because the days since I got here have been hectic. But this Great Mage, Fervina. I gotta find some info on her. She seems way too suspicious with her intentions of creating this library. Or it could be just a case of leaving one's legacy behind.

The people who are connected to me by my blessing. I always feel connected to them. It's like my heart is a river. While the river is branching out into smaller, yet unique streams. Each stream that flows out of my heart is my subordinate, My family. Is it the same for other Elder Dragons? Are they connected to others to this extent? I don't know. These streams of emotions and personalities. That is what it feels like to have people connected to you literally. Even if I'm ever lonely, I'll never be alone. I sometimes think I might have gotten more than I wished for but I'll accept this blessing since I love it the most.

Each steam has its own unique characteristic. Anikia's stream gives off a feeling of a warm and cozy breeze. The breeze envelops me in its gentle embrace. I don't know if it's her feelings or mine but they represent how we think of each other.

Felia's stream gives off the picture of waving bright red Roses in a field under the bright sunlight. Does she really love me that much? Heh. I'm loved.

Carmine's stream is like a cabin in a blizzard. The cabin has a warm and bright fireplace inside and a bed I can sleep in. I guess that symbolizes the bond of friendship. The blizzard might indicate my worries and the warm cabin is Carmine herself. Quite poetic indeed.

Caryl. Yes. Her stream is a special one. Probably because she is pregnant, her stream has another stream within. A separate current inside Caryl. Symbolizing the cultivation of a separate life within her.

Twixie's stream gives off the feeling of a bed full of pillows. But that bed isn't for me. It's for her. I guess I'm a bed to her.

[It's quite comfortable in here, you see?]

So you were listening…

[Nothing goes without me knowing inside your head.]

Hah~ you sure you don't remember how I ended up in the cave?

[I really don't know. I … wait…]

What? Did you remember something?

[I don't know if this is somehow related to you but…]

Tell me anyway. I wanna know.

[Fervie once told me that she met an Elder dragon. She never told me which one it was. But the thing she said was that the Elder Dragon needed help. I was in the library so I don't know more than this. She didn't say anything else.]

An Elder Dragon, huh? Guess I'll have to ask the other Elders.

[And yeah, Fervie was quite beat up when she told me that. She arrived after a long journey.]

Beat up? What happened?

[She refused to tell me but she was injured because of a fight if I may guess.]

I see… this Elder Dragon could b related…

Hey. How come I've thought this much and it's like time has slowed down? I've taken off and it's only been seconds but I've been in my inner monologue for a while…

[That's because I activated [Divine Thought Procession]. It ups your thought procession.]

Really? That's quite amazing.

[Well, it's this powerful only because you're way too strong. This skill is at 20% output.]

20%??!

[Yup]

Can anyone even match me…?

[Probably not.]

Fuuu… I hope I meet someone strong enough to beat me…

[You can limit your stats to have fun.]

Ah. There's that too…

[Master. We're getting close.]

Hmm… lemme see… where are you Anikia… ah!

"Mother….?" I hear.

It's Anikia but I can hear her from this far. Was it because of my stats? Or was it through the stream? Dunno.

Felia and Carmine are still behind. They cant fly fast like me after all.

I reach the tower and flap my wings to stabilize myself in front. I can't land on the tower 'cause I'm too big so I'll just have to stay in the air. I position myself in front of Anikia.

"So? How do I look? Do you still love me?" I ask.

Of course, she loves me. But it's just cute hearing it again and again.

She looks up with a stunned expression, unable to speak from the awe.

"Mother… You are so beautiful…" she says.

Oooooh! Look! She just said I'm beautiful!

[I see it. Don't shout in here!]

"Really? But I think my voice is weird…" I say.

"It's not weird… it's different but it's lovely…" she says.

Yay!

She's still looking at me with a fixed gaze. Her head facing up.

"Mother… Can I get on…? I want to fly too…" she asks.

Ooooh! She wants to get on!

[Turn it down! I'm trying to sleep here!]

But… It's dangerous out here so I won't be able to do that…

"Um… we won't be able to do that. There isn't anything to hold on to up there and it's dangerous out here. We can take you for a ride when we get out of here," I say.

"Okay… It's fine." She says.

"I haven't seen myself in this form you know? So I don't know what I look like." I say.

"You are… Colorful and… Beautiful…" she says.

"Really?" I ask.

"…Yes. Can you come down now…? I want to hug you, Mother…" she says.

I get a hug too??! Yes!

I transform in mid-air and land on the tower on my feet.

I walk toward Anikia and kneel down. I open my arms and signal her to hug me. Anikia comes running and hugs me strongly.

"You came back alive. I love you, Mother." She says.

"I love you too. I'm back."