Chapter 397: Coming Clean
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 me into a dragon sleep, used a soul lily on me, and then sped up the process inside the void..?" Struggling to piece everything together, Father looked me in the eyes with an expression that could only be described as a tangled mess of confusion and disbelief.
"Essentially, yes." It looked like he had countless questions, but at the same time, 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 come you've changed so much..?"
Instantly tensing up as his gaze landed on me, I wasn't sure what to say.
On top of the changes that came 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 time 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 immensely 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 me spending time in the void like that isn't uncommon, nor bad."
Giving me an awkward look, he seemed to be unsure of how to feel.
"Trust me, 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 moments 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 me. "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 come with me to recalibrate and repair some 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 meters tall, and walked over to greet Leif while Father hopped up out of the well behind me, and was greeted by Mother and Krystallo.
Before I knew it, it had become a serious event, people standing around the well held their hands up in prayer, and Leif knelt before me 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 somewhat sternly. "Do you know of a man named Michael Cotorel?"
But she quickly shook her head. "Is he someone 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 some of Mother's inner-circle, mainly being some 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 time. -It's nice to that Father hasn't changed much...- Throughout the evening, he had spent most of his time talking to an elven researcher Leif wanted us to meet because of his endeavors in the realm of science, and they hit it off with one another right off the bat.
-It's a shame 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 come?"
Looking over, I found Chloe sitting next to me 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 something together soon, so she wanted to knock some of the important stuff out before then."
Smiling warmly, Chloe turned her pure, joyful gaze to me. "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 came out of nowhere...- "What makes you say that?"
"Haha, you just aren't around very often, so she's made me stick next to her with Antonia and Maria so whenever you do return, I can fulfill my duty. But it's made me 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.
"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 something off your chest with her, do it." Pausing as she looked over the crowd, she crossed her legs before leaning back and giving me 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 time for me 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 me 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 time...-
I promised Mother I would tell them everything when Father awoke, so I needed to stick with that promise, but the closer that time came, the more anxious I became.
After the party finally came 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 something.
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 seemed 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 time."
"Is that so..." Pausing to look around, he took a moment to enjoy the view out over the forest of treants before turning back to me 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 seemed 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 memories, 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 memories of a distant world without mana where I lived as a human... From the moment I hatched, I had a personality, and memories 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 time passed, and I learned how to be myself, as Vasilias Ragnarok, it turned out it wasn't that simple..." Looking up, my tone firmed. "I am the reincarnation of Nott. When you found me in the nest with black scales, it was because I touched an artifact that implanted some of Nott's genetics into my body. I still haven't confirmed how the artifact itself got there because my memories are still blurry, but it's why I've always had some of the characteristics of a halfie, why I've always had unknown knowledge, and where things like my space attribute node and unique aura come from..."
"Is.. that so..?" Speaking softly, Mother sank into thought, but remained completely calm. "So that weird knowledge you seemed to get out of nowhere was from the memories 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 me off, Mother pressed the top of her head into my chest and closed her eyes. "Don't be so tense, Vasilias..." Looking up at me 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 something 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 me 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 me 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 time 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 same spirit after it reached out to your Mother, this time 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 me 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 me, 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 me feel sick.
But before I could get a word out, Mother and Father both walked over and caught me in their embrace. "Don't be sorry, Vasilias." Mother's soft voice nearly brought on tears as she pressed herself into me. "You are our son, are you not? What is there to be sorry about?"
Father gently nodded in agreement 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 me I thought I had lost took over–I wasn't me, 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 moment, as if all the weight that had been crushing me 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 home.
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