Dragonlord

Ep 58. Just Like Before. (2)

While the rest of the group entered the lodge Otoka had built for them, Serenis had remained outside, following Aldrid deeper into the woods. It was better that they remained oblivious of the true purpose of her visit, and for that, a little privacy was needed.

Eventually, Aldrid came to a stop by a small pondside. A gleaming moon was reflected on the water surface, and joining it was a little hare that skipped over to the deity’s side to rub its cheek against her ankle. After earning a few playful scratches against its chin, the little critter was sent off to its home.

Serenis looked towards the deity standing beside her. The blonde woman seemed as comfortable as ever, just like the nature that surrounded her; not even a dragonlord’s presence seemed to bother her one bit.

“…I wasn’t expecting a divinity to be living in such plain sight.”

Aldrid returned a soft smile at the question.

“I do tend to hide from regular people. But I couldn’t bring myself to remain hidden with guests from the dragonkin.”

“You seem rather fond of us?”

“Quite. Very much, actually.”

Aldrid warily eyed the individual beside her. This particular dragon had claimed themselves to be ‘Serenis,’ but her doubtful stare betrayed the deity’s thoughts.

“However, you alone are different. You aren’t truly a dragonkin, are you?...You’re a human. And yet, you aren’t exactly that, either.”

“…”

Serenis remained silent at the remark.

It wasn’t odd that someone could see through the dragonlord’s disguise. With careful observation and astute aptitude, it wasn’t impossible to figure out that she was using a spell to retain her current, draconic appearance.

But Aldrid’s comment had encompassed more than just that.

‘A human, and yet not a human…’

The deity’s faint smile became more pronounced as she began to describe her memories.

“If I remember correctly…she had long transcended the realms of human magic. ‘Her descent illuminates even the darkest of nights, and all would hail or flee.’”

Serenis narrowed her eyes.

‘…Rites?’

While Aldrid was avoiding an explicit mention, the deity was unmistakably describing the dragonlord herself – in the words of ancient scriptures, no less.

But at the same time, the piece of history Aldrid was recounting shouldn’t have been well-known. Given Serenis’ tendency to remain within the kin’s nests, the dragonlord wasn’t nearly as famous (or infamous) as the other demonlords among humans.

‘Unless…’

Finally, Aldrid came to her question. Her tone was raised, and authority was evident in her voice as she spoke.

“’Serenis.’ To you, who remain both dragon and human, I ask…what exactly are you?”

“…”

She wasn’t asking ‘who’ Serenis was. Instead, the deity had asked ‘what’ she was.

A long silence had to pass before the dragonlord would finally give her answer.

“…I am a dragon. Dragonlord, Serenis.”

“Are you? Then, can you tell me who I am?”

“…”

The dragonlord’s resolute eyes locked with Aldrid’s. The woman had already confessed to being a deity – that couldn’t have been the answer she was looking for.

According to Iris, the Twelve were formerly of mankind. Then, Aldrid too, should doubtlessly have been a human before attaining her divinity.

‘A human particularly attached to the kin. A human who remembers our custom and history. And even myself.’

To mankind as whole, Serenis was lesser known among the demonlords. However, there was a very specific subset of them that knew her all too well.

“Villagers of the valley. You lived with us as part of the dragonkin.”

“And your latest son’s name was?”

“…Vulka.”

Aldrid’s grin widened as she nodded her head at the dragonlord beside her. If this individual had been a fake, then hints or no, they wouldn’t have known the answer to those two questions.

“My, it really is you. I honestly expected otherwise.”

“…”

“Dragonlord Serenis…the person who sent you here was ‘Iris,’ yes?”

“…It was.”

The deity quietly snickered to herself as she began to process the situation. If the dragon beside her really was the Serenis she knew, then she could vaguely guess why Iris had sent the dragonlord her way.

“I never thought a day would come where I’d be chatting with the Starchild myself. To be honest, I’ve long thought you dead.”

A peculiar memory flashed by Serenis’ eyes. She began to recall her first meeting with Karas, and what he’d told her about reincarnation – how the deity of life was likely responsible for her second life.

But if that were the case, then Aldrid’s comment did not make any sense. In fact, Aldrid should’ve known who the dragonlord was all along.

Serenis looked towards the deity in confusion.

“…Was my reincarnation not your doing?”

“I’m sorry? Reincarnation?”

“From what I’ve heard, you were the entity responsible for leading the soul to another life following its death. I believed you to be the facilitator of this second life.”

“Hm…”

Aldrid grumbled in unease at the dragonlord’s remark. It took a few moments for her to decide whether to confirm or deny the statement.

“That’s not wrong in entirety, but…there does seem to be a misunderstanding. I cannot interfere with a dragon’s soul. To be precise, I cannot interfere with a demon’s soul – for they aren’t quite my creations.”

Serenis widened her eyes at the new knowledge. Coming from the deity of life herself, the information couldn’t possibly be inaccurate.

“Then…this life is…”

“Hmm?”

Aldrid curiously studied the confused dragonlord. While the deity couldn’t confirm nor explain Serenis’ reincarnation either, she could clearly see that the dragon’s confusion was genuine.

“So you really were dead after all?...I was wondering how you’d ended up in such an odd state.”

Serenis shot an unamused glare.

“You truly had nothing to do with this?”

“Of course not. If I had such authorities, I would’ve reincarnated you centuries ago.”

Serenis’ eyes soon lost their menace as her gaze fell back down, accompanied by a long sigh. Not even the deity of life could explain how she’d returned to life.

Aldrid only beamed back at the pondering dragon.

“…Although, if I could, I probably would’ve brought back Elder Arkrana first. We never did see you often, my lord.”

“…”

The dragonlord maintained silence. Knowing how she’d spent her final days in neglect, she had nothing to say to the last bit.

Bittersweet longing filled Aldrid’s eyes as she continued.

“Even when we needed you most, you never did come to our aid. Even though we fought so much…even when those heroes pillaged our homes and killed the kin, it was always Elder Arkrana who fought for us.”

Serenis’ gaze fell to the floor. She had absolutely nothing but guilt regarding the days Aldrid was describing. And if the deity knew this much, then there really was no denying that she’d been a part of the kin during those olden days.

“…I’m sorry. At the time, I…”

“You didn’t know, did you? What was happening to us at the outskirts?”

“…”

She didn’t know. She couldn’t. Arkrana herself had spoken nary a word to the dragonlord of the heroes that invaded their nest’s outer areas.

‘…No. Even that is but a mere excuse.’

Even in those times, her daughter hadn’t hesitated for a moment to warn the dragonlord of their future – of all the blood they would shed for choosing to idle in peace. Eden alone warned her over and over, even though their words had fallen on deaf ears.

‘…You were right, once again. I should have listened to you.’

But it was too late to regret things now. What Aldrid was speaking of was a distant past that they could no longer change.

“Did you know, my lord? The heroes never did think of us as anything more than your victims. When you left with the rest of the dragonkin, they dragged us out of the nest. They destroyed our homes and sent us away, claiming they were ‘saving’ us.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“We were sent to human cities and abandoned there. All of our belongings were taken and burned. We were supposed to survive on our own, forever thanking the heroes that ‘saved’ us from your evil clutches.”

“…”

“The adults did whatever they could to earn a living, but…it didn’t work out so well. People weren’t too welcoming of us. They called us traitors, dogs of the demonkin.”

Despite the contents of her words, Aldrid retained her grinning expression as her eyes gazed upon the moonlit sky. She neither seemed bothered, nor regretful, of everything that had transpired.

“In the end, a lot of us ended up dead…sometimes killed, or forced into slavery. Looking back, life really was quite difficult back then.”

Serenis couldn’t say a word. Even if she’d had a hundred lips, none would speak a single phrase.

To her, every single inhabitant of the kin’s nest was part of the dragonkin. The deity before her, too, was doubtlessly a part of her family.

Perhaps seeking peace, in of itself, was a mistake. When Serenis had realized that she could not maintain their peace, the dragonkin had already paid too heavy a price for their idle days.

Finally, quiet words escaped her lips, tainted in guilt and regret.

“…You must have resented me.”

The deity slowly turned her head to face Serenis once more, but the dragonlord’s eyes remained fixed on the forest’s floors.

Once upon a time, Aldrid had wished to see Serenis suffer as she had. But seeing her former lord agonizing over her past actions, Aldrid was beginning to realize that those desires had all but disappeared from her.

“There certainly was a time when I did.”

Aldrid completely turned her body, leaning forward to peek into the dragonlord’s eyes.

Only then did Serenis meet the deity’s gaze – to see the smile curving the woman’s lips.

This wasn’t what Aldrid had wanted to say. This wasn’t the story she truly wished to share with her former lord.

“When I was much, much younger, I used to wonder what sort of luxuries were keeping you holed up so deep in the kin’s nest. I even stopped praying to you. But…whenever I felt bitter, Elder Arkrana would always tell me that you were just being careful. That, if the dragons were to side with the other demons and war against mankind, those of us living in the nest would no longer trust the kin. She’d tell me that in order to keep the peace we’d built together, the kin couldn’t attack humans.”

Serenis bit her lips.

The Arkrana she remembered would do something exactly like that. The righteous elder would reassure everyone around her, all the while trying to lessen the burden on her lord’s shoulders.

Even if it was the wrong thing to do.