Chapter 366: The City Guards arrive (1/2)

'[Look at it again. Go closer, don't just look at the surface, see behind it!]'

Confused by what she meant, Aiden looked at the central star, representing his most powerful and most important form to date, the Ancient Dragon again.

It was a colossal, huge star, radiating the powerful golden hue, the same warmth, the same ancient, dominant, proudness that he was all too familiar with.

However, as he kept looking at it, focusing on it, he could feel something else… something more. Under the outer layers, he could feel another source of power, another small, unfamiliar seed of energy.

Surprised to feel the presence of another source inside the large star, he looked shocked, turning towards Enya as he asked.

”Is… Is that… that…” Unable to come up with words, he stuttered, eventually pointing at himself instead. ”…Me?”

—

Time passed slowly, and while Aiden was still engulfed in the depths of his very own inner world, on the outside, Drake's ears suddenly twitched. Sounds of heavy footsteps from the direction of the city reached his ears, he jumped up in the sudden realization.

As he turned around, whilst he could not see anything at the moment, he was still assured that he wasn't just hallucinating; Lily's two dogs, the two large war hounds were already standing at attention, growling towards the city's direction.

”What is it, brother? Is something wrong?” Seeing as how her brother was suddenly acting, she unsheathed the dagger once again, turning around, and following Drake's gaze.

As she turned around, and squinted her eyes, although he couldn't see anything she suddenly felt multiple presences approaching, her face turned somber.

”We need to go.” She muttered, immediately turning around once again, and walking with fast, hurried steps to Lily.

She placed her right hand over her right shoulder, gently squeezing it and grabbing her attention.

”Lily, we need to leave. A group of soldiers from the city are coming and it would be best if we wouldn't be here when they arrive.”

”Uhm.” Lily nodded, grabbing Scarlet's hand with her own and giving it a light squeeze, before turning towards her still meditating brother. For the first time since she sat down next to him, her cheery smile was replaced with a serious, slightly worried look. Reaching out with both her hands, she clutched her brother's gently, she looked into her brother's closed eyes before closing his own.

”I hope this works…” She mumbled to herself before focusing on a specific thought, something that she never tried before consciously, but did manage to do once when she felt the lowest.

Her thoughts focused on that feeling, the familial love, the adoration, the devotion she felt towards him. That other, bubbling feeling that she still couldn't completely grasp… That strange, weird, but at the same time, undoubtedly the best sensation of all. She hoped, she wished that she would be successful, that he would be able to hear her, would feel her connecting heart, her wish…

With her eyes closed, she leaned against him, their foreheads gently touching, she called for her protector, her brother in her mind.

—

Inside his own core, Aiden was still lost in the unique sight. With his memories of his previous life now regained, he couldn't help but think that what he was seeing was vastly similar to how humanity envisioned and depicted their universe.

At the center of it all, acting as the heart of everything, pumping life towards all the other orbiting celestial bodies, the sun, his own Primal Seed surrounded and protected by his Golden aura, the Ancient Draconic form radiated the warmth of life with its golden rays, empowering all the other smaller planets as they circulated, orbited around it eternally.

At the closest, the smallest but still, one of the most memorable moments of his life, the dark orb of essence, his Mushroom Bug form, floated. The other orbs growing gradually in size and varying colors went further on, eventually reaching the large body of a dark green giant, the one before his newly formed Sahuagin Champion form, the one he created through fusion, the Primal Goblin Dragonlord.

What was different about it, compared to the rest, was that this orb felt hard. As if it wasn't purely made of energy anymore but if it consisted of its own solid body. As if was truly turning into a new world, a true planet in itself.

Amidst the dark green that covered its surfaced, small dots of vibrant red, brown, and even parts of azure deep blue could be seen every now and then, confirming his first assumptions that something peculiar was happening with this one.

Aiden wanted to dive even deeper and explore it in-depth, but before he could do so, the bright white dot of his guide, Enya spoke up with a gentle, kind but at the same time serious tone.