She felt the presence of someone opening a doorway into her demes was…weird. She felt as if someone had opened a ath from the far beyond. The smell that hit her nostrils was that of a fn mana. The stenog and civilization, the stench of artificially attuned mana, not the natural ohat should be flowing into the great circle.

  No, this was mana that was artificially altered to matething. As if someone was scared about the slightest deviation, she felt three entities walking into her [Domain] from within that doorway. No…four? Five? Six? The number was blurry, for a sed it was three, and then it turned into twenty.

  One of them was carrying with her another smaller presence, one of her wayward servants. Another one.

  That wasn’t that much of a problem, just because another hatg came a, it ged nothing. She was already nursing a new geion of hatgs to deal with it, the rogue hatgs led by one of her earlier se ones. Beatrice.

  The fact that her most loyal servant was in a deep slumber had left her forces divided, and it annoyed her that the little shit had mao make her hatg rally against her, at least they had enough intelligeo know that attag her was impossible. But the fact that they raised their arms against her when she wao finish the [Baptize] of her mates made her angry.

  The gall!

  She only wao accelerate their baptize to be doh it, but sihey raised their arms against her every time she tried to do it, and the fact that her heart ached every time she had thought of [Erasing] the rogue hatgs…

  She had decided to leave that and find a new one, which wasn’t fit for her anyway, too small, too strained, she liked this cave way more, it was lovely. She had taken here only a sihing from her previous , her []. The only valuable thing there.

  The thing had hurt her all the way to this mountain and damaged her cw very badly, too, so she just threw it against a wall a simmer there. Then, she tied it with her shadows to prevent the thing from flying away.

  Perhaps these interlopers had detected her [] and wa? Her cave didn’t have many treasures, granted. With her here, it was full of treasures already, she was one of the most powerful and geous dragons ever. Her golden scales shoh the occasional azure sparks of electricity c her body.

  Her tail was slim and sharp, with bck spikes going to her back, where a pair of leathery wings stood. They were big enough to cover her whole body while resting as the most perfeket a dragon girl could hope to have. Her head held fourteen horns. At the moment, only two held their gems fully formed, but a third one was already on the way. She could feel it, her [Birthright].

  Perhaps that was why her didn’t want her. Because she hadn’t finished f her [Dragon Gems]? She wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. She khat [Dev] one of her mates would be enough to fully form a fem, but her stupid heart kept ag at the idea.

  “Are you sure this is the way?” A voice resounded in the cave. It was…male? It sounded like a man speaking in a girly tone.

  “Yes, sis, Elizabeth is that way.” Another voice spoke back. It sounded…nostalgic? The voice was one she had never heard, yet it felt familiar. The tone was wrong, the iion was wrong, but the voice? That was familiar.

  “Okay, you two, whe to her…Let me talk.” A third and st voice spoke. This one also felt nostalgic, even though she couldn’t reize it.

  So…she kwo of those three. Or she used to know them anyway, she couldn’t quite remember them. They…didn’t seem necessary. If they were important she woould remember them, she had that problem since a few days ago. In one of her [Heart Attacks], she had sealed part of her memories for some reason.

  And as a great dragon, she had put a lo the memories lest something happen to them. She khey had something important, and that art of the reason why she was here. What was it? She didn’t know. Indeed, it would have been important. But since she couldn’t remember, it wasn’t that important.

  At least she was aware that she o stay here. She khat being with her mate was important, but she could feel her e to her, and her mana was feedihe baptism would be over even if she wasn’t with her. Her other mate….may not survive, but that was okay. If she didn’t make it, it was because she was weak, and weak mates could only hatch weak offspring.

  So her dying would be better like this.

  *drip*

  “*Sigh* Again?” She said aloud while wiping tears from her fad putting them in a fsk. She had been harvestiears since waking up here. Dragon Tears should have some value to the puny humans, so she could use them to have them do her bidding.

  A few liters of her tears were a treasure on their own. Even if she wasn’t sure why she was g so often these days, was something wrong with her mind?

  As she kept thinking about those things, the presence of the three entities walked into her main cave, the pce where she had set her dragon roost. So, she evaluated the danger aies that valiantly walked into her domain.

  The first one….she didn’t want to look at him, it was a MALE….ugh…He was a bck-haired man who made her want to puke, bck hair and bck eyes. His face was one of those that seemed to look down upon the world, and while it was his prerogative to be wrong, that wasn’t her problem with him. No.

  It was…everything else. His body stank of debauchery and the blood of a thousand i girls. She almost could see the souls of those who died at his hands. A, why was he dressed like that?

  He was dressed in girly shoes and waist-length socks, a pastel blue mini skirt that barely hid his underwear, a top that showed his belly, and he even had earrings and lipstick. It was…if it was a girl using those, she would look fabulous, but that kind of clothing just didn’t match him. She could barely tolerate it if he had dressed as the bloo his right.

  The girl to his right was a blonde, simirly dressed in a skirt, only she was using bck tones in trast with the light ones of the man. She was wearing ankle-length boots that left her legs bare, a bck miniskirt, a white blouse, and a red jacket for her top. She had the gothic chick look quite well. The fact that her hair was geous blonde and her eyes blue made her look more like a rich girl throwing a tantrum, to be ho.

  “Sis?” Turning to the blonde girl, the man spoke, “That is a dragon.”

  That much was obvious, wasn’t it? She was indeed a dragon.

  “That is Elizabeth. My shadows are tellihat Elzbeth. You are the one who remembers her. I have never met her.” The blonde girl answered. So the man was going by Elzbeth?

  “Quiet you two, let me talk.” The st one spoke, the blue-haired…..thing.

  To her eyes, the third one was a mystery. She could vaguely see the figure of a woman, but her body was covered in such a dense amount of mana that she couldn’t see anything of the woman.

  However, she could see the thousand upon thousand mana spirits behind the woman. A hundred warriors with their arms ready pointing at her, another few hundred with bows and guns. Some mages and clerics ting a spells…the works.

  And at the very back…The figure of a titan shining blue armor stared down at her. The gall….mere mana structs…

  *GRRRRR*

  “Elizabeth? It’s me…Jenna. Remember me?” The blue-haired entity started speaking in a soft voice. “I know that the st time you saw me, we were little…Like, was it at yht-year birthday?”

  Her what? Eight years-old? She was what? Inside her egg at that time?

  Yeah, it had taken almost sixteen years for her to hatch from her egg, which was not too mu the grand scheme of things; she was a higher-order dragon, after all. But this woman had hung around with her egg?

  “You cim to know me [Human]?” She spoke, making sure to look down on the woman. “A you speak using [Human] his one has no [Human] name, for I’m a [Dragon].”

  It was stupid to pretend to use a [Human] h her. She was a dragon, so why would she have a human name? Of course, she had a perfect dragon name.

  She was…

  She was…..Huh?

  “You are Elizabeth, my baby sister of another father. “ The blue-haired oke again, “Perhaps you would remember me like this?”

  Then, the woman’s mana turned into a funnel, engulfing all of it and ging her form. From an adult woman, she turned into the mockery of a child. “Remember me like this? We used to py from time to time!” The child spoke.

  Yes….She had some memories of…

  “Jenna?” The blonde girl spoke as she grabbed her head and winced, “Jenna….Lewis?”

  That….yeah, she could vaguely remember that name. “You would also cim to know me, blonde human?” she asked, turning to the girl.

  “I mean…” the man started to speak.

  “Silence, MALE. You are tolerated, but speak nothing.” So she anded, and the shadows answered. The MALE romptly ed to a wall with his mouth sewn shut.

  “ELZBETH!” The blonde girl screamed as the shadows wavered for a sed.

  “YOU DARE?!?!?” She roared to the sky, overwhelming the area with her mana, making sure no shadow would disrespect her [Authority], not again. Not by mere [Humans].

  “QUIET YOU ALL!” The little girl joined in the screams, her form morphing into that of an armored figure almost three meters tall. Oep was all it took for his mana to e crashing down on all.

  The man, however, remained sewn to the wall, but the blonde girl got forced into her knees.

  “Hmph.” As a great [Dragon], she wasn’t moved an inch, of course.

  “So you have some bark behind you [Human].” She ceded to the armored figure as its figure ged bace again to that vague form of mana surrounded by a thousand-man army behind her. “You may speak your case…Jenna Lewis.”

  “...What happeo you, Elizabeth? Your father asked me to look after you; what am I supposed to say to him? That his daughter turned into a Dragon?” The woman asked her.

  “My Father? Shouldn’t he be aware that I’m a Dragon if he is my father? What the hatg of a drago a dragon?” She asked bastead, it was stupid.

  “...That….is actually a good point. He owerful, and many doubted his humanity. But he was still human; even when he became a [God], he still looked human,” the blue woman said, implying that the father of a dragon could be a human.

  Ridiculous.

  “Nothing happeo me.” Even so, she answered, “I am that which I desire to be, my form only ge because I wish for it to ge.”

  She even had one of those stupid blue boxes to firm it. A mere flick from her cw was all she needed for the box to ma in front of everyoo see. “Read it [Human], I am what I envision myself to be; nothing in this world ever ge that. Not your puny [Human Gods], not [The World]. Not the army behind you….aainly….not you.”

  —------

  Perfect Self:

  You are you. Most may think that this is obvious, who are we if not ourselves? Most would be wrong. Some let themselves be painted by what the people around them think they are. If they are called [Hero], then they will try to live up to their expectations. If they are called [Vilin], they turn to viliny even if only to spite them to show them what true [Viliny] is.

  But you? You aren't like most, are you? You who was once a proud s of an a . Did you let that define you? No.

  You who were at the peak of Lightning Manipution. Did you let that carve your path to power? No.

  You who are the daughter of a paragon of justice, did you let his justice guide you? No.

  You who are the daughter of the creator of a genre of magic. Did you follow in your Mother's footsteps? No

  Remain true to yourself, Ior, for your path to power. If you wish to make it to the end, it only be yours.

  [Your body is yours alone and will always stay true to who you envision yourself to be. The world may twist, and the perception of those around you may ge. But you will always remain yourself, in your mind and the mind of others.]

  —-----

  The three humans read silently. The man seemed to want to scream something, but her shadows restrained him. The blonde girl stared silently without saying anything, the same as the blue-haired one.

  “So, with that out of the way, what have you e to do here. We ighe MALE stained by sin at the back; whatever he wants to say is meaningless.” She started, and with her cw, she poi the blonde one, she retty to look at. Perhaps she could join to her mates. “You blonde one, speak. Whatever you desire, I may grant it for a price.”

  She would probably ask to bask in her presence or to admire her beautiful scales. That would be a cheap price for a new mate; perhaps this one could withstand her [Dragon Might].

  “...I just want to live with my sister.” The blonde girl said, turning to look at the MALE at the back. Was he restraining her sister? If she was as good-looking as her…

  “It shall be granted. As soon as my new batch of hatgs are born, they shall go and rescue her from wherever this MALE has restrained her. For this boon, you only o bee one of my mates.” She spoke with grandeur. This would also be a good excuse to kill the MALE. His stench was getting worse by the sed.

  “WAIT!” The blonde girl spoke, “She IS my sister! What are you talking about? She is a girl!”

  …What?

  “What?” she answered in turn. Was this blonde girl delusional? “That is a MALE, no matter how you look at it. His [Essence] is that of a male of your species, his body is that of a man. His soul…”

  She opened her [Dragon Eyes] fully to look at it. Perhaps he was unlucky and was born with a male body.

  “....Is not there, huh. Did your sister die and is using his body as a carcass? No, I ’t see any soul, only remnants of a mind…Oh…oh you poor thing…” She said as she looked at the blonde girl. She had a [Soul] uhe MALE. “Your sister died, didn’t she? You tried to resurrect her? But no soul was tied to the body. Did you use the body of her murderer? I’m sirl. But that is a husk, not even a [Revenant].”

  It was a sad story, but a [Human] ohey died pretty often; it was on in their species, and they were such a weak caste. Only worth to serve their superiors, “It’s okay, human, you may bee one of my mates, and our first hatg shall have your sister's name. Perhaps I fish her soul from the underworld and reinate her in one of our hatgs!” That would be a good deal if she was being ho. Dying as a human but reinating as a Dragon? It ractically a steal!

  She would o grow her [Soul] into a [Dragon Soul], but having the body of a dragon should uplift her [Soul] and [Mind] quickly enough.

  “...She is alive!” The blonde girl screamed back at her, “Look at her! She may be silly, but she still took care of me, she protected me. She saved me!”

  The girl kept screaming and flooding mana into the shadows around them, the neck her chest abs part of that mana, and part of her mana. The thing soon enough shone, and the figure of a dragon butler maed itself.

  “ht…the [Rogue Hatg].” She said as the butler took a rapier from his belt and poi at the floor.

  “[Mistress….And Mistress…]” The little thing said as it bowed to both the blonde girl and to her. Iing. “[What is that you desire the most Mistress?]”

  What did she desire the most?

  “To live with my family happily.” The blonde girl answered.

  “To be with my mates and enjoy life.” She answered after the blonde girl.

  Both wishes seemed close enough. The blonde girl truly deserved to join her mates. Perhaps the pink one would enjoy her. Or the red one could have some fun with her, too. What were their names? Heh, it matters not.

  “[Then I am truly sorry Mistress Alice, but for your wish to e true…you may his.]” The butler spoke as it walked to one of the empty bottles and took the tears that had fallen from her eye. “[Mistress, apologies for the rude behaviour.]”

  The little thing said as it took a napkin, ed her snout, and made sure it was shining right.

  “Apologies accepted, hatg….What was your name?” she asked the little thing. She didn’t quite remember their names, but the things would probably die somewhere anyway.

  “[Reginald, Mistress. This lowly one is Reginald, the brother to Sebastian, the ohat stood with you most of your first year after your awakening.]” She had another one of these? How many hatgs had she even produced while inside her egg?

  “Reginald? What is this? Do you wao drink…dragon tears?” The blonde girl said while having taken one of the bottles. “What will happen?”

  “[You will….return home Mistress, you will return to our Shadow Empress.]” Reginald spoke in a sad tone.

  “Wasn’t I the shadow Empress?” / “I am the [Shadow Empress].”

  ………………………..

  She stared at the blonde girl as the blonde girl stared at her. She, a great dragon, was the [Shadow Empress]. That was her title, for she had reighe shadows. Ahis girl cimed to be one? With her paltry power over the shadows?

  Ridiculous.

  “Reginald, you cim that she drinking it will make her return to me? Are you implying that she is one of my rogue hatgs? Like the Valkyrie? Like the knights?” She asked the butler.

  “[Not quite Mistress, Lady Alice got separated from you when your Soul got ripped from your body. She remained in the body dormant while your soul was shoved into the body you have right now.]” Reginald said, pointing at the blonde girl.

  “....She has a [Soul], so what? Are you implying that my body had two souls? And o left behind? That is impossible. Not even a [Dragon] have multiple souls.” She scoffed at the deliriums of the butler.

  “[She didn’t have a Soul then; you took part of the remains of an alternate life and nourished it. You grew a fragment into a full-blown soul.]” Reginald answered her, and….that sounded possible? If someone could do that, it would surely be her.

  “That is impossible, that is the domain of [Gods].” The blue-haired woman said, “Elizabeth may be the daughter of two gods, but she isn’t one. Growing a Soul from an [Echo]?”

  The blue-haired oi the blonde girl, “She may be a [Echo] yes, I see fragments of the reality she came from. But even so…that doesn’t mean one turn them into real human beings!” The girl’s mana fred, and ripping one of her blue hair, she summoned a may that took possession of her strand of hair and grew a mana body out of it. “This one is [Afrodita], an echo from a reality where I awoke a power based os. She manipute the senses of others using smell. But even if she move indepely and speak, she doesn’t have a soul!”

  The mana apparition smiled at them and released a sweet aroma, and sure enough to her [Dragon Eyes], that thing didn’t have a soul. “But you are a [Human], and I’m a [Dragon], we move differently.” Was her ao the drum at hand.

  “What will happen to me after drinking this?” The blonde girl spoke. She didn’t doubt nor ask anything about her identity or what they said.

  “[You will return to Mistress. Your mind, soul, and body will melt and joihere….you will sublimate into Mistress, what happens after will depend upon you and her. Should you ma her baanity…or will you succumb to her dragon might. It depends upon both of you.]” Reginald answered.

  “Hah! Do you think a [Puny Human] could move me? As if!” She roared in ughter, “After she nourishes my [Dragon Soul], you will be Rogue Hatg. It is a good per than the Valkyrie. But still fwed.”

  “...Promise you will not kill my sister.” The blonde girl said with fire in her eyes.

  Yes, she liked them with a kick. “I will not kill the MALE. I may even strip the pirl from that body and give her one of my hatgs’ bodies.” So she answered, “After you get assimited, if something remains, I may even give you the body of one of my mates…should they not survive their baptism.”

  Yeah, she could deal with their failure like that. Having the remnants of the soul of someone who dared to look down ohat was hot.

  And while thinking about that, the blonde drank her [Dragon Tears] in one gulp.

  What happens then, you ask?

  Well….?S??h??e? ?f??e??l??t? ?h??e??r? ?s??o??u??l? ?a??c??h??e? ?a??s? ?p??a??i??n? ?c??o??u??r??s??e??d? ?h??e??r? ?b??o??d??y?.