I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

She felt the presence of someone opening a doorway into her demesne. It was…weird. She felt as if someone had opened a way path from the far beyond. The smell that hit her nostrils was that of a foreign mana. The stench of smog and civilization, the stench of artificially attuned mana, not the natural one that should be flowing into the great circle.

 

No, this was mana that was artificially altered to match something. 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 second 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 hatchling came and went, it changed nothing. She was already nursing a new generation of hatchlings to deal with it, the rogue hatchlings led by one of her earlier sentient 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 managed to make her hatchling rally against her, at least they had enough intelligence to know that attacking her was impossible. But the fact that they raised their arms against her when she wanted to finish the [Baptize] of her mates made her angry.

 

The gall!

She only wanted to accelerate their baptize to be done with it, but since they 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 hatchlings…

 

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

 

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

 

Perhaps these interlopers had detected her [Crown] and wanted it? 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 gorgeous dragons ever. Her golden scales shone with the occasional azure sparks of electricity coursing her body.

 

Her tail was slim and sharp, with black 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 perfect blanket 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 crown didn’t want her. Because she hadn’t finished forming her [Dragon Gems]? She wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. She knew that [Devouring] one of her mates would be enough to fully form a fourth gem, but her stupid heart kept aching 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 inflection was wrong, but the voice? That was familiar.

 

“Okay, you two, when we get to her…Let me talk.” A third and last voice spoke. This one also felt nostalgic, even though she couldn’t recognize it.

 

So…she knew two 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 lock on the memories lest something happen to them. She knew they had something important, and that was part 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 needed to stay here. She knew that being with her mate was important, but she could feel her connection to her, and her mana was feeding her. The 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 face and putting them in a flask. She had been harvesting her tears 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 crying 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 place where she had set her dragon roost. So, she evaluated the danger and entities 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 black-haired man who made her want to puke, black hair and black 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 innocent girls. She almost could see the souls of those who died at his hands. And yet, 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 blonde to his right.

 

The girl to his right was a blonde, similarly dressed in a skirt, only she was using black tones in contrast with the light ones of the man. She was wearing ankle-length boots that left her legs bare, a black 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 gorgeous blonde and her eyes blue made her look more like a rich girl throwing a tantrum, to be honest.

 

“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 telling me that 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 last 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 chanting ancient spells…the works.

 

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

 

*GRRRRR*

 

“Elizabeth? It’s me…Jenna. Remember me?” The blue-haired entity started speaking in a soft voice. “I know that the last time you saw me, we were little…Like, was it at your eight-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 much in the grand scheme of things; she was a higher-order dragon, after all. But this woman had hung around with her egg?

 

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

 

It was stupid to pretend to use a [Human] name with 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 woman spoke again, “Perhaps you would remember me like this?”

 

Then, the woman’s mana turned into a funnel, engulfing all of it and changing her form. From an adult woman, she turned into the mockery of a child. “Remember me like this? We used to play 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 claim 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 commanded, and the shadows answered. The MALE was promptly chained to a wall with his mouth sewn shut.

 

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

 

“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. One step was all it took for his mana to come 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 conceded to the armored figure as its figure changed back once again to that vague form of mana surrounded by a thousand-man army behind her. “You may speak your case…Jenna Lewis.”

 

“...What happened to 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 can the hatchling of a dragon be but a dragon?” She asked back instead, it was stupid.

 

“...That….is actually a good point. He was powerful, 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 happened to me.” Even so, she answered, “I am that which I desire to be, my form can only change because I wish for it to change.”

 

She even had one of those stupid blue boxes to confirm it. A mere flick from her claw was all she needed for the box to manifest in front of everyone to see. “Read it [Human], I am what I envision myself to be; nothing in this world can ever change that. Not your puny [Human Gods], not [The World]. Not the army behind you….and certainly….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 [Villain], they turn to villainy even if only to spite them to show them what true [Villainy] is. But you? You aren't like most, are you? You who was once a proud scion of an ancient clan. Did you let that define you? No. You who were at the peak of Lightning Manipulation. 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, Inheritor, for your path to power. If you wish to make it to the end, it can 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 change. 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 come to do here. We can ignore the MALE stained by sin at the back; whatever he wants to say is meaningless.” She started, and with her claw, she pointed at the blonde one, she was pretty 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 hatchlings are born, they shall go and rescue her from wherever this MALE has restrained her. For this boon, you only need to become 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 second.

 

“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 can’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] unlike the 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 sorry, girl. But that is a husk, not even a [Revenant].”

 

It was a sad story, but a [Human] one. They died pretty often; it was common in their species, and they were such a weak caste. Only worth to serve their superiors, “It’s okay, human, you may become one of my mates, and our first hatchling shall have your sister's name. Perhaps I can fish her soul from the underworld and reincarnate her in one of our hatchlings!” That would be a good deal if she was being honest. Dying as a human but reincarnating as a Dragon? It was practically a steal!

 

She would need to 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 necklace on her chest absorbing part of that mana, and part of her mana. The thing soon enough shone, and the figure of a dragon butler manifested itself.

 

“Oh…right…the [Rogue Hatchling].” She said as the butler took a rapier from his belt and pointed it at the floor.

 

“[Mistress….And Mistress…]” The little thing said as it bowed to both the blonde girl and to her. Interesting. “[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 come true…you may need this.]” 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, cleaned her snout, and made sure it was shining right.

 

“Apologies accepted, hatchling….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 one that stood with you most of your first year after your awakening.]” She had another one of these? How many hatchlings had she even produced while inside her egg?

 

“Reginald? What is this? Do you want me to 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 reign over the shadows. And yet this girl claimed to be one? With her paltry power over the shadows?

 

Ridiculous.

 

“Reginald, you claim that she drinking it will make her return to me? Are you implying that she is one of my rogue hatchlings? 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 one got left behind? That is impossible. Not even a [Dragon] can 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 woman pointed at the blonde girl, “She may be a [Echo] yes, I can see fragments of the reality she came from. But even so…that doesn’t mean one can turn them into real human beings!” The girl’s mana flared, and ripping one of her blue hair, she summoned a mana entity 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 on scents. She can manipulate the senses of others using smell. But even if she can move independently 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 answer to the conundrum 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 join her. There….you will sublimate into Mistress, what happens after will depend upon you and her. Should you manage to bring her back to humanity…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 laughter, “After she nourishes my [Dragon Soul], you will be next Rogue Hatchling. It is a good plan, better than the Valkyrie. But still flawed.”

 

“...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 poor girl from that body and give her one of my hatchlings’ bodies.” So she answered, “After you get assimilated, 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 on her? That was hot.

 

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

 

What happens then, you ask?

 

Well….̷S̷̷h̷̷e̷ ̷f̷̷e̷̷l̷̷t̷ ̷h̷̷e̷̷r̷ ̷s̷̷o̷̷u̷̷l̷ ̷a̷̷c̷̷h̷̷e̷ ̷a̷̷s̷ ̷p̷̷a̷̷i̷̷n̷ ̷c̷̷o̷̷u̷̷r̷̷s̷̷e̷̷d̷ ̷h̷̷e̷̷r̷ ̷b̷̷o̷̷d̷̷y̷.