"Then, since you already knew I was human…" Leon looked at his youngest daughter. "Why did you keep asking me to transform into a dragon just now, Little Light? Can I? Can I really transform?"
Aurora chuckled silently, a sly glint in her pink eyes.
General Leon paused, then the realization dawned on him. "Yo… You little…"
When he had first met this future version of Aurora, hearing her cold, clinical tone, he'd wondered if the past twenty years had hardened her. After all, this was the same daughter who had once refused to speak for two months just to prolong her parents' amusing bickering.
But now—as the saying goes, mountains and rivers may change, but one's nature is hard to alter.
The troublemaker was still a troublemaker. She had just grown into a beautiful woman and traded childish whims for a lab coat.
"Mom used to enjoy watching you squirm, Dad. I guess I just inherited that from her," Aurora explained with flawless logic.
"So… when will you take me to see your mom and Muen?"
"We can go right now. But I thought you'd have a lot of questions first. Like what the current situation is," Noah said.
Leon's eyes grew determined. "I can ask questions along the way. And… no matter how bad the situation is, I can handle it. Right now, I just want to see your sister and mom as soon as possible."
Hiss—
Aurora took a sharp breath. "If anyone else said that, I'd call it bragging. But when you say it, Dad… I actually believe you can do it."
That was the feeling she'd had hours ago upon seeing him again: Dad's back. The strongest man is back. All problems will be solved.
Noah also allowed a knowing smile. The old fool was just as confident as ever—maybe even a little bit chuunibyou.
"Alright, let's go." Noah stood up and headed for the cave's exit. "Little Light, you must be tired after flying all the way here."
"Yeah, pretty tired." Aurora rubbed her shoulder theatrically. "I just learned how to transform, flew a long distance, and even carried a 77-kilogram idiot on my back."
"Did you have to be that precise…"
"It's called a scientist's respect for data, Dad."
Leon couldn't help but laugh. Bantering with his youngest daughter felt strikingly similar to his old verbal sparring matches with Rossweise. That only made him more eager to see the Rossweise of twenty years later—provided she didn't greet him with a punch that could shatter his duodenum.
Lost in thought, he followed his daughters out of the cave.
Noah spread her magnificent dragon wings, shifting into her draconic form. She was a stunning silver, as befitted her lineage, but with a unique gradient of black scales tracing her form—a mark of her half-human heritage. Aside from being smaller than Rossweise, she was every bit as majestic.
Leon and Aurora climbed onto her back, and Noah surged into the sky.
As they left the gorge, Leon looked back, remembering Aurora's words about Noah waiting for him here.
"Waiting…" he mused. "Noah, you've been waiting here the whole time for me, haven't you?"
"Yes."
"Then… Little Light waited for me at the Silver Dragon Sanctuary?"
"Yes, Dad," Aurora confirmed. "Those were the only two places you might come back to. We had to split up and wait."
Leon turned her words over in his mind. She had stated they waited in separate places but carefully omitted the duration—twenty years. Aurora played the carefree trickster, but her mind was razor-sharp.
He scratched his temple. "But what if… I never came back?"
"Then—"
"Then we would keep waiting," Noah finished, her voice steady.
Leon looked at the powerful silver dragon carrying him. His daughters had grown up, yet in some ways, they hadn't. They were strong, mature, and steady, but they still held onto a childlike, unwavering stubbornness.
Waiting for someone without knowing if they would ever return was one of the most torturous things in the world.
Leon buried his face in his hands and let out a heavy, shuddering sigh.
Aurora watched him silently, offering no empty comfort.
Under the cloak of night, the silver dragon flew on, heading for a secluded part of the dragon territories where the truth of everything lay in wait.
.
.
.
After nearly nine hours of flight, Noah finally began to slow. They were over a dense, uncharted forest, far from any signs of dragon civilization.
Noah descended gracefully into the woods, transformed back, and turned to her companions. "Let's go."
Leon nodded, following her and Aurora deeper into the forest. They were now a vast distance from the Silver Dragon Sanctuary. The peaceful surroundings showed no signs of war, leaving Leon to wonder if they had left voluntarily or been driven out.
But soon, he would see Rossweise and Muen. Soon, he would learn everything.
Noah led them along a narrow, twisting path so complex it would lose any outsider. After twenty minutes, they reached a massive, moss-covered boulder that blocked the way.
The path ended.
Noah raised her hand and pressed it gently against the stone. It flickered irregularly and then vanished.
Illusion magic. High-level illusion magic—Leon hadn't sensed it at all. He'd assumed there was a physical mechanism.
Behind the vanished boulder was a dark tunnel. His daughters stepped inside, and Leon followed closely. The moment they were all in, the boulder shimmered back into existence.
Their footsteps echoed in the darkness. Noah bent down, lit a torch from the corner with a precise breath of dragonfire, and illuminated the path ahead.
Leon was quietly impressed. Noah's innate element was lightning, like his. While learning a secondary element wasn't rare, mastering it to this degree of control at her age was exceptional. The overachiever hadn't changed a bit.
"Let's keep going," Noah's voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"Alright."
They traversed the tunnel, arriving at a spiraling staircase leading deep underground. At the bottom was a well-crafted subterranean space.
Noah placed the torch beside a sturdy wooden door, reached out, and pushed it open.
At the sound of the door, a cheerful, familiar voice rang out from within:
"Sis, Little Light, you're finally back!"
"What did you find this time?"
"Mom's still the same, and I've been keeping her company, chatting with her."
"Sis, I want steak, can you make me some later—"
The voice cut off with a gasp.
Thud.
A porcelain cup shattered on the floor.
Standing in the center of the room, frozen with wide, disbelieving eyes, was a young woman who shared Noah's face but radiated a completely different, vibrant energy.
"—Dad… Daddy?!"