Noah had been feeling a bit troubled lately. The ancient ancestor residing in her mind constantly complained that her four-year-old dragon body was accumulating primordial power far too slowly.
His warnings were dire: "At this rate, by the time I've gathered enough primordial power to restore my strength, the Ultimate Terror will already be dancing a jig on the ashes of the world."
To avoid witnessing this apocalyptic awkwardness, the ancestor had been relentlessly urging Noah to grow up faster.
"I think you need a refresher on basic modern biology," Noah finally retorted one day.
Within the dark golden stream of her consciousness, she seriously began to explain to the ancestor. "There are two types of young dragons: cocoon-born and womb-born.
"Cocoon-born young dragons inherit a portion of their mother's power at birth, so they grow and develop much faster.
"Womb-born young dragons are born naturally from their mother. They don't develop horns until adulthood and are generally less powerful compared to cocoon-born dragons. This also includes slower physical development.
"Unfortunately for you," Noah concluded, "your host—me—is a womb-born dragon."
The massive white dragon, the visual manifestation of the ancestor, lay quietly on the water's surface. Its enormous eyes reflected Noah's small figure. After listening to her explanation, it replied lazily, "I don't see any sign of 'less powerful than a cocoon-born' in this womb-born dragon. With your skills, you could easily take on three cocoon-born dragons at once."
Having spent so much time in Noah's consciousness, the ancestor had come to understand his little host very well. She was a girl of both immense talent and fierce determination. Not only was she unmatched among her peers, but she was also outstanding even among young adult dragons.
"Skills don't equate to physical growth," Noah shrugged, unswayed. "There's no way I can suddenly have a body like my dad or mom overnight, like you want."
The ancestor, of course, understood this. He let out a light, rumbling sigh. "Since you've given me a biology lesson, I'll share a bit of history with you."
Noah's small face remained expressionless, but she nodded, crossing her legs as she sat on the water's surface, ready to listen.
"In the beginning," the ancestor began, "there was no concept of 'cocoon-born' among dragons. All young dragons were naturally born from their mothers.
"But as internal conflicts among the dragons intensified, wars broke out. The tribes found themselves desperately short of soldiers and had no choice but to send young dragons to the battlefield.
"Over time, they realized it still wasn't enough. Most young dragons ended up as cannon fodder, making no real impact on the war.
"So, a new method of nurturing was developed—one where the young dragons could inherit power directly from their mothers. These cocoon-born dragons grew rapidly and had exceptional learning abilities.
"This method didn't require a mate; a single dragon could achieve it alone.
"And this method of nurturing is what your generation calls... 'cocoon-born.'"
Noah listened quietly. Though her little face remained neutral, a small ripple of emotion stirred inside her. So, long ago, all dragons were born from both parents. But they had developed the 'cocoon-born' method purely to gain an advantage in a brutal civil war...
The conflict between womb-born and cocoon-born dragons was something Noah had experienced firsthand. When she first started at St. Heath Academy, she had almost fallen victim to bullying because she was womb-born. Thankfully, the Melkvey family's female dragons were known for being able to handle multiple opponents. Noah had soundly taught those bullies a lesson and had unofficially become the anti-bullying representative of the young dragon division.
But just because Noah could defend herself didn't mean other womb-born dragons could. This conflict, regardless of its origins, had affected generations. The identity crisis established in a dragon's youth could follow them for life, sometimes persisting even a century later.
"Eventually, I ended the dragon civil war," the ancestor continued, "but the 'cocoon-born' method remained. Dragons liked this shortcut to gaining powerful strength without the long and tedious process of natural growth.
"Noah," the ancestor's tone shifted, becoming more personal. "If you could choose how you were born, would you choose to be cocoon-born or womb-born?"
Noah blinked, thought for a moment, and then answered firmly, "Womb-born."
The response seemed to light up the ancestor's eyes, and he even seemed a bit excited. "Why? Cocoon-born dragons have many advantages from birth. Isn't all your hard work for the sake of gaining power?"
Noah lowered her head, looking at her small right hand, and said softly, "I like the process of... slowly accumulating strength. It lets me see and feel myself getting stronger, bit by bit. Not just inheriting power directly from my mom. If I did that, it would feel like something important was missing from my life."
Hearing this answer, the ancestor thought that calling her "ambitious" might not be entirely fitting. Noah worked hard not only to gain power and her parents' approval but also because she genuinely wanted a fuller, more vibrant life. Having such insight at her young age... the ancestor felt a slight twinge of admiration.
"What about you?" Noah suddenly asked, turning the tables.
"Huh?"
"If you could choose, would you pick to be cocoon-born or womb-born?"
This time, the ancestor didn't answer immediately. He just stared at Noah, then slowly shifted his gaze to the calm surface of the water. He seemed to be lost in memory, so Noah didn't rush him.
After a long while, the ancestor finally spoke, his voice distant. "Cocoon-born or womb-born... I would choose neither."
Noah raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because..." the ancestor's voice was barely a whisper in her mind. "My birth was a mistake."
.
.
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In the grand hall later that day, Rossweise was tending to her duties. Suddenly, she caught sight of a small figure sneaking peeks at her from behind a pillar out of the corner of her eye. The queen glanced over, then smiled subtly and pretended not to notice, continuing her work.
Behind the pillar, Noah quickly pulled back her head.
Why did you want me to come find Mom? she thought, addressing the ancestor.
I told you, your body is accumulating primordial power too slowly, and your mother can help us with that.
What do you mean? Are you going to come clean to her? If you do, my parents will do whatever it takes to drag you out of my head.
No, no. I meant the pendant she's wearing. It could help us.
Hearing that, Noah cautiously peeked out again, looking at her mother on the throne. The milky-white pendant on her chest was hanging freely in the air. Noah remembered her mom saying it was a wedding gift from Great-grandmother Veronica. It was made of a rare material, but as far as Noah knew, it had nothing to do with primordial power.
No, that's Great-grandmother's wedding gift to Mom. Don't even think about it, Noah refused flatly. She paused, then asked, Besides, how do you know that pendant can help accumulate primordial power faster?
I can sense it, the ancestor insisted. That pendant is made from primordial crystal. I don't know how your mother got it, but the priority right now is using it to help us speed up your accumulation of primordial power.
No way! I told you, it's my mom's wedding gift. It's very important to her.
Noah wouldn't compromise on this. Her mom cherished her marriage to her dad and naturally valued her wedding gifts. There was no way Noah would agree to take her mom's pendant just to help the old ancestor speed things up.
Ah~ You're such a stubborn little brat. I really can't deal with you sometimes!
Hmph.
Noah scoffed lightly. She peeked out again to see if her mom had noticed her, planning to slip away. But when she looked towards the throne, her mom was no longer there.
Noah blinked in confusion. It's not break time yet... Where did Mom—
"Noah."
"Ah!—"
A cool, gentle voice suddenly spoke from directly behind her, nearly scaring the ancestor right out of Noah's mind. Noah's small tail shot straight up in fright. "M-Mom... when did you get here...?"
"I heard some noise over here, so I came to check," Rossweise said with a soft smile, leaning down slightly to look into Noah's eyes with a loving gaze. "What are you doing here?"
Noah leaned back a bit, her eyes unconsciously darting to the pendant resting on her mother's chest. It gleamed in the sunlight, clear and radiant. "I was... um... I was—"
"Waiting for us!"
Before Noah could finish, a tuft of pink hair appeared between them. Moments later, Muen grabbed Noah's left hand, while Aurora took her right. They both looked up at Rossweise with innocent smiles.
"Mom, big sis was waiting for me and second sis just now, right, big sis?" Aurora chirped, her voice full of manufactured cheer.
Noah blinked in confusion, but Muen gave her a frantic, wide-eyed look. Noah quickly caught on. "Oh! Oh, right. I was waiting for Aurora. We planned to play in the backyard."
Muen scratched her head, genuinely confused. "Huh? Did we plan that—"
"Yes! Of course, we did!" Aurora interrupted loudly, forcefully dragging her two older sisters toward the back door. "Mom, you keep working. We're going to play~"
Rossweise seemed like she wanted to say something more, but ultimately just waved a hand and reminded them, "Be careful."
"Got it, Mom!"
The three daughters' laughter and chatter echoed as they ran off to the backyard, their voices fading into the distance. Left alone in the hall, Rossweise scratched her temple thoughtfully, a faint frown on her face.
"Why does it feel like..." she murmured to herself, "...Noah's acting a bit strange lately?"