Chapter 9: The Last Two Seeds
After thousands of years, the initial excitement wore off. Marcellus, Damien, and Serafina had so much to be proud of, with their two final eggs growing far larger than the others, but the waiting was becoming a burden. The eggs didn't hatch until 8,000 years after Damien's birth.
On Serafina's 9,000th birthday, a grand gala was held on the Central Island. But Marcellus didn't attend. Over the last 10,000 years, he had become a master of his new abilities. He had learned to shapeshift and had been covertly infiltrating galaxies, recruiting mages and different lifeforms to his side. He had even learned how to manipulate his size—a power inherited from Zoth—and could now grow larger than a mile wide. Still, he rarely used his full Titan form. With his **three iconic dark daggers** and his incredible dark magic as a 6'10" dragon hybrid, his power was more than enough to dominate any force in the universe. During this entire span, the four **Drakain hybrid children** had maintained their unblinking, dutiful guard over the valley, the true nature of their servitude tragically obvious.
As he was concluding a deal in a distant galaxy, he got word that the eggs were finally hatching. In a streak of black electric light, he flew back to Europa, leaving a trail of pure dark energy in his wake.
Meanwhile, Damien, who had been attending his sister's gala, instantly flew back to the valley on the Western Island to watch the birth of his little siblings. It was a spectacle that had been a millennium in the making.
The white egg cracked first, and an electric burst of energy shot into the sky. Out of the shell crawled a white dragon, **Charles**, who zipped around the egg, sniffing and observing his surroundings with a curious, energetic lightning field pulsing around him.
As soon as Charles crawled out of his shell, the larger black egg next to it imploded with a thick, ominous, shadowy mist. From the mist emerged **Valerian**, a black dragon who was visibly larger than his twin. Valerian stared at his older observers, then looked at his twin brother, Charles, and gave a chilling smile.
Serafina and Damien stood ready, their powers coiled, anticipating their father's decree. The long-awaited duel was about to begin.
Finally, Marcellus appeared, a wide, proud smile on his face. He looked at the two small dragons, then at his two older children, and in that moment, the obsession with the number three faded. He scooped up the two boys and walked toward Damien and Serafina. He handed them their new siblings, then wrapped his massive wings around his entire family, a rare show of raw, possessive affection.
It was a perfect moment, a family united. For a fleeting second, his mind went back to his own childhood. He had no family. He had no one. He was alone. But now, he had a dynasty, a new bloodline, a new beginning. He had his perfect triad, and he would use his family to take over Pandora and start a new future