Mid Afternoon - Mid Summer : Valtivar | Siratha

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*pitter-patter* *cr-RACK-rumble* "So.. I take a water molecule and.. try to.. split it..." The silent pitter-patter of rain followed periodic claps of lightning as Krystallo hung her head in thought. "It's supposed to be.. two small parts and one big one..."

The tiny droplet of water she was focusing on was almost invisible, yet its size was irrelevant to the mental gears grinding in her head. "The 'small ones' you see are Hydrogen atoms, and the large ones are Oxygen atoms. There are a few ways to split them, but try using electricity first. Just be gentle. Start with a lower intensity and slowly ramp it up until you see it split apart."

She glanced up at me while I instructed her before closing her eyes again and letting out a deep, foggy breath. "Hooh..."

It had been just over four days since I returned from the impromptu event at the Tree of Prayer at that point, but I can't say much happened.

Having to bend to Krystallo's will, I had been giving her lessons essentially non-stop ever since I got back, with very few breaks. -But while she's progressed a lot because of it.. after four straight days of lessons, I'd be willing to bet she'll hit her limit with this one...- Currently, I was starting to teach her about my thruster magic, as per her demand. -But I think it'll be a bit beyond her ability...-

However, within moments of that thought, the small bundle of water started to boil, and eventually, the single water molecule she focused on, split. -Well, at least she isn't giving up...- "When you see the particle you're focused on split, slowly expand the bubble of mana you're reading to encompass more particles until you find a comfortable limit. For now, just focus on splitting everything you can see in that bubble and tell me when you're done."

The soft sound of rain dripping from the canopy filled the silence as Krystallo concentrated on her spell. However, when she reopened her eyes, there was a hint of uncertainty in her gaze. "D..done..." She sounded a bit disappointed.

"Alright." Swiftly creating a torus of vacuum magic around her bubble of mana, I created a fairly sizable open space beneath it. "Now, push the hydrogen and oxygen you just split down, but don't follow it. Instead, look toward the top where the water is going to flow in and start splitting it as you see it... For this, flatten the large spherical space you're reading down into a plane and only split apart the water as it enters and passes through that plane. Just keep in mind that how fast you push things will dictate the flow of everything, so start slow."

"O-Okay!" Eagerly returning her focus to her mana, the water started to flow, and the mix of pure hydrogen and oxygen started to flow into the pocket I made, albeit slowly.

-Her control and calculative speed has improved by leaps and bounds over the last few days, but I might have to stop her after this one...- Her pace wasn't terrible, but I could tell it also wasn't her best. -Her mind needs to rest...-

Although I knew she'd hate it, after continually monitoring her brain activity during the lessons, I could tell the mental fatigue was catching up to her. -And this exercise definitely won't help it.-

*vwoom* -But she'll be alright for now...- Giving her a moment to focus, I silenced the room and simply watched her work.

As expected, her technique and control were far from adequate, even for such a tiny sphere of water, but to my surprise, her pace improved so much in the time she worked on it that she split all but a few molecules of water in the droplet in just over two minutes, and finished with a pace I would expect from an early or mid elder stage dragon.

However, that speed, expectedly, came at a cost. "I.. think I'm done..." She looked utterly drained, almost as if steam were about to burst from her ears.

-Yeah, it's time for a break... The timing worked out too...- "That was really fast! Good job." Gently patting her on the head with my wing, the exhaustion on her face seemed to vanish, if only for a second.

"Hehe~! Really?"

I immediately nodded with a bit of pride, even though it was purely a result of her own talent. "Yeah, you beat Mom's first time by several minutes."

Her eyes instantly lit up like gleaming stars before speaking with joyful disbelief, "I don't believe you!" She spoke like she didn't believe it but also wanted it to be true.

"Well, if you don't believe me, why don't you go ask her yourself?"

Her posture instantly straightened before I motioned my head to the side.

"He isn't lying, sweetie." Sitting and watching from the entrance of the room was Mother, her warm smile being a truly refreshing sight.

"Mom!" Krystallo, leaping onto her feet, darted over instantly. "Is that true?!"

Mother, who had been watching for several minutes nodded with an odd mix of pride and embarrassment. "That test took me about seven minutes on my first try." She quickly looked up at me. "What was Krystallo's final time?"

"About two minutes and seven seconds."

Mother playfully hung her head in defeat while holding her smile with pride. "It seems like Vasilias wasn't the only abnormality." Stretching her wing out around Krystallo, she hooked her in before rubbing her cheek and showering her with praise.

Mother's first tests began back when we were still at the home I was born in, and while her first tests were indeed around five to seven minutes, the last test I gave her was only twenty seconds. On par with what I'd expect from a young ancient. -I should get back into the routine of giving her lessons as well...-

Sitting back and enjoying the atmosphere for a moment, I watched Krystallo crawl between Mother's front legs and hold her head up into Mother's chest.

But after a moment, Krystallo's pure, warm smile faded. "So, where's Dad?" Looking around, she tried probing around with her aura but clearly didn't sense him.

Mother spoke calmly though. "He's downstairs resting while the maids get our rooms ready... He pushed himself quite a bit to make sure he was done with everything before we got here." Looking up at me, I felt like I could see a bead of sweat on her forehead. "I know you told him not to, but since I told him I wouldn't let him do anything here in Siratha either, he ended up pushing himself."

"Well, at least he'll have a moment to relax now..." But as I glanced towards where I felt his aura, I noticed he was right beneath us. "Is he alright being this close to my aura now?"

Mother immediately shook her head. "He still struggled on his way inside, but the mana accumulation rune in the floor of this room is thankfully alleviating most of the pressure on people below."

"Ah, that's good..." Looking back toward Father through the ground, I tried to ease some of the tension in my chest, but after a moment just looked back up at Mother. "So, Mother, now that you're here, I'm going to leave for a couple days."

Krystallo immediately locked her eyes on me with some ferocity before Mother's gaze settled on me. "Is that so?"

She spoke calmly, but Krystallo didn't share that sentiment. "EXCUSE ME?!"

It was inevitable. "I need to go visit a friend of mine. I'm hoping they'll be able to help me get a grasp on my aura because right now, I'm at a loss."

*FWOOSH* Darting across the room at full speed, Krystallo clamped onto my leg like her life depended on it. "Then you're bringing me with you!"

But that was something I had already given plenty of thought. "I can't." I knew she wouldn't be happy when I said it. "You need some time to rest after everything over the last few days, and I urgently need a way to get a handle on my aura."

Her grip only tightened with my words, but after a moment, she noticed I wasn't going to bend a knee. "Then.. I'll rest while you're gone... You will only be two days, right?!" She looked up at me with determined eyes.

"Yes, two days, I promise."

"Hmph." Finally letting go of me, she held her nose up while looking away from me. "If you're a single minute late, there will be consequences." She sounded a bit like Mother.

But it just made Mother interject with a chuckle. "Haha, Krystallo, don't be so demanding of your brother. I know he was gone for a while, and you miss him, but it's not like he's leaving for long." She spoke softly while looking toward Krystallo, but somehow it felt like her words were daggers aimed at me.

-Uh oh...- I felt a cold bead of sweat form on my head instantly. -I might really get in trouble if I don't get back in a timely manner this time...- I felt like a kid who stayed out after curfew one too many times.

But, after a bit more idle chatter laced with hidden intentions, I made my swift departure through the void, not wasting a single instant to move to the upper atmosphere before beginning my flight to the Holy Kingdom.

It was time to meet up with Hera, a demigod stage dragon from over ten thousand years ago and the only person I figured could help me, but after not seeing her for eight years, I had to expect her body to be mostly reconstructed and had to expect a foreign appearance. -Although I really have to wonder what she'll look like...-

In order to not be too taken aback when I saw her, my mind wandered the entire flight, burning through countless possibilities of what she would look like before finally coming up on the mountain.

But while I had imagined millions, if not billions of possible appearances for her, there wasn't a single one that was even close.

As I finally crested the edge of the caldera, sensing her aura as well as the core, I was instantly met with the gaze of a deep-ocean-blue scaled dragon, with countless sleek white horns, two main colossal wings with two smaller ones behind them, and an extremely long tail with laid, webbed spikes akin to fins along the top and bottom.

Her eyes, as deep as the ocean stared into mine, but while I felt my heart race slightly, I felt no fear. -W..what the...-

Although it was a conservative estimate, she was easily five times my height, with an aura not that much smaller than my own, but somehow, even after my dragon sleep, I felt something I wasn't sure I would ever feel again.

Uncertainty. -I wonder.. if I could beat her in a fight...-

Before I knew it, I felt a wave of excitement and eagerness to finally land and talk to her.

But within the mix of emotions, there were sensations I had never felt before, sensations completely foreign to me no matter how deep within my soul I looked.

But back then, I simply racked it all up to whatever I could explain it with.

Not that that was a bad thing.

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Possible Seasonal Bonus Chapter Tomorrow or the Day After

In the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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