The flight back was uneventful, I sensed another human ship moving towards the wreckage of the one I had attacked earlier yet I did not care much. I already finished my task, and bullying a weak race is no fun hence why I decided to just head back home, leaving them on their own.
If Ember or the others want to take care of them, then that's none of my business. Although I did not see the land where I came from, I could still sense its general direction. After a short flight, the fog reappeared as the mountains emerged from behind it. I managed to spot the giant cliff where I had jumped from and made my way there.
Grandfather and the rest of the adults were already waiting for me. As soon as I landed, the other adults gave me nods of improvement as my grandfather stepped forward towards me. "Well done Aether," He commanded me as I could feel his mana dancing around my body filling me with strength.
I stood with my back straight and my head held high as I replied. "I have completed my trial grandfather," I said to which he nodded. "Good, it's time for us to go back home," saying that, grandfather turned to glance at the other adults, I could feel the mana fluctuate around them as they silently communicated with each other before his mana brought me to his back.
I turned to cast one final glance at the adults who were respectively waiting for their younglings to come back from their trials as grandfather flapped his giant wings pulling us away from the land. 'I guess this is it,' I thought as I peeked at the horizon where the sun was slowly setting, I felt that it was a shame since I didn't manage to see the younglings one last time before I left.
The flight back home was silent, grandfather didn't say and neither did I. It was not long ago that I left home to start the trials, but here I am, already on my way back. I know I should have been excited, and I should have been looking forward to going back now that everything was over, yet I couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed.
I watched the scenery change below as we passed by the Dragon road once again, I scanned the various statues while my mind wandered into a different place. I was still replaying the last trial in my mind, I didn't know why but I truly felt disappointed, It was all too anticlimactic.
Grandfather must have sensed my strange mood as he suddenly spoke. "What's wrong Aether?" He asked bringing back to my senses, I shook my head and replied. "Nothing grandfather, I just feel a bit..." I didn't know what to say when he suddenly interrupted. "You feel empty?" He asked, his voice carrying a hint of a smile.
"Yes..." I answered with a sigh to which he let out a hearty laugh. "That's normal my boy," He said causing me to frown. "It is?" I asked in confusion.
"Of course! That just means you are a Dragon! You are feeling empty and disappointed because you had your expectations set too high, you were looking forward to a fight, only for it to end up the way it did, and that's completely normal," He said with a laugh.
"Does that mean the same happened to you?" I asked.
"Of course!"
"And what did you do to make yourself feel better?"
"Well, I would go on a raid as that always does the trick!" He answered with a wide grin. "A raid?" I asked with my curiosity picked at the new term. "Yes, a raid my boy is when we launch an attack on the realm of the Shades," He explained, a slight hint of bloodlust escaped his body causing a shiver to run down my spine.
I gulped before asking. "Grandfather, what exactly are the Shades?" Hearing my question, grandfather paused for a while before letting out a long sigh. "The Shades are abominations that seek to destroy all that exists, their very presence causes harm to the stream of mana which breaks the balance of the realm, hence why it's our duty to deal with them," He explained, and for the first time, I learned more about the world.
"I see," I mumbled as I tried to take on all the information I have been told. Grandfather didn't seem to have finished speaking as he continued. "Balance is what holds everything together Aether, the stream of mana must never be disturbed remember that!" He said with a serious voice causing me to unconsciously nod in understanding.
"Yes sir!" I replied with a frown, grandfather seemed to put a lot of importance on holding the balance and whatnot, although I didn't quite understand what he meant by that, I still remembered his words very carefully, 'The stream of mana must never be disturbed,' I repeated.
"The humans are getting out of line with their magic experiments, they don't see what we see, and don't know what we know, If they continue down this line I fear for the day the prophecy of the King comes true," He mumbled, his words this time did not appear to have been directed to me.
'The king's prophecy huh? So many things I don't understand,' I thought as I turned to glance at the land below, If the mountain hadn't moved since the last time I left, then we were getting closer. The scenery changed to the ancient battlefield where Amanita's corpse lied alongside that of the dead gods.
Soon, the giant floating mountain appeared in the distance casting its long shadow on the land below. I took a deep breath as I felt my mood turn for the better, 'I never thought I'd say this, but I missed home,' I inwardly mumbled as my mouth curved upwards in a smile.
'I wonder how those little rascals are doing?'
Grandfather headed straight to the mountain, moments later we had already landed in front of th large cave entrance. Mother came rushing outside with an anxious expression on her face, I was momentarily surprised at her display of emotions, once her eye met mine, she visibly heaved a sigh of relief before reverting back to her previous poker face.
I quickly climbed down from my grandfather's back and gave a quick bow to my mother, to my surprise, her tail moved to gently bring me closer to her side. She didn't say anything and didn't even look at me, she simply held me close.
A smile unconsciously made its way into my face as I felt warm inside. I could sense the mana fluctuations in the air as mother seemed to be talking with my grandfather, her face turned into a frown as a dangerous aura escaped her body before she quickly calmed herself.
Grandfather gave her a nod to which she bowed down slightly in respect, he then turned his gaze towards me and spoke. "I'll be seeing you little one, stay safe," He said in a gentle tone before he jumped into the sky causing dust to rise and then flew away towards the horizon.
'He didn't even let me say anything,' I inwardly mumbled, just then I could feel mother's gaze on me. I raised my head to meet hers as her deep gentle voice resounded in my ears.
"What name did the King bestow on you, my child?" She asked with a hint of a smile, to which I replied by proudly puffing my chest and raising my head high.
"Aether! My name is Aether!" I said, earning me a never-before-seen chuckle from mother.