Chapter 29: Twin Horns
“Raphael, Raphael”
Raphael’s soul felt like it had been burned to ashes by that terrifying temperature. Her consciousness lingered in darkness, but she seemed to see a faint point of light. She hurriedly reached for that light, allowing it to burst forth with a gentle glow.
In the next moment, she opened her eyes in confusion, only to see a white-haired female dragon, adorned with intricate decorations, sitting by her bedside, smiling at her.
That was her mother.
“Mommy”
It felt like she had returned to her room in the tribe; this small room was filled with things she had brought back from outside the tribe, things she had never been willing to leave.
She was the youngest child of her parents, and the most special one. Within the entire tribe, she was the only dragon with red scales, which made her always feel different from other children.
“Ah, Raphael, it seems you’ve grown up”
The kind dragon gently touched her temple, where her glowing red dragon horn radiated her energy. However, the other side of her cheek seemed to have been cracked by lava; the turbulent magical circuit was still writhing, making her face somewhat grotesque.
But right now, it seemed that Raphael had temporarily bid farewell to pain, under her mother’s gentle gaze.
“But… I feel like I failed. It hurts so much, other dragons and Mill never felt this way when they came of age… why am I so different from other dragons?”
“Ah, you dear”
Her mother chuckled softly, bringing her golden dragon horn to rest against the newly grown crimson dragon horn of Raphael. They both closed their eyes simultaneously, yet they could still sense each other’s feelings and warmth; this was the meaning of touching horns among dragons.
“The souls of dragons are all fiery, very hot, like the sun. They always guide dragons who have lost their way home, and can return with them to their tribe, becoming a new part of that tribe.”
“Am I… am I also like that?”
“Yes, Mommy is like that too. Each of our souls has gone through a long journey, and your soul, Raphael, must be the most dazzling among them. Your soul is extraordinary, and you are our child, so do not be afraid, Raphael, you will definitely become the most outstanding dragon.”
In that gentle voice, like a lullaby, Raphael seemed to melt into her warm embrace. Everything around her kept burning, yet she felt no heat, only warmth remained.
At this moment, another crimson dragon horn slowly grew out within her mother’s trust and warm embrace, just as hot, just as beautiful as the one that had already grown.
The pain gradually faded away, and Raphael’s consciousness slowly returned to her body. She slowly opened her eyes to see a round and bright moon before her.
She stared blankly at this beautiful sight; her red twin horns were long and elegant, and her fiery red hair spread through the air like a sea of roses, beautiful beyond measure.
“Hey”
Why was there wind? Why was her hair being blown up?
She froze for a second, quickly realizing she was descending.
What was even more shocking was that the embrace was not fake; she turned her head rigidly and saw Fisher, with an expressionless face, holding her in his arms while she was completely naked.
“Fisher?”
“”
Fisher did not respond, as at this moment he was also in a very awkward situation. The upper half of his suit had been completely burned through, leaving only a few ragged pieces draped over his scorched body.
He had cast a spell to help decrease the terrifying temperature around her by rushing to her side, but it hadn’t lasted long before her horns had fully grown, and now they were descending, leaving him no choice but to hold her tightly.
But because of this, Raphael was able to catch glimpses of some details of his strong body beneath the torn clothing.
So it turns out…
Humans can be this strong too?
So that embrace just now belonged to Fisher?
Just as this thought popped into her mind, her newly grown, armor-like hard scales began to layer down and revert to a smooth appearance, her long red tail became completely stiff and motionless, then suddenly twitched a few times as if shocked.
“You you you!!”
“.What is it?”
This was a sign of a suitable tail partner.
In front of a suitable tail partner, an adult dragon’s hardened scales would melt away into a soft, smooth state.
Only in front of the partner most cherished by the dragon would those battle-born scales unlock, right?
“Ugh”
Yet before the signal of a suitable tail could fully spread throughout her body, Raphael’s face flushed slightly as she pressed a dragon claw onto Fisher’s face, then began to struggle wildly in his arms. Despite having grown such scales, Fisher felt neither the hardness nor the prickling sensation.
Why was that?
Just as Fisher pondered this question, they had already landed on the ground. The water from the lake suspended in the sky due to the 【Gravity Celestial Ring】 began to fall like rain. However, it would likely take a long time for this water to replenish the lake.
Raphael quickly jumped down from Fisher, covering her body and retreating several steps without even glancing at him. She felt distant from Fisher now, her nearly unfolded scales standing up again. However, Fisher had no idea what her bodily reactions meant after reaching adulthood; he merely assumed she was still in pain.
“Lady Raphael!”
Raphael turned her head, making it difficult for Fisher to see her expression, but she accepted the clothing handed to her by Mill and put it on.
“Lady Raphael, you have two horns!!” Ral also rushed over, being pulled into Raphael’s embrace. She wanted to nuzzle against her as before but scrunched her face and said, “The scales… are poking Ral.”
“.You idiot!”
Raphael patted her back and let Ral down.
Fashir and the others also came over to congratulate Raphael on her coming of age.
“Lady Raphael, you have two horns! No other dragon has two horns!”
“Perhaps there were some in the ancient Dragon Court, but those are just legends; Lady Raphael must be the only one.”
But indeed, since those two horns had grown, when Raphael clenched her fist, the previous fatigue and weakness completely vanished, replaced by what felt like endless power.
She had completely become a warrior of the dragon race!
For some reason, she still thought of the embrace she had felt just before she was about to succumb to pain and remembered Fisher’s body, which she had burned to the point of nearly having no clothing left.
Raphael hesitated for a moment, moving away from her dragon companions to search for Fisher’s figure; this time, she still wanted to say thank you to him.
The rain from the lake was getting heavier, soon pouring down like a torrential downpour. Raphael’s aquamarine eyes only spotted that human man, half-naked, walking further away while holding his staff.
She opened her mouth, unsure if he could hear her from such a distance, so she remained silent.
“Wow, Lady Raphael, look, the lake water is in the sky! Fisher’s magic is amazing! And Fisher’s skin is very red, his clothes are…”
“Ral! Mind your mouth; what nonsense are you talking about?”
“Mill sister, Fashir is being mean to me!”
The words she should have said, “Thank you,” were drowned out by the rain and her companions’ chatter. Maybe it was because the volume she should have spoken at was only resonating within her heart?
Thank you for following and voting; thank you, everyone.
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(End of Chapter)
