Void Dragon - A God among Gods

No… it was impossible for someone like her to be in love with someone like me. After all, we had only recently met, and this whole love thing… I believed it didn't work like that — as if I were an expert on the subject. Little did I know what the future had in store for me.

So, I simply decided to ignore the thought and turned over to continue sleeping.

- "Well... yaaawn... good night then," I murmured, closing my eyes and trying to pull my tail back close to me. No success — Aurëalis was holding onto it tightly.

From that moment, I fell into a deep and peaceful sleep for the rest of the day. Thankfully, no one else came to disturb me, and Aurëalis, who had promised not to bother me, kept her word. However, at some point, when my sleep became lighter, something felt off. Maybe I was getting used to being disturbed by Aurëalis or others while sleeping, but not feeling her messing with my tail left me uneasy.

- "Yaaawn... Huh?... Weird… Aurëalis isn't messing with my tail? Did she leave?" I thought, still keeping my eyes closed as I woke up.

- "Well… whatever…"

Even so, something inside me insisted that I open my eyes. Perhaps it was my survival instinct, warning me to check my surroundings since everything was so quiet. I decided to open my eyes just a little, enough to get a sense of the space. The environment seemed normal, but Aurëalis, who had been sitting on the ground leaning against a tree, was no longer there. Curiously, my tail was back near me.

- "Sigh... damn... I hate this bad feeling that something might be happening while my eyes are closed," I thought.

I decided to open my eyes a bit wider, just enough to inspect the area better, but something caught my attention: my tail seemed stuck.

- "W-what is this?" I thought, slowly getting up to find out what was holding my tail.

When I looked, I was utterly surprised. Aurëalis was lying down, deeply asleep, curled up around my tail as if it were a blanket.

- "W-WHAT?!... SHE SLEPT HERE?… AND SHE'S WRAPPED IN MY TAIL LIKE IT'S A BLANKET?" I thought, feeling my face heat up with embarrassment.

- "Ugh... w-what do I do now..." I murmured.

I looked at her calm and serene face as she slept.

- "Tsk... she… looks… comfortable?" I asked myself.

- "Damn… watching her sleep is making me sleepy... yaaawwn..." I said, fighting the urge to go back to sleep.

- "N-no… I can't sleep again… ugh… it's already getting dark… we better head back to the school, or we'll get into trouble."

I thought about how to wake her up but hesitated.

- "Sigh... waking her like this feels so wrong... look how peaceful she looks… ugh... I'd hate to be woken up like that... Tsk..." I thought, torn.

- "If that's the case, I've only got one option... Tsk... this is going to be a headache..." I muttered, resigned.

- "Alright... let's get you to your dorm, Lady Aurëalis..." I murmured as I carefully lifted her with my tail and placed her on my back.

- "Ugh… damn... I almost forgot… she's super famous at school, and she's a princess of the Light Dragons. If anyone sees me with her, especially in this situation, I'm doomed..." I thought, frustrated.

- "On top of that… I don't even know which dorm is hers… ugh..."

Given all that, I decided to wait until nightfall and then sneak into the school's corridor to check the dorm list without being seen, so I could find Aurëalis' room. After that, I'd leave her there with her roommate.

- "Alright… I'll fly to the school roof. I'll stay there until it's dark, and if she doesn't wake up, I'll go down and leave her in her dorm... Best plan ever," I thought, trying to convince myself.

With that, I held her firmly and flew up to the roof. During the flight, I admired the sunset in the distance, but I had to lower my altitude to avoid the intense glow and the drowsiness that came with it.

After a few minutes, I reached the school rooftop. We stayed there until it was completely dark.

...The sound of wings flapping...

- "Sigh... I'm never letting you sleep there again… Do you want your fans to kill me? Is that it?" I murmured, looking at Aurëalis, who slept peacefully.

- "Tsk... damn… at this rate, even I'm going to want to sleep…"

Hours passed, and I remained seated on the rooftop with Aurëalis in my arms. When the moon was high in the sky, I decided it was time to go down. However, I was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from inside the school. The movement seemed frantic, accompanied by the faint clinking of metal, perhaps armor or weapons being carried.

...The sound of metal and whispers of distressed people...

 - "Ugh… I just wanted to drop her off and be done with this… What now?" I murmured, trying to stay hidden while glancing down to understand the source of the commotion.

Soon, I spotted a group of maids and guards.

- "M-Maria, you don't know where she is?" one of the maids asked, distressed.

- "I already told you, Anna… How would I know where she is?" replied another, equally nervous.

- "Ladies, calm down. We need to secure the island. Summon the best professors and the headmaster himself!" ordered a soldier who seemed to be the patrol commander.

- "R-right, I'll call them!" said Maria, running back into the school.

- "T-tell me, Calebb, what happens if we don't find her?" Anna asked, staring at the soldier with wide eyes.

- "If we don't find her, a war might break out. A war deadlier than any we've faced in over 10,000 years," he replied gravely.

- "A-a war more... deadly?" she stammered in disbelief.

- "Yes, Miss Anna. But don't panic. Princess Aurëalis is incredibly powerful. I'm sure any race that tried to capture her would have such a hard time that we'd immediately know if she were under attack. Since that hasn't happened, I believe she's just somewhere else and will show up soon."

At that moment, I felt all ten of my hearts freeze. For an instant, I thought I had died. It was as if I could see, far away, the spirits of my ancestors welcoming me into the heavens. However, reality quickly pulled me back, and I realized I was still alive — very much alive.

What was happening there wasn't a nightmare or a trick of my subconscious. It was a desperate search for Princess Aurëalis, daughter of Keltherion, the King of the Light Dragons, and Lyssandra, the Queen. Both were among the most powerful beings in all existence.

A chill ran down my spine, all the way to the tip of my tail. If they found me here, on the rooftop, with Aurëalis sleeping in my arms, there would be no explanation to save me from the merciless hands of Keltherion. The scene itself was more than incriminating.

So, I did the only sensible thing: I lay down right there, trying to stay out of sight, while my brain began working at full speed.

I needed a new plan. The situation, already complicated, had just become exponentially more dangerous.