Void Dragon - A God among Gods

- "M-mom, do we really need to go this fast… huff… huff… you know… huff… the portal room will still be there even if we stop to rest… it won't go anywhere," I said, panting.

- "…ARRGHH…" My mom grumbled before smacking me on the head.

BOOMM

- "DO YOU WANT TO MAKE ME EVEN MORE IRRITATED THAN I ALREADY AM, KYRION?" She said, clearly angry.

- "…Ouch… N-no, mom… It's just that, flying like this, my wings are going to stop, and I'll crash to the ground," I replied, rubbing the spot where she had hit me.

- "…Sigh… Consider this a lesson to be more responsible from now on," she said.

We continued flying for a few more minutes until we reached the portal room in the kingdom of Quasares. As soon as we landed at the castle entrance, my mother quickly explained to the guards what had happened, and they allowed us in without delay. We rushed to the portal hall, where almost everyone had already departed for Aeternal, except for me.

- "Huff… huff… Aertharion… wait… huff… Kyrion is missing," my mom said, panting.

- "Sylvaris? Kyrion? What a pleasant surprise, I thought you wouldn't come…" said Aertharion, the leader of our race, with a calm smile.

- "Y-yes, and we barely made it in time, as you can see…" replied my mom.

- "And all because of Kyrion, who didn't read the letter properly and only realized the departure day was today…"

- "HAHAHAHA… As I expected… something would happen with you, Kyrion. That's why I decided to wait. I know you well enough to know something like this would happen," he said, letting out a big laugh.

- "Ha… ha…" I laughed awkwardly, unsure if he was teasing me or being sincere.

- "But that doesn't matter now. What matters is that you came and… you're already late. Let's go, boy," Aertharion said, pushing me into the portal.

- "Sylvaris, don't worry. He will be well taken care of there. And don't worry, I will keep you and Vaelthar informed about him."

- "…Sigh… Ok, Aertharion… and, son, good luck. I hope for great news soon," my mom said, smiling as she waved goodbye.

- "Damn… I also hope to have great news when I get there…" I murmured, hoping that it would be a place where I could sleep freely.

- "But, Mr. Aertharion, why are you coming with me?" I asked, curious.

- "Hmm? Didn't you know we must accompany our chosen ones on the first day of class, Kyrion? It was all in the letter I sent."

- "…Ah, yes… you didn't read the letter, did you?" he said, looking at me with a disappointed expression.

- "…Sigh… Anyway, I'll give you a brief explanation of what will happen next, as well as the expected behavior from you at Aeternal. Understood?" he asked, while I was already dozing off.

- "…KYRION!"

- "Y-yes, sir! What is it?" I responded, standing up quickly.

- "As I was saying, I'll explain what will happen next, as well as how you should behave at Aeternal. Understood?"

- "…Yawn… Ok, sir," I said, yawning.

- "Listen carefully, Aeternal is a multi-species school. There will be representatives from various races, from the most peaceful to the most competitive. Among them, five stand out: the Light Dragons, Lust Foxes, Moon Wolves, Time Owls, and finally, us, the Void Dragons."

- "As one of the five great divine species, we will have a prominent place among all. This means you can't just act this relaxed. Our absence in the last great war made us seem weak in the eyes of the other races. Therefore, we need to regain our credibility, even if it's through fear."

He paused before handing me something unexpected:

- "Therefore, wear this as soon as we arrive. In case you end up sleeping, we can say that you are blind and that's why your eyes were closed during the opening ceremony."

The cloth had some embroidered words and was clearly made to cover the eyes.

As strange and silly as it was, I accepted. First, because the request came from the king of my nation. Second, because if it meant I could sleep through all the bureaucracy, then it was already worth it.

- "Ok, is it to put it on like this?" I asked, adjusting the cloth over my eyes.

"That's right. Now, listen carefully: as soon as the presentation starts, one of your colleagues from our nation, who was also chosen to attend Aeternal, will shake you to wake you up, both at the beginning and end of the presentation. This way, you'll know when it starts and ends, understood?" Aertharion said, not realizing I was already testing the disguise… sleeping.

- "...ZZZZ…" I snored.

- "...GRRR… KYRION, I ASKED IF YOU UNDERSTOOD!" he yelled, visibly irritated.

- "Y-yes, sir!" I responded, standing up abruptly, startled by the shout.

- "...Sigh… May the gods help us…" he murmured.

After a few minutes of travel, we arrived at Aeternal School, a colossal floating island with its own atmosphere, situated on the other side of the universe. The view was spectacular, even though I only saw part of it, since I was sleeping for the rest of the journey. Finally, we landed in the courtyard of the main portal hall, from where we would head straight to the Great Hall, the location for the freshman welcome ceremony.

...The noise of conversations among beings from other races filled the air…

Fwooshh.

- "We've arrived… It's been a long time since I came here," said Aertharion, with a satisfied expression.

- "Yes… yes… it's a very… lively place, isn't it?" I replied, trying to see something through the cloth.

- "Exactly as it should be. Now, we need to transform into our human forms, as it's not allowed to walk around in our original forms within the school, unless we are outside of it. Understood?" he said, looking at me intently, as if he knew I had no idea about this.

- "Ha… ha… U-understood…" I replied, before transforming.

Already transformed, we walked down the main corridor. Along the way, Aertharion greeted many people. He seemed extremely respected and liked there, which left me confused about his comments that our race had lost prestige. However, I quickly decided not to think much about it. I was too tired to care what Aertharion thought or didn't think. My goal was simple: to put on a good performance during the opening ceremony so he would be satisfied and I could sleep in peace. A win-win deal.

When we reached the immense welcome hall, I sat in one of the front rows, near the main stage. The place exuded grandeur, but honestly, I didn't care. Just the fact that I could rest there already made it worthwhile. So, I settled down next to the other colleagues of my race and inevitably fell asleep.

Suddenly, I felt a strong shake. My first thought was: the presentation is starting. As Aertharion had explained in our way to the hall, I should stand and adopt a respectful posture during the school hymn. Without hesitation, I stood up quickly and placed my hand on my chest in a reverent position.

But soon I noticed something strange: people were still arriving and getting seated. The shake had come from Theronir, the colleague responsible for notifying me about the beginning and the end of the ceremony.

- "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…" he laughed uncontrollably, accompanied by the others of our race.

- "Calm down, Kyrion… I just shook you to see if you would really react or not. Now that I know it works, you can go back to sleep." said Theronir, still laughing.

- "HAHA… Very funny, Theronir…" I said, while my face said something else.

Theronir. That was the name of the scoundrel. It was one of the rare moments when my blood boiled, and I almost, I said ALMOST, lost the desire to sleep just to teach him some manners. But in the end, fatigue won, and I went back to sleep.