Void Dragon - A God among Gods

Aurëalis followed to where she had seen something among the trees, and upon arriving, her eyes lit up. There I was, sleeping peacefully on a rock while birds rested on my back. It was a serene, almost magical scene, and it seemed as if even the forest was at peace with me there.

- "Wow… this… is beautiful" she murmured, dazzled.

- "Is it a Void Dragon? I never thought they could be so… calm."

Her eyes scanned my body, analyzing every detail.

- "These scales… black with blue reflections that seem to pulse… and the spikes… they look like pure silver" she whispered, approaching carefully.

Then, Aurëalis hesitated, biting her lip.

- "Will he notice if I just… touch one of the spikes?"

Carefully, she extended her hand and touched the tip of a spike at the base of my tail. Little did she know that was an extremely sensitive spot. Though still sleepy, I clearly felt the touch and opened one eye, raising my head to see what was happening.

- "Huh? What's this? Something touching my tail?" I thought, startled.

When I saw Aurëalis so close, analyzing my tail as if it were a rare treasure, I held back a sigh.

- "Damn, the princess of the Light Dragons? Seriously?" I groaned internally.

- "The last thing I want is to get involved with her…"

I decided to move my tail away slowly, hoping she would realize I was awake. But to my surprise, she got irritated.

- "Hey, where do you think you're going?" she murmured, trying to reach my tail again.

- "Hahaha… this is more fun than I expected. Who would have thought the princess would lose to the tip of my tail?" I thought, while continuing to move my tail from side to side.

However, Aurëalis didn't give up.

- "Tsk… ah, you're going to keep running? Alright then…" she said with a mischievous smile.

Before I could react, her hand transformed into a dragon claw and grabbed my tail firmly.

- "AHHH!" I let out a scream, pain shooting through my body.

She widened her eyes, immediately letting go of my tail.

- "I'm sorry! By the Gods, I didn't mean to hurt you! It was a terrible mistake!" she said, bowing her head in regret.

Still rubbing my sore tail, I sighed.

- "I-It's okay… but you know, I was moving my tail to let you know I was awake. But you seemed so engrossed…"

Aurëalis blushed, looking away.

- "I-I've never seen a Void Dragon before… I got too curious… sorry…"

There was a moment of silence. I looked at her, who seemed genuinely remorseful, and against all my expectations, I didn't like seeing her like that.

- "Here…" I said hesitantly, extending my tail back to her.

- "You can look, but no hurting, okay?"

Aurëalis widened her eyes.

- "R-really? You don't even know me… are you sure?"

- "Of course. You're the princess of the Light Dragons, aren't you? And wasn't it you who said we should understand each other? Consider this a gesture of goodwill."

She smiled, and her eyes sparkled like stars.

- "Thank you… I promise I'll be careful this time."

As she examined my tail, I felt something strange, almost comfortable. Maybe, just maybe, interacting with her wasn't so bad after all.

- "By the way, we've met before. My name is Kyrion, I'm the guy you woke up earlier in the hall. Remember?" I asked, trying to break the awkward atmosphere.

- "Y-you're him?... Now that I think about it... you were in the Void Dragons' area, right? ..Sigh... So it's true. But... why are you here, sleeping again?" she asked, while running her hand over the spikes on my tail.

- "Also, your name... Kyrion... Yes, it was the name the teacher was calling. The one that a guy named Theronir called a lazy idiot... So it was you, huh?" she added, with a slightly more relaxed tone.

- "Ughh... Idiot? Ha... When I find him, I'm going to finish him..." I said, letting my anger show as my claws scratched the rock.

She chuckled lightly but soon changed the subject:

- "Why have you been here all this time? Didn't you join the lunch or the other activities?"

- "Sigh... Look, I'm different from the rest of my race. While others, like that scoundrel Theronir, are energetic, sociable, and have friends, I am someone who needs a lot of sleep and rest. I've always been like this since I was a hatchling. As soon as I left the hall, I came here, found this place, and slept. Everything was peaceful until I felt someone touching my tail. And when I looked, I saw the girl who was on stage, giving a motivational speech and being adored by everyone... analyzing my tail."

I laid my head down again, closing my eyes, as I continued:

- "Because of this, I don't have friends. And, honestly, I don't care. What I want is peace to sleep without anyone bothering me. That's all."

She paused and responded, with a sad tone:

- "You really don't have any friends?"

- "No, and that's fine. What matters to me is resting in peace. Friends don't make a difference," I responded.

She hesitated but continued:

- "I... I don't think being alone is good."

- "Damn... is she going to continue? I was almost falling asleep," I thought, trying not to sigh out loud.

- "In my opinion, friends are important. They help us when we need it, give us happy moments, laughter, and incredible memories. Don't you think that's worth it?"

Her voice was animated, but it only increased my irritation.

- "Wow..." I replied dryly.

- "Have you ever been betrayed, princess?" I asked bluntly.

- "B-betrayed? .. B-by a friend? No, never," she replied, not understanding where I was going with it.

I opened one eye and spoke in a more serious tone:

- "Well, then let me tell you a harsh reality. The universe and people don't care about you, only what you represent or possess. Tell me, how many people would die for you? How many would make the greatest sacrifice of their lives just to see you happy, or to save you?"

She seemed speechless. I continued:

- "In my case, I can count on the fingers of one paw how many would do that. And none of them would be someone you would call a friend. I learned this early, thanks to my parents. They always said that trusting others is a mistake. Over time, I saw in practice that they were right. That's why I don't care about having friends or not. I prefer to trust only myself."

After a few seconds, I realized the weight of my words. I turned to her, alarmed:

- "Damn... Sorry. I don't know why I said that. Haha! Please, forget it."

She seemed surprised but smiled slightly.

- "N-no, it's okay. You were just being honest, and I was the one who brought up the subject. No need to worry."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

- "...Sigh..O-ok... Thank god you understand. To be honest, when I saw you on stage, I thought you were snobbish and difficult to deal with. But... you're actually nice. I mean, I've never met another Light Dragon to compare, but you're different from what I imagined."

She blushed slightly.

- "Y-you thought I was... nice?" she asked.

- "Yes. Why? Does that bother you?"

- "N-no, it's just that... few people tell me that. Maybe because I'm a princess, no one speaks to me so openly. Only my two friends... who, by the way, are taking too long to come back."

I smiled slightly, trying not to laugh.

- "I see. But being a princess, I thought your life would be easier."

- "I wish. We're always being scrutinized for everything. Posture, etiquette... we can't make mistakes because we represent our nation. Even the people around us are chosen. They select who is suitable to be near us, so... it's difficult."

She fiddled distractedly with my tail as she spoke. There was something genuine in the way she opened up to me. I sighed, closing my eyes again, accepting her company for the time being.

- "Hmm… And those friends you mentioned, were they also selected?" I asked, curious.

- "They were some of the few people who weren't chosen by my family. I personally intervened and didn't allow that to happen," she replied firmly.

- "I see... I guess, in the end, even royalty has their own problems," I responded, turning my head in an attempt to go back to sleep.

At that moment, silence took over. Only the sound of the wind, the swaying trees, and the singing birds filled the environment. After a few minutes of quietude, I broke the silence.

- "But… you know… Even though you seem like a strong person, I'll stand by what I said before, even if you don't like or agree with me. Please, be careful with the people around you." My voice came out low and dragging, reflecting the sleep that was already taking over me.

- "For someone as important as you, being betrayed and thrown into darkness is easier than for someone like me, who has nothing that interests others. You seem to trust your friends a lot, and maybe they really are trustworthy. But, even so, never fully trust anyone until they prove they deserve your trust."

I felt sleep finally reaching me as I concluded:

- "That's the best advice I can give you."

- "...Ah… O-okay… Thank you. I'll heed your advice," she responded, smiling genuinely.

- "Well, I think it would be better if you went to look for your friends. They are taking too long, don't you think?" I asked, already hoping she would leave so I could have my peace again.

- "Yes, you are right… I'll go now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Kyrion. I hope we can talk more in the future… See you," she said, standing up and running towards the forest from where she had come.

I felt a mix of relief and slight sadness as I watched her leave. The conversation had been pleasant, something I didn't expect, but it was better this way. I didn't need more problems or new complicated ties. Even so, the sadness quickly disappeared when a wave of despair took its place.

She said she hoped to talk more in the future.

Which means she would probably come back.