Chapter 48

\ Months later /

After an unbearable wait...

The day Erza was to be born arrived...

On that day the wind was blowing, the sky was darker than usual and nature was restless.

In the palace, Shin was in the corridor in front of his room waiting.

No one was allowed in, there was only Irene and the dry women.

Shin went back and forth with visible stress on his face but also excitement.

Belserion was also there to wait, reassuring Shin that everything was going to be all right.

Even Belserion's eyes were shining with excitement and couldn't help but be nervous.

He considered Irene as his daughter.

"Aaaaah"

Irene's cries of pain spread to the corridor.

Hearing these cries made Shin even more nervous and his heart tightened.

And after minutes and minutes of waiting, Irene's screams stopped and the door to her room opened.

"Waaaah"

When the bedroom door opened, the baby's cries came with it.

On hearing her, Shin's breath stopped and her eyes shone.

He had heard this cry for the first time but it seemed so familiar, so close and as if he was calling out to him.

"You may come in, my king" said the dry woman while bowing.

Shin didn't look for the moon and returned in a hurry to the room with a gaping smile.

Belserion was just as excited and followed Shin closely but always left first place to Shin because he was the father and he didn't want to interfere too much.

When he arrived in the room, the sunlight that passed through the windows was concentrated on the bed in which Irene was lying.

Outside, the dark sky had returned to its most beautiful colours, the raging wind had turned into a gentle breeze, the trees were waltzing with joy and the animals were humming in ecstasy.

When the baby was born, the lineage of the God of Life spread over tens of kilometres announcing her birth.

The citizens who knew about the Queen's birth were stressed until they saw the reaction of the nature around them confirming the birth of the baby.

They were not surprised by this kind of phenomenon as they considered Shin almost like a God so only an enthusiastic and happy smile appeared on their faces.

In the room, the rays of light were more precisely focused on Irene and the beautiful little baby in her arms as if they were the centre of the world.

"Come darling, I'm sure she wants to see you" exclaimed Irene with a smile full of tenderness.

"Waaaah..."

As Shin looked at Irene when he heard her, the little baby in his arms stopped crying and turned his head towards Shin.

As Shin's face approached, the crying baby fell silent and looked at Shin curiously with his little cheeks filled with baby fat.

Seeing Shin next to her and the baby's reaction to his approach, Irene smiled ironically.

"Eh eh, you must have already guessed but look who it is, it's your daddy" Irene said affectionately, making little caresses with her finger on the baby's cheek.

The baby laughed at her little caresses but kept staring at Shin until the baby reached out its hands to Shin with a beautiful smile, still laughing at his mother's teasing.

Shin smiled and stretched out his arms to take her and the closer he got, the bigger the baby's smile grew.

When Shin took her in his arms, he felt a feeling, such a special bond and a very strong desire to protect the little thing in his arms.

"It's all right... Don't cry... Your father is here to protect you" said Shin with a soft and peaceful but reassuring voice.

She was his flesh and blood, his little princess that he would cherish forever.

He sat on a chair next to Irene's bed as the baby continued to reach out to Shin's face with insistence.

"It looks like she wants to touch you," Irene said, laughing softly.

She wasn't very energetic and a little tired of giving birth to the baby.

Understanding Irene's suggestion, Shin brought his face closer to the baby's little hands.

When the little hand touched Shin's cheek, the baby's smile grew stronger and she uttered a little cry of discovery and appreciation.

She already seemed smarter than any other baby and taller, no wonder knowing her heritage.

Shin responded by teasing the baby, giving a beautiful scene between the dad and the girl.

As she had just been born and was still a baby, after a few minutes of fun she fell asleep in Shin's arms.

But Shin could not give the baby back to Irene, nor even put her in her cradle, because she was clinging to him by holding on tightly to his clothes.

"She looks like her daddy's little girl," said Irene with exasperation and a little jealousy, followed by a sigh of joy.

"She's a good little girl" replied Shin with a proud smile, looking at his daughter with adoration and tenderness.

"It's true" replied Irene with overflowing maternal love.

"Have you thought of a name?" asked Shin.

He already knew the answer but decided to ignore it.

And who knows, maybe his presence will change something.

Irene thought about Shin's question and then looked at him with a smile.

"Erza" said Irene.

"Erza... A pretty name, but why that one?"

He liked the name Erza but was always curious to know why, even more now that she was his daughter.

"Because you mumbled the name while you were sleeping" Irene replied teasingly.

"I-Is it true?" Shin replied, a little embarrassed to know that he was talking while he was sleeping.

"Then it's decided... Erza Ai Belserion" said Shin, looking at Erza with care and overflowing affection.

"Yes, our treasure" said Irene while also looking at Erza with tenderness.

The room was now empty, leaving only Shin, Irene and Erza.

Belserion had left after seeing the baby Erza to announce the great news to the kingdom.

"Now you should rest," Shin said to Irene carefully.

"Hm" Irene nodded obediently.

It was still daylight, but the birth had taken up a lot of Irene's energy and the effort required had exhausted her.

"Our little princess should also sleep in her bed but it seems she doesn't want to let go of her daddy, I'm jealous".

Irene says it with a little pout as she looks at Shin jealously as she sees baby Erza holding her daddy so tightly.

"Ah ah, then we have to join you" laughs Shin with his cute sulk.

He went to bed to get into it without waking up baby Erza.

Irene, without saying anything, collapsed against Shin, putting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arm around baby Erza.

"Rest well, you've earned it".

With a little kiss on her forehead, Irene fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Seeing this, Shin's smile widened and softened.

How could it not?

He was now in his bed, comfortably settled with his wife and daughter.

Taking advantage of this happiness, Shin closed his eyes and fell asleep after a few minutes of appreciation.

---------------------

\ 1 year later /

1 year has passed since Erza's birth.

Since then, the kingdom has been in a pleasant peace and quiet.

Irene had become less active in her work and looked after Erza, taking regular breaks and leaving Erza to Shin.

The kingdom had been taken over by Belserion who was assisted by Shin.

Since the day Erza was born, Shin had reduced his time on the battlefields.

Taking care of a baby is a challenge for Shin but also a blessing.

Erza's arrival further strengthened the bond between him and Irene and they could now be considered one big, beautiful family.

In just a few months Erza was already very smart for her age and was already starting to walk.

Apart from that, she seemed to be growing more or less normally to the relief of Shin and Irene.

He could enjoy and create more memories.

Shin was in his room with Erza at the moment, both of them seeming to enjoy each other to the fullest.

Due to Shin's assistance with Belserion, Erza was with her mother more often than her dad.

Erza always saw Shin very often, about 20 hours a day, but only 4 hours without seeing him was a lot for a daddy's girl.

And she didn't fail to show it.

She cried all the time as soon as she saw her dad leave out of her sight and it was only after a few hours of comfort from Irene that she calmed down.

Of course, she loves her mother very much and she shows it, but the bond between a dad and his daughter is uncontrollable.

And we are not talking about Shin, he was a protective dad, if not too much.

Every time Erza seemed to cry for whatever reason, he seemed to feel it as if he had an alarm and he would run to her.

Luckily after a few small reframings of Irene he calmed down but even then he remains a little irritable and nervous at times like this.

It was now quite late and in his room Shin put Erza asleep in his cot which looked more like a mini bed.

Irene should also be back soon.

In the meantime, Shin wanted to check something he had been told about.

He had been informed that when he had left earlier in the day Erza had his usual little whim, but this time something happened.

At the time of her whim, tiny little green flaming wings would have appeared in her back and her eyes would have become slit like dragons.

This has never happened before and the only difference from before is that Erza was one year old.

"When she was one year old, her lineage should have woken up, it's not just my lineage but Irene's as well" mumbled Shin as he watched his little princess sleep.

Shin knew that she had inherited her lineage from the God of Life after all she is his daughter.

What Shin wasn't sure was what she was going to be.

A Phoenix God like him? A human? Half human half Phoenix God? Or even a dragon? Or half dragon half Phoenix God?

But the chances of the last two seem infinitesimal to him.

Irene had not yet become a real dragon and her lineage was not even half that of a dragon yet.

And when Erza was born, her joy had made her forget to check.

But now, with what he had been told, Shin was almost sure.

"After all, the chances were small, but they were there."

He also didn't know what abilities he would develop.

Obviously the advantages of his lineage of the God of Life but when would he be of his lineage of the God Phoenix or the Wise Dragon.

He was really curious, so he put his finger on her forehead.

With his eyes closed, Shin inspected her body to find out the truth.

She was not human but half Phoenix God half Dragon.

"Well, you're quite a baby" Shin said ironically as he opened his eyes again.

He stood there watching Erza sleep until the bedroom door opened, letting Irene in.

"Welcome back" said Shin warmly.

Irene came close to Shin and gave him a hug while watching her little Erza sleep.

"She is beautiful" said Irene in a soft voice full of adoration.

"It's normal, she's your daughter" said Shin with a little seriousness.

"Irene laughed at Shin's seriousness and gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

"Come, I have to tell you some things I've learned about Erza".

Shin seemed a bit serious when he said it, so Irene was a bit upset and worried.

They got into bed, still Irene hugging Shin.

"Do you remember the little event with Erza a few days ago?"

"Yes of course, little green wings of flames had grown on her back and her eyes became like those of dragons" Irene said confusedly, remembering that moment.

"What's wrong, there's something wrong with that" Irene worried.

"No, but it took me to check out a few things at her place."

"What?" asked Irene, intrigued and less worried than before when she heard Shin say that there is no problem.

"Well, while checking, I found out that Erza was half Phoenix God half dragon."

Irene was shocked by this statement but not because Erza was not human.

She expected it because Shin is not human but she was very surprised by the dragon side.

"How can she be half dragon?"

Shin knew now that he would have to explain to her what happened to the dragon slayer.

He hoped she wouldn't take it too hard.

"Irene, listen, I have to tell you something important."

Irene was intrigued by what Shin was going to say. She had never seen him so serious.

"This half dragon comes from you" Shin dropped the bomb.

Irene's eyes widened in disbelief.

"What do you mean? How can it come from me? I'm human," Irene asked confused, nervous and troubled.

"Look, I've discovered that people who learn the magic of dragon slayer from dragons have a seed germinating in their bodies. This seed grew over time until it turned you into a dragon," said Shin with a slightly dark and delicate voice.

It hurt him to lie to Irene about knowing all along but he had to.

"W-what?" Irene's voice was shaky and she was upset.

How could she become a dragon? She loved dragons but that didn't mean she wanted to become one.

And then she has a daughter and a husband now! Shin told her but who knew what he really thought.

She loved being human!

Tears began to flow from her eyes.

Shin took her in his arms knowing what she was thinking.

"Don't worry, dragon or not you will always stay the same" said Shin rubbing her back.

"You can always stay in human form and then..." Shin stepped back and put his thumb on her cheek to remove the tears.

"What defines if you are human is not your appearance but your soul and your thoughts. I, too, am not physically human, but I also consider myself to be human."

Shin's touch and words reassured Irene who held him firmly.

"So there's a problem with what Erza is," Irene asked after pulling herself together.

"No none, just that besides being beautiful, she will be as strong as her mother," Shin replied with a smile.

Irene's eyes softened and she threw herself at Shin, tipping him over and falling on the bed.

She sank even deeper into his embrace and hugged him like a koala to fall asleep with a good smell of wood.

------

The next day, Shin woke up at the same time as Irene to take care of Erza.

They nursed her, dressed her and took her for a little walk that took all morning.

Erza was like a human baby when it came to needs.

She ate like a human baby but was only smarter than a baby her age.

After all the morning, Shin left Irene for a few hours to meet someone.

Saying goodbye to Irene and Erza, who had made his little whim, Shin flew off to the forest where he had been when he first came into this world.

Recently he had felt a great magical power giving off an aura of death.

He had immediately understood who it came from.

After a short moment of flight he arrived above the forest.

Shin could feel the little Life Energy remaining in the forest fighting against a much darker and deadlier energy.

But the Energy of Life was only residuals of the Energy of Life that the forest had accumulated with Shin's presence.

So it was gradually fading away as the dark and deadly energy was growing, it was not long before the dark energy killed all the living beings and plants in the forest.

Shin tried to feel the origin of this dark energy and when he located the source, he went there immediately.

Arriving at the source, Shin found himself at the lake just in front of his old cave.

He went down to land on the ground and saw a silhouette at the water's edge.

At the water's edge there was a young man with black hair and black eyes. He was wearing a black dress with a high collar and tanned with gold trim, as well as a large flowing white toga draped around his chest.

This young man felt a presence behind him and as he turned around he saw Shin.

"Who are you?" Shin and the young man asked at the same time.