Chapter 10: A Dream Foretelling the Future

(This chapter was uploaded Sunday 30/April/2023 5:00 PM, time zone GMT+3)

('1), ('2), ('3), etc. means that there is some explaining for the thing in the notes at the end of the chapter.

(-------------------------) -> line break

"..." small moment of silence

"Talking"

"He-" Someone was interrupted.

'Thinking or mental conversations'

[Abilities' names, chanting and spells' names]

{System}

<System Panels>

Don't shy from commenting on a typo or suggesting a modification to certain things that didn't make sense to you.

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.

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(In Nephelont's dreamscape)

"Hello, young one" Said an unknown voice.

Who?! This time I understand the words I hear too?!!

"The dream you saw last was different. The one who administered your reincarnation let you see distorted dreams. This time, I am talking to you directly"

My name's Nephelont Cranel. What's yours?

"You will come to know it on your own, very soon at that"

Why're you talking to me?

"I must apologize in place of the incompetent fool who oversaw your reincarnation. He intentionally gave you an incomplete reincarnation. The power he gave you was made to require both body and soul to be that of a dragon's, partially at least.

He gave you the power that turned your body into a dragon's but did not give you the part of dragon's soul that was prepared for you. He also kept it hidden from you for his sick pleasure, to see you suffer without knowing the cause.

Your current soul is completely that of a human's. It is not compatible. Over time, that incompatibility would have corrupted both your soul and your physical body. I came to you today to solve that problem. Just by allowing me to impart a part of my being onto your soul, the problem will be mitigated.

Sadly, some of the side effects that already took root cannot be removed without harming you. I hope you think about my proposal"

I agree.

"Reconsider. Your agreement was rash"

If you came to me prepared with that speech, you give the impression that you would have done it whether I agreed or not.

"You will be one of the creatures that call me their father. A-"

NOOOOOOOOO, STOP! NO CHANGING PARENTS. I'M FINE WITH MY CURRENT PARENTS!

"What a quick change of mind. Fear not, rabbit's child. Although you will be one of these creatures, you do not have to take me as your fa... Time fails us. Since it is for your own good, I will forcefully correct the problem. Although I cannot immediately merge the two parts of your soul, making them connected will have them merged into one in due time. Practice some patience"

Can I refuse?

"It was not an option"

Just do it then. Be done with it.

"I refrained from talking like I usually do just so I can feel your reaction when you know who I am"

Huh?! What does that mean?

"Pruzah wundunne, guraan dovah, Morosotkaal ('1)" A silhouette Nephelont vaguely knew appeared before him. It struck a pose that reminded him of where he saw it last time.

Nephelont never had the chance to think of anything as his thoughts were put to a screeching halt. He was waking up.

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(Next day morning)

"Krein, paal, daarsul dii krongrah." Nephelont had a normal wake up that day.

"This is a new way to say it. What does it mean?" Eucleia giggled at his antics.

She woke up to his pleasant face, daily. His everlasting standoff with the Sun is still fun to witness. It signifies his childish side being alive. It makes her want to cuddle this little bunny.

"It means something like "Sun, my foe, today is my victory". Me understanding these words may had something to do with a dream I may or may not have forgotten, but that's irrelevant for now" 'I can't tell her that I only said because I thought it would be cool. Also, f#*% you, Akatosh. That was of course your silhouette, since the language used was Dovahzul. I don't like the implication of the name you've given me' It was Akatosh, the father of the dov whose wings covered the skies of the realm of Nirn for a time. He was the one talking to him. If he knew, he might have honey-talked him to get more power than what Akatosh had given.

(AN: Nephelont imagines the curse word censored. It is that way without me censoring it)

'WAIT A MINUTE! System, tell me this. Aren't all dov names made of three words of power? Why is mine made of only one with two normal words?!'

{Master, it is not necessarily the case. As master based his belief off Paarthurnax's words, master naturally does not know. Paarthurnax had said those words without knowing they were wrong. A dragon's name is an individual shout. That is true. But there are exceptions to the three-word rule. Dragon names recorded to be made of only two words or Miraak using a four-word shout that even had a word that was not a word of power. The name given to master is viable, especially since Akatosh himself gave it to master}

Back to the duo. The two children, who are 7 years old, have continued to sleep in the same room and the same bed at night, and will remain that way for an eternity. All of it was the result of Eucleia's circumstances.

They did force her to go sleep in another room a few days ago. The result left them flabbergasted. They found her in his bed again the next morning. They later discovered that she used her Arcanum to teleport to his room, unknowingly that is. She was asleep and unconsciously, unintentionally teleported to his bed.

By Ouranos's words, "She has no roots in the upper world, her roots are down here, in the lower world. As such, she cannot be sent to the upper world after using her Arcanum as per the usual conduct. Still, she shall refrain for her own safety". He also congratulated Nephelont, which puzzled him. 'Why is Ouranos congratulating me?' Nephelont never knew that after repeated meetings with Ouranos, his presence became a breath of fresh air for the god of the sky.

Seeing the futility of their actions, they ceased trying.

The two reached an agreement after the obvious conclusion that she would stay in his room near permanently. Eucleia will pay to sleep in his bedroom. The agreed-to price is...

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(Minor flashback)

"Since you'll stay with me in my room, when I wanted to sleep alone, you naturally need to pay a heavy price" Nephelont made a request for payment from her. He wanted something in return for letting her sleep with him. It will be nothing harmful to his Lia, mind you.

"What *gulp* is the price I need to pay?" Eucleia knew him well by now. He never wanted anything heavy when he demanded a price. That did not prevent her from getting nervous.

"I want you to pay that price every morning. Can you?" He was using a dead-serious tone with his hands interlocked in front of his mouth and eyes sharp.

"Don't tease me" Eucleia dropped her formal talking manner for a moment.

"Just agree" Nephelont still used a dead-serious tone.

"Fine, I agree. Just tell me what it is" Eucleia's voice raised in frustration.

"I'll take care of your hair as I like" His tone sounded more like a joke now, after announcing his desired payment method.

Eucleia's face radiated with a blinding light for the rest of that day. It outshined the very sun.

(End of flashback)

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... to let him care for her hair every morning.

As both gain something(s) they like from this, they did not need further thought before going through with it.

Eucleia gains the (forced) permission to continue sleeping by his side indefinitely and get him to bond with her by combing her hair. He was becoming more and more proficient at it as time passed. For Nephelont, he gains the exclusive right to arrange her silky and smooth locks to his liking, which he always wanted to do. It is a win-win situation.

Welf was already a resident of the Hearth Manor, and they already got used to Hephaestus coming to visit and stay every chance she gets. That kept Eucleia near both parents and she was content with her situation.

"Are you going to hide this from me?" Eucleia inquired from him. It bothered her when he kept something trivial like this a secret.

"You already saw my memories. Is my answer to that question truly needed?" Nephelont's voice oozed with sarcasm.

Eucleia got a case of the pouty face.

"You know I gained resistance to your pout after staying with you for this long, right?" All he got in response was a headbutt.

"Should we start?" Nephelont tried to change the subject. He rubbed the point of impact on Eucleia's forehead. She hurt herself after headbutting his hard head.

"Umm" Eucleia let it slip since she still remembered that part of his memories. Although, she started forgetting his memories little by little over time.

Although, Nephelont was the one to decide the cost of her stay, Eucleia was the more eager one of the two, apparently.

They stood in front of a low mirror and started. He began straightening her hair and undoing any knots that formed the night before, of which there were not many. Weird.

Today's hairstyle was chosen to be a Dutch braid. After straightening the young lady's hair, he made braid using strands of her red hair. As he progressed through the braid, he mixed more of her blue strands within the red ones he used. The braid's color gradually became purplish-blue then purple as it neared the end, where it almost reached her ankles ('2).

As a final touch, he tied her hair with a very special piece. Eucleia commissioned a ribbon to be red, outlined by a thick golden thread surrounded by an even thicker outline of white thread. She said something about feeling closer to him while wearing it and he could not deny her that feeling of intimacy. He was not going to be the ender of her little happiness any time soon.

They went to get breakfast when they were done preparing for the morning.

Nephelont came down the stairs while holding his hand up for Eucleia. He was escorting her.

After eating breakfast, with Nephelont spoon-feeding Eucleia and her eating in bliss, they said that they will be going out on a walk. Nephelont made sure that they would unnecessarily interfere in today's adventures.

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Nephelont and Eucleia were strolling down a moderately busy street, enjoying the potato puffs Nephelont coaxed her to try.

They were not putting much of their guard up. As they were about to pay for another snack they were going to enjoy, someone grabbed it from the stall owner's hands. Nephelont turned his head towards the thief, only for his wallet to be stolen by another person.

Nephelont was calm about it. He saw their escaping forms, unblessed children. He got another wallet out and gave the angry stall owner what was owed for his stolen wares and sprinted after them, closely followed by an annoyed Eucleia. She did not appreciate someone stealing from her favorite rabbit. She will have a talk with them if he does not.

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(AN: From hear till the end of this encounter, I wrote it while drunk on my own drowsiness. I only slept like 2-3 hours last night after 2 AM. Enjoy~ (Ps. Future me editing this talks here. I just now noticed it. I wrote "hear" instead of "here"))

After some running through the back alleys near the last stall they visited, Nephelont and Eucleia reached a place they stopped at. They were running at a pretty normal speed for mortals. That was because Eucleia had not received a falna yet.

Nephelont's reason for not allowing her a falna was that she should build a very fit body before getting it. Otherwise, he feared that her growth would be slower than desired. He also accounted for the years of lost excellia. He saw no problem in that, as long as it boosted her chances of survival when they went deeper in the dungeon.

They stealthily crept up to a wall near where the two thieves stopped. There was a third one.

"Why were two children our age walking with this much money?" Thief #1.

"Beats me. I only care about how much we can eat with this" Thief #2.

"Is that the only reason you stole from me?" Nephelont eavesdropped enough. He chose that moment to speak.

"Wha... HOW?! WE ARE THE FASTEST KIDS AROUND THESE PARTS! HOW DID YOU CATCH US?!"

"I've falna" He was very smug about it. His pose, his very presence screamed "praise me".

"Look here. I would soon believe that we are all dead men walking than you having a falna at you-"

"[Tempest]" Air moved around him. Although it was not as violently powerful, unlike Aiz's own, his was still strong enough to cause a very noticeable wind current. "Believe it"

"No way" Thief #2 held his hair in despair.

"No fucking way" Thief #1 released the stolen wallet unintentionally. He was stunned still as well.

"..." Their friend did not say anything, but he also looked distraught.

They just had had to take bite more than they can chew one day. It seems to be today. The quiet one took out a rusted knife.

"You there. Yeah, you. The one with the knife. Sheath it. You'll be hurt otherwise" The other two stood defensively just in case a fight was inevitable.

"Say we give you back your wallet; would you forgive us?"

"I must ask though. Why did you three resort to stealing from others? Be honest"

The eldest looking one looked back at his companions. "We will talk, so you remove your magic" Seeing the quiet kid nod, he relented and started talking. Nephelont complied and deactivated his [Ariel].

"We are asked to steal money from any unsuspecting passerby. We then only get what we could hide from the adventurers who come to collect the money from us. They also made it so we can't gain any money otherwise. If we don't cooperate, we die. One of us was killed right before our eyes for not complying. If we showed the telltale signs of trying to tell anyone about this, the one supervising us from a distance immediately comes and punishes us. Another friend of ours passed away after a beating. They beat her till she couldn't breathe and left her to fate. Two others followed because of not having enough food to eat. We only could get a cut by hiding it once we found a way. Sadly, by then we were too late to help the other 3"

"If you were given the chance to live in better, favorable conditions in comparison to your current ones, would you be willing to change? Would you rebel against the oppression that was cast upon you?" Nephelont offered them the chance. They only have to agree, and their lives would be flipped the other way. He was sure of it.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The three kids looked at him, looked at each other then looked at him again.

"Any proof of that?" Their faces showed a hint of hope. They did not want to steal, if they could choose that is.

"Hey hey, I don' remember allowin' the li'le runts to 've another li'le friend, eh?" In came the falsified boisterous voice of a pompous adventurer.

Nephelont immediately went to his "acting mode". He started shaking and cowering behind Eucleia. He did not bother whispering in her ear as when the adventurer got closer, she clearly was an animal-person and hearing was sharpened further by the falna. The other kids did not pay him mind since they were thinking of ways to stave this ass' anger.

Nephelont took a peek from behind Eucleia's shoulder and went back behind her when he locked gazes with the adventurer he was tricking. He wanted her to fall into a false sense of authority and power. From what he could feel, this adventurer could be taken care of if he used his ability as a surprise factor.

(AN: Yes, this villain is a woman. I am getting tired of men making the majority of the bad guys in the manga, manhua and manhwa I read. To compensate, I made the villain this time a woman. Also, that forces me to make an actual fighting scene, as opposed to using the age-old method of kicking under the belt. That does not work as much against women)

"Well well well. Look at what do we've 're. You're actin' powerful in front of 'em kids. Now what? You're gonna cower behind another person? Hmm? BAHAHAHA. Beatin' ya would be a hellova fun ride" She had a gleeful glint in her eye at the mention of beating children, the sick thing.

Nephelont peeked at her again from behind Eucleia with fake tears in his eyes. "W-wha-w-what ar-are y-you goi-goin-g to d-do?" The she-demon started looking pleased with how he turned out. He was her favorite type, the ones she enjoyed beating the most. Little did she know.

"Oh, don' cha worry. I'm gonna play a pretty li'le game with ya" Her eyes gave her thoughts away. They radiated with her intent. "Come 'ere li'le cutie" She started approaching Nephelont with a perverted expression.

'Ugh. Why do I have to be subjected to this type of idiot? Does she not feel any danger while looking at me? Guess not every adventurer got all those cool danger sensing instincts' Nephelont grumbled in his mind. He asked the system for an estimation of her strength. The reply came as {Her strength is estimated to be around a high level 2 if we go by the standardized calculation ('3)}. His own strength was somewhere above that by a little without transforming. While transformed, his strength rockets an entire level higher.

As she got closer, he hid himself further behind Eucleia's back. He went as far as to imitate the fearful grip on her shoulder to fool the keener senses of the vile thing. If Eucleia did not know him personally, she would have believed his acting. She nonetheless followed in his footsteps and acted fearful, but she also put up a defensive act to match his cowardly acting.

"Hehehehe. Come 'ere~" The adventurer said in a creepy singsong voice.

By now, the three kids she was abusing before started fleeing in fear. They hated her and wanted to take revenge, that is a truth. But having the resolve does not breed courage just by it existing.

When she stood right in front of them, Nephelont had already partially transformed his bones, muscles and internal organs.

If he went with only his muscles, they may exert too much force that would later break his bones or crush his organs.

If he went only with his bones, they would become dead weight that will slow him down because of how heavy they become after transforming.

If he only went with his organs, that would not be much better either. The organs have a supporting role in the body. Without them, or at least a substitute, the body will malfunction. On the other hand, they can also be the source of trouble.

Too much blood pressure will shred through the muscles forming the blood vessels and what lies beyond them.

Too much air when unneeded will be suffocating in its own way.

And too much enhancement of his nervous systems will result in the body overworking itself if it did not originally have the power to follow through with the orders sent to it.

He had to transform everything aside from his outer appearance, as in his shape, color and the fact that he did not form his scales yet. Even his skin needed to be tougher to withstand the stretching and contracting of the muscles beneath.

Some little things needed little balance to function well, his teeth's shape for example. They could be fangs all the time and nothing may happen because it is just a shape. Other things, however, will go haywire from the stress. A balance was necessary to not kill himself using his [Dragon Hearted] ability in combat.

Eucleia gave him some more space to work with by turning around and making it seem like she was going to drag him away using his hand. Now, nothing stood between him and his opponent. When her hand was a hair away from him, he sprang into action.

He sharpened his features which made her wary, but she was still reaching out to grab him. She did not expect the kid to be face to face with her. 'Wait! Face to face?!' Nephelont jumped towards her head.

She could still follow his movement and respond to his actions, depending on her gut feeling and richer experience when it comes to fighting humans. That is why, his speed was not going to help him, she thought.

She did not expect the next thing he did. He transformed pointblank on her. He lumbered her with the sudden weight increase she needed to withstand. After slamming into her, she fell to the ground with him on top.

Nephelont was not sufficiently heavy to keep her down, he knew that. But what he could do to keep her trapped is to hold her limbs in place. He was stronger than she is physically. And if she wanted to do anything funny, he had countermeasures, credits to Akatosh.

(AN: From here on, I wrote the next part while sober. It was the next day, after a good-night's sleep)

Sometimes, people do wrong and expect to escape. This was the case here. The adventurer woman struggled trying to escape, but her limbs did not have enough strength to shake Nephelont off of her. She was pinned down. 'Damn this kid. What is he? Is he even a kid?'

She wanted to cast magic as she had one that is appropriate for escaping a situation like this one.

Sadly for her, Nephelont was too near for comfort. Even if she knew silent chanting, which was unrealistic, he still would notice the hope she started showing in her face.

"Fus Ro Dah" He replied in three simple words.

He used the shout for both the flinching the first two words cause and the near-guaranteed ragdoll effect that the third word applies. It struck her in the face, and as a result, she nearly passed out. It seems that is the form that the ragdoll effect translated to in real life. The force imbedded her body to the stone of the alleyway.

Just to make sure, he kept on headbutting her with the flat of his scales. He wanted her as unconscious as can be.

Guards belonging to the Ganesha familia came and saw a dragon monster pinning down an unconscious adventurer, judging by her obvious armor. Thankfully, Ganesha told his familia members to not immediately attack a white, four-winged dragon with mismatched golden and crimson eyes.

"What is happening here? And what are you doing?" The guards stood ready for what Nephelont may do, but they were also not pointing their weapons at him outright.

"Oh, I caught a criminal who loves hurting children and taking advantage of their situation for her own good at their expense. Can you detain her for good?" Nephelont replied calmly. Although, he did show a level of disgust in his voice when looking at the woman's unconscious form.

After warning him of using his "skill"s inside the city for anything but guarding himself, the guards took the woman away for questioning.

"Ottar, can you help us search for where the kids must've gone? Don't be noticed by them" Nephelont did not call for either of his parents. His mother was 1 few months pregnant. And although she could exert herself without harming the child, both her husband and son agreed that Aiz should not move much. He did not call his father either, since he was on an expedition in the dungeon.

He could call upon Ottar of all people for a reason.

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(The day after the Nephelont left Freya in tears. Third person PoV)

It was a good day. Nephelont woke up, declared his war against a heavenly body and prepared both himself and Eucleia for Take's training.

After returning from the training, he attended to Eucleia's hair. They took a bath each then he cut the worn-out ends of her hair. He was meticulous and did not leave a single hair unattended for.

When he went to grab some "light" snack before dinner, he was surprised to see a wall behind one of their sofas. Freya was sitting beside the bronze wall.

"Hello, little rabbit" She greeted him.

She got up and went to him to give him a hug. She was obstructed by a red-haired pouty menace. Eucleia spread her arms protectively while standing between Nephelont and a shocked Freya.

What Freya saw should have yet to form. It was a link between the two souls. Now, there are many forms of two should being linked. Some were two bodies that share the same soul in the case of some twins. Others were those of very close friends. In general, people who have a positive relationship that has deep roots in both beings will manifest a bond in-between their souls.

What surprised her is that the bond she saw between the two was that of love. The girl's soul yearned for the boy's romantic love, while the boy's soul denied itself such love and forced itself to form a platonic-love type of soul bond. It was too strong that it might become a romantic one as a response to the girl's at any given moment.

She chuckled and rubbed Eucleia's head. "Do not worry, little brave lady. I did not come to steal another person's love interest from them" Freya whispered in Eucleia's ear. That had the desired effect, as Eucleia's face reddened.

"Nephelont, come and sit here" Bell called. He was patting the space between him and Aiz. It was a space prepared specifically for Nephelont.

"Yes, father" Nephelont answered his father's call. As he went there, he forgot to release Eucleia's hand, who remained flustered after experiencing another welcome surprise.

As Nephelont was about to sit down, he noticed the hand he was still holding onto. Now, it would be awkward if he did not sit beside her. Because he wanted to sit between his parents, too, he decided to increase his size a little bit with his ability. That incurred some of his physically apparent features to transform, nothing that would hinder his plan.

Eucleia noticed too late, that Nephelont had sat on the sofa with her on his lap, being enveloped in an intimate hug. She kept silent and held his embracing arms to tell him that she did not hate it. He understood her and tightened the hug in a comfortable way, to tell her he understood. After staying close to each other for as long as they did, it was normal, in a way, that they would understand each other without the need for words. (AN: "Keikaku doori. ChechechecheHAHAHAHAHA..." And he went on, laughing like the maniac he is while plotting a tragedy for his MC. (Ps. Forgive the crazy man who wrote that not so good chuckle-turned-maniacal laughter. He just woke up from his sleep and chose to make a disaster of sorts for his MC))

Freya was enjoying the show of unintentional affection. "I came here today to thank you for yesterday's help. I came as neither Freya nor as Syr, but I came as the woman who I am, to thank you from the bottom of my very being" The lady who acknowledged herself thanked Nephelont sincerely. "Ottar, you can tell him what you came to say to him" She smiled at the bronze wall, now identified as Ottar.

"I thank you for bringing happiness to my lady's life. It was the first time I saw her smiling so genuinely. As it was my duty to watch over her yesterday, I could deduce that you were the one to help her, thank you" Ottar then offered his protection and assistance when needed.

(Flashback ends here)

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"As you wish" Ottar signaled one of his fellow familia members to take his place as the guardian until he returned. He was going to tail their tracks and come back. It was easier than tracking monsters on the ever-shifting sand of the dungeon floors.

...

After a few minutes of silence, Ottar returned. "I have found their hiding place. Should I lead the way?"

"Please do" Nephelont replied in confirmation.

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Chapter end.

'1: That name was made using the dragon language introduced by Bethesda Softworks in their game: Elder scrolls V: Skyrim.

NEVER translate that name unless you want to spoil yourselves on the ending of this volume. Nothing specific will be dug up from the name but it will still spoil you on the nonspecific parts. The volumes conclusion has been planned and the name is kind of appropriate if you know how dragons are named in skyrim.

'2: I do not know about other families, but in my family, it is quite normal to have a head fall of dense and long hair. In a lot of the cases, it reaches the back of the knee by the age of 6-7 if left to grow.

I can also chalk it up to anime logic or Eucleia's "girl power" being too high, or something.

'3: Here, the so called "standardized calculation" refers to the calculation I explained to you at the end of chapter 8.

Well, that happened. Remember the part of a previous chapter notes where I mentioned a change in how he met his second companion? This was written in as follows previously:

- Nephelont goes to a playground.

- He proceeds to jump-scare a spacing out kid.

- He talks to the kid and discovers that he has been an orphan after entering the city and was cast out by the other kids.

- Nephelont offers to get him into the familia.

That is the gist of what I made it like before re-writing the encounter from the ground up.

Sometimes, you gotta love the delays. They let you ponder on some serious things in the flow of the story.

I see this as more interesting now, with the little fight he had. Give me your honest opinions on it, they are going to be appreciated.

One last thing, I will make a chapter that is unchronological. It will cover a summary of the first few months of their training with Take. But that will wait until after my finals are over. Starting today, I will mostly stop writing for a little month or two to prepare for my exams, only writing sparingly to not go mad from a lack of writing. (Is it a mental disorder of any kind such that I cannot stop writing for too long? I really wonder)

Pruzah wundunne, muz. (Farewell, people)