A Void Goddess and Evolution of a Dragon.

Once they had left the formation after their year and a half of training, the first thing Mark did was go to the master bedroom of his castle. Runeas had been working on it hard every time Mark went out and she wanted him to check it out at last. When they appeared in the room the first thing Mark noticed was the size and bed.

The bed was huge, much like the beds of Noble Devils it was an enchanted item and had more than enough room for a large harem. It had a deep red color with gold all over the edges of the bed.

Even the room was made with size and luxury in mind. Mark looked at Runeas who had surprised him when she showed off what she looked like without her making herself look younger. She was just as beautiful as before if not more. Though right now she wanted him to look at the room.

The walls were formed from what looked like solid glowing lava, but they did not radiate heat. As for the floors they were made of smooth tile formed from volcanic rock. Runeas' masterful control of her Demonic Power made them as smooth as tile if, not more.

As for the walls, with his permission, she had made use of the gold given by Zeus and Poseidon to create beautiful decorations. The entire room just screamed Dragon Lord, which she had loved to make.

She looked over to Mark who instantly jumped onto the bed. His weight caused it to creak, but not break. Grimnar, and Celestine both got on with him while Runeas sat at the foot of the bed.

"So?"

Mark looked over at her as she was still waiting for his answer.

"You did a fantastic job. I mean this is the perfect place for me, a dragon. While I have more than just fire abilities it is one of the strongest in me so this place is fantastic."

[Now you just need a volcano where you can hibernate for a time. Dragons also get stronger with age and spending a few centuries in hibernation is a must now and then.]

"Like the Yellowstone Super Volcano. That sounds perfect."

[Exactly.]

Runeas rolled her eyes

She floated toward him before she sat down next to him. She pushed herself against him and removed his sunglasses from his face. Grimnar curled up next to his other side while Celestine who could change her size rested on his chest.

Now that she had him here, Runeas asked what had been on her mind.

"How long have you gone without sleep, Mark?"

Mark yawned showing just how exhausted he was.

"The whole time I have not slept a wink, just training, training, training, and more training. Belzard, Elsha, and Ddraig drilled me hard, but I thank them for it. I gained so much from this time and was even pushed my Balance Breaker into a Subspecies which is not far from becoming an Abyss Side.

At that point, the last hurdle will be me taking the Principle of Domination for myself. But I just can't make that last leap. No matter how much I push myself it is seemingly within my reach, but so far away. What am I doing wrong?"

Runeas sighed as she had seen how Mark trained. He pushed himself to the breaking point only to get back up and do it again. He did not rest and kept pushing his body, Dragon Heart and Soul to the limit. Even for a dragon that kind of training for so long would eventually reach a breaking point.

Over the past 3 weeks, she had seen Mark's movements slowing down, the ferocity in his blows weaken, his muscles creaked and she could sense the pain he was in. Just moving was becoming painful for him, his mana pathways were at their limit, and so was his heart.

Even his regeneration could not keep up with the sheer stress he had put himself under. She had been the one to force him to stop. She only hid it from Rias by saying they were bored. Mark would have trained for even longer if not for Rias which made Runeas thankful.

Even Mark needed rest to recover as while he looked fine, his body and mind were a mess at the moment. Runeas wrapped her arms around his head and pushed his head to her chest. She hugged him tight as she told him what he needed to hear.

"Mark, stop. Just for this moment, just stop. You have nothing to prove to me or anyone. You are the heir of Ddraig, a human who became a dragon, someone he believes in enough for him to give you a part of his soul and the powers he created for yourself. That is a gift He gave you cause He respects and cares for you.

Do not be consumed by the idea that you must prove something to him. Right Ddraig?"

[She is right Mark. You are my heir, no my brother, and have nothing to prove. I can see that your obsession with reaching the Abyss Side Balance Breaker is keeping you from progressing in the Sacred Gear. Your power is growing, but the Sacred Gear is holding you back.

Sacred Gears react to their owner's wishes and mental states and your wish to prove yourself to me is keeping you restrained. It's why even after all this time you have yet to pass the last hurdle of the Abyss Side. No more. Forget about my old challenge, and just take my scale. You more than earned it."

Even Elsha and Belzard chimed in as well. Probably for the last time.

{We have nothing left to teach you, Mark. You can already use the Boost and Penetrate without the Boosted Gear on your own. You have even made Ddraig's ultimate flames the Blazing Inferno of Scorching Flames your own. Though you might need to work on that terrible name.}

[No, I named those myself and they should never be renamed.]

Belzard chimed to rebuke him.

"Admit it Ddraig, your naming sense is terrible. Name them what you want kid, but in all honestly. There is nothing left for me or Elsha to teach you or any reason for us to stick around."

Mark quieted down at this.

"I can help you both regain your bodies. I know you two became close through the ages, I can resurrect you to life. You two can get married, have kids anything."

{Mark, I appreciate that offer, but no. It is time for me and Belzard to let go and pass on. It won't be forever as death is not the end, we will just reincarnate someday and we will be together then as well. We are the last ghosts in the Boosted Gear, and now we will leave it to you.}

Belzard had the same idea.

"Let us two ghosts stop bothering you. We taught you all we could and now you are on your own. Take care of Ddraig will you."

Mark sighed as he sat up and placed his left arm against his chest.

"Goodbye, you two."

{Goodbye Mark. It was fun teaching you.}

"I salute you, future Emperor of Dragons."

With that final farewell, the consciousness of Belzard and Elsha vanished from the Boosted Gear. Now, only Ddraig remained inside of it.

[Goodbye.]

A formless wind filled the room as the Boosted Gear was now truly free from all its former wielders. Mark was about to get up and take the scale of Ddraig, but Runeas pushed him down in bed.

"That speech was nice and all, but you need sleep. A lot of it."

[...]

"...."

Seeing Mark's blank look made her hold him down as she cuddled up to him. Grimnar meanwhile rolled on his free arm to keep him from moving. Even little Celestine curled up on his chest to keep him from getting up.

"Mark, you need to sleep. The scale is not going anywhere. Take a LONG sleep, rest your mind, rest your body, and recover. Once you awaken you can take your second to last plunge."

Mark nodded as he sat up and changed his clothes. His pants turned into blue and red shorts and his jacket and shirt turned into a red tank top. He pushed his head against the pillow behind him and he closed his eyes.

"Goodnight."

Runeas cradled him close as she heard him fall asleep nearly instantly. All the exhaustion of his long training finally took hold dragging him down to sleep. Runeas closed her eyes as she too fell asleep with Mark in her arms.

Grimnar and Celestine followed suit and the 4 of them fell asleep. Probably for a long time as despite Mark being the only one who had no sleep, they all had very little. The glow of the lava died down leaving the room in total darkness just the way they liked it.

And this room also had a Time Dilation effect making time move 35 times faster in here than outside. Perfect for a long sleep. Now the only sound was the quiet breathing of their sleep.

---

Deep in the Void, a being floated around as it observed Mark closely. Its formless self took shape as it passed Great Red in the dimensional gap. The Great Dragon did not notice the being at all as it left the Dimensional Gap and entered Earth.

It floated down into Mark's house, into his flaming castle, and his room. Once here, its feet touched down the ground at the bedside. They were slim, small, white, and feminine. She walked toward Mark and leaned over him.

A pair of bright yellow eyes glared at him even though she had no anger for him. This was just the permanent look on her mortal face. A sea of white hair fell over Mark and if not for her keeping them asleep they would have woken up.

She leaned over Mark and looked into his face. She leaned in and when her face was inches from his and just stared at it for hours just inches apart. She did not blink, did not look away, and did not move at all.

After a whole day of staring at his face did she finally move.

"Get even stronger. We will meet again as equals one day if you do not die."

She stepped back as she returned to the Void leaving Mark alone once more. She had gotten the answer to the question in her mind. As for Mark, he was none the wiser about this screening by the god who gave him this life.

---

Mark did not know for how long he slept, but it had to be a while. Runeas had not let go of his head so his face was still in her chest. Grimnar had rolled on his belly and was using Mark as a pillow. His three heads snoring away.

Meanwhile, Celestine had just quietly slept on Mark's chest without causing trouble. The moment Mark woke up he spoke to Ddraig.

'How long have I been asleep?'

[6 months. The 5 of us have it seems. Runeas has always slept for long periods and you are a dragon. Deep sleep and all that while those two also are dragons as well. So we all took a well-needed sleep.]

Mark did not bother to get up as Runeas was still sleeping. If he did not wake her she just might sleep for several centuries like before. Mark thought how nice it would be to just sleep for that long. Letting the centuries pass by in sleep.

The thought caused him to nearly close his eyes, but he did not. He gently shook Runeas at his side.

"Hey, wake up. We have had enough sleep."

Runeas rolled over and let go of him.

"Just 5 centuries more."

Mark sighed as he grabbed her shoulders before shaking her firmly.

"WAKE UP!"

"AHHHH, I AM AWAKE!"

Celestine jumped off Mark while Grimnar shot up to alertness. When Mark stoped shaking Runeas she rubbed her eyes which were red.

"I am so tired. I need more sleep."

Mark got off the bed and with a thought, his clothes returned to their usual appearance. He yawned as he looked at Runeas.

"It's been 6 months. If this room did not have a Time Formation we would have missed out on so much."

Runeas got off the bed and much like Mark changed her clothes as well. She rubbed her eyes as she glared at Mark.

"We should have slept for at least a year."

Though she reached up to Mark's face as his beard was reaching his chest.

"Your beard."

Mark waved his hand and went back to something shorter, but still noticeable.

(Billy Butcher-like from the Boys.)

"Better?"

She nodded.

"Better."

Once he got confirmation he looked over at Grimnar who lept off the bed. The dog stretched himself out and gave a three-headed yawn. As for Celestine, the dragon jumped on the dog's back, then Runeas' head only to land on Mark's shoulder.

Mark reached up and ran his hand under her chin which made the hybrid dragon close her pretty eyes. Mark had one good place for him to consume the scale.

"Come on, to Yellowstone."

Runeas expected this to be good so she smiled.

"Come on, I want to watch."

Mark smiled as he waved his hand and in a bright flash of silver, the 4 of them vanished. When they reappeared they appeared high in the sky directly over the volcano. Several hot springs were under them, but these were not nice hot springs.

They boiled extremely hot enough to cause deadly burns to a human. For beings like them though who either wre dragons or a very powerful Devil they would be fine. Runeas looked over at Mark who starring directly down.

"You going to enter the volcano?"

Mark nodded.

"It is the best place for my evolution."

She smiled.

"How long will this take Ddraig?"

[Should not take too long. The heat of the volcano and the mana from the core of the Earth will feed him with pure energy. And his eating its powerful energy will delay its eruption for a long time. So this is a good thing for the gods too.]

Mark placed his hand against his chest and focused on Ares.

'Ares, can you do me a favor?'

When Ares responded he immediately said yes.

'Sure, what is it?'

'I will be undergoing an evolution and will need someone to guard me.'

'Sure, I will take my sons and my sister. She owes you one anyway and I think my aunt would be willing.'

'Thanks. I owe you one.'

When the connection was cut, Mark returned to his dragon form. Celestine and Grimnar both grew to their full sizes as they were going to defend him to death. Mark's fiendish form stared down at the Earth ready to dive down.

[Mark, this is a good chance. Take both my scale and my blood at once. This is the best chance for you to make use of both.]

"Got it."

Mark did not have to wait very long before in a flash of fire, 5 gods appeared nearby. One of them was Ares in his leather jacket, and his two sons Phobos and Deimos. Both of them looked like rough teenagers with nearly no difference between them.

They both looked to be around 17 years old with black hair and they looked quite handsome despite how rough they dressed. As their mother was Aphrodite it made sense for them to look good.

They were both dressed in black shirts, ratty jeans, and leather jackets, though one wore a bandana and had scars the other did not. Along with them came Athena who still owed Mark a favor and Hestia who had a good impression of Mark.

Ares looked up at Mark and whistled.

"Look at you man."

Mark laughed as he looked at Ares.

"Yo, glad you made it."

Ares waved him off.

"Course I did. Explain, what you up to?"

Mark looked down as he landed on the ground.

"You know, about to evolve in a giant super volcano."

Ares nodded.

"You want us to guard you through it right? Sure, and I got the perfect idea for what I want from you."

Mark crossed his arms.

"What is it?"

Ares grinned.

"How about you help me forge a new symbol of power? My sword is good, but a new one would not hurt. Especially one forged in the fire of my dragon friend."

Mark grinned.

"For sure."

Mark extended his giant fist which Ares punched full force. Athena cleared her voice to stop the two friends.

"You do know we are here too right?"

Ares shrugged.

"Bros before hoes."

Athena grit her teeth as she summoned her spear about to stab Ares, but a sigle look from Hestia stopped her.

"Now now, get along. You are siblings."

She looked up and Mark and smiled at him.

"Hi Mark, I am glad we could be of help to you in this time."

Mark nodded.

"And I appreciate it. If you want me to help you forge a symbol of power I am more than willing."

Hestia shook her head.

"I am fine as I am. I just ask you to deal with that sword with you the right way. Without it, my father will lose his most powerful weapon."

Mark understood that.

"I will. Thank you. I will start now, so keep an eye out."

Mark waved his hand and created a large separate space which was reinforced by Runeas, Grimnar, Hestia, Ares, and Athena. Phobos and Deimos were better fighters so they only gave their energy to their stronger family members.

This process did not take very long and when they finished a very powerful Bounded Field covered the entire volcano. Once this was done, Ares gave him the go-ahead.

"You can start, we will keep an eye out."

Mark nodded as he flapped his wings before he teleported deep into the Earth. More than 12 kilometers deep. In a flash of silver, he appeared inside the magma chamber which was filled with superheated magma and fire and earth mana coming from deep in the core.

A regular being would have been turned to ashes, but as his base was a Red Dragon he was fine. The magma chamber was 40 kilometers wide and 8 kilometers from top to bottom.

Mark growled as he pulled out the scale of Ddraig from his spatial ring. It was triple the size of a dinner plate and blazed with heat and power. Just this scale caused the magma to be pushed back.

Mark brought his left hand up and from the Boosted Gear emerged the vial of Ddraig's blood. Mark placed the vial on top of the scale and held them both in his single giant hand.

[Take them, Mark. I have nothing to teach you except the Principle of Domination. Once you free me, don't think I will just let you surpass me, brother.]

Mark laughed.

"Sure, brother."

Mark tossed both the scale and vial into his open mouth. He swallowed them both at once and he felt how both entered his stomach. Once they arrived there, his powerful draconic body began to break them apart, but it struggled.

The vial cracked and the blood inside spilled out releasing its full power. Mark's body began to glow a shade redder than ever as it absorbed the power of Ddraig's blood. The scales and blood both began to be absorbed which caused Mark to curl up in the magma.

All of it spilled over him covering him head to toe as the volcano's lava and mana both converged toward him like a tidal wave. What Mark did not know was that beings lived here, and they relied on the volcano for their life.

They rushed to Mark's body in heart of the volcano to stop him, but they had no chance of getting close. Some of their strongest had their energy stripped away as they were devoured by the evolving dragon.

Several of them in fear rushed away from Mark hoping he would leave some energy behind for them or their entire race would be wiped out. Meanwhile, Mark was none the wiser as his body began to change form. His bloodline was upgraded causing every affinity in his body to grow.

Even his Dragon Soul was filled with the powerful energy of a Dragon. Now, Mark just needed enough time for him to complete his evolution.