It was the funniest thing ever for him. He spent his entire new life trying to catch up. To Tellus, to threats, to a world that was already going when he arrived, and now he was so fast that everything had basically stopped, and the only thing still moving at his speed was the one thing he wanted to outrun.
"...Since the moment I opened my eyes on that path."
He missed Akemi, not his Aunt or parents; they were nothing more than burdens. He couldn’t care less about them now, though for Tellus it mightn’t have been the same... He had no reason to care for them, especially since they didn’t care for what he wanted.
"...I miss the sound of her jokes, how she’d mispronounce my name while learning English."
Every moment she comforted him, every time she critiqued him without going too far, just enough that he’d actually grow.
"She’d be thinking I’m gone, knowing it, there’s no way it wouldn’t be known. Though she’d probably be grieving by studying more."
His tail went still. The first time it had done that without him forcing it. "...Huh?"
He knew he couldn’t go back; he knew that, not through Cultivation, not through the system, not with anything. It wasn’t a problem he could solve with Mana or a technique. Or even some Creation Artifact.
It just... Existed, with him. A long exhale, slow enough that the air in front of him fogged, the heat from his lungs meeting the cold morning like it was in... His hometown.
The water finally continued spilling, the Merchant finished his gesture, the Kids kept running, and the man’s tea completed its arc.
Caelus slowed himself, not his body, everything else. He’d let the world catch up, let all the noise return, the footsteps, the chatter, the clatter of stalls opening.
Caelus sat on the Bench, his legs crossed as his tail rested on the other side of the ground without coiling...
He could wait.
A soft laugh from him, he looked up at the sky, wondering what Dragons were like, maybe they were like him, or completely different, maybe Mindless as the Church said, or maybe completely different.
"Hah, Akemi’s probably gonna hate that I thought that... She’d think that’s self-centered."
He didn’t do this for anybody; he wanted to grow stronger, not to catch up with Tellus, or reach her, or pass her. He’d want to be with her, equal so he could have fun, and get strong enough to go back and find Akemi with his human disguise.
"Hey. Aphro, how much time has passed in my old world?"
[It has only been two days; since it is another world, it works on whatever logic that world relies on. And this one is a lot faster but also a lot different.]
"...So I might be able to meet her in time, I guess I just gotta work my ass off..."
"...I won’t mess this up."
Caelus finally stood up and enhanced his sense of smell, which grew stronger. The same with his tongue, to enhance the last of the senses he knew.
[Enhanced Smell unlocked 4/6, Enhanced Taste unlocked, 5/6!]
"...The Last one, I’ll see that later, I’ll just be who I am."
As he got up, Caelus’s tail moved out of the way of anyone walking near to make sure they didn’t step on it or he didn’t hit anyone.
Caelus’s eye shifted down, seeing his own core pulse, shift, and become different. It changed and became a better fit for him. "...I can’t finish that thesis, but... That’s fine, some things aren’t finishable."
He reached the arena, a place still populated by Foundation to Virtuoso Level Cultivators, and saw Arjuna sitting against the wall. He didn’t say anything, just walked up and stood next to him. Noticing Minerva and Sol talking about something.
"...What-" The ground shook, along with the building, as a power surged, and even through all the clouds, which suddenly split from the sheer force, he saw a beam of light go from each side, reaching through what he assumed was where Nyx was.
"Ah, she reached a higher realm... The gap is bigger but... I don’t mind it. She won’t just become evil from that."
"What in the Lord’s name is that..."
Caelus looked ahead, seeing that Sol was surprised and presumably speaking on it... But he couldn’t tell fully due to the fan. "...I almost forgot Sol was Religious..."
Caelus was amused that he didn’t remember. But it wasn’t that big of a deal. Caelus took a moment. "...Should I ask Aphro to tell where that’s coming from?"
"Nah, I’m not gonna care anyway." Caelus let out a sigh, looking into the sky as the spectacle stayed up before disappearing.
"Oh, Caelus, you’re here, you know what that is?"
"Doubt I should tell Tellus Arjuna that Nyx reached a higher realm... Though it’s gonna be found anyway..."
"Ah, yeah, Nyx probably reached the Next Realm. The only person I’ve ever seen go outside the planet for some reason."
"...Elaborate." The Voice ran cold. The announcer stopped talking.
"She reached... Uhh, what’s the realm after Tribulation Transcendence?"
"Spirit Incarnation."
"Yeah, she reached that, Arjuna."
"...Why did you have to specify my name?" His eyes narrowed as one twitched slightly.
"Because I’m talking to you, obviously."
Murmur’s took over the arena, and even Sol stood in place after hearing what Caelus said.
"...You don’t seem so shocked, Caelus, aren’t you accustomed to how humans live as a Wyvern?"
"...Do you seriously think I’m a Wyvern?" He blinked, his tail swinging side to side in surprise with him.
The people here paused. "...We thought he was a Wyvern- Wait, he isn’t at Soul Formation?"
"No, I’m at Virtuoso? What- DID YOU THINK I WAS Soul Formation!? I thought you could sense this!" His jaw dropped.
"Well, Wyverns usually gain near-perfect humanoid bodies at Soul Formation, so we assumed that... But are you serious that you’re a Dragon?"
"Okay, genuinely, what is going to make you fully sure I’m a Dragon? Do I have to get the Church to say it?"
A moment of silence.
"What?" Noticing they looked offended... With the sole exception of Sol. "...You’re seriously offended by that?"
"Well, yeah, you just spoke lightly of the Church, that’s enough, you’re a Dragon." Arjuna looked disgusted at him.
"Ah shit, looks like-"
"Well, I thought you’d be a good rival, but you’re just another heretic, so I couldn’t care less."
"...Well then, guess he won’t be friends with me." Caelus shrugged. "Though I barely even knew him. So not like it matters."
Caelus looked at the other cultivators, who looked more annoyed and offended than disgusted. But he didn’t know them enough. Minerva was also annoyed, but not enough to stop being friends with him.
Caelus, on the other hand, turned away. Walking off as Nyx landed in front of him, stronger than ever. "...Everyone here’s in a bad mood, and I’d like for you to go back to whatever you’re doing."
"Heyyyy, Come on, I wanna talk with someone, and that swordsman says he’s too busy."
"Nyx, right now, not the time, maybe like a few days or during Winter."
"Fine, I guess I’ll go bother some guards then." A simple moment as she vanished. Caelus, on the other hand, continued walking away like nothing was going on.
Noticing Tellus, he waved towards her as she walked up to him. "Hey, Tellus, how have you been?"
"...Particularly insightful today. I’ve learned a lot more about the Church. But, enough about me. You haven’t said much about yourself. So tell me more."
"About what exactly? I’m not really sure what I should talk about myself; I don’t usually do that much."
"I mean, your species, how did Dragons actually act? I trust you aren’t lying, especially since you’re the last one, and I can’t disprove or even prove others’ claims about how Dragons act." Her blade was sheathed as he felt weird about her blade.
"I’ll tell, just Unsheath that blade for a moment."
A puzzled look on Tellus, her eyes focused on his, only to drift to his horns. A hand moved to touch it, to which Caelus quickly swatted. "No."
Her blade came out once more. Caelus touched the sharp edge of the blade, feeling its cut through his skin softly, a sizzling sound as his blood dripped to the ground, even without her Sword Intent... "A powerful weapon for her, I guess she could afford it."
"Weird, I don’t know why, but I feel off about this sword."
Seeing it cut his finger, even though his body was reinforced with Equilibrium. Caelus didn’t question it much more. "Well, that’s about it. Anyways, about myself."
"You don’t need to find a way to pry by asking about Dragons in general." His hand moved forward as it poked her cheek and then pulled back. "But, what exactly do you want to know about me? First time I’ve heard you ask."
"Just- Anything, You’ll learned a lot about me, and I wanna start learning more about you." She sheathed her blade once more. "And no more of you asking questions right now."
"Then you’ve already seen one thing about me. I ask way too many questions for others to be comfortable, but I like asking them, even if there isn’t an answer."
"Seriously? But there’s no point in asking without an answer." About to open her mouth... She stopped herself. "No."
"Also, I’d rather not kill, especially if you haven’t done anything to warrant it. I’m also not gonna hold a grudge. But that doesn’t mean I excuse the person... Which might be a flaw because sometimes they can’t redeem themselves if they die." Caelus Dazed out a little; he started rambling, knowing it, but he didn’t mind.
"...So I was right, Dragons are like humans, it’s not the entire species being the same, it depends on the person." A sigh, but not of tiredness or sadness, more relief. "Alright, I get it. You’re not like what the Church told, or even what the Wyverns I asked told."
A blink as he stopped. "Uh- And what does that-"
"I can only say that you’re like humans; it depends on how your personality actually is. Not something general. But you also love to talk, and from the looks of it, you love to train. Which also might be a problem, but not really much. Some people stay away for years to train." Her shoulders relaxed, standing straighter.
"Also, we still haven’t decided when we’re going; the date is overdue. But I can wait for a bit more if you’d like... Or we could make it training instead, since you love it so much."
A light pink visible on his face. "We can do training and go somewhere, I’d rather not the date be completely overwhelmed by fighting." His tail is moving upright, slightly curved at the top.
"Just like a cat, how cute." A smile on her face.
"Well, let’s get going, though, the next stage, Sixth Stage of Virtuoso? That’ll increase your strength more, so you’ll have a better time competing with me."
Her hand moved as she grabbed his, disappearing in just a moment to reappear in the sky, both of them flying with the use of Mana. "Might as well make sure nothing gets damaged, or we can go to... My Sword Domain."
"Hm- Wait, you reached the Immortal Rank?"
"Yup!" She put her hands against her waist, looking content with herself.
"Looks like there’s more chance I’m going to lose... But that doesn’t matter, though. What does your Sword Domain even do?"
"It’s a separate space, basically a near-infinite area where I can go all out. While that’s only the first stage, the second one I won’t tell or use, but it means we won’t cause the Church to get annoyed at the damage we cause while fighting. So we won’t need to hold back." She leaned forward, with puppy-like eyes, wanting him to choose that.
"Sure, Sword Domain it is." He couldn’t resist especially with eyes like that.