Kael walked slowly toward his home, head lowered, rehearsing over and over excuses that might deceive his mother. He knew she was perceptive, that nothing escaped her gaze—much less the state of his clothes, frayed and marked by the traces of a day far too strange.
"I suppose the downside of being born as a baby and growing slowly is that, no matter how mentally mature you are, you'll still be a baby." —Kael sighed, as if he could already foresee how his mother would react.
...
But millions of kilometers away, so far it seemed like worlds apart, a different scene unfolded. So far that a mortal—or even a weak cultivator—would need unimaginable teleportation matrices to reach such a place. And yet, to the woman present there, that distance was as trivial as walking to the corner store of a forgotten village.
Beside her stood a girl. Her features, delicate and radiant, resembled the woman's, though within her flickered a latent brilliance: a beauty that, in the future, might eclipse the very sun. Both of them looked downward, gazing upon a continent suspended in the vastness of a world that seemed endless.
It was the Draconic Continent, as they called it—a land whose size could eclipse Kael's Earth a thousand times over, and still, in that immeasurable cosmos, it was nothing more than a speck of dust. Its surface was bathed in endless mountain ranges and seas that shimmered like molten silver. Across those skies, colossal dragons spread their wings wide enough to cover stars; some trained with roars that split mountains, others coiled around impossible peaks, letting fire, ice, and thunder brand the very air.
The woman smiled with disdain and, glancing at her daughter, let out a soft, venom-laced mockery.
"Happy to see your darling\~?"—she whispered with irony. "I still don't understand your obsession with that boy… What I saw in him was barely a speck of talent, nothing worthy of our lineage."
The girl stayed silent, eyes downcast, and murmured almost to herself:
"In the future… you'll understand, when you're leaping onto his pen…"
"What did you say?"—the mother arched a brow, as if she hadn't heard.
The girl said nothing more, pretending distraction. But the woman, of unfathomable power, had heard every syllable. She chose to ignore it, as though the revelation held no weight.
Between jokes and sarcastic remarks, their talk faded, until the girl suddenly froze. The mother noticed the stillness and turned to look at her. That's when she saw it: the girl's eyes had changed.
An indescribable glow lit her pupils—these were the Eyes of Destiny. Within those draconic irises, entire galaxies danced like stardust; fragments of worlds, rivers of energy, and infinite paths wove together into a vortex of possibilities. A vision no mortal, nor any cultivator lacking such affinity, could endure without losing their sanity.
The girl muttered softly, her voice flushed with emotion:
"Although I've never been able to clearly see what power or talent makes my love so… irresistible, it's precisely that which makes him unique. At first, I despised him… How could a proud dragoness ever take notice of a mere human? But that darkness, that mystery, drew me in more than I cared to admit…"
Her face flushed suddenly, lips pressing together as images flashed in her mind—visions intimate, forbidden, that made her tremble. Caresses… her acting in ways she had never imagined, her face smeared with a white substance.
Seeing those scenes, she blushed so deeply it was as if smoke might rise from her head, and quickly shut her eyes to avoid further corrupting her young mind.
"What did you see?"—asked her mother, piercing.
The girl shook her head softly, still flushed but slowly calming.
"I could never see it clearly…"—she whispered.
"Perhaps because there's nothing there, child," said the dragoness.
"You don't understand, mother. Even now, I turn to look at you, and I can still see the limit of your talent."
The woman frowned. She, an unmatched expert, capable of reading the talent of any being with a single glance… How could that boy escape her perception?
A dark gleam flashed in her eyes and she muttered with a trace of murderous mockery:
"Perhaps it was bad luck that you were born with such an affinity…"
The girl smiled serenely, showing a beauty both pure and lethal.
"It doesn't matter. You'll still protect me from everything."
"HAHAHAHAHA, true, true."
The woman burst into laughter, cracking the air like thunder. Her laugh carried such raw murderous intent that even space itself distorted, trembling under her presence.
And then the sky burned.
From the edges of the continent, a colossal dragon surged among the stars: its jaws were abysses, its body an ocean of cosmic energy, like a stellar river condensed into beastly form. It roared with a fury that split mountains:
"¿Who dares disturb the balance of my domain!?"
But when its eyes fell upon the woman and the girl, all its might crumbled. A shiver ran down its scales, and it descended trembling.
"M-my lady… forgive my insolence…"—he said, bowing his head reverently—. "Queen Syhlarith, the Sky-Ripper…"
The mother regarded him with contempt.
"Coward…"—she muttered—. "Greetings, little emperor. We were merely passing by."
The titan exhaled in relief, lowering his head even further.
"Why? Are we not welcome here?"—Syhlarith asked with a hint of amusement, lifting a brow at his sigh, coaxing a reply.
"N-no, not that… I was only startled by your… presence," stammered the colossal dragon, nearly shitting himself with fear.
"Tch."
"That's why I dislike coming to this world," said the dragoness, casting him a bored glance before looking away for something more entertaining. Disappointed, she was already about to leave this weak place.
The terrified dragon glanced about nervously, realizing someone stood at the queen's side.
Noticing the girl, the colossal dragon bowed with utmost solemnity.
"Young lady…"—he said gravely, reverently.
The girl merely nodded, cold, distant. As though the playful game with her mother had vanished, leaving nothing but a mask of ice.
"Leave."—Syhlarith ordered, already bored.
The colossus didn't dare argue, simply opened a stellar vortex and fled, leaving behind a sea of silence.
The woman turned to her daughter.
"It's time to go."
The girl's eyes clouded with sadness.
"Why not take him as your disciple?"—she asked softly.
Syhlarith sneered.
"If I were to take anyone as my disciple, I'd have to massacre entire clans of dragons begging me for the same."
"He's not just anyone!"—the girl snapped.
But the dragoness sighed with disdain.
"What I saw, daughter, is what I trust. And what I saw was only a human. More beautiful than any I've ever laid eyes on, yes, but nothing more.
If that human is as strong as you claim… he'll come to you, wherever you are." —the dragoness said, staring at her daughter seriously.
The girl lowered her head. She sighed, then looked once more toward Kael, as if her eyes could pierce millions of kilometers without effort. A sad smile curved her lips.
"Very well… let's go."
Syhlarith raised a claw, fracturing space itself. Before them opened a spacetime loop, a tunnel of cosmic colors, an infinite spiral where each glimmer contained an entire world.
Together they stepped in.
And there, the woman's true form unfolded: a dragon with absolutely white scales, so vast that even the emperor from before was no more than an insect in her presence. Beside her, a smaller figure—the girl—shone with white scales streaked with golden lines, like living constellations.
The little dragoness turned one last time, her face a mix of sadness and hope. Then, the portal closed with an echo of eternity.
-------------
*Kael's Point of View*
"Here we go…" I muttered, swallowing hard as I stopped in front of my house's door.
The villagers—those ordinary humans—had asked me what had happened. But, as expected, none of them pressed too much. Normal people don't go looking for trouble with cultivators… and even though I never confirmed it was one, the doubt lingered in the air. But really, who else could release such a tyrannical aura if not a cultivator?
I stopped for a few seconds, taking a deep breath. The memory of the forest still weighed on my mind like a stone tied around my neck.
"Idiot…" I scolded myself with anger. "Walking into a forest without knowing anything about this world, without understanding how strong cultivators can be, without knowing the cultivation realms or the brutality of their power… It was foolish. I could've died before even grasping what kind of world I'm in."
A world where killing carries no consequences, where the weak are cannon fodder and children are trained to take lives before learning to give thanks. A world where without backing… you simply vanish.
I clenched my teeth.
"Haah," I sighed softly.
"Regret won't help much. I'll learn from my mistakes, yes… but sinking in incompetence is just inviting death."
I pushed the door open.
The inside of the house wrapped me in the smell of firewood and bread. My mother ran toward me, wide smile and open arms. But her expression froze the moment she noticed the blood on my clothes.
"Kael!" —her voice trembled—. "What… what happened? Are you hurt?"
I shook my head, though her inquisitive gaze cut through me like a knife.
"It's nothing, mother… just an accident while training."
I lied. And she knew it. Her brows furrowed, protective fury written all over her face.
"Tell me who it was! I'll beat them up myself!"
I froze. The memory of the woman in the forest flashed in my mind—her icy gaze, that crushing pressure that almost shattered my soul. A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
"Don't worry, mother. It's not someone you could fight."
She pouted like a child, as if she couldn't stand me doubting her strength. But then her eyes welled up with worry.
"If they're powerful people… we can leave, Kael. We can move to another village."
I stared at her. This woman… this mother of this world… her worry wasn't fake. It was real. Warm. Painful.
I squeezed her hands tightly.
"Don't worry. Mom, I'll protect you. As long as I live, nothing will happen to you. Just wait for the ether pulse and we'll leave."
She blushed, lowering her gaze like a shy maiden rather than a mother. She murmured with nervous giggles:
"Hehehe… my Kael will protect me…"
My eyes widened. What the hell…? But before I could think further, I rushed toward my room.
"Kael! Wait!" she laughed as she playfully chased me down the hall.
I locked myself in, heart pounding. This world is completely twisted…
---
*Two Years Later*
The forest became my temple. After months of investigating whether there were beasts or cultivators roaming nearby, I found nothing. So, even if risky, I had no choice but to keep training there. It was the only place with the necessary peace.
Sweat on my forehead, muscles tense, fists cracked against the bark of a tree. Every day was a battle against weakness. My hair, now reaching my shoulders, gave me a wild look.
In front of me stood Lily.
She was no longer the mud-covered girl. Her face shone with a natural beauty, her cheeks flushed as she looked at me like I was the center of her whole world.
And for a moment, I didn't know what to think.
*(Flashback)*
I remembered the first time she called me "Brother Kael." She had that innocent smile, and an absurd conviction when she said one day she'd marry me. I laughed back then, treating her as a little sister… but now, standing before me, that innocence had turned into something more complex.
"Hmph, Brother Kael… you're slow," she said with a pout. "How can you not understand this little lady?"
I stared silently, puzzled, then went back to training as if her words were carried by the wind.
"Hmph, dummy."
A while later, she jumped from a nearby tree and threw me clean clothes, her face burning.
"Change! You stink of sweat!" she said nervously.
A laugh escaped me.
"What's wrong, little Lily? Are you getting nervous?"
"I'm not little anymore!" she shot back, reproachful and red-faced.
We kept walking home, chatting. Meanwhile, my mind drifted back over the last two years: the merchants, the low-level cultivators who came for cheap techniques, the information I wrung out with charisma and persistence. I learned about the races across different continents, teleportation arrays, and the seven cultivation realms.
The only downside… was meeting the merchant's son. Billy.
An arrogant boy, the complete opposite of his father—and worse… he had a crush on Lily.
"Really? I had to run into such a cliché trope this fast?"
Fate wasted no time answering.
About thirty seconds later…
At the village gate, Billy was waiting. His golden hair gleamed under the sun, his eyes filled with rage.
"What are you doing with my wife away from me?!" he shouted, as if I'd stolen her from him.
Before I could respond, Lily stepped forward, anger flashing in her eyes.
"Leave me alone, Billy! You and I are nothing! I like Brother Kael!"
She turned to me, waiting for a reaction. I kept my face impassive. Her pout came instantly.
Billy flushed with fury. He called over his friends.
"Kael, stay away from her or I'll smash your face!"
I raised a brow.
"You think this is a competition? Can't she decide for herself?"
"No!" Billy spat. "When she awakens her affinity, I'll train her myself."
My rage boiled over. For the first time, my face hardened.
"To treat her like an object? Like nothing but a possession…"
I wouldn't allow it. She was like my little sister.
Lily grabbed my arm, worried.
"Brother Kael, don't…"
I patted her head gently.
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen."
I tried speaking with the boys to avoid a fight, but nothing worked. So, I had no choice but to fight—even if fighting children wasn't exactly something to be proud of.
The blows were quick, sharp. They were undisciplined kids. I, on the other hand, had prior training. I avoided breaking bones, but I subdued them easily. One by one they fell crying, until only Billy remained, trembling.
I grabbed him by the collar and stared into his eyes.
"Stop bothering Lily. Or every time I see you… I'll make you remember this."
I let him go, and he stepped back with resentment.
"This isn't over! When I awaken my affinity, I'll get my revenge!"
I feigned another strike, and he bolted in terror.
I stood still.
"Affinities, huh…"
Next year would be everyone's awakening. The beginning of the true path. I clenched my fists, a mix of fear and anticipation flooding me.
"Maybe I don't have a system… but with the right affinities, I'll be able to protect my mother… and Lily too."
Years. Years of clinging to a system that I had already resigned myself to never having.
I turned. Lily was staring at me with shining eyes, as if I were her hero. I could only smile bitterly—because it seemed she had only fallen for me even more.
"Wow, Brother Kael, that was amazing!"
"You kicked them to the left, ran to the right, and then they all went crying like babies…" Lily mimicked my moves as I just laughed and shook my head.
After calming Lily down and convincing her not to ask me to teach her how to fight, she reluctantly followed me back home.