~Princess Aurora~

Aurora Ourichi’s POV:

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Everything felt so light and hazy. It’s really comfy. But that feeling soon disappeared as a sudden cold rushed my body, along with a white, blinding light. I felt two strong but gentle hands grabbing my sides and raise me up. I haven’t had a consciousness for a long time. Maybe a few minutes? Hours? But what are those?

Everything was messed up in my mind. Strange pieces of information kept flooding my mind, such as language and something about cultivation. As I was finally able to see, I stopped crying. I saw a big man, holding me in his arms, looking at me with loving eyes. I felt a strange connection with him, which I liked a lot! But he soon pushed me away. I was about to cry when I realized that things weren’t as I imagined.

I felt something very soft wrapping around my body and then something even softer touched my back. When I finally met face to face with the person in question, I felt my heart skip a beat. She was my mother. I knew it and felt it. Looking back at my the big man, I realized that he was my father.

Although their lips were moving, I couldn’t understand much. But just as I felt a sudden hunger, my mother put me on her tummy and her clothes disappeared. Seeing those round things, called boobs, I instinctively jumped at them. I was very much surprised in the next few seconds when my father followed in my steps.

As soon as I was satiated, I felt a sudden feeling of warmness spreading through my body, prompting me to close my eyes and sleep. It felt really warm and comfy in my mother’s embrace. It was much better than that dark place. But as I continued sleeping, that sudden flood of knowledge assimilated in my mind. It was nothing much. I just understood what was what and I learned how to talk.

Opening my eyes, I tried to test what is it like to speak. But unlike my intentions, only strange sounds left my lips. I felt ashamed of this. Before I could try more, Father sat up beside me. Feeling hungry, I climbed onto my mother’s belly and drank that tasty milk once again. Rolling my tongue in a circle, I felt that I had no teeth.

It will surely grow out later. I spent the next few days by eating and sleeping, enjoying the warmth of my parents. As it turned out, my mother was called Alice Ourichi, my father was Hiro Ourichi, and my name was Aurora Ourichi. They visibly referred to me when they said the word Aurora.

It happened at that time, that our surroundings changed in but a moment. I kept rolling my eyes, trying to understand what just happened. I didn’t know many things about cultivation, but I did know that it had amazing effects.

In the next few seconds, I’ve got to know numerous people. They seemed to be the close friends of my parents. And I have to say, they looked equally perverted… Strangely enough, all of them had this pink line connecting them, just like my parents. A little boy and girl came running towards us, even though they were barely bigger than me. Why were they running around?

Wasn’t it much comfier in their parent’s embrace? Although father was good, but mother was much softer… I can understand why was he hugging her all the time. But I felt rather envious when he tried to steal my milk. I had to drink lots of it to grow big!

Those two kids looked at me with bright eyes, as if they saw a new creature… but they seemed to be nice people. Should I talk to them? No. What if I fail again? I can’t do that! I’ll have to practice alone, I thought in my mind. Other than a few little details, I knew that my race was something new and unique.

A shapeless and genderless person said that my race will be called Ourichi and that I will be one of a kind. I didn’t really understand its meaning neither did I understand how it talked to me.

After chatting a bit longer, my surroundings changed once again, leaving me flabbergasted. It was amazing! We were switching places without even visibly moving! I have spent a few weeks, in the same manner, exploring new things and not talking. I wanted to do it, but my parents were always beside me.

How would it look if this one of a kind race couldn’t even talk coherently? I would rather stay silent and wait for the moment to practice. But I started to believe that it would never come. Honestly, I liked my parents a lot, but could they bug off for a few minutes!

It happened after a usual breastfeeding, that I woke up to something new. Both of my parents were naked and father was moving over mother. I didn’t understand what were they doing, but it seemed weird. Was this called sex? For some reason, that word kept jumping into my mind while watching them. But I knew that I shouldn’t look, so I turned towards the stuffed toy on my right.

It was a black, plush dragon! My mother too was a dragon. I loved this toy only because it had the same race as Mother. I sat on top of the dragon because it filled me with a feeling of fulfillment! Would I feel the same if I sat on mother’s back? No, I don’t think so. Oh! I understand! This is because this is just a lesser dragon! I thought as a smile formed on my face.

Hearing the moaning of my mother, I couldn’t help but turn around, feeling embarrassed. I shouldn’t be here! At least stop doing it here! I screamed in my mind, my hands pointing towards the skies. I was late to realize that I accidentally mumbled a few stupid sounds again. Thanks to my father, the moaning finally stopped.

Father rushed over and raised me up, spinning in a circle. Although it was enjoyable, I rather not spin again. Thank the lord, he stopped right before it could have turned bad. Father is good~

“What’s up, Aurora? How come you gave out sounds?” He asked me out of nowhere, looking into my eyes. No! Father is bad! Stupid!

Thinking back to the scene I saw and the sounds I had heard, “What was I supposed to do?” I shouted with my eyes closed. I realized at that moment, that I was able to talk! I was able to talk! Finally! Wait. Could it be that my body hadn’t grown up enough? Was this all just a misunderstanding on my part?! I’m so stupid! Alright! It is decided!

I will learn everything so that I’ll never meet with an embarrassing situation like this! But staying silent is good… It’s fun to see people’s reactions! Especially now that they heard my first words! I thought as a feeling of happiness and pride filled my heart.

They kept looking back and forth between me and each other until I was handed over to Mother. They always understood that when I pointed at mother’s chest, it meant that I was hungry. I didn’t want to fail at speaking, so I used this movement to tell them what I wanted, but it had turned into a habit by now.

After being fed, that stupid feeling of lethargy came onto me again. Although it was comfortable, it took away a lot of my time. Even though I wanted to talk to my parents just now! But… everything turned blurry and dark.

I woke up sometime later, only to see my father’s face almost touching mine. He was really close. Raising my hand, I put it on his nose. A sudden urge came to me to grab it and twist it. I really couldn’t resist it. But unlike the expected reaction, he just laughed at me.

“Father, why did you not scream in pain?” I questioned him, not being able to hold back my curiosity. His smiling face froze on the spot.

“You heard it, right?” He asked, looking at Mother, who was right behind me.

“I did,” she replied, placing her hand on the top of my head.

Clearing his throat, “Father didn’t scream in pain because he is strong!” he exclaimed. Right before I was about to react, he followed up with a few questions, “How come you can talk? Since when? Why did you not talk before?”

“Darling, don’t ask so many questions from her. I’m sure that she will answer them, right?” Mommy asked with a smile, but I felt a strict aura surrounding her body. I wouldn’t say no to this!

“Yes! But I don’t want to say something so shameful…” I replied, bowing down my head.

Mother raised me up into her bosom and hugged me. “Listen, Aurora. You don’t have to feel ashamed of anything. Haha, you are just a child, to begin with. You can tell anything to us, alright?” she whispered into my ears, filling me with comfort and trust. I don’t know if this is different for other races, but I feel a strong bond with my parents and I trust them implicitly.

“It’s just that, I failed at speaking after my birth. I thought that I was bad at it, but now I know that my body wasn’t developed enough,” I replied with my thin voice.

“Hahaha~ don’t worry about such things. It’s natural. You know, it is more unnatural that you can think and talk rather than being unable to at that time…” she said with a gentle laugh.

“But there was a weird thing, which said that I’m one of a kind. Shouldn’t I be better than the others?” I questioned in my curiosity.

“No,” my father said in that instant.

“Firstly, who was the one talking to you?” He asked, his head tilted to the side.

“I don’t know. It was a strange, gray colored and shapeless thing in front of me. It happened when I awoke in mother’s belly. He told me that my race will be called Ourichi and that I’m one of a kind.”

“Okay, okay. We heard that. So the Abyss it is. I’m not surprised,” mother said, shaking her head. They seemed to be disappointed with me, which filled me with sadness. What did I do?

“My daughter, listen to me. You are still young, but it’s best if you understand this early on. Just because your race is unique doesn’t mean you are better than the others. There are many simple people, who are still amazing. You can be proud of your race, like us, but you shouldn’t think that you can look down on anyone else because of it. Make sure to remember that in the future.” Father explained.

Could it be that I was wrong up to this point? But now I understand! “I’ll try to keep myself to this,” I mumbled in a low voice. Their faces turned into smiling ones, making me too feel happy.

“Come here you ball of cuteness!” Father shouted, jumping towards us. He hugged mother and I was stuck between them. Although it was a little cramped, I felt rather happy about it.

“Do you have any questions? Something you want to know?” he asked, looking into my eyes.

After thinking about it for a few seconds, “I have one in mind...” I said. “There was that time when we changed places in a moment. What was that? How did you do that? Can I do it as well?”

“That isn’t one question…” he said with a chuckle. “It is called teleportation. We can appear anywhere, as long as we can sense our destination. Right now, you are in our world, so it wasn’t real teleportation. We are able to do so because we cultivated a lot and learned the laws of our universe. And now comes the worst part. You can’t do it right now, but don’t worry because if you work hard, you will be able to!”

“Make sure that no matter what you get yourself into, you always work hard to reach your goal. Otherwise, no matter how talented you are, you will just waste it.”

Hard work… I prefer lazing around in this comfy warmness, though. I should change on that at some point… but not now! I refused to accept this! I can always work hard in the future, I think.

“You don’t seem to be convinced… but you will learn it the hard way in that case. It’s not like I never did such things,” he muttered in a low voice, adding, “It feels weird that we are talking to our few weeks old child and she is able to think so clearly…”

“Why would it be weird? Was I not the same?” mother questioned father. Is this a fight? But no… their tone never changed. Looking at that pink thread, I couldn’t help but ask about that one too.

“I have another question. What is this pink line connecting you? Those people outside had it too. Dreydon and Kana had it too”

“Huh? Can you see their bonds? And what about yourself? Can you see the one that is leaving your body?” they asked, pushing their faces into mine.

“I do see one… it is going downward. What is below us?” I questioned, feeling even more curious behind this secret. They still didn’t tell me what is that line.

“It leaves our world and goes down the Abyss. Somewhere deep inside it lies a boy, who is your other half,” my mother said, leaving me without any knowledge. I still didn’t get this thread… Just as I was about to ask, she put her finger on my lips. “Later. For now, it is enough for you to know, that the people who have this thread between them are very important to each other.”

Seeing their secrecy, I pouted. “Can I start cultivating now? I have a few memories in my mind about it. That’s why I know how to speak as well,” I questioned them.

Making surprised faces, they said at the same time, “It must be the Abyss.” I don’t even know what that is, I thought with an unhappy face. But this body is so tiny and weak! I should grow up quickly! The next day, we again left my parent’s world.

Dreydon and Kana came running towards me, as soon as I touched the ground. Truth be told, I could have walked weeks ago. Father also mumbled something about my body being different than humans’ and that I don’t have such a big head in childhood. I still don’t have any idea what he meant.

“Aurora! It’s been a whole day since you left. What were you doing?” Dreydon and Kana questioned me.

“What are you talking about? I’ve been away for weeks,” I said, furrowing my brows.

“Before you start debating with each other, it is because we sped up the time of our world,” mother replied when I was about to ask. Although her reply left me with even more questions, I decided to wait with them. I don’t wish to talk too much, but they know too much interesting stuff!

“Will you come with us?” Dre asked, not minding this whole thing. Following his example, I didn’t bother with it anymore and ran after him. But out of nowhere, our surroundings shifted into a sand-covered beach. This was the beach in front of our house. Turning around, I looked at my parents, who were waving their hands with smiles on their faces.

Turning back, I was met with Kana.

After examining me for a few seconds, she held out her hand. Looking down, I thought about my father’s words. I shouldn’t look down on anyone. Grabbing her hand with a smile, I followed her. She ran straight into the ocean and splashed the water on me. Fighting back, we played to our heart’s content. Dre appeared with two crabs in hand and pushed them towards our faces.

As a punishment, I cooperated with Kana and pushed him into the water. Although he was the oldest, he wasn’t strong enough to beat us! And once I start cultivating, I’ll be sure to catch up with him. It’s indeed more enjoyable to ignore rules, positions and races! Wait. Father said it differently, didn’t he? Oh well, what could go wrong? I thought with a shrug of my shoulders.

Days and months passed by and I kept on growing at a fast pace, looking similar to a toddler at the age of four! In the meantime, my hair grew out. It was the same kind of blonde hair as my mother’s, so I let it grow. I liked her hair.

My parents were chatting with Rose and Narihi at the moment, while we were out playing. But Dre said that he wanted to ask something from our parents. Neither I nor Kana knew what it was. But I soon realized that I shouldn’t have followed him this time… From now on, I’ll be the leader, I thought after the events.

---------------------- Alice’s POV: --------------------

In these few months, a few people visited our city, seeking our ability. We showed all of them, so they had no way to complain. A few weeks later, they also came back and stayed in our city. We were talking about visiting Ellery when our children barged in. Seeing my daughter, I couldn’t help but think that she will be a beauty.

[Just like her mother!] Hiro remarked in my mind.

“Mother, I have a question!” Climbing onto Rose’s lap, Dreydon said.

“What is it, Dre?” she asked, placing her hand on the side of his face.

The catastrophe happened after this. “Why do I have a different thing here?” he asked, pointing towards his crotch. It wasn’t surprising with their maturing speed that he was interested in it, but still… All of us were frozen unmoving.

Copying Hiro’s habit, Aurora facepalmed before turning around and leaving the room. But Rose’s face was worth staying. Her face turned red, matching the color of a tomato. Hēi laughed at her and then leaned closer to kiss her.

They picked up Dre and took him out of the room. I decided to read their mind… Don’t laugh at me! It’s embarrassing to talk about these kinds of things. I’ll stay silent and you will have to talk about it. How does that sound? Rose grumbled in her mind, feeling annoyed.

What? No! I swear that I won’t laugh. You can’t ask me such a thing. Ah! I know. Why don’t we do it together, Hēi thought, seeing that Rose was about to refuse. Before closing the door behind them, I still heard Rose’s yes. Seeing them leave, Aurora turned around and ran up to us, while Kana looked around with confusion.

As she stopped beside me, I grabbed her sides and put her on my lap. Cuddling her, I put my chin on the top of her head. “What’s up princess~” Hiro asked with a smile on his face, feeling envious of my current position.

“Nothing. It’s just so warm and fuzzy here. It’s good to soothe my headache,” she mumbled in a low voice, turning towards me and hugging my chest. “Mh~ warm and soft. I love this the most. It’s even better than Rin’s fur,” she said, rubbing her face in my bosom.

“Do you have a headache?” I questioned, tilting my head to the side, as a feeling of worry filled me.

“Yes. It’s getting worse!” she exclaimed, a few tears appearing in her eyes.

Hiro sprung up from his seat and kneeled beside us.“Where?” he asked with a worried face.

“Here,” Aurora replied, pointing towards the two sides of her forehead.

Combining our Qi, we pushed it towards her body. Feeling the energy, she greedily sucked it in. In the next moment, we realized the reason for her pain. Two tiny horns grew out on her forehead. They were no more than three centimeters long and their tip was round. “Is it better now?” I asked her, only to realize that she was sleeping. Seeing her sleeping face, I leaned closer to kiss her forehead.

“Look at how cute she is~ She has the same face as her mother,” Hiro talked to himself, looking at our daughter.

“Hm~ I don’t think that it’s like that. Her face is a little edgier. It gives her a colder look,” I said, shaking my head, disagreeing with him.

“Are you saying that she seems hard to approach?” Hiro asked, looking into my eyes.

Nodding my head, “Something like that,” I replied with a smile on my face.

“Hmm. She doesn’t talk too much either, but her intelligence is visible” Hiro remarked with a thoughtful face, his hand on his chin. Still eyeing our daughter, “Look at how peacefully she is sleeping” he added. Standing up, he kissed me. “We have another visitor. I’ll go and take care of him,” he said with a sigh, standing up to leave.

Nowadays more and more people came here. Some of them were just curious, some of them picked a fight, and some of them believed in our ability. Aurora’s teeth grew out in the past few months, and I stopped breastfeeding her nowadays since her body had grown a lot. It was a little strange that myself or Hiro had to cook every day for her. We rarely ate, only eating when we felt like eating something delicious.

But the meals with our daughter always tasted better. She was sweet like honey. Hiro came back a few minutes later. “How did it go?” I asked, relaxing my body in the armchair.

“This one didn’t want to die unlike a few others who came to pick a fight. He came looking for his other half. He said that he heard news of us in the universe he came from,” he replied, pushing his right hand under the back of my knee and behind my back.

“And what kind of news did he hear?” I asked as Hiro raised me up, Aurora still in my arms, sleeping.

“He said that people are saying that our service isn’t a scam and it is worth the trouble of coming here and such… It seems like the fame of Sawolond is spreading,” he mumbled in a low voice, fearing that Aurora would wake up.

“That’s good. Do you have any plans for the future? Or will we stay here and live silently?” I questioned him, having mixed emotions. It’s been such a long time since we met. We grew up together, loved each other, and now we have our own child. We aren’t far away from reaching the top either. Truth be told, if we were to merge and use our monster forms, we might be able to kill people at the tenth level at this point.

Still walking towards our room, making a thoughtful face, “I have. But you know it, don’t you? Haha… I plan to take it easy for now and explore what is at the bottom of this dark pit when Aurora has grown a little more. Let’s just rest, my princesses~” he said with a chuckle. Placing us on the bed, he kissed me on the lips, while Aurora was awakened by a kiss on her face.

“Uh, father? What are you doing? It was so cozy. Oh, my headache disappeared,” she exclaimed, touching her forehead.

“What are these? Horns?” she asked, looking at us, her head tilted to the side.

“Yes, my little princess,” Hiro answered her question, raising her up to cuddle her. Aurora laughed with a bright smile on her face. Looking at my husband and my daughter, I closed my eyes and fell into melancholy.

Most people turned more and more emotionless and empty as they grew stronger. But the people around us were still the same as when we met them. Hiro always wondered whether we would become like that as well. But no matter how much more we learned about the world, how much more we understood, we still had the same emotions.

Do we lose our feelings as we get stronger? I thought, relaxing my body. [Nope~ It might be because we have quality bonds with our friends, but I could reply to this anytime.] Hiro answered through our bond.

“Monster or human. Aren’t we all the same. We might have different shapes, so long as the person has intelligence, it will be a human inside either way. It might be evil and it might be good, it’s always going to stay the same,” I mumbled in a low voice.

“What did you say, mommy?” Aurora asked, jumping onto me. Hiro laid down beside me. Holding my hand, he too closed his eyes. Not wishing to be left out, Aurora did the same.

Such was the start of our family life.

Such was the start of Sawolond.

Such was the start of…

Eternity.

(AN: This isn’t the last chapter… since 1-2 patron-sans said that this felt like an ending. But I can relate to them tbh. XD Either way. THIS IS NOT THE ENDING!)