For some reason, Gaia had achieved dominance over the rest of the group and no one seemed to dispute it.

Their cultivations were still the same as before, all the Destruction Dragons being Stage 2 Magic Beasts with Gaia being at Stage 3. But surely she wouldn’t be able to resist if they all ganged up on her right?

...What happened back there?

Soon, they made it up the last step and re-entered the Forest they were born in and left the Dark underground behind. With each breath, the fresh smell of earth, plants, dew and.. other Beasts entered their noses and they shivered with glee.

Only Gaia and Calmilla remained indifferent to the new sensation. Aeshma however, started growling with murderous intent and even started to make his way over to the closest Beast… only for his head to be slapped to the ground by the impatient Gaia.

THOCK!

His head smacked against the ground with a moderate impact that actually made him dizzy. When he eventually got up he shook his head to regain his senses before roaring with anger. Eyes blazing, nostrils flaring and everything.

“RAAAAA-”

BANG!

Only to be slapped much harder than before. In fact, if the floor wasn’t so hard his head would be buried.

Only then did the most wrathful Dragon of Destruction forcefully restrain himself which in itself was simply remarkable. His nature was just so volatile that trying to calm down would always be a herculean effort, but he did it now.

He glared at the resplendent golden Dragon before him who… looked right back.

BOOM!

An avalanche of primordial fear swamped his entire senses like a waterfall of dread, it was to the point that darkness crept up his vision and prevented him from seeing anything other than himself and Gaia’s golden eyes.

There was something in those eyes that terrified him so fatally that he trembled with fear without daring to move. Only when he quickly lowered his head in absolute submission did the fear start to subside.

Even then, he still couldn’t stop shaking and he was finding air was harder than ever to inhale. Even though nothing happened, he felt like he had just overcome a great calamity.

In Gaia’s gaze, there was a certain… indifference, an indifference that was so HEAVY that it created some kind of new unidentifiable emotion that could only be likewise found in Eridel’s eyes. It was the gaze of someone who knew EXACTLY what you were, what you were capable of doing, and how woefully, terribly and absolutely INSIGNIFICANT you were in comparison.

If a god were to ever look at a microorganism that hadn’t even achieved a proper body yet, it would probably have this kind of face.

Gaia turned to look at the rest of her Dragon siblings one by one with all of them avoiding her gaze, before looking back at Aeshma who was still trembling. She shook her head and let out a very human sigh before walking forward again. None of them dared to disobey the silent order to follow and unhesitatingly followed closely.

In the silence of their palpable fear, only the sound of Aeshma’s low whimpers could be heard.

‘What a bother…’

Gaia shook her head once more. She didn’t really want her siblings to be afraid of her but she knew the effects of the Laws of Destruction. Those who had affinity with those Laws would always be crazy and would only listen to absolute might. If she didn’t do anything, that foolish brother of hers would have charged right into Stage 8 Magic Beast.

Unlike the others who were completely unaware of Magic Energy, she already knew what cultivation was…

RUUUUUMBLE!

Every Dragon turned their head back to see the entrance to the cave that they had just left collapse in on itself, sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air.

Gaia bobbed her head to the side and dodged a small rock that would have hit her before narrowing her eyes.

‘Was that a god? Is there a god watching me? But how can that be…? My bone age is 127 and there was certainly no Magic Energy 127 years ago, that was why I had to resort to almost killing myself… Even if the World evolved right after I was forcefully put to sleep and gained Magic Energy, 127 years is not enough for even a Realm 2 cultivator to appear. Talk less of a god.’

The Dragon roughly shook her head in frustration.

‘Aaargh, my thoughts are too slow. I need to increase my soul cultivation as soon as possible… Wait, who’s Primordial Essence did I absorb back then? This- this World is too weird! Was there a god back there?! Wait… it might have been an immortal from another World... Could he still be here?’

Wariness flickered through the Dragon’s eyes before she gathered herself and focused back on her path. She needed to find a shelter as soon as possible.

It was then that she noticed the status of the plant life around her.

‘Am I in a Sacred Land? But even for a sacred land this is way too much. How can every tree, herb and plant already possess Magic Energy? The World has not possessed Magic Energy for more than 127 years!’

Even though her face remained the same the entire time, her mind was in absolute turmoil. This World was just way too st-

BOOOOOOOM!

Gaia almost didn’t want to look up.

She had honestly seen enough. She was already flabbergasted and she could confidently say that she hadn’t felt this way in a very, very long time. But the shockingly familiar aura that she could sense was simply just provoking her!

Gaia looked up and what she saw made her freeze so abruptly that it looked like she had been petrified.

Atop gigantic Mountain that reached into the skies, a glorious Dragon covered in purple crystal scales soared into the air with majestic might. However, even from here you could see the terrible burn injuries that covered its whole body.

However, its cultivation was rising exponentially and Stage 1 of the Enlightened Beast Ream (4th Realm for Beasts) seemed to be just around the corner. On top of that, the Beast seemed to have also reached the 2nd Stage in Anatomy Refinement.

Even then, both while extremely shocking to the mysterious Golden Dragon, wasn’t the main source of her shocked attention.

Gaia gulped with disbelief before arranging her disordered thoughts into coherent words.

‘An Earth Flame?!’