The earth, this blue ball...but also our home in this infinite space

We were happy to have finally arrived.

I had slept all the way in Kate's paws who was watching over me. Darkia was in her ship recovering.

The Bucephalus was too big to land and stayed in orbit.

It delivered a tractor beam to allow the Repressior to land without breaking in two.

All the surviving dwarves and Kobolds and the remaining 300 humans had come out of the shelters to watch the show.

But no one said a word. No one was happy or angry.

The elves and fantasy creatures were crying for their dead and this was the first time they felt those feelings and the real, precious life flowing through them.

Near the base metal arches rose from the ground in two places and the Doom landed next to the Repressor.

The Doom also had a lot of damage, but not as much as my ship.

A mixed crowd greeted the occupants of the ship and the many wounded, but especially the frozen and the surviving dragons were carried on stretchers.

They did not speak our language but only a form of draconic that only dragons could understand.

But they were uprooted, lost and in shock. They stayed put, not knowing what to do, and followed Kate out while we carried the little ones.

But everything was broken, devastated, but the Vespalians who remained on the spot had not lost any time.

The rubble had been cleared away and a hive under the Village was under construction.

The houses of the 50,000 inhabitants were dismantled and reassembled to face 300 humans and 1,000 elves, 400 of whom had survived, and a few fantastic creatures, a bit like Waspy at the beginning.

The Vespalians were like construction machines and in a few days we could move back in.

We were housed in my temple, which had withstood the blast of the cannon and the earthquake of the artifact's impact.

In fact, it was not entirely destroyed and still radiated a little, and this certainly allowed all the fantastic creatures not to perish entirely.

The magic was still there, but ten times less.

I was still in human form and feverish, lying in my bed this time, Kate in the hall below, in the nave, while I was in the circular chamber of the tower. The younger dragons had joined him there and human doctors were examining their mutilations and after-effects.

To restore their dignity, the missing horns were 3D printed and their organs were reassembled in a similar fashion.

The dragons, intelligent beings, cried and trembled at the sight of humanoid beings, especially the elves... They were asked to move away from them to avoid adding to their trauma.

They threw themselves on the food to regain their strength and Kate taught them the rules of life here in the community.

She explained that we were all equal, that there were no more lords or evil gods, and that they were free to do what they wanted. There were laws, however, and respect for life was above all else. Even the vespalians...especially the vespalians...

Even the dragons were afraid of them and the humans... we can't imagine...

They were in a hive with giant praying mantises... They were at the mercy of monsters and they knew it. Yet, they loved Kate the most...

Kate asked Sarah to check on me...

Sarah was also trained as a doctor and she could see that I was delirious in bed.

She had the sheets changed because I was in danger of soaking in my own sweat.

She ran her hand over my forehead and felt the gravity, as if her hand was falling and my forehead was the floor.

"Hans... Wake up!!!"

She put ice cubes on my head and gave me a shot of anti-inflammatories to bring down my fever.

A woman was standing behind Sarah ... She did not know her but she had 8 horns and a long serpentine tail.

She passed Sarah who was surprised and she put a handkerchief with her clawed hands on my forehead.

The fever fell and... Sarah went down on her knees.

"Great Destroyer.... You are here!!! Welcome to us..!"

The creature with an angelic face and beautiful golden hair and pointed ears like that of the elves but longer began to smile at Sarah. But she noticed the horrible scars on the goddess' back.

"You helped my son survive...you and your people... I bless you as Enka."

By the time Sarah wanted to raise her head, Enka was gone...

I raised my head and in a good mood I got up from the bed...

"Then I saw the IV and the ice cubes.

She immediately removed the tubes and the marks magically disappeared. No need for a plaster.

"Thanks... How long???"

Sarah: "A week..."

I huffed, fearing the worst.

"The little ones?"

"They're still sleeping... we'll wake them up and put all the kids together... It's better that they have those of their age to play with..."

"And the dragonets?"

"They are all together... The young vespalians too..."

Then she examined me, took my blood pressure and looked at my eyes...

"I know you're a dragon but it's easier... You have received a terrible shock...well, several and your body is broken... Hans..."

"I know...I have almost no powers left...I don't even feel like I can return to my hydra form.."

She put her hand on mine.

"Hans... Many owe you their lives, but many are resentful. It's unfair but if they owe you their lives, they mourn their lost loved ones, families, tribes and even humans mourn the 200 who went with Belleville and Yuri... But you must not pay attention to it anymore... And rest... go back to a normal life."

I started to cry.... and leaned my forehead against the human's arm..

"I don't know... I don't know anymore... I have a huge emptiness inside me..I'm thirsty and yet water doesn't quench my thirst..."

She ran her free hand through my hair and kissed the top of my head..

"Hans...you are a dragon, a God even but you are still Hans, the human that everyone loves... You are not alone.. You have your children..Kate, Darkia.. and even Waspy without counting all the Drago Kobolds women who only dream of one thing: to have your offspring.."

I then took a huge breath and managed to get up from the bed.Sarah helping me to hold on.

"What's happening to me?"

I arrived at a terrace where a breakfast was served to me. I had the company of Kate who licked me tenderly.

Kate: "You have been very lucky... I think you have resisted time and divine forces. For you are a God now.

I remembered being Tiamat for a moment... but all that power, all that mana. I had only a small part of it and I had burned it all in that fight.

Yes, it was coming back to me. The forced hibernation... the lack of mana against my insufficient reserve...

I understood... and Mother had given me some of her mana so I wouldn't collapse for centuries...

I was stuck... If I wanted to live a little with my family. I couldn't waste any more magic... I realized that I was powerless... and fear came over me for the first time...

Kate immediately sensed that I was vulnerable.

"Kate, I was hard on you... but I beg your pardon..."

"No, Hans... it was me who was weak... now it's my turn to protect you.."

I stroked the inside of his chin. "Thank you dear... "

She didn't answer but the dragoness was worried too. She loved Darkia too and she missed her absence..

Taking initiative... even as a dragon, Kate hated doing this but she had to if she wanted to protect her pups.