I laid down near the edge of the floating mountain, Ynos was by my side listening to my story regarding the astral plane, and my meeting with the goddess. He was primarily interested when I mentioned the fights, and had to stop himself from interrupting me.

Now that I finished, the sun had already settled as the moon gently illuminated the land below. Ynos's expression was one of curiosity and excitement.

"This Goddess, she seems interesting," he said before adding, "But I'm curious about the shade. It seems like it was a powerful one."

I nodded before replying:

"It was a pain in my behind, that's for sure," I groaned in annoyance.

Ynos chuckled before asking, "So was the Phoenix heart really that bad?"

A disgusted expression overtook my face as I recalled the spicy heart. "It was akin to eating fire if that makes any sense."

"Eating... Fire?" Puzzled, Ynos asked again.

I quickly nodded in confirmation before explaining, "Trust me, that's one of the few things I definitely do not want to eat again."

He chuckled before answering:

"That just makes me more curious, brother."

I shrugged and replied:

"That'll be up to you, just don't say I didn't warn you."

Shaking his head, Ynos continued, "I doubt we will come across a Phoenix in here." He then stood up abruptly and turned to face me before speaking:

"What if you take me with you!"

I stared at him like he was an idiot before speaking, "Huh? What part of my story did you NOT understand?"

Scratching his head with his claws, Ynos pretended to be offended before speaking:

"I understood everything, but with me, it'll be different!"

"Oh? And would you care to elaborate on how exactly would it be any different?"

"I can protect you! Besides, if you already got out of there once with that goddess, why would you not be able to do it again with me!" Saying that Ynos puffed his chest and stood straighter as if to emphasize his point.

"Oh, and how will you protect me when you can't beat me just yet?" I asked with a snort.

"Oh come on, brother! That goddess couldn't beat you either!" He proudly proclaimed causing me to cough in embarrassment.

While my fight with Breta could be considered not a loss, it couldn't be counted as a win either. Faced with Ynos's shining eyes when he asked me about the fight, I may have exaggerated my fighting prowess by a little bit.

I let out another cough trying to hide my embarrassment before I answered, "That's different, besides, we were mostly lucky. What if the next time something worse than that shade gets summoned? What if neither I nor you can hold a candle against it, then what?"

Clicking his tongue, Ynos rolled his eyes and spoke, "What's the point of living if we are going to be in constant fear of the unknown. Life is supposed to be an adventure, brother. And I for one did not take you for a coward."

Hearing Ynos speak such words caused me to make a double-take as I asked, "Who are you? And what did you do to my brother? Who taught you to speak that way? Wait do you even know what you are talking about?"

A grin stretched across his face before he harrumphed and spoke:

"I may have been paying grandmother a few visits while you were gone."

"I knew it! Something was just not right." I nodded before asking, "Ah, speaking of grandmother, did you meet little Essie? Last I heard she was supposed to be undertaking her rite of passage."

Ynos visibly shuddered at my question before he replied:

"I don't think you should call her little anymore, brother. Essie is becoming scarier by the day."

"What? No, don't tell me she had a sudden growth spurt?"

"It's not her physical state that I'm talking about. Grandmother's training made her— Scary." Another shudder, before Ynos quickly shook his head as if trying to forget what he saw.

"Do I want to know...?"

"No."

"Damn it, just what did grandmother do?"

"Enough about that, what are your plans now, brother?" Ynos suddenly asked, changing the subject. I didn't mind.

Raising my head, I took a deep breath enjoying the night breeze on my scales. "I'm curious about the human lands."

"Oh, you mean you'll go visit?"

I nodded, "I'm thinking about it."

A frown made its way to Ynos's face before he spoke:

"But the humans are weak? What fun is there in visiting them?"

I chortled, "Not everyone thinks about fighting all the time, Ynos."

"They don't?"

"No, others have different hobbies."

"Hobbies? You sound weird, brother."

Rolling my eyes, I playfully slapped his head with my tail, "Haven't you considered that maybe, you are the weird one?"

"No."

Saying that Ynos stretched his limbs before adding, "Well, I'm a bit sleepy. See you later."

I gently nodded, "Good night."

Ynos then shot to the sky, leaving behind a small crater in the ground. Almost immediately, Ayona floated down and appeared next to me with a smile on her face. "Sorry, I kept you waiting."

"Oh no! Master does not need to apologize for anything, Ayona is already very happy!"

The two of us remained seated next to the edge. A sense of warmth sprang from the gentle breeze as I gazed at the starry sky. No matter the days or years that passed, each night sky appeared as a fresh gift given anew.

The longer I stared at it, the more I found myself longing for it. At times I felt as if I could hear the stars vibrating somehow, whispering in a way the ears could not hear. It felt as If I was looking out of a 'window' to the universe beyond.

"Master?"

"Huh?" Ayona's voice brought me out of my trance-like state. I blinked in confusion. I could feel the cosmic mana stirring inside my soul space, almost as of trying to escape. Small strands of cosmic mana surrounded me before I even noticed.

"Where did all of you come from?" I mumbled as I glanced at the mana elements.

Usually, to summon the cosmic mana I had to create a link after which it would descend from beyond the sky. This time, however, it was as if the mana was coming out of nowhere. The connection was forcefully made with my soul space, which filled me with apprehension.

I watched as the cosmic mana that surrounded me slowly moved towards me and buried itself under my scales. Closing my eyes, I traced it as it entered my soul space and was greedily sucked by the incomplete dragon statue.

"What the hell just happened?"