Chapter 11: You are a Melody
All eyes turned to look at the first royal to awaken at today's ceremony. Not just the first royal, but also likely the next Monarch too.
Kyrios stood up, unfolding his golden wings confidently as if he wasn't looking at his twin sister like a puppy a second ago.
With one flap, he soared high into the air. At that moment, he looked like the mini version of Elysium, dazzling golden under the colorful light of crystal chandeliers. The mesmerizing sight left most dragons speechless. Such was the charm of the Royal Arch-Dragons.
Thanasios offered him a broad smile as he landed in the middle of the arena, right in front of the awakening crystal.
Kyrios courteously bowed, his movements calm and composed, unlike his usual personality.
—Hello, Kyrios— Thanasios cheerfully spoke.
—I bow before The First Monarch Thanasios Kairo Eleftherios. I hope you'll continue to look upon me favourably— Kyrios, adding something only Thanasios and he knew to the standard greetings, nodded his head in acknowledgement, puzzling other dragons.
Well, except for Kyriaki, of course.
—Ahahaha…. Of course I must do that. Of course!— Thanasios replied delightfully. Kyrios bowed once again to show his gratitude.
—I'm delighted to hear that—
—But…it seemed my favour wasn't enough, my dear child. I'll do better this time—
For some reason, Kyriaki felt someone's eyes were on her. A chill ran down her spine.
But she couldn't find anyone looking at her, even the Elvin guards were looking at Kyrios with anticipation and curiosity. Kyriaki shrank back to her seat, fixing her gaze at her twin brother.
Yes, anything else doesn't matter.
Her attention should be on her twin, who was about to experience an important event in his life. Like a real sister would do.
—Place your paw on the crystal— Thanasios instructed the now confused hatchling with a grin.
It seemed no one, not even Kyriaki was able to unravel what Thanasios said before.
And so Kyrios obeyed without any protest.
Soon, 14 light orbs emerged like they had their own will. Kyrios closed his eyes. In less than a second, a bright yellow light orb, with the symbol of sun, slowly floated towards Kyrios.
It felt like the orb was taking its time as if it had all the time in their world. Regardless of the slow approach, it gave the impression of something soft and warm.
Light element.
That was the name of it.
Endymion excitedly shifted his weight to his other hand as he watched the peaceful light hovering around his grandson. Having the light element means naturally becoming a healer. A profession so rare and useful it sometimes chose the fate of the battlefield.
Then without any delay, another light orb slowly flew forward, right in front of Kyrios.
The warm crimson red and the flame symbol was unmistakably the fire element.
Elysium seemed over the moon as he glanced at his son with an affection filled heart. His yellow diamond eyes were dripping with love.
He seemed to be already daydreaming of days he'll spend teaching how to wield fire element to his dearest son.
A second past, everyone waited with anticipation. No later than the Fire Element chose Kyrios, the third element appeared.
It was the same light Sirius received.
Separated from other firefly-like light orbs, it flew towards Kyrios with much faster speed than the light element did. The pine green glow was unmistakably of Mind element.
Endymion hummed once again.
Because having a primordial element was one of the qualifications needed for becoming the next Monarch.
Endymion has the Time attribute, Elysium has the Space attribute…and having Mind in the next generation might completely change the ride of the situation below on the planet.
Kyriaki knew that too.
For all that, she also knew too well of the future for her to be surprised by something like this.
Besides, everyone here was in for a more groundbreaking shock if they were already satisfied with this much.
Just as Kyriaki thought, another element, which never chose a companion during the ceremony today, flew towards Kyrios as if he was a magnet. With a dark purple glow and the symbol of a star, The Space element proudly floated around Kyrios' head.
—T-two primordial elements!— Someone exclaimed from the audience.
Some gasped, some froze dead on the tracks.
Meanwhile Elysium cleared his throat, clearly proud of his son. They all could see how the grin on Thanasios' face grew larger. Mummers grew louder and louder at the sight of four lights hovering over Kyrios like he was their only master.
Just as Kyrios was about to open his eyes, thinking it was over, something more mind blowing happened.
A fifth element flew towards Kyrios calmly, as if it knew it was the main character of today's event. It slowly and deliberately floated towards Kyrios, shutting Thanasios' lips tight.
Almost all the dragons stood up from their seats in awe. Endymion's large dragon body trembled. Mummers filled the air as even Elysium looked at Kyrios in a dumbfounded expression.
The reason?
Well unlike other races, dragons were powerful, yes. Even so, among dragons, three elements were the average and most common. On top of that, having four elements meant they were hailed as geniuses. It was rare even among dragons.
But to have five elements?
That had only happened once in the entire dragon history.
The only dragon who wielded five elements was the same person standing tall before them; Thanasios.
And to have the same elements a legendary dragon wielded as his own, Kyrios was a prodigy born once every million years—literally.
As she stared at the golden light, with the symbol of an hourglass engraved, Kyriaki for some reason felt proud. In fact, even before it happened, she was plenty proud of her twin brother.
Before she was reborn, she only had a cheap pity for the young dragon she saw on the mirror-like portal. But after her rebirth, she was faced with the real person, with his previous life memories inside her mind.
She didn't know how or when it started. But at some point, she acknowledged him as her own brother and treated him with high care.
Like a mother, she doted on him without hoping for anything in return and felt proud of him for just existing.
Maybe she was just playing dollhouse to sooth her unfulfilled desire for a family. But it no longer mattered. The life was uncertain, she might as well do whatever she wants without regretting later.
—Time Element, well done my boy!— Endymion shouted with excitement. He too was standing on his feet from the shock. His amber eyes glowing like jewels.
Kyrios also seemed to be surprised. He watched the five elements hovering over his head with bewilderment. Then his gaze landed on the celestial spirit in front of him.
Thanasios was looking at him like he was the greatest treasure he had ever seen.
—Little one,— he spoke playfully, his eyes gleaming like crystals. —It turned out you are just like me—
Kyrios nodded his head in agreement.
—Is this why you chose me?— He asked with a hint of curiosity.
In return, Thanasios sighed.
—At first, yes. I thought you were the only one—
—You use past tense. Does that mean you no longer think that way?—
—I don't know— Thanasios shook his head with unexpected honesty.
—Why?—
—I can't say. If the will of the world finds out, it will be a disaster. Innocent people will get punished—
Now, every single person inside the colosseum was focused on the conversation they couldn't understand. The young hatchling of the royal family, the one who'll be the next monarch without a doubt was having a mysterious conversation with the first monarch of their kin.
It was as if those two knew something they didn't.
—Then, are you going to take it away?—
Thanasios laughed out loud after hearing Kyrios' voice. There was no distress in his voice, maybe that was why Thanasios' laugh was also coated with delight.
—No. Even if I wanted to, it's now impossible. Instead, this time you should try harder. Become stronger… stronger than I had ever been. That way, you won't regret anything like I did—
He lowered his head, looking at the young hatchling with eyes full of affection.
—Alright—
Kyrios nodded calmly, as if he understood what he meant. There were no more questions.
As every other dragon including Elysium looked at him, dumbfounded, Kyrios still maintained his nonchalant demeanor as he bowed to Thanasios.
For a moment, Thanasios' eyes melted into something warm, the kind that could tickle one's heart and softly whisper all the love in the world to one's ear, as he watched Kyrios bow before him.
It was so enchanting Kyriaki truly admired that gaze for a brief moment.
Swish!
Kyrios speared his wings and flew right towards her without hesitation. As everyone was still watching him while mummering among themselves, Kyrios ignored those gazes, even his father and grandfather's gaze wasn't so important to him as he landed right beside Kyriaki.
—Sister! How did I do?—
—You were extremely remarkable. Should I bake a treat for a job well done?—
Kyriaki, without a care about the world, extended her front limb and patted his head gently. Her eyes filled with joy.
Recently, Kyriaki had been making simple treats and desserts for Kyrios, who secretly love human sweets. It was an information she learned from Original Kyrios' memories.
Taking it as an advantage and using her previous life memories of baking, she began her path as Kyrios' personal pâtisserie willingly.
It had its own pros and cons.
For example, baking was a hobby she carried from her past life, together with playing musical instruments. But she hated sweets, so tasting it to test was a bit hard to endure.
But what can she do?
Even after being born as a dragon, having a mission to save a soon to be ruined world was a bit stressful. So even if it was hateful to taste sweets, a simple hobby like pleasing her younger brother was acceptable.
And as a plus, giving him treats made him more obedient when she found him having nothing to do with his overwhelming hatchling energy. It also made his rosy cheeks more chubby, making not only her but their father and grandfather happy.
—Hehe, please do!— Kyrios smiled widely. His tail wagging up and down as if he has truly become a puppy.
Under a few hundred gazes, the siblings shared their thoughts and acted the way they wanted. But nobody scolded them.
Who would dare to intercept a sibling bond so strong it could ignore even the First Monarch like he was invincible?
Elysium could.
Oh, yes. Yes he could.
And he did exactly that.
—Kyriaki Elpis Eleftherios, step forward—
Clearing his throat twice, he called out to the last candidate and his only daughter with the same tone he used when calling Kyrios.
At Elysium's call, Kyriaki calmly stood up. Her golden eyes gleamed once, resembling Elysium as she elegantly speared her golden wings out.
Flap!
With a flap, she soared high into the air with the same elegance she displayed countless times. Hundreds of dragons watched silently as she gracefully landed right in front of the crystal.
—Hmmm— Instead of greeting, Thanasios also watched her in silence.
—I bow before Thanasios, The Celestial Spirit of Time and the First Monarch of Dragons—
Ignoring his silence, Kyriaki politely bowed with perfect etiquette, which she learned on her own. Thanasios' mouth twitched as he openly examined her thoughtfully.
His gaze, as if he was trying to unravel something uncanny hidden deep inside her soul, made her a bit uncomfortable.
For a moment, Kyriaki had an absurd thought.
'What if he knows?'
She lifted her head, boldly staring right at Thanasios. She narrowed her reptilian slit pupils, trying to measure and evaluate him, just like he was doing.
—Pfft…Ahahaha…hahaha…— Although her actions seemed disrespectful to others, Thanasios burst out laughing as if he found the situation amusing.
Kyriaki didn't waver. She continued to search for an answer for the question that took over her mind.
—You are very cautious, you know that?—
—This is the first time I heard that—
—Really?—
—Yes, they say I'm cold and indifferent, always making a distance between me and others, but never cautious— Kyriaki continued her observations as she answered his curious and playful questions.
—Aha, then they should pay more attention to understand you. There are so many hidden aspects to you, aren't there?— Thanasios grinned for the first time after she landed in front of him.
Kyriaki shrugged her shoulders. She truly didn't care whether they misunderstood her or not. Why do such tiring things when she has so many other things to do in this life.
—Who knows,— and so, she replied indifferently.Then she paused and after a few seconds. Before long, she slowly asked; —Does it really matter?—
—It does— Thanasios lowered his head.
His sturdy and slender neck gracefully extended towards her. The over 70 Meters tall dragon lowering his head to converse with a hatchling not even close to 3 meters tall looked so endearing, it was as if the scene was out of a picture of a fairytale book.
—Why?—
—Because you are a melody—
For a moment, a heavy silence filled the colosseum as if nobody except Kyriaki and Thanasios existed. Thus, they failed to notice how Endymion nodded as if he already foresaw this event.
Kyriaki was about to scoff it off as if what Thanasios said was nonsense when Thanasios opened his mouth once again.
He chuckled with his deep voice. For some reason, it had an aura of wisdom and understanding instead of his usual playfulness.
—You are a melody. Some people will stay away because your melody is not their cup of tea. Some will only listen for a once because they found you in a passing. Some will only listen for the fleeting interest. And some will listen all day but won't learn any of the lyrics in depth. Only a few will spend hours, days and years listening to the depths of the lyrics you were made of. And my dear, those are the ones who'll truly understand and cherish you—
The heavy silence turned to something warm and comfortable.
Thanasios' unexpected words seemed to touch the hearts of many as even the sound of wind seemed to be absent inside the colosseum.
To move a rational and calculating dragon's heart… he truly was a respected legend.
—So it matters. Let them learn about you, I promise it won't hurt you— He lifted his head, saying it as his last words to her.
A long conversation. That was a first. Kyrios too had a mysterious conversation with Thanasios, yet it wasn't this long. Every single dragon present there seemed to absorb that information to their brains very well.
—Ahem. Ahem— Elysium took a step forward awkwardly, his eyes fixed on Kyriaki with an indescribable expression on his face.
—Right— Kyriaki glanced at the awakening crystal, letting out a breath she didn't know she held together.
—Please put your little paw on the crystal— Thanasios tilted his head, saying playfully as if he had never turned into a wise ancestor a moment before.
'Little paw?' Kyriaki glanced at her paw, grumbling.
Then she sighed.
Compared to Thanasios' strong claws and dragon limbs, what she had was undoubtedly tiny little paws. It displeased her to no extent.
The young hatchling clicked her tongue inwardly and placed her "paw" with disdain. Her golden yellow eyes shut tightly in response.
A few seconds passed.
She felt something warm urging her to open her eyes after waiting another second.
It felt odd, ticklish, even.
—Huh?—
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"Did you know? The wingspan of a dragon is three times their body length."
—From <1000 Fun Facts About Dragons>—