Serendipity (Veldora x TBATE)

09 | Specks of Invasion

"I am Veldora, the Storm Dragon. In every moment, I am fully and completely myself. There is no void within me to be filled by others."

-Veldora, Chapter 5, Serendipity.

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It's unmistakable. In order to acknowledge my own desires, I warped my usual self. Veldora is alone, tragic, and destructive—that's how everyone saw me. A dragon and a natural disaster that can't be fought. Rather than acknowledging me as a being, as a life, they saw me as anything but.

Good for nothing, Velzard's cold voice resonated in my head. You always think you're invincible, don't you? A True Dragon above it all, yet here you are. You better hope your next self turns out better, or history will just repeat itself. It always does, Veldora. I could almost see her icy blue eyes, narrowing at me, judging me from a place I never thought I could reach.

Poor thing, Velgrynd's voice followed, softer yes, but no less piercing. It only stung more. You've always been reckless, Veldora. Impulsive. But it's undeniably your fault. You can't blame anyone else this time. Do better. We're dragons, we're gods, and we don't get to make the same mistakes over and over. But after this game ends... her voice softened, taking on an almost gentle tone as he caressed my scales, we'll journey across the stars together—you and I, as brother and sister.

There is beauty in ephemerality, Veldora, the final voice, Veldanava's, added. Life is fleeting, even for beings like us. It's all a matter of perspective. What is it that truly fascinates that insatiable curiosity of yours? What drives you to continue, even when the world seems so determined to misunderstand you?

The voices in my head vanished and in came the voices from my surroundings.

How trustworthy are these asuras, even?! And what do we do about the dwarves?!

If this asuran general is as good as he says he is, then can't we leave everything up to him? It's the least he can do for killing the dwarven royalty, am I right?

No, he is merely an adviser. His presence is to make sure that no asura participates in the war. He has the freedom to act otherwise. Besides, he did us a favor by killing those wretches.

Why don't you use that brain of yours and try to think of the bigger picture? How many manpower will we lose if the dwarves do not cooperate with the death of their king and queen!?

I open my eyes and for the first time since arriving in this world, I let out a tiny bit of my suppressed aura. The council members—kings and queens of the three kingdoms—piped down as I did so from their argument.

Searching for someone to blame is such a pain, I thought, my gaze sweeping over the five council members. My expression made it clear—I had no patience for their petty squabbles.

It had only been a few days since Adam's death, and though I wasn't obligated to attend, Virion had invited me to this council meeting to hear them out. I relented, curious to see what they had to say. That's when I learned of the dwarven king and queen's murder at the hands of an Asura—legendary deities in the eyes of Dicathen's mortals.

Asura, I mused, recalling the phoenix Asura I had encountered in the Beast Glades. I scoffed at the memory. Are they all like Chul?

I couldn't stand it anymore. The incessant bickering, the blame-shifting, the desperate grasping at straws. These mortals, these so-called rulers, were so consumed by their own agendas that they couldn't see the larger picture.