Drakavar's Pet (2/2)

-Dakka's POV-

The moment the white mana stone entered his mouth, his entire soul was on the verge of exploding. There was so much power stuffed inside that small stone that his tongue felt like it was on fire, and he was shuddering in pain.

Still, his powers rapidly expanded, and his soul became firmer… but this advancement was happening so abruptly that his soul couldn't take it. (Of course, Dakka was paying far too much attention to the pain that he didn't notice the immeasurable benefits he was getting.)

For all intents and purposes, feeding Dakka this mana stone counts as a murder attempt.

As Dakka is lying on the Goddess's lap – struggling with the urge to spit the stone out, the terrifying woman leans down and looks him in the eye. Her golden eyes seem to be burning a hole in his mind, and the golden glow withers his will.

"So…," the mad woman asks slowly, with venom in her voice, "Is the mana stone good? Should I get you more?"

This time, Dakka can't completely hide his reaction.

Completely out of impulse, Dakka starts trying to wiggle his body away out of protest – trying to escape her lap.

Unfortunately, the Goddess's grip is so strong on his back and neck that the only part of his body that moves at all is his tail.

Frantically, Dakka pants in pain and wiggles his tail out of protest.

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-Drakavar's POV-

'Oh?' Drakavar thinks in surprise. 'He's wagging his tail? Don't people do that when they're happy?'

'Well.. since he's begging for it…'

"BLEH!" Dakka coughs violently as Drakavar rams another stone into his mouth.

Unfortunately for Dakka, her grip is so strong and tight that she couldn't even feel Dakka's body struggling to escape. The only thing she saw was his tail waving back and forth 'invitingly' - like a puppy.

Drakavar then waits patiently for Dakka to finish swallowing the stone. 'It's best not to overstuff them. Babies' tummies can't take very much.'

If the Goddess didn't have this rare moment of sanity, she may have accidentally killed Dakka…

As Drakavar sits on her boulder, staring at her beautiful, open sky, she can't help but savor the moment.

Suddenly, her heart drops sullenly, and her grip around her pet tightens slightly.

'It's been so long since I've had any visitors. I used to have thousands of Halnith-kin. Where did they all go? Why are none of them coming to visit me? Did the gods destroy them all, or did they turn traitor?'

The universe is such a vast place, and the places one can hide are countless. This question is something Drakavar may never know.

So, while she's holding a Halnith-kin for the first time in nearly 100,000 years, Drakavar can't help but feel nostalgic… and happy.

'Let's just hold him for a little while longer…'

While they sit in silence, Drakavar's thoughts drift back to old Fheldin. 'He was such a great child. He reminded me a lot of Din. I'm sad to see him leave my fold… but at least he left his grandson for me.'

Drakavar barely holds back a small tear from dripping down her face.

'They grow up so fast…'

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-Dakka's POV-

They sit there in silence for a few minutes… but the silence is broken by Drakavar first.

"So…," she says while staring thoughtfully into the distance, "Fheldin was… my most unique case for a Bloodchosen. I'd never had a 5-Horned dragon defeat a Halnith-kae like that. I always had high expectations for your Grandfather after that."

Her gaze then rests on him, and he quakes. "You have very large shoes to fill."

'So don't mess up, or I'll eat you!' Dakka couldn't help but feel that Drakavar was implying this.

Suddenly, everything clicks for Dakka.

'Drakavar is angry at me because I killed Fheldin! He must have been a valuable asset for her!'

Suddenly, Dakka images that his fate will be grim indeed if he doesn't make himself a valuable servant for the Goddess.

So, without hesitation, Dakka throws away all pride as he slams his head down and closes his eyes tightly. He yells enthusiastically, "I swear on all the treasures I own! – and my life too…! I will be your eternal servant – save the day comes when a more fitting dragon defeats me in ritual combat! Just call on me, and I'll answer!"

There's a short pause… Then, Drakavar lifts Dakka up to her eye level, and she looks long and hard into the "little" dragon's face.

"You'd best keep that promise…," Drakavar says with her lip slightly curled in a snarl. "I don't tolerate traitors."

Hearing the Mistress say this, Dakka's mood suddenly improves. 'It sounds like she's… going to let me live!? Good! I'd hate to die just after my wife was miraculously brought back to life…,' he thinks.

"What's your first order!?" Dakka asks while enthusiastically wagging his tail.

...

"If you find any 7-horned dragons…," Drakavar says with a frown, "Kill them. Bring me their heads. It's best to make them suffer while you do it."

Dakka has no idea what this is about. He's definitely heard of 7-Horned dragon gods. They're certainly rare… but all the existing ones are so well known that it would be so easy to find them.

In a rare moment of being observant, Drakavar notices Dakka's confusion. "Oh, don't mind the reason," Drakavar says cryptically. "Becoming a 7-Horned dragon is impossible unless you steal something from me. All of those other 'dragon gods' are just thieves, and they must be punished."

As if anxious to move onto more pleasant thoughts, Drakavar suddenly adds. "While you're at it, if you find any interesting books, bring them to me. Feel free to kidnap the authors, too."

"… Your will be done, Mistress Drakavar."

"Good," Drakavar purrs like a content kitten. "You're free to go."

Unceremoniously, she drops Dakka on the floor. A small black hole appears right in front of his chest when he hits the ground, and he's immediately pulled into it. This time, his "death" is so instantaneous that he didn't even realize it happened.

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The moment the little dragon leaves, Drakavar looks down on her empty lap and frowns. It's always such an unpleasant feeling to have a cold, empty lap.

'All things considered,' the Drakin Goddess thinks wistfully, 'I think that meeting went rather well. I think he likes me.'

The tip of her tail wags slightly. 'I wonder what kind of presents the little kid will bring me?'

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When Dakka appears back in his native universe… let's just say that his entrance is rather dramatic.

It all starts with his particles, spirit, and soul being expelled out from a small, glowing white hole in the middle of space. He started off as an incoherent blob of energy, but he quickly recondensed into his usual body.

Once Dakka regained his consciousness, the first thing he feels is… how weak his limbs are, and how meager his mana pool is now.

What's frustrating, is that before he met Drakavar or came to her Realm, he actually felt quite confident in himself. Being a 6-Horned dragon made him feel invincible.

Frankly, the feeling of being in Drakavar's Realm made him so drunk on power that the feeling of actually coming back makes him feel like a helpless baby.

How frustrating.

"Well!" Dakka thinks warily. "Where am I? How do I get back home?"

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Dakka floats around in empty space for a while, and he's starting to panic.

There aren't any planets nearby – not even any stars!

What can he possibly do?

'Well, I'd mind as well investigate what kind of abilities that Drakavar's blood gift gives me. Perhaps it might help me escape this… desolate place?'

Dakka closes his eyes, and he runs his Dravar through his veins. It doesn't take him long for him to find the drop of Drakavar's blood.

"Let's see what we have here…," Dakka mumbles as he reaches inward to touch the drop.

Suddenly, his entire body busts with familiar power. Suddenly, it feels like he's in Drakavar's Realm once again.

Before Dakka can get too excited, the power suddenly subsides after a few seconds.

'Well, I suppose I can't keep it up for too long…,' Dakka thinks regretfully. 'Though, it does make sense that I'd be able to do this. With this drop in my veins, I'm basically carrying a piece of Drakavar's Realm with me.'

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Dakka ends up having to wait several hours before he feels the connection with Drakavar's blood again.

The second he feels that he's ready for it again, he activates the blood, and he immediately reaches out to the nearest 5-Horned Galaxy Elemental.

Of course, the Elemental feels Drakavar's presence coming from this dragon, and she knows exactly what he is.

With the ruling Elemental alerted to his presence, she appears before Dakka. Once the Elemental hears of this Halnith-kae's plight, she immediately carries him to the nearst habitable world.

From there, finding a World Gate was quite easy – especially with the Planet's Elemental showing him the way.

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With the Elementals being connected in a linear hierarchy, finding his home is actually rather easy, though the journey is long.

First, the local Galaxy Elemental hears the name of Dakka's destination (a world called "Arra").

She then sends out a message to all of her subordinate Stars, and she has them ask around for this world.

When Arra isn't found in her galaxy, all she has to do is go to her Supercluster (6-Horned) empress and ask her the same question.

The Supercluster empress then asks all of her own galaxies this same question, and the investigation trickles down.

Maybe it's because Drakavar was aiming as accurately as a cosmic being can aim when she threw him back to this Realm, but Dakka is lucky he emerged in his own Supercluster, rather than some other random section of space.

From there, the Elementals obediently guide Dakka through all of the appropriate World Gates, until he emerges from the Untamed World Gate in Arra (not the one leading to the Haalfrin's world).

The journey itself took Dakka several months to complete, even though he spent less than a second in each world he passed through before entering the next gate.

Still, his progress was steady and methodical, and he eventually makes it back home.