328 New Home I : Welcome!

The city was a lot more lively than usual. The laughter of the children louder, and the yells of the drunks even more intense. Every outsider or visitor had been sent far away from within the borders of Ethernalia Leonis, or in this case towards Transylvania. While there was a lot of outrage about such a treatment, I doubt there was anything they could other than yell about how inhospitable we were.But this was our city, our home, and since none of the were here with the intention of becoming one of us, then there was no reason to treat them as anything other than what they were, and that was outsiders.

Either way, after today, it's not going to be as easy becoming a part of Ethernalia Leonis. This city was about to embark on the next step of it's fundamental journey, and I knew that from this moment onwards, other people stop being a threat us and our well being, in fact it would be more easier to say that it would be the other way around. Because we would be entirely cut off from the reach of our enemies, however we would be able to reach them whenever we want, and not a single one of them would see us coming.

"You seem nervous?" I heard a voice say to me, as the owner walked up the side of a wall to stand beside me.

I turned to look at Kodak, he was taller and his hair was now a brilliant shade of white while his eyes had gold and rings in them with a reptilian iris. He had a stronger aura than before, a whole lot more intimidating and scary. Not to mention the gruesome looking scar that stretched from the top of his left temple all the way down to the tip of his left jaw seemed to add more mysteriousness and power to his presence. He looked very different from the young man who left here almost five months ago on a mission for me.

"I'm not nervous Kodak, on the other hand you look....different?" I said in a questioning tone, not at all sure how to describe his new look.

"Well at least I'm not ugly, Lynn and Nivae took one look at me and started crying. At first I thought maybe they were scared of me, but I realized that it was because they felt sorry for me. But at least you don't, in fact you don't seem all that worried for my well being." Kodak said to me as he took a seat by my side.

"Please I have no time to worry about you, you're just like me now, a vampire and a dragon, though I would like to hear the story of how that came about, I'm sure we'll have time for that later. I guess I am worried about you, I look at you right now, and I see how much you've changed in such a short time, how much you've grown. It makes me wonder how you're holding up, if your head is still on straight....if you're still you." I said to him as my voice became a whisper towards the end.

"To be honest brother I'm not sure how to answer that question. With everything we've been through, both together and apart wouldn't I be weird if I still remained the same, if I really didn't change at all?" Kodak asked me with a small smile on his face.

"I guess that can be considered weird, you're a lot more talkative than before, and you're smiling more, though I feel as if that smile is anything but happy. I guess the real question should be; are you happy with the person you've become."

"I am. The things I get to do, the lives that I have saved and changed, regardless of race or gender. It has made me understand that even with all the bad things in life, something as simple as giving a begging child a loaf of bread and a roof over her head, would make a big difference. Because when that child looks up at you, with all the innocence in the world, an innocence that all the darkness in the universe couldn't snuff out, and say to you 'thank you sir, you're a good man'. Then in that moment that smile on her face is all you care about, it's all you want to protect. And she gives you a new purpose to live for, a new lease at life."

I've never heard Kodak speak this way before, there was something about this change in him that I couldn't understand. There was still darkness in him, powerful darkness to be honest, but so was light, and everything in his heart was at a balance that even I have not been able to achieve. It was truly inspiring.

"Well I would really like to meet this little girl. If she has this much power over you, so much so that she could change you and give the balance you needed, I need to reward her." I said to him with a smile.

"Well that would be impossible,Coralline died from a weak heart almost a month ago. And not even my offer of turning her into a vampire could sway her from facing death with a wide smile on her face. She said nature had to take it's course, and that this way she and my parents can watch me and my siblings from the after life. She's the first human I ever loved, and she was just seven years old"

I didn't know how to respond to this, it was a story of goodness and light, and it went dark real fast, but if she was dead something didn't add up. So I had to ask, just to be sure.

"But if she was dead, then how is that you're..."

"Not brooding and walking around like I have the weight of the world on my shoulder? Please that's your thing, if there's two of us I don't think Ethernalia Leonis would be able to handle it. Only one self blaming savior is allowed, two is too much. Besides, she went willingly. According to some, she might have been too young to die, and inevitably she had a long and prosperous life ahead of her, however she believed that seven years was lifetime enough for her to experience all the wonders life had to offer, except of course her dream of marrying a farmer, I never seemed to understand that dream of hers. But Coralline left this world on her own terms, it would be disrespectful for me to mope about it, plus if I did so I'm pretty sure she'll show up somehow and kick my ass, believe me when I tell you, as nice as she was, I've never seem a more terrifying seven year old.So I'm choosing to live, and to live as happily as I can, for her sake."

Now while I'm not really happy about the shade he was throwing at me, (which was why I immediately put him in a headlock), I was impressed and challenged by the amount of maturity Kodak had shown. Obviously he was no longer just a boy, but has actually become his own man. He now has his own principles, goals, morals and beliefs. And he was all the more stronger for it.

"But seriously how did you get that scar, as your king I order you to tell me." I said to him, based on his twitching eyebrows the I order you part was annoying. Which was why I did it, so far he has refused telling me how or who gave him that scar.

"The scar was given to me by my landlady, who also happens to be the woman I'm bonded to." Then he stopped, but I wasn't going to let this go, so I nudged him with my shoulder all the while giving him a very wide grin. He rolled his eyes and sighed in defeat as he continued.

"One night we were drinking, getting to know each other at the behest of Bob since he had an assignment for both of us. Vampire or not, only Bob would have the only liquor in the universe that can affect a vampire and whatever the hell Ikaria is, because that chick ain't human. Anyway we went home, and had a night we very much remembered the next morning, well at least me and one personality of her remembered it. I woke up the next morning with her normal, kind and scholarly personality. We were bonded, which is something I don't remember to be honest, I remember the sex, all of it, just not what came after. Anyway her personalities don't share memories, so waking up in bed with me was a deal breaker. She summoned a sword made of pure sunlight, like she literally cradled the power of a star in her hands and tried to kill me with it.

The bond made her hold back, so I wasn't sliced in half, but as a vampire, wounds from sunlight and pure silver can't be healed just as easily as common wounds, plus her powers aren't normal either. Which is why I have this scar on my face, we tell everyone I got it during an operation when a drop ship exploded and I had to jump out with her. It saves us from explaining such an embarrassing story."

And just as expected, I laughed my ass off. Even if it wasn't supposed to be funny, I still did, just so that I could get under his skin. And then the world shook.

"Its starting, come on, let's join the others." I said to Kodak as we both teleported to the front steps of the palace.

Everyone else was there waiting for us as the world shook again, and a crack appeared in the sky. I could hear panic spreading across the city, but we had prepared for this, so we had placed multiple holographic displays across the city to calm the people down. But while the screaming reduced, I could still feel the fear and apprehension from a lot of them.

The cracks seemed to spread in a zigzag pattern, but it was still in a straight line. The earth shook as gravity seemed to change multiple times, becoming heavy enough everyone felt a weight on their bodies, or light to the point that kids without much control over their body was floating in the air. And then the cracks parted, almost as if someone was pulling it open.

Beyond the crack was another sky, a sky where dragons could be seen flying about and the blue of the cloud filled sky was so peaceful looking the panic of everyone was reduced. Then as if the sky was being pushed down around us, or rather as if were being pulled up through the crack, everyone felt a shift, as well as a bright flash of light as the sky filled with dragons became our sky, and with a brand new world was exposed to everyone else.

The grasses were greener, the trees taller and the air crisper. Though it was daytime, the sun didn't burn and everything seemed to tranquil. And then the dragons descended, all of them with their unique colors and shapes, their very presence seemed to add an air of terror and power to whole city. And right in front of everyone a baby dragon the size of a cat flew through the air and landed right on top of Baeki's bountiful breasts, making them jiggle in the process. And loud as a bell everyone heard the dragon cry out.

"Mama!"

The shock was palpable, and the real mother of the dragon was so embarrassed she used her tail to cover her eyes. I snickered a bit, trying hard to stifle the laugh that was about to come out of my mouth due to Baeki's glare. Teluna was not so tactful as he laughed so hard he almost fell. That forced me to step in before Baeki pulverized him in her embarrassment, because those of us close enough could see the dragon wasn't just hugging her breasts, his tiny mouth seemed to be making sucking motions and a red faced Baeki seemed helpless under his assault.

I turned to every one, my people, my family. Be they vampires, humans, Serpentis, Nephilim, dark elf, gnome, werewolf, or devils. They were all a sort of me as I was a part of them.

"Everyone! Welcome to the Realm Of The Dragon Kings. Our New Home!"