‘Hestia ...’
Yes?
‘I know ... you wanted to talk about what happened, but is this really necessary to do it now? Like now now?’
Yes.
‘... The obsidian is melting. The heat from below this crust is still hot enough to melt through our corrosive obsidian! Why are you trying to do [Battle Frenzy] training now?’ Hikari blurted out, dumbfounded by my reckless behavior.
For a normal person, deliberately trying to settle deep inside a massive magma chamber’s magma lake, or ocean, might be the most suicidal thought ever, but to a sunfang dragon like me ... This was less suicidal and more like just torturing myself. So, pretty much like everything else I’ve been doing up until now! Yippie!
Seriously, though, I could endure this heat to a certain extent, even with my broken solar core. It was like an extremely uncomfortable sauna experience, and it wasn’t just the heat; the sulfur, that rotten egg smell, was everywhere. The volcanic gasses made me want to puke, and I was pretty sure I hit an entire vein of it while escaping the magma ocean.
Mana-wise, though, I was okay. I had disabled [Symphonie des Feuergottes], [Humanize], my songs, and pretty much anything else that required mana to maintain, aside from the heat and lava manipulation aspects of [Obsidian Blaze]. The small amount of room inside this obsidian sphere allowed me to drink some dragorade and eat enough food to recover, so any arcane corruption I had built up was slowly disappearing.
With the rumbling coming from above, probably due to the mini civil war between the two dragon rulers of Inferno Nest, I believed it might be a little dangerous to go up any time soon. I would rather just activate my stealth skills, endure, and wait for Mom to help me out, ‘cause I had no interest in dealing with even more dragons now that Vifi was gone.
Tasianna, please, for goodness sake, visit the subspace so you can deliver my rescue request!
Vifi and the twins couldn’t exit the subspace nor open a portal since they were bound to my [Room] runes, after all, so they needed somebody from the outside to come in so people could learn I was trapped down here. I wished it wasn’t like that, but without me inside it, nothing was allowed to happen.
The need for me to be inside the subspace was starting to bug me, and being a good kid for Mom was certainly not easy with Eltharion’s irksome demands. That monster room project I was planning on eventually doing had been delayed for how long now? Poor Gravy.
Hope the fire wyverns are doing okay up there ... I sighed a bit as I wasn’t sure what to make of them after Beth called them spies. Regardless, I refocused on Hikari, waiting for her answer after she grasped my reasoning for why I was so calm.
‘So ...’
I would rather risk [Overheat (Minor)] than have to deal with some dragons right now. Without a proper way to navigate to the surface, it would be better to just wait for rescue. I have enough food and water in my storage, and the dragons would need a while to find us, even if the battle stopped. They would never expect me to just chill it out in this sauna here.
‘Chill it out ... Gosh, only a dragon would be able to say that when it feels like we’re trapped in a classroom during the height of summer.’ Hikari then fell silent, prompting me to take a deep breath and focus on my presence in our mental world.
A table with chairs formed inside our mind as we sat down. The black-haired human Hikari twiddled her fingers as she turned her eyes down, like a kid about to get lectured, while my crimson-haired, dragonewt figure pouted a bit.
“I don’t know what happened,” Hikari answered, beginning our discussion. “I thought I had it under control, but I couldn’t calm myself down one bit.”
“You know how [Battle Frenzy] works, correct? You reviewed my lessons from Kramps, Mom, and Klea, right?” I asked.
She nodded. “To calm yourself down and maintain your preferred [Battle Frenzy]’s stage, the sloth meditation is needed. ‘To become slothful is to suppress the urge to fight, to realize that the world is more than just conflict.’ Kramps’s words, yes. I know them, I just ... couldn’t.”
“‘Sloth is the foundation, gluttony is the need to strive for continued effort,’ Neill’s words. My happiness, which also includes my friends’, is what grounds us, right? This allows us to continue becoming stronger so we can protect our relationships and create more of them,” I explained. “What are some words from those stupid dragons in that case? They mean nothing! Dragons are instinctual beings, acting on their explosive emotions. Everything Mom and Neill have warned us about, taught us, has become true!”
“I know ... that.”
“Not convincing if you pause like that.” I tapped the table, sighing internally. “What is your sloth, Hikari?”
“Our happiness and that of everybody else!” she said with conviction, but to me, I wasn’t sure if I could believe it.
Scratching my head, I thought of the two times Hikari lost control today. She took control over our body when she reprimanded Shay while her emotions were about to go berserk during our [Battle Frenzy] usage. In both cases, memories of our past flashed before my eyes. As she could know my thoughts, I knew hers.
You could say those memories were “traumas,” in a way. The first was from how similar Shay resembled us during our most downtrodden moment, while the other was from how much the dragons’ mockery reminded us of our outburst at our fellow idol aspirants. I couldn’t blame her for this, of course, since I did end up shouting at some nobles during a tea party when the hosts bullied Ellaine, causing the latter memory to reappear.
She’s extremely scared of our past, while I’ve mostly put it aside for the sake of my party.
This was once again a reminder that even if the two of us shared memories and a soul, we were still two “individuals.”
“A spectator ...” she said, finishing my thought. “Maybe ... I don’t know.”
“You never had Saori or Tasianna run up to you to tell you that it’s all right to be afraid and scared, as long as you can tell them about it. You just watched me experience everything.”
“As if you were some movie, like a kid learning a moral lesson between the interactions of the protagonist with their best friend ... That’s exactly it.”
“Which means that your sloth is totally different from mine,” I replied bluntly, causing her to flinch. “We might be the same person, but our mental states are completely different. Which is why the meditation technique isn’t working properly. You can’t keep your foundation steady. You’re always wriggling around as you try to keep up with me; you don’t want to seem like a liability, right?.”
“Hestia, you said it already, we’re the same person. That’s not the rea—”
“Thatis the reason. Your sloth is not the same; I’m willing to bet your gluttony, lust, and greed aren’t either.”
“Let me finish!” she shouted. “That is not the reason, that can’t be the reason, ‘cause you’re the idealized version I wanted us to grow up into! You’re,”—Hikari dangled her hands out, playing with them in the air as she tried to find her words—“You’re the star! The smiling idol I visualized ourselves on a stage, and you made it! In the darkest moment, you shone through the night against the Prince of Envy, risking everything to save our Mom, even at the cost of yourself. How could I be any better than that? You are what I want to become.”
“... See? Either you are lying to me here, ‘cause I honestly can’t tell if you really believe that or not, or I am right that your gluttony, at the very least, has changed.”
Hikari froze in place, face scowling in confusion at what I said, so I elaborated.
“Gluttony is about a need to strive forward, the need to become stronger so [Battle Frenzy] can activate. The need to live,” I said, leaning back on my chair. “I don’t need to catch up with myself. Not to mention, I am still striving to do my best for the sake of my relationships even on Miononbolax. Keeping my promises, trying to keep my oaths to the gods, and even condemning myself to this sauna all for the sake of Eltharion’s silly orders. Would you do all of this?”
“Well, yeah, of course. Promises are important.”
“That is what our parents taught us.” I nodded. “And while that might be the case, I think the spectator issue is rearing its head here again. Hikari, I’ll be quite cruel here, but what relationships are you trying to protect here?”
She squinted her eyes, scrunching her lips in pain. “That’s ... I ... That’s just—”
“Mean. I know. This question just goes against everything I told you about how we’re one being and are in this together. In that case, wouldn’t my friends be yours? This question contradicts our relationship.”
“Then why are you even saying it?”
“Because I need you to think like when I did during my [Battle Frenzy] training,” I answered. “Earnestly, look inside yourself and meditate on the questions. Hikari, there is currently a dissonance between our partnership, as you are fully aware. I need you in tip-top shape so we can fight properly. I rely on you handling our magic and spatial awareness, as I am very used to our parallel minds doing that for us. I admit it.”
I sighed out loud, momentarily inspecting my body.
[Overheat (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]
I drank some ice cold water and drenched myself in it for a moment, before returning my attention to Hikari. Seeing her pensively staring me down made me feel a bit self-conscious. I must have done that a lot to others. Our glares could be quite piercing at times.
“I don’t know what to say,” she replied. “Even if you tell me to think it over, I don’t know how to answer it. I know Saori and the others are only ‘Hestia’s friends;’ they don’t really know me, Hikari. Considering some of them only know you after you left the Belzac forest, most of them probably won’t like me. Maybe Saori and Tasianna, ‘cause they know the true me, but ...”
I let her stay silent as long as she needed to.
“I want them to be happy; without them, you would have just stayed the same as me. Be the same Hikari we were back on Earth, unable to break out of that annoying shell stopping you from embracing what makes you ... you.”
“Is that your answer to my question, or is that a justification for your choice?” I asked, grilling her harder. “If you ask me, that sounds more like you’re trying to keep the ‘Hestia’ persona up. Like a celebrity desperately trying to maintain their celebrity status to remain relevant. You aren’t trying to be the one happy, you are trying to keep my friends and me happy. You are trying to keep my sloth intact.”
Hikari went silent, eyes widened with an agape mouth. Her eyes blinked in disbelief as her brows furrowed, once again looking down at the table.
“Ah.”
“That can’t be your sloth. [Battle Frenzy] is about being a selfish dragon trying to control their urges? Every ‘sin’ has to be yours, compelling you to do something, even if one of the reasons could come across as more selfless. You are still doing the deed for your own satisfaction,” I said. “I am not a true idealized hero, and I will never be one, but I still want to help people if I can, ‘cause I know it is the right thing to do. I know I am doing it to feel good for myself. Helping my friends be happy makes me happy, as I’ve learned I can’t take it when one of them dies. To preserve my relationship with them guarantees my happiness—my contentment. The reason to stop me from going overboard.”
A part of me wanted to say that again, just to remind myself that what I did today when I fought the dragons was the correct thing. Even if they were my countrymen and I was supposed to be their princess, my status and responsibility shouldn’t override my own values. My friends and family should be prioritized over country and title, in my mind.
“That is what you are missing. Hikari, you’re falling into the same hole as before; you’re putting all your efforts into one singular goal without looking around yourself. At any of the other options!” I sighed. Hikari was me, after all, so seeing her like this made me think I was regressing from all I’ve learned in my travels. “If your gluttony is different from mine, wouldn’t you say it also applies to your sloth? Once again, could you tell me your sloth, please?”
Stolen novel; please report.
Once again! LET THE WORLD HEAR OUR VOICE!♫”
Hikari smiled like a young girl in love, flustered as she giggled at the absurdity of singing those two songs back-to-back. Seeing her like that made me join in, grinning widely at how cute she was. Rubbing my ego a bit, but who cared?
“... I’m happy that you are happy, Hestia.”
“Pardon?”
“That’s my answer. I think that is my sloth. The reasoning for our sloths are technically the same. However, you prioritize your friends’ and families’ happiness to make yourself content with the situation, while I feel fulfilled to see you smile and do what I always wanted to do. I am content to continue being the spectator as you create music.” She then hummed our parents’ lullaby. “So hear us sing this lullaby filled with thoughts for you ♫
The life you want, we’ll make it so no matter what you dream ♫”
She smiled. “I think I understand what Papa and Mama felt when we grew up. Can I say, ‘I do feel bad for Mom that she can’t have such a moment?’”
“... Yeah, same.” I leaned on my chair. “She has us now, but she can’t enjoy the ‘fruits of parenthood’ like Papa and Mama. I mean, if they saw us now, would they be happy or sad?”
“Happy that we made our dream come true. Sad that I took away the chance for them to enjoy it with us,” Hikari frowned. “... Hestia, will you allow me to plan the next concert?”
“I thought you wanted to be a spectator?”
“Yeah, and you’re a hypocrite as well for posing those harsh questions before, so what about it, Sister? I want control over our body, you dig?”
“Dang, girl, what’s with the assertiveness, huh? Just helping out,” I joked, before chuckling. “I see. You want to do something special ... Your sloth is the same, although it is targeted at me, but your gluttony truly is different. You want our music to be immortalized in this world, so people would never forget us as a singer.”
“Think so, yeah, and I want you to blow it out of proportion, like any self-respecting dragon should. If you’re gonna be an idol and bring idol culture to this world, you have to be the best to be the role model for any new aspiring idols for this world! Immortalized not only as an entertainer, but as the example all of them should strive for!” Hikari pumped her hand up. “For that ... I will have to get my shit together. If you die too early again, then everything could end here.”
“... In a way, that one-minded determination can be classified as a lust. So, eh, I’ll count it.” I gave her a thumbs up. “I haven’t conquered gluttony just yet, so we can leave that out for now. What do you say, partner?”
Hikari took in a deep breath as she breathed in and out, firmly nodded before opening them up. There, in her eyes, I could finally see a flame burning. She finally found a reason to stand up as a person, not just my past self. A realized sloth, gluttony, and lust was the kindling she needed!
As we gazed into our eyes, our mental world distorted, returning to how it usually was inside our mind. I was back in control of our body while Hikari stayed in the back, ready to process the information entering our head right about now.
Divine Quest: Trial of the Black Tyrant’s Empress
Quest Giver: God of Dragons and Oaths, Kargryxmor
Description: You did fine, Hestia. With everything that you have experienced up until this point, I believe you should fully understand the state of the Dragon Empire and the dragonkin living inside it. Once again, as my Champion, I wish for you to change the dragons’ lifestyle and to remind them of their role as the protectors of this world—with the introduction of demonic influence caused by the damage of an Edjurl god on this world, their existence as peacekeeper is demanded!
However, you are weak, and your split soul still requires time to settle. You and Hikari need to cooperate. Therefore, I have a little test for you—gather the leftover legacies of your grandparents.
Frankly, these are mostly forgotten artifacts of your grandparents—your paternal and maternal ones, aside from me—left in the mortal world; fortunately they survived, since most were lost even before the demon war. These were the Quests I had planned to give you once you became five, subsequently rank B, before you went on your pilgrimage. Due to the acceleration of the plan, I believe you will need them now.
The first is from your grandmother, Inferatsa, my wife. Similar to me, she too was born as a monster spawn, which is why you haven’t heard any mention of her clan. Her children inherited my bloodline as when she ascended with me during my apotheosis, as she was only a rank S. Yet, the item of a rank S dragon will still be useful for a rank B like you.
Swim higher from where you are, to your right, there will be a broken down cavern. Rid yourself of the fires stones covering the tunnel and find her long-lost crown. Any opposition must be defeated.
Reward: Information on the “Seraphim Project,” the official name of the Unique Job System, why the gods decided to implement it, and an enchantment for Inferatsa’s molten crown
Kramps is moving now that he has the chance, huh?
... Well, I have to wait for help anyways, so why not? Still, fighting without my core, huh?
‘I have your back this time. [Battle Frenzy] up and bring a ton of water!’
So be it.
With Kramps guidance, I successfully got myself out of the crust, and as far away as possible from the fighting above, to the point the constant quaking stopped. Kramps told me we were in a completely different section of Inferno Nest, a bit to the west, closer to Dusk Nest.
Opening the subspace, I also notified the people within about my supposed location, although all of them were already asleep. Apparently, while I was handling Hikari’s situation and swam over here, it was past midnight. Svena told me the twins and Vifi literally collapsed inside the hot spring due to exhaustion from all the heat.
Hearing that, I sighed and asked Svena to tell Vifi and the twins to wake up, if possible, and to get gas masks. Closing the subspace, I peered at the entrance of the tunnel, seeing it collapsed just like Kramps told me. I then looked back at how I entered this small cave, seeing a hole filled with magma in it.
This place was an “underwater” cavern, just filled to the brim with magma! As you would expect, the volcanic gas concentration was through the room here, to the point you could see the yellow, icky color of the cloud on the ceiling.
Thankfully, I was a sunfang dragon; my lungs could filter the air, not to mention, the gasses were probably quite “nutritious” for my scale-dust growth. I wasn’t too sure if the twins or Vifi could enter even with Grimnir’s gas masks, but hopefully they could. If a fight was awaiting me inside, I would rather have some support.
Oxygen is very thin here. I concluded since I wasn’t suffocating. Meaning, there was an entrance back to the surface through this tunnel, but all the rubble was making it hard for the air to pass down here. I probably shouldn't use any fire attacks.
Well, time to mine all of—Woah!
<... Ah, well, this is bad, it seemed to have noticed you.>
Foreboding message being foreboding, and now it came true!
The tunnel burst open, sending the rubble flying everywhere, riddling the floor with sharp stones as I took flight to use the volcanic gas cloud to hide in. With slow, rumbling steps a large creature around my size, maybe slightly taller, appeared from the tunnel’s entrance, blowing large bellows of gasses out of their mouth as if they had just smoked something.
... What? W-what!
The creature before me was not an elemental or some sorta magma golem, but rather a creature made from flesh with a hardy carapace made from stones growing around its joints and head. Multiple holes decorated the carapace, though, looking like warts but acted like mini volcanoes as they snorted out yellow gas through them.
Somehow, scale-like fragments decorated its carapace head, to the point from afar you would think it was some sorta broken crown. However, from up close, they looked more like glass fragments stuck inside the skin, peeking through painfully.
However, that wasn’t the issue here ... the issue was what happened the moment this monster appeared.
Eeeek!
[Terror (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]
Level 37
Tactically speaking, this thing looked like a rank B and was only five levels over me. Even if it was a fire resistant creature, I was fully confident I could beat it without a problem ... Which begged the question, why was my body shaking nonstep? I couldn’t even look the thing in the eyes, staring instead at the ground and its web-less feet.
“Grrruoak!” It roared with full aggression, lashing out its long, whip-like tongue around to inhale the gasses hiding me until bits of my tail and claws were revealed to it. Seeing this, the creature flinched back and gathered up the gas in the air sac located directly under its jaw, protecting its throat with a hardened skin. Croaking silently as it released gasses through its wart-like holes, it stomped its feet on the ground as the crown on its head lit up on fire.
The enemy ... was a—
‘A frooooog!’
Tooooooooad!
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Oh no ... Lava toad!
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