novelraw Chapter 315 - 314 - Rebirth
Chapter 315 - 314 - Rebirth
Lind had been in isolation for nearly a month when Tal barged in.
"Papa!" Her tiny fingers were covered in bright colors and he could smell a lot of perfume on her but it was a chaotic mix of subtle to overt scents that nearly made him sneeze. She was teary eyed with dark pupils watering at him in supplication.
"TAL! COME BACK HERE NOW!" Kora's voice echoed outside and he smirked for some reason as he signaled Tal to come over to him. She happily complied and he quickly used his water and earth Qi to clean her up.
Aether beasts only assumed a human form, their characteristics were entirely up to the individual. The rocs tended towards fairly tall but essentially human bodies, but Tal's body was still very touch like her natural body.
Thus, earth Qi was very effective in removing the apparent makeup and perfumes. Her hair was dark gray like her clothes but he washed her up roughly as he would when she was a beast form.
She smiled happily at his ministrations until he quickly tossed a cover over her and assumed a lotus position in front of her.
Not a few breaths later, a furious Kora stormed in. Her concentration had slipped as more avian features leaked into her human shape but Lind had to control his laughter for an entirely different reason.
Tal had been clearly doused in perfume with a touch of makeup, but Kora essentially had no scent yet was many colors all at once. It reminded Lind of a few pieces of art from Earth but on her it was only comical.
"Where is she?! Do not lie to me, I know she runs to you! You coddle her too much, Lind!" Kora was towering over him but Lind felt like he needed the break as he put on his most innocent face.
"Where is who? I was comprehending and cultivating until you barged in. Also, who opened my door?" Lind had set up a room for himself as the rocs preferred open aeries to normal rooms.
While Lind was not bothered, he felt he had to mark a territory to show he was in seclusion as he could not fly up to a nest as the rocs did.
Kora was having none of his act but glanced behind him at the suspiciously moving mound as it trembled. Her eyes narrowed as wind swirled around her but the cover never so much as budged.
"If you are quite done, I would like to get back to my cultivation." Lind was failing to hide his shaking shoulders which only made Kora even angrier.
"What in the spirits' name happened to–" Dierdra came in which made Kora blanch and also hide behind Lind. The lady of the roc clan saw the state of her daughter and Lind laughing. A strange smile spread on her face at that point.
"Have you gotten that desperate, daughter? Surely you know that Master Frey's senses are on par with ours? He might be curious but I doubt he is attracted to such…vibrant colors." Dierdra was shaking as laughter tried to escape which only made Kora more mortified.
"I HATE YOU BOTH!" Kora stormed off and Lind could no longer hold it in. It felt so good to laugh after weeks of picking away at his nascent dragon soul to no effect.
Dierdra waved as she went off after her daughter.
"She is gone now, come out and explain." Tal sheepishly emerged as she nuzzled Lind.
"I wanted to help Big Sister with her make up but there was this shelf and it looked really strong…" Lind smiled as Tal relayed a story many of his little cousins with siblings had happened. A young child wanted to help but got over excited and did too much or caused a mess accidentally.
He patted her head as she smiled.
"Do you understand why Kora got mad?" Lind was learning how much Tal comprehended in her new form all the time. As a beast she had relied on her instincts and knew what to do, but in human form she had to learn it all with great difficulty.
Lind found it interesting but he mostly enjoyed the feeling of teaching and raising her as a humanoid. She would still transform back to her natural form when she was tired but tried to be human as much as possible.
Lind had studied how Dierdra guided Tal into transforming early but it strangely did not help him with his own.
His changes were far more subtle and temporary. The technique Tal used seemed more inline with an inevitable result rather than forcing a change. Lind always had to consume all his Qi to maintain his dragon skin and eyes.
"What am I missing?" Lind had tried to cajole, tempt, and basically any method he could think of to get a reaction out of the tiny dragon at the heart of his foundation.
He knew it was the key to the lock standing between him and the Gold Tier.
"Papa?" Tal was confused but he just smiled at her as they relaxed. A feeling of Qi probing him suddenly appeared but Lind knew Tal was just checking on him.
She was only in the mid Sand Tier so she could not harm him. She always looked in awe as she viewed his dantian. Then her face screwed up in confusion.
She had never looked like that before.
"What is it Tal?" Lind was happy to have an outside opinion, especially an aether beast he trusted but was not burdened with his history.
"Um, why does Papa not have a core?" Lind smiled as he expected her to ask long before but it took time. She was getting smarter by the day.
"I am human. I had a dangerous encounter that gave me a dragon soul that I am still learning to integrate into my cultivation." Tal seemed to absorb his words but she also mulled over them in confusion.
"What does integrate mean?" A giggle came from him as he gave a simplified explanation of what happened and how he was ignorant of the changes inside him.
"I merged my foundation and my soul long ago, so when the dragon soul became a part of me, it merged with my harmony but I did not account for it when I wanted to progress." She slowly nodded but then made a sound not possible with human vocal chords.
A shift suddenly occurred in his dantian as the tiny dragon opened its eyes. It had the slitted emerald eyes others said he had as it uncurled as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Shock flooded Lind's mind as he felt pulled in 2 directions. What was going on?
"Papa, stop fighting, follow the pull." Lind did it and felt like he was falling inside his own body until all he could see was a storm of emerald iron all around him. It was a part of him but it also felt alien.
"H-how is this possible?" Lind had tried everything, but Tal made a noise and now he was inside the nascent dragon soul!
"Papa was awake, so your soul slept. I woke it up like Mama once did for a, um, uncle?" Tal lost the thread of her thought at the end but it did not explain what she had done. Lind moved his soul body and it was as easy as breathing!
A sudden thought occurred to him.
"I am both. I am human but now also a dragon. I am both at the same time." His mind returned to his external body but his skin took a slight emerald sheen and his mouth was in pain as his teeth grew.
It was different from his active transformation but he finally understood. Even though he was trying to awaken his soul, he treated it as separate! He had not accepted it at all.
His aura shifted but he looked at Tal in curiosity. What was the sound?
"Adults like to overthink their issues but a child only sees the truth. You suppressed your soul while holding on to your human form but Little Tal is a true aether beast. You trust her and she called out for her papa." Dierdra now stood in his doorway but he had not noticed her at all!
She looked at Tal with a smirk as the little girl ducked to Lind's side. She felt uncomfortable with Lind now but he seemed to be in the middle of enlightenment.
It was so simple! He was one, always had been but he kept trying to make it 2! Forcing his dragon soul to awaken was silly, it was his own soul after all.
He channeled his Qi as he had always done and the transformation was far more pronounced at half the Qi!
His hair turned dark emerald with his eyes becoming fierce. His skin glowed with scales as Tal smiled up at him. His fangs made his smile more of a rictus but the human shape made him look very odd to Dierdra.
"So, will you break through here?" Lind looked up at her but he slowly shifted completely back to human at her question.
"I am not ready yet. I am very close, but I think I need to go on a journey. I am running out of time." He saw surprise cross her face but she slowly nodded at him. She then walked forward and knelt to Tal.
"Kora is no longer angry. I explained to her you were trying to help but don't know how to control your strength yet. She is looking for you to apologize and ask for your help again." Tal smiled so wide Lind thought the sun could not be as bright.
She hugged Lind and then sprinted off.
"Just for my peace of mind, was that completely true?" Dierdra smirked at him but nodded.
"I reminded Kora of several incidents where she broke my desk in a similar way when she first transformed. She also had her wings reappear at very inconvenient times!" Lind smiled and wished he could have seen that.
Dierdra once more activated a ward as she became serious.
"You are close to a revelation about your Dao, aren't you?" Lind nodded. His Dao was closely tied to his cultivation. If he became a Gold Tier, he would likely be removed from the Inheritance.
"I ask you to take Kora with you on your journey. She has much to learn and honestly she will follow you regardless of what we decide." Lind sighed but nodded. None of their words required the ward, so what did she want?
She looked into his dark green eyes and then handed over a map with a mark on it. The writing was clearly hers, but what was it a map of?
"Go west and you will find a mountain without any snow on it of dark coloring. This map will guide you to what you need. It will be a journey of some years but be warned, you are heading to a place of great strain on the Inheritance. Do not let Tal and Kora die there." Lind swallowed as the full aura started crushing him but he easily nodded.
"I swear, I will keep them safe." She looked at him and then nodded as she dispersed the ward. Lind looked over the map and began to make plans. He wanted to gather resources and hoped to finally be ready to progress when he reached this mountain in the west.