Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 334 - 333 - Reunions

Birds chirped as a fresh breeze ran across his skin.  The comfort of a silk covered bed and the smell of what was likely breakfast of eggs and meat were the first sensations to greet Lind as he slowly woke up.

He vaguely recalled a dream of flying across Cimmeria but it was foggy as much of his mind seemed to be.  He felt refreshed and like his body was ready to hop out of bed to start training, but he froze as an usual sensation was curled up on top of him on his right side.

He swiftly compared dimensions in his head and did not recognize any of his wives nor his recent companions.  While he actively discouraged anything inappropriate in the Divine Inheritance, the journey to the old Archadian city was fraught with danger that required they stick together for sleep.

He insisted they stay in their natural state, but he had woken up more than once to find Tal smiling in her sleep grasping his arm and Kora passed out with her head on his feet of all things!

The person with him now was much taller and had greater proportions than anyone he could recall.  They were also UNDER his covers which was a line he had explicitly explained more than once no one could cross without permission.

He was about to toss them off when a scent he knew entered his nose.

Ethry???!!!

Lind whipped the cover back and was relieved to see he had pants on as she had robes as well!  He knew that did not mean much in her case exactly but the fact she maintained them meant they did not cross the final line.

She had grown once more, physically at least, but her mental landscape needed evaluating.  Even so, his blood seemed to boil at the sight of her and a strong desire to hold her close as well as the next few steps were illustrated very clearly in his head.

He quickly began to recite several mental training sutras that focused the calm of the mind and body.  It barely put a dent in his desire for Ethry but a sudden memory of her looking up at him in joy stilled his raging heart.

It took a few more moments after that but he was then able to slip carefully out of her grasp.  His absence instantly woke her up in a hurry as she slammed out her cultivation senses but relaxed when she found Lind right next to the bed.

"Exactly how fast do you think I can move?"  Lind smiled down at her but she was looking him over like he was a side of meat!  He actually felt like fidgeting.  He had seen love in Ethry's eyes before as well as jealousy, but the pure desire was new.

"Um, Ethry?  Can you hear me?"  Lind waved his hands but her silver eyes simply kept drinking him in and then she moved.  It was at that moment he realized she was a Sky Realm!

On instinct, Lind infused Qi into his body to enhance it and could suddenly see her clearly as if she was in slow motion.  In fact the motes of dust had frozen in the shafts of sunlight to him.

Lind worried he would drain his Qi to keep up but was stunned that he was not using internal Qi but external Qi far more.  What was going on?

His mind was moving far faster than ever before and he split his attention as he kept up his strengthened state.  He saw Qi almost happily obeying his commands in quantities that far exceeded anything he could control before.

He looked inside and was stunned.  Diamond Tier, he was at low Diamond Tier!

How was that possible?

As if the question prompted a response, his memory came crashing in.  The pain of it all came rushing back and the world snapped back into real time.  Lind felt tears fall as his body convulsed in remembered pain.

"LIND!"  Ethry became an anchor for him to hold onto as the memories slowly ebbed away and became just memories.  Sweat covered his body as gentle hands ran through his hair.  A sudden memory came back to Lind at that moment that made him giggle.

"I think last time I was the one holding you as you wept."  Ethry's face looked confused before it became deep crimson.

"I thought you were going to die again!"  She nearly pushed him off her lap but his pale skin and tremors were still occurring.

Lind felt his dantain steady and began to circulate through his meridians to stabilize his body.  He had to relearn his strength but then he really saw his flesh and blood body.

It was profound!  When he reached Gold Tier, had increased his strength and his body had become far better than before but it was nothing compared to now.

There was not a single sign of impurity anywhere.  Even his best elixir still had a trace of impurity in it.  The mortal grade was passable but the Heaven grade was much better.  Lind knew that Immortal grade would be a massive step toward purity as well.

His body, however, seemed brand new as if he had never had any impurities ever.  There was a limit to his introspection but his senses were massively enhanced so it showed how little impurity was in his body.  What had happened to him?

The shock on his face was clear but Ethry only knew part of the story.  She looked annoyed as she had to summon the roc back that had been very annoying the last few days.

"I will get the damned bird–"  Ethry suddenly felt a chill in her spine as Lind's dark green eyes stopped her in place.  His face was very stern as she recalled how strict Lind could be if she crossed a line.

"Kora and Tal are more than my friends.  They are family.  I know the visceral feeling dragons have for rocs, but you will treat her nicely, and I expect her to do the same to you."  Ethry felt it in her bones.  This was not a request nor was it Lind being understanding.

Her blood boiled as it was her mate telling her she was part of his family!

She began to smile ear to ear as her face became deep crimson.  Lind suddenly understood what he had done but only sighed as it was clearly time.  He had treated Ethry as his family but the tone of it was changed.

His reaction was much like hers when he first woke up.  She was his mate.

"We will be having a very long discussion later, where are Kora and Tal?"  Ethry seemed angry but she also knew how Lind was.  He had to reassure himself after such a harrowing experience.

She went to the bedroom door but her nose told her who was on the other side.  Annoying brats!

The door was opened and Tal with Kora in human form fell inward.  Lind barely had a chance to look when a blur in the shape of a small girl slammed into him.

"Papa!"  The word might as well have been gasoline on dying fire.  Ethry's eyes narrowed like daggers but Lind simply rolled his own before he looked at Kora who seemed afraid to come forward.

"I am still me, Kora.  I told you, I am becoming a dragon but I will always be me."  Her smile crossed her face as she ran to him and just hugged him quickly before jumping back.  He felt Ethry starting at them before a feeling came from him.

The aura of his dragon soul filled the room but the effect was odd.  Tal giggled to feel his strength back, Kora seemed to relax, but Ethry became seemingly apologetic.  How could it affect each of them differently?

"That is quite enough showing off, now since when do I have a grandchild?"  Lind felt all the strength fade from his limbs at that voice.  He stumbled forward as a beautiful woman with back length dark hair and crimson robes came around the corner.

Tears fell as he ran into the open embrace of his mother.

He had faced death so many times but that moment in the storm felt far worse.  He felt like his soul had barely held on while a gaping chasm had been ready to swallow him whole.  The possibility of never seeing his family and loved ones came home to him at the sight of his mother.

"There, there.  You need to stop being so easy to cry, you are far too old for that!"  Despite the admonishment, she gently held him and wept herself.  The difficult path of cultivators often meant watching loved ones die.

She had lost her sister and her fellow clansmen in front of her eyes when she was so young.  She had watched her little boy struggle and hold back from the pain of being treated like garbage through no fault of his own.

She had watched that boy become a fine young man but cursed with the worst combination of elements, but he did not give up.

He rose above the obstacles and now she held her son at the Diamond Tier where no 6 elemental had been before.  She thanked the spirits for their blessings and simply held him for what might be the last time.

She and Ethry would have to go to the Floating Isles to advance, but for that moment of reunion, a family was together new and old.

Mira looked at the 3 girls around her and held out an arm before all of them hugged Lind close.  They had to grasp the moment while they had it.  The stories would come but the moment to enjoy was there.

A long life did not ensure such moments, it simply made them more precious as the long road ahead could be barren of them.

The family of Lind Frey was not all there but in that moment a great many worries fell away from his heart.  None noticed the change in his soul aside from the senior dragon soul that quietly observed.

She nodded at the wisdom of his mother and approved of Ethry deeply.  A Divine Ryuu was very rare.  Further, she was somehow a 6 elemental which was practically unheard of.  She was the perfect match for Lind Frey.

Pain lanced her soul suddenly but it quickly faded.

"Cherish this moment, Lind Frey.  Time runs out for us all, one way or another."  She pulled back to recover as much as she could.  She had much to teach him yet.