The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 125

Aiden opened his eyes to complete darkness.

"This familiar feeling..."

Ugh, don't tell me that woman, Providence, pulled me in here again.

He finished muttering before realizing something was wrong. That wasn't Draconic. It was Common.

A warmth radiated from his midsection. Someone was holding him.

Realization dawning, Aiden quickly looked down.

A slender, pale hand was wrapped around his stomach. He was in his human form! His Crown was there, as were the two fiery sigils—one purple, one red. The fire Dominion was still active.

He didn't need to guess who was holding him.

Remembering what he'd just muttered, his entire body went rigid, his back snapping straight.

In the void, a silver-haired girl in a simple white dress sat silently on a high-backed, ducal chair. She looked utterly ordinary, no different from any other girl, yet she gently held a small figure in her lap.

The small figure looked to be only six or seven years old, with a well-proportioned body and a soft, cherubic face. Atop his messy red hair sat the fiery crown, which seemed to burn with an eternal flame.

He was dressed in a shirt and vest, a short capelet over his shoulders, and shorts with an overskirt. Over-the-knee socks, leg coverings, and tall boots completed the outfit. It was a standard, pure-black set of noble's attire.

His body was bolt upright. Just... be... good.

The girl's right hand pressed gently against the chest of his black vest. His body yielded, and she pressed him back against her.

Aiden could feel her softness, but he dared not dwell on it. He simply leaned back obediently. The hand on his chest moved, rising toward his head.

Her pale hand lifted the fiery crown from his head and placed it on his lap. Then, her hand returned to his messy red hair and began to stroke it gently.

His gaze dropped to the fiery crown on his lap.

How am I in human form? Isn't that supposed to be impossible until I reach the Adolescent stage?

Aiden hated this form. It felt like his true self was stuffed into a box. It was... constricting.

He stared at the hem of her white dress. Why did this woman drag my consciousness here? What does she want now?

A knot of anxiety tightened in his stomach. My voice was quiet. Maybe she didn't hear me. Yeah. That must be it.

"Your heart is beating very fast."

The calm voice came from behind him. His body, which had just begun to relax, instantly tensed up again.

Seeing the figure in her lap try to pull away, the girl's brow furrowed slightly. "Lean back."

His rigid body softened, and he leaned back. This was the time to be compliant. This isn't cowardice, he told himself. It's... draconic prudence.

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"May I ask you to do something for me?"

He pursed his lips. Knew it. So much for 'non-interference.' That promise was full of loopholes.

"What is it?" I'll hear her out first. If it's a suicide mission, there's no way in hell I'm doing it.

As if reading his mind, the girl continued. "My word still holds. I will not interfere with your choices."

"You can think of this as a... commission."

Her hand gently stroked his red hair. Her iridescent, star-like eyes gazed at the back of the boy in her lap, her expression softening.

"Of course, I have prepared appropriate compensation. But you can also refuse. I won't force you. You don't need to worry about that."

Shing!

The sound of countless extending chains echoed in the void. Like a nest of vipers, innumerable chains materialized in the darkness.

Seeing the sudden appearance of these dark red chains, his body tensed again. Holy crap, is she planning to string me up and beat me?

The next second, all the dark red chains erupted in a dazzling, multicolored radiance. The dark void was instantly filled with light.

His eyes widened.

Dominion! Every single dark red chain represented a Dominion. Time, Space, Elemental, Special...

There were so many, of every kind. These Dominions were far less real than his fiery crown, but they were Dominions nonetheless! Not some common trinket you find lying in the dirt.

The chains stretched out as far as he could see, endless, each one pulsing with the light of a different Dominion.

The dazzling spectacle was overwhelming. Aiden, who hadn't seen much of the world, felt blinded. It was too much to take in.

He could practically feel the drool about to leak from the corner of his mouth.

Dominions... all of them... If they were all mine...

A crimson flame ignited in his eyes.

His racing dragon heart cooled, and he instantly squashed the impossible thought.

He stared at the Dominions. Just how many planes did this woman destroy to collect such an insane number of them?

"This is the compensation you mentioned?"

"If you are willing to complete my request, you may have one," she said.

Just one? Still, for me at this stage, even one is a huge gain. I'll hear her out.

"Can I choose which one?"

"Of course."

As she spoke, the radiant Dominions winked out, plunging the void back into darkness. The chains began to move, rattling and shuffling their order.

"You may pick one," her calm voice said from behind him.

Aiden was speechless. He stared at the completely randomized dark red chains. This is why I hate loot boxes.

It's a verbal trap. If I pick one, I'm agreeing to whatever task she hasn't even named yet.

"You'd better tell me the request first."

Her right hand lifted Aiden's small one.

"My request is that you guide the master of this sigil to become the Monarch of Men."

"Why?"

"No particular reason. I just think it would be a shame for this... fascinating species to disappear."

She continued, her voice calm and measured.

"At the dawn of the Epoch, humanity wasn't even considered a low-tier species. They survived the brutal Sequence War as nothing more than slaves."

"Your own ancestral memory should have records of it. That war decimated the high-tier species, reducing them to the handful that remain. Even the advanced races..."

"...like dragons, for instance. Cursed by the Titan King before his fall, your kind found it nearly impossible to reproduce."

"But back to the humans. Not only did they survive, they eventually broke free of their 'slave' Sequence. That's when I began to watch them."

"As time passed, I found them to be more and in more complex. More... interesting. And now, I don't want to see them disappear."

"Then why don't you intervene yourself?" Aiden voiced the question burning in his mind.

"Doing so would only make them repeat the history of the Wood Elves."

She stopped stroking his hair and looked down at him. "Will you accept this commission?"

Aiden thought he understood. She was an observer, standing before an ant farm. And now that the ants were in trouble, she was hiring him, an "ant specialist," to fix the problem.

So, should I accept?

His gaze flicked back to the endless sea of dark red chains.

A free Dominion. No matter what I get, it's pure profit.

He gritted his teeth, tilted his head back, and met her gaze.

"I accept."

Her small hand returned to his hair, resuming the gentle stroking. "Then choose."

She was clearly paying him in advance.

He didn't hesitate. His eyes scanned the myriad chains.

"I want that one!" He raised his small hand and pointed.

The chosen dark red chain rattled and extended, stopping directly in front of him.

A ball of white light emerged from the chain and sank directly into his body.

He closed his eyes, sensing the new Dominion.

It's... this one?

Did she really not rig the choice?