Chapter 424: The Insanity of Reality

    Early Morning - Mid Winter : Eastern Coastline | Eastern Bahamut

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    "So.. you mean to tell me that Bahamut.. the god every dragon hails.. wasn''t even a dragon..?" Staring out over the ocean while waves filled the air with stars, Krystallo''s eyes, laden with hesitancy, slowly drifted toward the bright orange sky before she continued. "He still had the body of a dragon though.. he still grew up from infancy with it... Doesn''t that mean he had to learn how to be a dragon..?"

    Catching her glance, I was quick to shake my head. "Not necessarily." Looking out toward the golden sunrise, I continued somewhat softly. "Bahamut had no parents. He was a human god who stumbled across a lost egg and took the body for his own. In his time as a dragon, he learned to survive, not live... It''s why everyone who knew him called him ''eccentric'', because he simply lived how he was taught in his last life."

    "Which wasn''t as a dragon..."

    "Correct." A pleased curl quickly found its way into my tail. She was handling things better than anticipated, staying calm and calculative without letting her curiosity get to her.

    "That really does.. explain a lot..." Looking back toward Hera, she fell into thought for a moment before her gaze fell and made its way back to the sunrise. "I remembered wondering what you guys meant by calling Eikasi?a a draconic city, but looking back now.. every other city on the continent really is.. human-like..." Pausing, she fell deep into thought before turning back to me. "But even with that... I''m not sure I see where your negativity is coming from..."

    -Hm?- A curious whip in my tail thumped the ground as my gaze steadied. "What do you mean?"

    "I mean, sure, Bahamut did make our culture more human, which doesn''t really fit our species, but I''m not so sure that''s a bad thing like you''re making it sound. Human architecture is beautiful, their culture is close and cohesive, and if the texts we studied in school are true, the concept of ''the family'' was a truly beautiful foreign he granted us. Mothers used to only raise their young till they were old enough to fly, then leave them to fend for themselves. I just don''t see how humanizing our race a little bit is a grave enough sin to warrant your-"

    "Krystallo..." Not wanting to get onto the topic, I let out a sigh. "Draconic culture didn''t start ''valuing'' the concept of the family as a whole until we had no other choice. Because of Bahamut, our population''s growth flatlined."

    Her expression quickly turned troubled. "W..what is that supposed to mean..?" Looking at Hera, she wore a mix of worry and skepticism.

    Hera was quick to lay it on her though. "Bahamut, worried that we would grow too strong for ''other intelligent life'' to survive after uniting us and establishing our civilization, essentially put our necks under a guillotine." Seeing Krystallo''s eyes go wide, she continued. "As you know, we can only lay one clutch in our lifetimes, however, that was not always the case. He, under the guise of blessing hatches in the early days of his rule, crushed any hopes the draconic race had of growing and left us one disaster away from extinction."

    "B-But he must have had some other motive, right-" Knowing where Hera was going with that, Krystallo looked at me for solace.

    But I could only shake my head. "His motive was to make sure the draconic race didn''t wipe out humanity. In the end, that was his true motivation, to thin the gap between humans and dragons. From burying our mana wells and giving them to the humans, to destroying our population, he did whatever it took to put us on a more level playing field."

    Clamping her wings to her side, her tail curled with anxiety. "T-Then what about the Acardi? He helped us there, didn''t he?"

    Shrugging my wings, I looked out over the water. "The Acardi weren''t just a threat to us..."

    Her gaze instantly fell to the ground with guilt.

    "You make a good point in saying that even if Bahamut did questionable things, but you must also look at the full picture when saying that. It is also up to you to form your own opinion on how you feel about it all. Just because I dislike him doesn''t mean everyone else must as well."

    Pausing, Krystallo fell into thought before her wings and tail finally started relaxing. "But if you, the one who knows the most about him, dislikes him.. doesn''t that mean he''s bad?"

    Catching her gaze, I let out another breath before looking away. "Everyone is different. I''m sure in the eyes of many I''m just as bad as I believe him to be. Some may still value the current state of our race because of the good things that did result from his actions, like a sense of unity, comfort, and convenience... However, for me, his good deeds will never sit right because of his motives. As the leader of a nation, you should look to improve the wellbeing of your people, yet while many put their faith in him, he simply used them as tools while tricking them into thinking he was doing it for them."

    But he didn''t budge. "~It is, but I like to believe I was the only one who could truly call themselves that.~" Raising himself from his bow, a smile spread across his face.

    But I wasn''t buying the act. "~The times have changed. Until I get back more of my memories you are the same as the rest of the Aesir. What business do you have with me now?~"

    His expression instantly morphed to a frown. "~I had hoped you would at least remember my relationship with my father, but I guess not...~" Pausing, he moved backward slightly. "~I apologize for making you jump, but I''m not here for that missy behind you. I am simply here to inform you that my brother has discovered the true identity of that girl behind you, as well as your family, and is planning to take them from you in an attempt to gain Odin''s limited favor.~"

    Tensing up, the hair on the back of my neck flared up. "~Is that so?~" Seeing him nod, my expression turned skeptical. "~And what do you gain from telling me that?~"

    "~A better show, of course!~" Spreading his arms like a proud conductor, he smiled with his teeth. "~In the past, I never could have dreamed that you''d intervene with the balance of this world, but now, I can watch as the Aesir lights their own asses on fire!~" His expression progressively turned more crazed as he spoke. "~It''s finally time for karma to catch up to those arrogant bastards! How could I not be excited!~"

    Watching as his insanity spread and grew, I lowered my stance. Such insanity couldn''t be faked, he wasn''t lying.

    But I also felt like a pig being led by a carrot to believe everything he said.

    Unfortunately though, I didn''t have the time to pick and choose what to believe.

    Before his maniacal laugh could end, a series of presences appeared on the horizon.

    It was Baldur, with three of the Valkyries in tow.

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