Simo

Thank you all for the kind words and wishes, I'm still a bit weak but definitely much better than before, I was also discharged and am back home. So hopefully this means back to a normal schedule.

And as usual,

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The sudden silence was deafening as I weakly glanced at the sky. The battlefield seemed to have come to a momentary halt as all eyes turned towards me. My eyes seemed to lock with grandfather's as he stared at me with a surprised expression before a loud laugh escaped his mouth.

He then turned his attention back to the struggling 'arm' that was still attempting to break through the void and enter our world. The other elders briefly studied me with various expressions on their faces, before they resumed their battle, supporting grandfather against the invader. Though they were far my eyesight was incredible allowing me to witness everything clearly.

Following the elders, the entire battle once again resumed as the two sides clashed. The aura that pressed down on us remained forcing us from participating. "Brother!" With the immediate threat finally dealt with, Ynos instantly rushed to my side, Immy and Sidus turning their attention towards me with anxious expressions.

"Are you okay brother?" Asked Immy as she inspected my body for any signs of injuries.

Shaking my head, I slowly replied, "I'm alright, just drained that's all. The pressure weighing us down makes it hard to recover," I bitterly shook my head.

The dark clouds overhead slowly recovered, preventing us from seeing the battlefield beyond it as the remains of my cosmic mana dispersed in our surroundings before disappearing completely. Thankfully, the meteor strikes stopped as well, though the damage has already been done as the entire forest beyond our floating mountain was now ruined.

"Perhaps you should retreat to the cave and rest brother?" Worriedly asked Ynos, Sidus silently nodded in agreement beside him.

Shaking my head, I slowly answered, "No, I'm alright," My siblings did not seem convinced by my answer, yet refrained from adding anything else. We all silently raised our heads to the sky, although we could no longer 'see' the battlefield, the previous scene with the countless dragons fighting was far too shocking.

"The Shades are invading..." Muttered Immy absentmindedly.

"I did not see mother's figure," Solemnly added Sidus, to which I silently nodded before replying.

"Perhaps that's a good thing, the sky is vast, the Shades could be invading from a different part and mother is fighting there,"

"Damn it, why are we so helpless! What is the name of the king is this damned pressure!?" Growled Ynos with a ferocious expression.

"I think It comes from whatever 'thing' that's trying to break through our plane," Answered Immy.

"En, the pressure seemed to seep in from beyond the void," Solemnly added Sidus.

I shook my head with a sad smile as I looked at Ynos who appeared to be on the verge of exploding before replying, "At the end of the day, we are still young, we cannot yet compare to dragons who lived for centuries or more,"

Another growl escaped Ynos's mouth, he looked helpless and annoyed at the same time as he glared at the dark cloudy sky above. "So what do we do now brother?" Asked Immy as she turned to glance at me.

"Let's take turns in guarding our perimeters, me and Sidus will start first, you and Ynos go back to the cave and rest, we will split the day into two shifts between us,"

Shaking her head Immy argued, "I disagree, brother, we will start first, you are still not well-rested, not to mention, even though it looks like its night due to the clouds covering the land, it's still day hence why I'm currently stronger than that…" She said while motioning towards Sidus.

"You!" Hearing that, Sidus gave her a death glare before harrumphing and turning back to ignore her.

‘Well, she does have a point, not to mention that Sidus would be at his strongest once it's night,’

I slowly nodded before speaking, “Alright then, we will do as you said,” glancing at Ynos who was still fuming I continued, “Calm down Ynos, we will get our chance at revenge soon, for now, be smart and don’t do anything stupid,”

Hearing that, Ynos took a deep breath forcefully calming himself down before he nodded solemnly. Satisfied with his reaction, I turned towards Immy who reassured me, “Don’t worry brother, we will make sure to inform you as soon as anything happens,”

“Good, stay safe and don’t do anything stupid, Sidus, let’s go.”

****

The rest of Immy as Ynos’s shift passed by smoothly without any mishaps. The sounds of explosions continued to echo throughout our surroundings, and the pressure remained. Streaks of red lightning constantly illuminated the sky in what appeared like a scene straight out of the apocalypse.

By the time Immy walked back to the cave, I was already well-rested and back to my peak. Essie stayed by father’s side the entire time, while Ayona accompanied her. “Good work, where’s Ynos?” I asked.

“He is still keeping an eye outside, he said he’ll head back once you guys settle down,” She explained.

“En, okay then get some rest we will be heading out,” I answered to which she replied with a nod, “Stay safe,”

The moment I stepped out of the cave, the gloomy sky which continuously flickered red greeted me. I took a deep breath calming myself, my body was slowly getting used to the pressure that weighed on us, and although I was far from being able to move as freely as I wished, it was nonetheless better than before.

“Brother!” Called out Ynos as he jumped down from the giant rock he was resting on top.

“Good work, anything strange happened?”

“Heh, besides the entire battlefield above our heads you mean? No, none of those bastards dare attack us anymore,” He replied with a savage grin.

“Maybe they are simply too occupied to bother with us,” Said Sidus by my side.

“Hmph,” Harrumphed Ynos before making his way back to the cave.

“I’ll be heading back first, you guys stay safe,”

Both of us nodded in reply and watched him go. “So, how do we do this brother? Now with the presence of dark mana being so abundant, I’m quite sensitive to any ripples so it shouldn’t be a problem for me to guard the mountain by myself even, you can continue resting if you’d like, you did use a lot of mana earlier,” He said with a concerned expression.

“Heh, who do you think I am, I’m alright I tell you, focus on yourself and don’t worry about me,” I chuckled.

“For now, I’ll climb to the peak, I’m a bit curious about the dragon statue there,” I added to which Sidus nodded and replied.

“Alright then brother, I’ll patrol the borders while you do,”

With that, I turned around and slowly climbed my way to the peak, as my boy moved almost subconsciously, my mind on the other hand was thinking of something else.

‘Just where is grandma?’ I inwardly mumbled.