That momentous night, Basara had a dream. However, that particular dream was one exceedingly different from the usual nightmare that had surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly thanks to the graces of Lucia, not plagued him as much as it had done so in the past.

This time, in the depths of his dreams, Basara found himself in a world full of everlasting darkness. Darkness so profound and brimmed with the absence of any forms of light that he could not even see himself — only feel his presence in this murky eerie world.

Suddenly, the all-encompassing darkness, that showed no signs of ending, abruptly receded making way for a bright flame that ostensibly devoured everything on its path.

ROOOAARR!!

Bathing in that majestic and bright golden flame was a monster of unimaginable presence. A being so massively tall that Basara felt like it could crush him by just a single motion not unlike swatting a fly.

[It seems like your desire for power finally allowed you to appear in this place again.]

A rough and imposing voice full of grandeur and pride resounded in Basara's mind.

'This voice.'

[Even so, you are not using your dormant powers to their full potential. At this rate, you'll never get stronger, you know?]

Basara frowned as his disoriented mind finally caught up to the situation at hand, linking all the clues to understand where he was standing now.

[It's such a shame though. You are a special being whose body not only hosts a heavenly dragon like me but was already naturally born with the power of Dragons. How outrageous I must say. There has never been an anomaly like you even in all the aeons that I have existed. You truly are a mystery, little one!]

"So it's you… Ddraig."

[Indeed. I am the Red Dragon Emperor, Y Ddraig Goch – The Welsh Dragon.]

Speaking with a supercilious voice full of lofty pride, the monster, or rather, the dragon — the red dragon of domination — introduced himself once again to Basara after more than half a decade worth of time.

Lowering his head to Basara's eye level, he breathed out intermittent small flickering flames and continued… 

[How long has it been since we have last seen or talked to each other? I was surprised when you suddenly accepted to use my power again.]

Basara frowned at his words but did not speak out against them. The first time he had awakened his sacred gear was during the incident where he lost control over his innate powers.

Back then, all he had wished for was to have the power in order to protect his comrades from the man was that killing them and it was then that Ddraig reached out to him, granting him the power he desired for.

Sadly for Basara, the power of boost he received from the manifestation of his sacred gear fused with his innate power of Banishing shift and destroyed every single thing that he had put his sights on.

Ever since that accursed day, Sol had never used his sacred gear ever again; he didn't even reach out to it, nigh permanently blocking it from ever manifesting again. 

He did not hate it as he did with his own power — the Banishing Shift. But he still feared it a little. After all, if he ever lost control again while using his power, he would never forgive himself for the amount of devastation that he would surely cause.

But now…

[Heh, it seems like the young hatchling is finally ready to spread his wings, ey?]

Basara did not know what to say. Ddraig was different from the Banishing Shift. He was fully conscious and was able to feel and think for himself like any other living being. How would it feel to be rejected by the one who should have been your greatest partner for years?

He did not know about that feeling. However, what he was sure of though was that he needed to change. He needed to accept himself in order to take larger steps for the future he envisioned.

This was why…

"Will you lend me your….No." Basara shook his head and looked earnestly toward Ddraig — the heavenly dragon that waited so long for him to answer his call. "Please. Help me."

'Ohoh~. What an interesting host we have here.'

Ddraig was truly surprised by Basara's actions. He wasn't as upset as Basara thought him to be. Even though Basara did ignore him for a few years, for someone as old as him, those few years were just the equivalent of a light nap. He did not even feel them pass.

Furthermore, it wasn't as if Basara was the first host that ignored him in the years that had gone by. Most of his past hosts pretty much hated him and he only remembered a select few who had accepted his powers and even among them only a few were even worth the mention. Compared to them, Basara was on the milder side, to say the least.

Either way, he always lent them his power while he watched disinterestedly as they destroyed themselves with it.

This time though, 

'Perhaps it will be a tad more interesting this time.'

Basara could be said to be the most perfect host he ever had. Normal humans could never use the Boosted gear to its full capacity since their bodies wouldn't be able to support the strain past a certain point.

But the boy here was very different. Ddraig could say with full confidence that he had never seen such a monstrously talented boy in his entire existence on this plain.

The fact that Basara was also respectful to him and did not take his favor for granted was a great plus to boot. This was why the answer was not even worth mentioning. 

[Very well, partner. Let's show them the might of the Red Dragon, shall we?]

Ddraig gave a menacing grin with his sharp fangs fully bared out. He couldn't help but wonder how surprised Albion would be this time when their hosts finally meet to duke out their eternal rivalry spanning across the eons.

———

When Basara woke up, he was surprised to find that he was completely unable to move.

'Huh?'

Opening his eyes, he realized that he wasn't alone in his bed but rather, was accompanied by two beautiful women — his beloved peerage members.

Asia and Lucia.

Clad in nothing else other than a pair of skimpy panties, the two of them were sleeping and breathing evenly while clutching on either of his arms, allowing Basara to have a full grasp of their curves.

"Nn~"

A small moan leaked out of Asia when Basara's elbow gently grazed past her breast prompting him to stop moving.

Basara briefly fell into a trance as he tried to understand what was happening before his memory came back to him.

Last night, after Lucia accepted the Bishop piece, she was also covered in a white cocoon as she went through the metamorphosis process. 

Since he thought it would last all night, he simply went to his bed and fell asleep.

Who would have thought that the two of them would join him on his bed?

"Awake?"

A hot murmur sounded in his right ear prompting him to turn toward the source – A dastardly smiling Lucia.

"You have been smiling more since yesterday, haven't you?"

Basara remarked in a quiet tone; he didn't wish to wake Asia up just yet.

"It's just that I never felt so good in my life."

Lucia continued. Right now, her body felt like it was completely different from her past self. She couldn't pinpoint the exact difference without doing deeper tests, but she was without a doubt much stronger than she was yesterday. 

Not only that, her energy reserve and her mana sensitivity nearly doubled and there was surely more room to improve, she was really excited about her future potential.

It wouldn't be a mistake to say that she could completely crush her past self with no problem whatsoever.

This transformation was simply overwhelming and Lucia knew that this was just the start since she could continue to grow as long as she deepened her relationship with Basara.

Smiling to herself, Lucia put a finger over her lips to tell him to stay silent before slithering down under the blanket.

Basara was a little confused at first but,

"Ugh…"

He groaned softly as he felt his brief being pulled down before a moist sensation covered his shaft.

 

This was without a doubt the best way to start the morning for any man in existence.