Mid Morning - Late Summer : The Old Elder Hall

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"Myles Kalfas. Welcome to the afterlife!" Hera's voice boomed as Myles opened his eyes and found her colossal form looming over him.

"PFT-HAHAHA!" I burst out into laughter before I could even think, only barely silencing it with magic before Myles could hear.

"H..huh?" He spoke lethargically as if having just woken from the deepest sleep imaginable, unable to remember how he fell asleep in the first place. "W..who... W..where..." He quickly scanned over the crowd, only to find them waiting with baited breaths.

He was so lethargic he didn't even notice the light magic around us, which happened to still show him asleep.

"My name is Hera, Hera Monachikós, and unfortunately, it seems like you didn't survive your dragon sleep."

He jolted slightly, finally remembering some of what happened. "R-Right! What about Amphitri-"

"She's alive." I spoke calmly with a slight elegance in my tone, pulling his attention toward me.

But by the time he saw me, I was already in my fenririan form. "You... You're-"

"Nott. You likely know me as one of the ancient fenrir." Slowly getting up, I nonchalantly walked up to him. "How does it feel to be dead? You almost made it."

"It feels.. odd..." Slowly looking over the crowd again, his confused expression slowly became understanding. But as he looked to the side and met eyes with Krystallo, his expression morphed. "Huh? Who are you?"

Seeing the opportunity, she immediately puffed up her chest. "I'm Gracia Ragnarok!" She hollered the name of Gracia, who was our long-passed great-great-grandmother.

But unfortunately she didn't realize that Gracia was Myles caretaker for a period of time when he was young. "Huh?" He knew she was lying immediately. "N..no.. you aren-"

Then, in a flustered moment, he finally used his aura, sensing the immovable walls of mana emanating from Hera and I, as well as the surrounding light and sound barriers.

Almost immediately, he went wide eyed and his gaze drifted to me, leaving me to simply tilt my head with a smile. "Did you finally use your brain?"

A look of confusion and fear washed over his face in an instant. He simply froze. Unable to comprehend the situation he was in.

But while it was enjoyable to watch, with every second, Hera's smile grew. "Since it seems like you finally understand, why don't I reintroduce myself." She immediately pulled his gaze to her before pressing her foot onto his neck. "My name is Hera Monachikós, and you are going to help me put Bahamut in my paw."

I felt a hint of anxiousness as she slowly put her weight on his neck. -Is she really gonna kick his ass in front of all these people...-

However, unlike what I expected, she calmly pulled her paw off him. ".. but perhaps this isn't the best place to discuss details..." Looking out over the crowd, she wore a slightly disappointed expression. "You know Vasilias, correct?" Myles reluctantly nodded before Hera looked at me. "So, where should we meet?"

Taken aback by her restraining herself, I responded with a little surprise. "A-as we planned before, the Elder Hall would be the best... Especially if we plan to simply overrule them." Lowering my gaze to Myles, I continued. "With you awake, our plan has gotten easier."

But Hera was quick to chime in. "Hoho~, overrule is a strong word. All we're doing is making them our subordinates."

A wave of relief instantly washed over my mind. I had expected her to use Myles to set an example, kicking his ass in front of the citizens so they couldn't resist her usurpment of power. -Based on how all those old texts portrayed her way of ruling, I would've expected her to be more heavy-handed...- But that was simply because I didn't understand the cogs turning in her head quite yet. "You'll be swamped by the people as soon as I undo the light magic, but you need to be at the Elder Hall by this time tomorrow. It's a thousand kilometers north of Ampelos."

But while he seemed to understand me, he spoke with confusion. "You.. are you really.. Nott?"

However, as he asked, I changed back to my draconic form. "Nott or Vasilias. Whichever you prefer to call me."

His eyes shot open in an instant.

"It's been eight years since you fell asleep Myles, I hope you slept well." Hera and Krystallo got back on my back as I spoke. "But while I know you have a time limit to get to the Elder Hall, you should write Amphitrite a letter." Helping them get situated, I slowly started turning away. "She missed you more than anyone." *flap-FWOOSH* Taking to the air, I undid the barriers around him and exposed him to the surrounding crowd.

For an instant, there was a moment of silence as even the ancients in the crowd didn't notice the light magic.

But after noticing that Myles was awake, such details became meaningless, and the city erupted into cheer.

For the first time in ten millennia, a dragon had survived the step into the demigod stage.

The unfortunate thing for that dragon, however, was that he had only gotten farther away from being the strongest of his race.

And whether he wanted to recognize it or not, that gap would never close.

"Hera Monachikós is alive.. and Vasilias is one of the Ancient Fenrir..." Myles mumbled under his breath as he looked up toward us quickly flying away. "Is it really a coincidence that I was the first to step into the demigod stage after so many millennia..?"

But right after asking himself the question that would weigh on his mind for eternity, his attention was finally dragged out toward the crowd of dragons cheering around him.

"Hah..." The smile that came to his face was warm as if someone had just told him a joke. "I guess it doesn't matter at this point..."

Forcing himself up with his stiff limbs and gently stretching, his towering, muscled form stood over everyone in the crowd with ease, but after standing beneath Hera, he somehow felt small.

"I am sorry for making you all wait." His voice boomed, easily audible several kilometers away over the noise of the crowd.

And in an instant, the roaring cheers of thousands of dragons erupted. The cheers of those who could see him and those who could not.

In their eyes, it called for the start of a new era. The era of Myles Kalfas.

But little did they know it had already started, and the one building up the wave was only fifty kilometers away. -It looks like Myles won't have any issue with the crowd...-

They thought the wave was only beginning to build, when in fact, the wave they saw was just the tide returning before the tsunami.

Turning my attention away from Myles, I looked at the horizon ahead of us and quickly sped up, gaining altitude until we neared the edge of space.

Although I wasn't sure how, we managed to get back on track with the plan. "We still heading to meet with my Mother and Grandmother?"

Hera quickly nodded. "But now that Myles is awake, this will get much easier."

-Oh boy...-

Continuing over the horizon, we picked up our conversation about what was to come before ironing out some of the details and painting a new plan making use of Myles who was now a demigod with quickly rallying support.

The plan was to use his quickly building support to overtake the Elder Hall, making it a branch below him, and then have Hera take him as her subordinate whether he wanted it or not. It would effectively allow the support and reputation of Myles to fight the hate and resistance Hera's appearance would cause, limiting those who want to resist to those who want to spark trouble rather than improve the state of Bahamut.

Essentially, it was to sift through Bahamut for the troublemakers so Hera could clean them out in preparation for a war with the Holy Kingdom. -But with Lief ruling Siratha, and Hera ruling Bahamut.. will the Holy Kingdom be able to fight back?-

That, however, was a very stupid question, I simply wouldn't know before my naivity bit me.

-Looks like this is where Mother is...- Finally coming into view of a huge estate a few dozen kilometers from where I was told the new Elder Hall was, I looked for Mother's aura and almost immediately found her and grandmother speaking in an isolated room.

But they weren't alone. -Huh? Who is that?-

One I recognized as a dragon named Pluto Chrysos, one of the other Elder Hall members, and one of the most wealthy Elders in Bahamut.

-But the other.. who is that?- Something about them felt off.. as if they weren't a dragon even though they didn't look much different from most partially feathered dragons.

And as I got close, I finally recognized what it was.

They in fact weren't a pure dragon, but they also weren't a conventional half breed.

"To think there would still be a half dragon, half thunderbird still around." Hera spoke with a mix of disgust and curiosity. "I wonder if he's 'his' descendant..."

It was a creature born as the child between a dragon and thunderbird, an ancient race somewhat akin to wyverns yet able to achieve sentience in a normal life span. -They're native around The Scar according to some of the texts I've read but I've never seen one... To think the first I would see would be half dragon...-

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