Reborn as a DRAGON

Chapter 53: Arena

A dragon roar rippled through the air causing my ears to ring and my body to shake. The roar was a primordial one, full of rage and resentment, though It felt as if it was muffled as it broke through countless layers of space, traveling from a very very far away place.

The roar shattered the void following after the clawed arms that disappeared and causing shivers to run down my spine. I watched in amazement as a vague obsidian shadowy form was forced out of its plane of existence before it exploded into a puff of smoke.

'Was that the king's roar?!' I wondered with my eyes wide open In shock. Grandfather and the rest of the adults all had respectful expressions on their faces as they gazed at the crack in the void that abruptly opened.

I, on the other hand, was confused. If the dragon king held that much power, so much that just one roar is enough to obliterate those things, why did he not intervene sooner? I could not wrap my head around that, so I turned my gaze towards grandfather and asked while taking extra care to not sound disrespectful.

'Grandfather, with the king's mighty power those things surely can not stand a chance, but then why did he not lend a hand earlier?' I asked.

"Never question the king little one," He first said with a stern gaze as he turned to meet my eyes. I gulped under his pressure before he continued to watch as space mended itself and closed the void crack.

"The King is not in this plane, he is very far away little one. Just the fact that a single roar of his can break through the planes and slay the damned shades is testimony enough of his strength," He explained with a hint of worship in his eyes.

'So that explains why he's not present. It seems like he is held back by something, I'm not sure why but it doesn't look like grandfather is going to tell me anything else,' I inwardly mumbled.

'Does this mean that the scenery I saw when I climbed the stairs, those countless colorful stars, and planets, they are all out there somewhere? I wish I can go someday,' I thought as I imagined myself traversing through space and exploring countless planets.

It was then, under everyone's watchful gaze that the cosmic mana began to fade, the faint presence of the Shades and the King disappearing with it. It seemed like the cosmic mana acted as a portal between the realms, and with it gone so was our connection to the other side.

The bright light that shone down from the ceiling and into the altar dimmed before it vanished completely, the staircase then reverted to a more normal-looking one, the distinct pressure that seemed to surround it before was no more.

No one but the adult brown dragon made a move, with strong and steady steps, he made his way towards the remains of Brown. Once he reached it, he carefully gathered the skeleton in his large front arm before he descended back.

The other adults including grandfather moved towards him and lowered their heads in what appeared like a sign of respect. I could feel the brown adult dragon's emotions stir as waves of sadness seeped out of his body, yet he also lowered his head and made his way out of the hall, his figure gave off a sense of loneliness as he left.

"Let's go Aether, you have accepted your name but your body has yet to adapt to it," said my grandfather as we turned around and made our way towards the deeper ends of the temple. The other dragons closely followed us.

'Where are we going grandfather?' I asked in curiosity as we passed through another giant open door, the only difference was that this one lacked any sort of details or drawings.

'You have to get used to your body, and the best way to do that is through combat," I could feel his excitement as he explained with a wide grin.

'Combat?' I asked hesitantly.

"You'll be fine Aether, you already proved yourself to be capable of handling the other younglings," He proudly replied.

Once we got past the giant double door, what greeted us was an enormous hanging arena. Four large pillars extended past the open ceiling and into the sky, from said pillars extended four chains that held the dangling arena in the sky.

'That doesn't look too safe,' I mumbled.

The adults all jumped to the air simultaneously and settled themselves on top of each pillar. Grandfather's voice boomed in my ears as he spoke, "Come!"

I rapidly jumped into the air and took off with the aid of my wings, reaching the arena in a matter of seconds. The other younglings were right behind me, we all stood with our backs straight and our heads held high as we waited for instructions.

"What are your names?" Asked the multicolored dragoness who accompanied Pink.

I took a step forward and introduced myself for the second time. "Aether!" The mana seemed to heed my wish as my voice rippled through the air. As if not wanting to be outdone, the red dragon took a step and spoke in a haughty tone.

"Ember!"

Blue was the third to introduce herself, her voice was feminine ye held an undeniable strength to it.

"Allat!"

Pink was the last one to step forward, her voice was very pleasing to the ear carrying a strange charm to it, yet I would be a fool to get deceived by her seemingly harmless demeanor.

"Linyss!"

Once we were done with our introductions, the adults nodded before the second red dragon spoke this time. "You younglings still lack the proper control over your bodies, that is why you will be facing each other in friendly spars to help you get used to your newly awakened strength," He explained in a neutral voice before his eyes moved towards me as red.

"Aether will go against Ember," He then turned his gaze towards the remaining ladies before continuing. "Allat will face Linyss," Just as he finished speaking, the massive arena split into two smaller ones, one with me and Ember, the other with Allat and Linyss.