Pride seemed to be filling the hearts of all of Thibet''s students, something she felt wonderfully clearly.


    Yana was proud of his followers each time they joined him to pray, Nozh was proud of her chosen one and the world she had reshaped, and Fogo was always proud of his people.


    Thibet turned to her world, the planet Gaia, and beheld its enormity.


    It was the largest of the life-bearing worlds and, consequently, had an incredibly strong gravitational field.


    However, as if in defiance, life triumphed.


    The humans on Gaia were no less than titans who stood thirty meters tall each and could wield Kilnessence, albeit at a more limited scale compared to the Angels.


    The trees, grasses and fruits were all equally enormous as they too subtly absorbed the residual Kilnessence which drifted through every square centimetre of space in existence.


    The Gaian humans were a big but peaceful sort, understanding very well the consequences of conflict and being able to briefly communicate with each other telepathically.


    And so, Thibet’s world was a veritable paradise.


    Things were so good that she didn’t even need to descend to help them with anything, and so she simply watched her world as it grew with life.


    This hands-free approach meant that she often had a lot of free time which she spent with her students and she would start every Gaian day by visiting Yana as he prayed.


    She did this to offer comfort to the ever-mourning Angel and join him in searching for the truth behind Kiln’s whereabouts.


    He was still one of her students, after all.


    She loved Yana’s prayer the most of all, and when she sang it, every soul around, Angels too, would feel themselves tune into the wavelength or state that allowed them to see Kiln the clearest as he slept.


    “To thee we pray, oh Kiln. Oh, all of all.


    So yond we may come close to thee.


    In thee, we find content and grace;


    From the first to the last of our days.”


    The denizens of the Hereafter loved when Thibet sang for them, not that they preferred one Angels voice over another, they appreciated any chance they got to hear any of them sing.


    Yana led his teacher out of his now expanded temple and took her to a quiet spot in the expanses beyond the city.


    Yana deeply sighed, and since she could feel very well what he was thinking, she chose not to speak, allowing him a moment of silence.


    [Fighting frustration for eternity isn’t going to be easy.]


    [It won’t.] Thibet concurred.


    [But the new people make for a good distraction. Always asking questions, always wandering about, and getting into such innocent trouble.] A warm smile graced Yana’s face.


    [In searching for him, they find themselves and each other, a joy I adore to witness.]


    [And you? Have you spared yourself any joy?]


    Yana’s eyes fell a little.


    [I try. I’m quite the vicarious fellow, it seems. Stealing whatever ambient joy I can as others experience it. That doesn’t mean I haven’t made landfall on a few islands of contentment, but I cannot allow myself to stop looking for even a second.]


    Thibet nodded before gently rubbing Yana’s back.


    [Then search on, Yana.] She said before accompanying him back to his temple where they parted ways as she made her way to Nozh, who was training with her most favourite of humans.


    Thibet didn’t want to disturb them and so watched keenly as the two swords sharpened each other.


    Thibet was small and non-confrontational by nature so she didn’t understand why Fogo and Nozh were training so hard but she allowed them to express those parts of themselves because she respected them as individuals who had their own wills and visions of the future.


    Vidente was in her labs, as usual, creating and destroying things at will, all in pursuit of mastery.


    She finally reached Kōritsu, who, from all the way in the seventh dimension, watched over his work, which was the most peculiar of them all.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    After seeding the dark, rocky planet of Melanite with life, Kōritsu watched with bated breath as almost all of the microbes died in the black, still waters.


    However, the last few desperately clung to life, reaching out to even Kilnessence itself.


    These life forms grew to be the blackened denizens of Melanite, and chief among them were the Dragons.


    Gargantuan beings that stood no less than a hundred meters when they reached adulthood.


    They had brilliant golden, lizard-like eyes, scales of Kilnessence-infused stone that was stronger than any metal and wings that varied in number just like their overall appearance.


    What made the dragons even more special was the fact that their Halos manifested as rings of light that appeared around their heads, even in the third dimension. This, tied with their evident control over Kilnessence, made them the most powerful beings in existence next to the Angels, although the gap in strength between was immeasurable.


    The most dominant group among the Dragons were the Rubian clan.


    Colossal beings that had deep red scales and ten wings.


    They were able to breathe fire that incinerated all that it touched and had the strength to toss aside mountains.


    However, even with all this strength, the Rubian Dragons were a peaceful and solitary bunch who spent most of their time napping while the lesser clans fought over territory and other such trivial things.


    Chief among even the Rubians was Tsar Gules, the three-headed crimson catastrophe which shook the world shortly after his birth.


    Born from a stone egg like the rest of his kin, he was actually a Granitene Dragon at first, which was the most common type, but centuries of being the plaything of the stronger types, being beaten and burnt for their amusement, he channelled his hatred and rage deep into himself, drawing from the power of Kilnessence to reshape himself into a form capable of defending itself.


    And so, his scales turned a deep red, burning with a fire that mimicked that which created all things.


    He took his new fire and poured it on any who tried to hurt him and they melted as effortlessly as snow on sunrise.


    But it wasn’t enough.


    He was still smaller than the greater Dragons, and so he absorbed the Kilnessence in the souls of those he had slain, growing himself a larger body which he used to challenge even the greats in a series of clashes that reshaped the world of Melanite as they shattered mountains, vaporized seas and rose new mountains.


    It was during this age of conflict that the red dragon earned a name, Tsar Gules and any who followed him earned his blessing, their scales burning bright red for a moment before cooling as they assumed their new, superior forms.


    And thus, the age of the Rubians began.


    An age, although born from conflict and pain, was peaceful and quiet, something which Rubians loved.


    With all that in mind, it was unthinkable to awaken a Rubain, unless you wanted a quick but excruciatingly painful death since the fires of a red Dragon also burnt the soul.


    So, every other dragon watched, with curious golden eyes, as a small Granitene lizard, an organism that only passingly resembled a Dragon, crawled into the Tsar’s lair.


    It went unnoticed by the surrounding Rubians since it was so small and eventually made it into the monarch’s nest where the ancient dragon slept.


    [Weak!] The lizard, who would go on to be known as the Taunter, spat.


    [Too weak to even look him in the eye!]


    Any Dragon who was listening knew very well who the lizard was referring to.


    The Dragos, like the Oracles in the Seventh Dimension, could perceive the higher dimensions and see the Angels.


    The Dragons all knew Kōritsu was watching them, but none of them had ever tried to fly up and meet him.


    [Silence, bug. His Highness is sleeping.] The Tsar’s mate and a Dragon who could breathe fires as hot as any star sleepily hummed.


    Her name was Ruby, the Only Empress, and, like her husband, she was as big as a mountain.


    [Tsk! Silence, beggar! I may be of meagre might, but every once of it is my own, unlike your borrowed embers!]


    This fully awoke the Queen of Dragons, who sat up and opened her mouth to incinerate the lizard, but even though she sent forth a torrent of fire that instantly turned the rock in front of her into molten glass, the Taunter stood unscathed.


    Her keen eyes had seen him slip into the fifth dimension, where his small form was spared from the intense heat.


    Normal dragons could also do this but it would take so much Kilnessence to move their enormous bodies that they’d be stuck in a form that was barely material and, left with little cognisance, they’d be unable to materialize again.


    The lizard, however, was able to do so with ease, and so it spat some more curses.


    [Go on, huff and puff all you like, knowing full well that there exists a plane where you are less than a servant, less than the dirt beneath my claws, powerless in the face of the absolute!]


    Ruby wanted to try roasting the Taunter again but she stopped as the Tsar finally awoke from his slumber, shaking the world as he did and looking down at the defiant lizard.


    [What would you have me do then, little one? I sit now atop the summit of physicality and cannot fly any further without breaking my wings. So, you have the floor. What do you suggest?] The Lord of all Dragon’s voice echoed across the world of Melanite and while also bearing almost no ill intent.


    The Taunter daringly crawled onto the Dragon Lord’s claw and raised his gaze to meet that of the Tsar.


    A moment of silence followed, and the Taunter said nothing even afterwards, as if allowing the Tsar to think about the truth behind the words he’d heard.


    [Are you perhaps… disappointed in me?] The Tsar asked only to be met with silence and an unshaking stare.


    [That look… the fire that burnt in mine own eyes when I challenged the old ones. But why not covet that power yourself? The fact that you remained unburnt tells me that you tried. You clawed through the violence of our world and survived but.. you found your limit. Why not break through? Or do you want me to be a martyr?] Each of the Tsar’s words was steeped in thought and consideration, seeking to understand whoever he spoke with and answer them to the best of his ability.


    The lizard nodded with a pleased grin.


    [I cannot say for certain what you will find when you get there, but surely it will be far more preferable to being as stagnant as you have been. Or would you rather allow time to petrify your glorious wings?]


    Tsar Gules’s eyes narrowed as he considered it.


    Challenging the heavens.


    [Mmm…] The thought alone made his colossal heart palpate for the first time in what had been millennia of stillness.


    [There it is! Reignite the fire that claimed dominance over this plane! Don’t let us sleep until all ceases to be! Take the claw to his throat and let us find out if the gods can bleed!]


    The Taunters words were foolish beyond reasoning, but the Tsar was beyond amused.


    The little thing just wanted to witness something spectacular, and such purity filled the Tsar’s heart with the strangest, warmest feeling.


    [Alright, little one. But first, we must see if the gods above are even interested in base things like supremacy.]