First Demonic Dragon

- Nexus of Creation, The Tree of Life

Underneath an illustrious golden tree, a man and a woman can be seen appreciating its splendor.

The pair were holding hands and the woman could be seen with her head on the man's shoulder.

"It seems.. we have been stolen from, beloved." Asherah said.

The man simply gave the woman's hand a reassuring squeeze and did not speak.

"Are you truly so unconcerned? I recall that he was quite a hassle last time. Why else would we continue to pass his fragmented soul through the cycle of rebirth?"

The man's eyes suddenly gained a humorous and all knowing glint.

Asherah seemingly understood her husband's vision and felt herself get slightly surprised.

"Even after an eternity together, your vision still enamors me, Yahweh."

As a response, the man let loose a melodious chuckle and wrapped his arm around his wife.

The pair sat in silence for a moment more before Asherah posed another question. "Do you believe our son knows exactly what kind of soul he's now connected with?"

For the first time, Yaweh opened his mouth to speak.

"Samael is very cunning… however he would not know what to look for. That soul is older than even he."

When his words reached the air, the flowers around them began to bloom with an indescribable vitality.

The pair returned to sitting in silence, enjoying their eternity the way they always had.

Together, unconcerned about the future in front of them.

-

When Helios opened the door to Yara's room, his eyes nearly left his skull when he found his sweet daughter sleeping blissfully next to a demon.

"Y-Yara? What are you doing?!" He roared as the entire room shook.

The princess slowly stirred awake. Her bones cracked and popped with every movement, indicating she hadn't moved from where she lay for quite a while.

"Hm? Father?" She slowly rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"W-who is that man?! Get out of that bed this instant!!"

Yara finally understood what was going on and looked behind her father.

Her son was standing there calmly with his wives and the two female dragon lords, seemingly watching this all play out.

"Would you mind giving us a moment, my son?"

Exedra looked back and forth between his grandfather and his mother before nodding.

He decided that ultimately, this was not something he should interfere in.

As someone with children of his own, he understood as well as anyone the desire to be overprotective.

He also understood that if he ever went too far to maintain their safety, his daughters would be one of the only people capable of making him relent.

He just hoped that he and his grandfather were alike in that regard.

Exedra ushered all of the women out the door and left his mother to handle her irate father.

When the door closed and the sound of footsteps disappeared, Yara spoke.

"Father.. this is my husband and Exedra's father, Asmodeus." She introduced as she lovingly stroked the sleeping man's long silver hair.

Helios felt a range of complicated emotions.

The first demon lord of lust was supposedly dead, so how on earth could he be laying right here?

Upon further inspection, Helios noticed that the man's soul was not entirely whole, although it was regrowing.

His daughter was tending to the man so lovingly that it disturbed him a bit to see.

It was another painful reminder for him that her daughter had long lost her innocence.

'So it's your fault you bastard seducer!'

"What happened?" He asked flatly.

Yara went on to explain how they were originally separated, as well as how Exedra freed his father by accepting the title of demon lord.

Helios had to admit, it was a miraculous story.

So much so that he believed there may have been other parts of the story that he was missing.

'That grandson of mine.. he continues to be an enigma.'

The dragon king decided to ignore the issue for now and focus on the matter at hand.

Helios was not an ungrateful being, and the fact of the matter was that Asmodeus had indeed saved his daughter's life by prioritizing her escape.

"Come along, daughter. I will allow your.. demon to return home with us. When he awakens I will examine him myself to see if he is worthy of your hand."

Yara took a deep breath.

She knew that her father was already trying his best to be accommodating, however it wasn't enough.

She was an adult now and he needed to start treating her like one. She would not make the same mistake she made before when she ran away, she would make herself heard.

"Father.. we are not coming home."

The golden dragon's brain nearly short circuited and he felt he must've misheard.

"What… did you say?"

"We will return to visit you eventually but.. I want to travel the world with the man I love. I want to experience new things and go to exciting places, and I want to do it with him by my side."

Helios felt his anger rising as he tried his best to keep calm. "Do not be silly. You were almost killed the last time you left the castle now you want me to allow such a thing again?! Out of the question!"

Yara seemed to be expecting this reaction as she showed no change in her expression.

"You.. have given me a lot to look up to, father."

"…What?" His daughter's words of praise caught him completely off guard.

"You have always tried your best to be a doting parent, and I don't believe I ever told you how grateful I am."

Yara slipped out of bed and walked right up to her father.

Because of his massive height, he had to look down at her which made their conversation seem quite silly.

"But I am an adult who has long since learned to stand on my own. And even if I should stumble, I can get up by myself."

"This is not about-"

"Or do you not have any faith in me? You believe the daughter of the calamity is so weak that she needs her father's constant protection?" Yara asked in an inquisitive tone.

Helios was almost unable to recognize his daughter.

Usually, their arguments involved lots of screaming back and forth yet now his daughter wasn't doing any of that.

At some point along the way, his daughter had grown into a competent adult.

She was communicating with him calmly, face to face like an equal.

"I will not lose you the same way I lost your mother." Helios said as gently as he could.

If his little girl could be so calm, why couldn't he?

"It is not about weakness. Two hundred years ago I was already the strongest being in the world. I could've destroyed this entire planet in a day, and yet I still had someone taken from me."

In all of Yara's life, she had never heard her father sound as gentle as he did now.

While it was true that he would've sounded gruff and stern to others, Yara recognized the monumental effort he was making.

"We live in a treacherous place and time. I am not naive enough to believe that there are none who are foolish enough to conspire against me and those that I hold dear."

Yara suddenly hugged her father's waist.

"I do not need you to be naive. All I need is for you to trust that I will come back home."

She suddenly looked up into her father's fiery golden eyes that were wide from shock.

He couldn't remember the last time his daughter had voluntarily hugged him.

Her surprise attack left him completely frozen.

"Can you do that for me, father? Can you trust that I will come back to you?"

Helios flinched for a moment before slowly returning her hug.

How long had it been since a decision weighed this heavily on his heart?

'By the gods, Rhea… what would you have me do?'