"Open your eyes."

A growling voice echoed in the darkness.

"Child of mine, listen to me."

The voice become louder, as the one called slowly opened their eyes.

'Where am I?'

Deveralna opened her eyes.

'I can't... see anything?'

"At last."

She jumped, surprised at the sudden voice that she couldn't hear until know.

"Who?"

Trying to look for the voice, she carefully turned in all direction. Her body was sort of floating, but it felt heavy, limiting the range of motions she could use.

"My apologies."

A giant yellow eye opened in the distance, followed by an intense pressure.

'I know that feeling!'

The moment she blinked, her vision warped to show something else than darkness.

*blup*

A bubble slowly rose next to her. Then another. She looked around her, only to notice that she was in the water.

It was dark, but not completely. There was a lot of life around her, ranging from fishes to corals. Whales swam far above her, near the surface that seemed so far away.

'How can I breathe underwater.'

She touched her throat, confused.

But then, her gaze focused on the being watching her.

"..."

Freezing on the spot, she had to acknowledge what, or who was in front of her. A massive and wingless white dragon was laying on the seafloor. It was so big she could only notice its head and a part of its neck, and it was not close to her either.

"Velridar."

She could only blurt his name out when she remembered helping her creator when he had lost his mind.

"Indeed."

His voice seemed to echo through the water, but it in fact only echoed in her head.

"Child of mine, please accept my gratitude for helping me."

His giant eye disappeared as he blinked, before reopening.

She was still wondering why she was here, or if she was in a dream. She went to rest in her room, and when she opened her eyes, she was in the depths?

'What is happening?'

Nodding to his words, she continued to listen.

"I can pretty much understand what you are thinking. I will explain, do not panic."

"To make it simple, I have something to tell you. For that, my only option was to call you to me. Your psyche, to be more precise."

Deveralna blinked a few times.

'That explain why I can breathe here.'

"But how? And why me?"

These were the biggest questions she had after Velridar .

"Everything has an order. Keep those in your heart, the answer will reveal itself in time. For now, I'll tell you the reason as to why I had to call you here."

His voice, which sounded like a very old man, seemed extremely tired. In fact, Velridar was incredibly exhausted. This was the result of damaging his soul.

"As you know, my current condition is a result of my loss of control over my own power. Even being a Remnant, injuring one's soul is an irreversible act. It cripples us, leave us weakened, and can lead to our demise."

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"Only few beings are able to do such a feat, those beings being other Remnants. It was my mistake to think Miasma was a problem worth ignoring. We've paid the price, and it was not cheap."

Regret could be felt from his words.

'He might be referring to the lamias. Yes, I cannot see any other reason for his current sadness.'

As a member of his children, she could somehow feel his emotions.

"It pains me to acknowledge that, but my use in this matter is close to none. My soul being damaged was a mistake I shouldn't have allowed. As I am now, I am unable to give any support, neither help in the future."

"Healing my soul will take more than a hundred years, and by this point, it will already be too late. There is no time to spare, but I cannot change what happened. That is why I called you."

Deveralna gulped.

"You asked me why I called you, but don't you have an idea already?"

Nodding, she answered him.

"Because of Orion. He is the only one capable of fighting Miasma."

"Exactly."

"But why me? Why not a dragon? I am just a lamia who cannot use magic."

Placing her hand on her chest, she felt a squeeze in it.

'Orion told me that he would train me, but even that is impossible. I... am not Amelia.'

'If I cannot use magic, what worth do I have?'

A tired sigh left Velridar's nostrils.

"I understand, it is my fault for neglecting my own children that led to that so awful past. I am unable to fix the damage done, but please, do not belittle yourself."

"That man, Orion, brought you to me not because of your power, did he?"

She shook her head.

'There was no talk about magic from the beginning. He... never asked me to use any.'

"As I said to him, 'Power' and 'Strength' are two sides of the same coin. Compared to the dragons, the lamias possess the strength, while they possess the power. This was my way to try and define more options for those aspects, even though they need each other."

"While I managed to create you according to my wishes, I only realize that I've closed many opportunities for both of you. You couldn't grow, and in fact, because of my lack of proper judgment, have caused the whole branch to wither away."

"One only knows despair for not being able to defend themselves, and the other only know how to ravage the land after being pillaged of their offspring... While I wanted for my children to live in harmony with others, they became ostracized and exploited. I am sorry."

Deveralna felt it with her 'Keen' ability. He was honest, with no shred of deception.

"I cannot speak for the whole faction, but... I, can and will forgive you. You aren't the one to blame anyways."

She exchanged a long and silent stare with Velridar. After a moment, he seemed to smile.

"Thank you child. This might be the reason why that man chose you. Your pure soul, and kind thoughts will become your drive in the future. Do not forget that."

She nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed from the sudden compliments.

"Let's get to the reason as to why I made you come here. Deveralna, Queen of the Lamia."

His voice suddenly took a rather powerful tone.

"Yes!"

Instinctively, she straightened her body and looked at the dragon.

"You will inherit the title of Remnant of Strength."

"..."

Deveralna opened her eyes wide in shock.

"Wh-Why? I don't understand."

"I cannot remain an observer at this point. Something needs to be done, for my children. I will not watch them suffer while I hide. That is why, you will become the new symbol of power."

Astonished, she asked again.

"Why not a dragon? Why me, a powerless lamia, and not those strong dragons?"

"Dragons are already at the peak of their abilities, and this title won't change that fact. The ones with infinite potential are the lamias. They do not possess the 'Power' necessary to push their 'Strength' to new height, so accepting it will resolve the problem."

"..."

Velridar seemed to think for a few seconds. This was also a good opportunity for Deveralna to make some order in her thoughts.

'Me? Becoming the next Remnant of Power? That's impossible! I can't!'

But a very faint voice in her head whispered something completely different.

'But, doesn't that would mean being able to help Orion? With that title, nothing will be impossible. No one will stop you, not even mother.'

That voice became louder and louder, until she could only hear it. That was when Velridar spoke again.

"Giving it to you now might not be the wisest of ideas. You body is too weak to withstand power."

"Then..."

She looked disappointed.

"You will have to do with this instead. Master it, and I will bestow it to you. I will remain dormant until the day you manage to properly wield that power."

Drowsiness began to take over Deveralna. She understood that she was about to return to her dreams.

"Before you leave, simply listened to these words."

"The line between 'Strength' and 'Power' is intimately close. So close they can be consider one, yet, they are not the same. Find the balance between the two, and become the first to evolve."

"Become..."

"A Remnant."

With those last words, her consciousness faded.

...

*Gasp*

She opened her eyes wide and sat in her bad, drenched in sweat.

"W-What was that?"

Slowly recovering her breath, she looked around. She was in her bedroom in Lahro's palace. White walls, white ceiling, her large bed, and that same impressive view on the plains from the window.

"It was a dream... right?"

*Bzt*

"Ah!"

Feeling a sudden electric charge near her hand, she twitched and brought it in front of her face to look at it.

"Eh?"

*Bzzzt*

White lightning surged from her fingers, something that had never happened before.

"Ma...gic? So, that wasn't a dream?"

The lightning stopped, and a massive spike of pain followed it.

"Gh!"

It was so painful she couldn't scream. She could only grab her hand and grit her teeth. Her orange eyes showed an expression she never had before at that moment.

"Master it, he said! I'll show you! That pain... is nothing compared to what 'he' went through!"

"That magic, I will use it for him. I will master it, and fight alongside him-"

*knock* *knock*

While the pain was still overwhelming her senses, she heard two knocks on her door.

"Yes?"

'What is it, at this time?'

The door opened, and a lamia guard entered after showing her respect.

"My Queen, I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Continue."

"You have a guest."

With a confused expression, she tilted her head.

"I thought no one had requested a meeting for the remaining of the week?"

"Yes, but this one was rather impromptu. Sir Orion came to ask you on a date."

"Huh?"

"WHAT?!"