I was covered in blood that tasted like cherries...

Before me was carnage and a few shadows of survivors.

The machine guns fell silent, out of ammunition, but the main carnage was my work.

I could feel the "souls or fragments" rushing towards my temple, the temple of Enka.

It was a black hole with a glass vault over it, like a huge blue crystal ball that shone and illuminated the valley with each "soul" that was absorbed.

But I had to be careful not to be absorbed or intoxicated by this power.

Indeed, "Mother" Enka had shown me other Hydras, Tiamat defeated or fallen into madness, trapped for eternity in the galactic ice.

A kind of stellar aurora borealis, a curtain, whatever, but showing the border between the world of mortals and that of the Gods.

My destiny was to make me a guardian of the world one day, but also a progenitor.

But I was thinking in minutes and mother, in centuries, even more.

I loved and adored her as much as I feared her, but she had accepted my dual nature and my human origins. Of which there was not much left, at least the politeness, the manners and the knowledge...

Even though I knew how to transform into my past self, I remained a dragon all the time. Maybe I was afraid in my heart that I would wake up as a human and my dragon would be an illusion, but reality caught up with me.

Kate was screaming and I rushed to calm her down and heal her but she was heartbroken.

I could do many things, I had draconic spells that were closer to a druid and wizard spells and a bit of a priest but resurrection was impossible for me.

I was not a God, but a half Hydra dragon.

As soon as everything calmed down, the remaining troops rushed to search for surviving dwarves, the wounded to save what could still be saved.

Kate had healing powers, but she was in shock and had used up all her mana trying to revive her dead friends.

What followed was a deep grief and a litany, followed by the grieving families.

Everyone was mourning a loved one.

These dwarves were very close to the old humanity and they had many things in common.

That's why I supported them and Enka too.

The king and the surviving troops fell to their knees and worshipped me as a god, out of fear and respect, seeing the carnage I was the cause and capable of.

But, I ignored them and went in Hydra to the makeshift infirmary and started the first aid to prevent the dying from dying permanently.

Many of them were in comas and were going to die because of bleeding and burns, but I was like a messiah, a savior.

But many dwarf children and wives lay flat on their backs in front of my black talons, sadness and despair superior to the fear of being devoured... Some licked my claws and paws, begging me to bring back their companions or father from the dead.

They knew they would not come back like the elves through the dew and plants of Tyrant...

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"Children of the earth, know that I share your sadness and suffering."

I stroked my distraught female to comfort her. And the dwarves also saw that we also shared their suffering, their grief.

"The sacrifice of your people has not been in vain, and our goddess and mother to all has let me know that she too is affected by your misfortune. Although she is the goddess of darkness and wife of the great emperor, she has heard your prayers and pleas. Unfortunately, even the gods are sometimes powerless in the face of the irreparable.

She creates and destroys and recreates but to rebuild from nothing is impossible. Even the Gods die too."

The people continued to wail. But the survivors shouted their joy and victory.

Flags were raised on what was left of the fortifications and trumpets sounded.

A huge blaze was built and everyone brought a dead loved one to join the center of the pyramid of logs.

The whole day was spent gathering the victims and identifying them, and a stele with their names engraved on it was erected.

And at nightfall, everyone had a torch.

Then I went to the huge pile of wood containing hundreds of small bodies and I filled my lungs with air and set the pyramid on fire with my breath.

The fire lasted all night and a black smoke on a black sky rose, carrying away all those unjustly dead souls.

Then darkness fell on the dwarf city.

It was as if time had stopped and Mother spoke to me in her dimension.

In the early hours of the next morning, the dwarves had hardly slept and the veil of darkness that should have frightened them was seen as the manifestation of their guardian goddess. Cruel and monstrous but their guardian.

And it was also thanks to her that they could still see the sunrise and none of them forgot it.

I was in front of the obelisk and warmed by the glowing embers, my companion had finally calmed down and fallen asleep with grief.

She was inconsolable.

This brave dragoness had a heart of gold and was too sensitive for a dragon. Kate was really too kind and didn't even realize that she was a powerful predator.

Soldiers came running to warn me. They threw themselves flat on their faces in front of me, lest they wake my mate and provoke my anger.

"Lord... there is something at the base of the obelisk... They appeared at sunrise..."

Curious like everyone else, I stood up and approached the obelisk.

It was surrounded by hundreds of eggs and each one had an inscription on it...They were the names of the dwarves that had perished...I stood up and said, after a roar made to call everyone.

"Our mother Goddess of Darkness and Destruction has given us a great gift".

The good Dwarf king recognized the name of his second in command, who had fallen on the egg. A mother came forward: "This is the name of my son GALDUR!

She looked at me and I nodded and the mother went to pick up the egg and clutched it as if it were the most precious thing in the world. And it was.

Then a child went to get his daddy's egg, then a brother went to get his brother, and so on.

And those left alone were taken by the guards and friends.

Everyone wondered what it meant, but it was a gift.

From the first moment I understood.... The "Sparks or fragments of souls

The day was well underway when the last egg was taken away, and Kate took the eggs from her fallen friends.

Everyone looked at me, holding their precious treasure, waiting for me to speak to them...There was a slight breeze and the traces of snow had disappeared, leaving the sand and soil to the birds and small animals.

Flowers and snowdrops had even bloomed, under the pressure of the ambient mana of which I was one of the main sources.

The wind and the silence were heavy, as if the sea was receding before a tsunami.

"People of Enka.. "

"Our Goddess has heard you, and she has not forgotten you..."

"It is a second chance that you have."

"Death is nonetheless something absolute and irreversible but...you have received the grace of a primordial Goddess. Your family members who have perished are in some way in these eggs. Cherish them and hatch them.

Your loved ones will be returned to you. In her infinite grace, Enka has not erased the memory and so you can be reunited again.

Take this as a new beginning. But don't forget that they will be newborns, children, and they will relive their childhoods, even if they remember you. You also suspect that they will not be exactly the same. Like the goddess, they will have a lineage of their own. At first they were servants of the dragons. They disappeared with them but Enka gave us this great gift. So you have the first new generation of Kobold people.

Even with scales and a draconic look, they will not be less than you, they will have the same size, the same strength but also access to mystical powers. They can even evolve under the blessing of our goddess. They are free and will not be slaves to anyone. But don't forget that inside, they are your loved ones."

The people howled with joy and wanted to kiss my paws, but they were all in a hurry too to get their precious treasure to safety.

Then, as night fell, a feast and a huge party was held...But not everyone was at the party.

Some were desperate in the South and others in a rage in orbit....All their plans had fallen apart.