Three years have passed since I dealt with the Shade. After handling the situation, I returned to the church where I resided for the next year, as a precaution just in case the bastard still had some tricks up his sleeves. Perhaps he would be able to possess another person?

There was no telling the extent of his power after all. Thankfully, however, it seemed like my worries were for naught. The following year I spent in the mortal plane was very calm. Well, it was to me at the very least.

The only thing worth noting was the explosive growth of the church and the sudden increase in its believers. This happened after the conclusion of my battle with the shade, as the news of my victory spread through the land.

Another factor was the rising conflict in the mortal plane. The years have not been kind to the Yadour empire. The emperor was assassinated by his most trusted aid, sending the country into spiraling chaos as the demons and elves rose up for their freedom.

Lumia was not unaffected either, the once proud and strong empire barely survived without having its territory split apart. As for Rimor, after suffering their crushing defeat at the hands of the Yadour rebels, they did not dare make any hasty moves again.

The only two countries that were still somewhat okay, were the Zasal dynasty, and the Tinada kingdom. If anything, Zasal seemed to be growing stronger, they even occupied the academy's large island without much interference from anyone. Who was there to stop them after all? Lumia was busy keeping their people united, while Yadour was collapsing. Rimor was far, not to mention weaker, and Tinada — they seemed to choose to form an alliance of sorts with Zasal.

Overall, the situation in the mortal plane was quite interesting, to say the least. It was fun watching their politics and schemes from an outside perspective. But even that slowly grew boring.

And so I spent most of my time guiding my disciples. As time passed, I found myself slowly growing more attached to them. I suppose spending enough time with a person will do that to you. After the year was up, I decided to head back home, which saddened them, but they did not argue and instead wished me luck. It was still okay, after all, I had to head back again for the next tournament.

The following two years spent in our floating mountain turned out to be quite lonely. By the time I got back, Sidus and Immy were already gone. They continued to travel through the continent, honing their skills against the monsters that inhabited the south. Little Essie had been gone for far too long, I even decided to go visit grandma and catch up with our youngest, but I did not find them.

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Mother did not know where they went either, and grandfather was busy fighting on the front lines. Ynos, on the other hand, ended up staying with the fairies. Something that came to me as a shock, considering their previous differences. But I suppose time changes everyone. According to Ayona, my younger brother managed to put his hatred for her kind to rest and instead decided to work with them as he began to learn how to effectively use his mana under the fairy mother herself.

Again, another rather absurd piece of news that I found quite hard to believe. With everyone off doing whatever they wanted, I ended up having a long period of quiet and peace. Albeit it was indeed quite boring at times.

And so, I spent my first year back, lazing around in the massive lake, and gathering the elements into the miniature world inside my soul space. Mother did not leave for the front lines, which meant we ended up spending a lot more time together. She would occasionally join me on a hunt, or tell me a rare story of her past. Those, I always enjoyed.

By the third year, I was bored of sittin around, and not doing much, so I finally decided to confront my previous fears and failures. The spell, that ended up sending me out of this plane and into the astral plane. Teleportation...

Ever since that incident, I had not once used teleportation on myself. I did, however, continue to use it on other matters, for instance, in my previous fight against the Shade. I was still unable to control the direction of the lightning and although the elements heeded my call at the time, I still used cosmic mana to teleport certain lightning bolts.

I even used it to teleport my normal elemental spells to confuse the shade. It was still alright since I didn't use cosmic mana to directly attack him. The problem was with trying teleportation on myself.

By now, it was clear to me that I could combine certain elements to create something new. To create new spells, that can work to enhance and complement each other. But, at the end of the day, it was elements that I was playing with, not my body.

Just recalling how I was stuck in the astral plane for so long, and the encounter with the Shade was enough to make me frown in hesitation. But the longer I spent ignoring the problem, the worst it got.

It was clear to me, that I was intentionally avoiding it. Although deep down, I refused to admit it — but I was frightened by what might happen.

I sighed, sitting by the banks of the great lake, my large frame curled up comfortably on the shore. A few water elements danced around me, their liquid bodies shimmering in the sunlight that filtered through the trees. It was peaceful, but my mind was far from being at ease.

'Should I go for it?'

'Of course, I should! I'm a dragon! What is there to be afraid of?!'

'But what if it fails again?'

'Then I'll just break out of the astral plane once more,'

'Last time, I was lucky...'

'Then does that mean I'll just continue avoiding this?'

A small wave of water splashed over my snout, bringing me back to the present moment. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes, letting the water elements continue their playful dance around me.

After a few seconds, I opened my eyes with a newfound determination.

"Fuck it."