‘…How?’ Nemes wondered. His inquiries would have been mildly suspicious, but not enough for the humans to figure out that something was wrong with his cores.

“An expert in magic is on his way. Until then, why not tell me what you’re hiding?” Cleo said, and Nemes grimaced- as best as a dragon could, at least.

“My cores are perfectly fine.” Nemes lied, and the woman smirked slightly.

“You just exposed yourself- nobody said that something was wrong with your cores, only that you were hiding something in relation to them.” Cleo said smugly.

Nemes looked shocked as she continued, “So, what’s the problem with your cores? It’s completely possible that we can fix them.

“Don’t tell them.” Apophis demanded, his presence returning to his mind with haste. The demon’s urging made it easy to choose.

“I can’t control my Aether or Ether.” Nemes told the woman, immediately doing the opposite of what the demon told him.

“Utter moron,” The demon said, “You’ve lost tremendous value, and they won’t even be able to help you.”

Nemes ignored the demon as the woman spoke again, “Do you know why?”

“Ah… yes and no.”

“Would you tell me?”

Just then, a section of the wall slid away and a man stepped through. The man was tall, and a bushy beard clung to an otherwise bald head. His left hand was made of metal, but from the charred flesh that it was connected to, it was likely out of necessity. A nametag hung from a white coat, reading ‘AE’ and nothing more.

“I’ll deal with this, Cleo.” The man- ‘AE’- said, and she glanced down at the metal band that bound her wrist. After a moment, she nodded and stood, stepping past him and out of the room. The door slid closed behind her, leaving him alone with the man who suddenly seemed particularly intimidating. It was a recent development, but Nemes’ eyes weren’t limited to night-vision.

A dragon’s eyes could see beyond merely the physical- they could catch fragments of magic beyond their own body, and this man…

Although he could only see wisps of the Aether and Ether that the man possessed, what he could see was still equal to the reserves that Nemes- or, rather, Apophis, possessed. He wasn’t wearing the heavy armor that the guards did, and yet Nemes knew that this man could kill him within only a few seconds.

“What’s wrong with your cores?” The man demanded bluntly, staring down at him imperiously.

“…My cores are fine- it’s the stuff inside of them that’s the problem. It doesn’t belong to me.” Nemes told him hesitantly.

Several seconds of loud silence passed before the man spoke again; “What do you mean?”

Nemes was in too deep- there was no backing out now. He could only trudge forward and hope that the humans could help him- and if not, that they would spare him.

“There’s… a demon in my head, and the Aether and Ether within my cores belongs to it.” Nemes said, “It can’t do anything to me, though- I control the cores themselves, and unless I release my Aether or Ether, it can’t manipulate them.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The man’s brows furrowed and he frowned- the very first bit of emotion that the man had shown whatsoever. It made Nemes’ heart sink. If the supposed expert on Aether and Ether was perplexed, it was doubtful that they could do anything to help him.

After almost an entire minute of silence, he finally spoke up: “Interesting. Your horns work just fine, though, in spite of the fact that they should be being controlled by your Aether core- which, logically, that would mean that this demon would be in control of your speech…” He trailed off.

Nemes eyes widened, ‘Do they think I’m Apophis?’

After a moment, he shook his head and continued: “But the demon isn’t in control of your speech. Which means… you must have control over your Aether and Ether as long as it’s within your core.” The man finished. Nemes wasn’t sure how he knew that, but he was visibly relieved regardless.

“…Probably,” The man added after a few seconds, “It’s still possible something else is going on.”

The man paced back and forth around his room- cell- for a few minutes, and Nemes took this time to think. At least… he tried.

“I am not a demon, hatchling, but your progenitor. I am Apophis, Gaia’s Nemesis and the World’s Destroyer, foremost amongst the three Ancient Dragons who rivaled even the gods and goddesses.” Apophis told him, over the course of several minutes and breaks. Communicating with him was clearly difficult for it.

It was difficult to ignore the demon. He wanted to ask it questions, but he knew he couldn’t trust its answers in the slightest, and it would only leave room for temptation.

The man finally quit pacing and turned to Nemes.

“There’s nothing we can do for you quite yet.” The man said.

“You may be igno…” Apophis said, heedless of the fact he was making it difficult to understand the human.

“Nothing like this has ever happened before…”

“…Ring me, but I ca…”

“…but it has now, and the Greenhaven…”

“…n feel your curiosity and questions.”

“…Institute will be working ha…”

“For example, how would a…”

“…rd to find a way to all…”

“…male dragon be your pro…”

“…ow you to use your Aether and Ether.”

“…genitor? The answer is incredi…”

The man took a short breath before continuing; “Until then, do not tou…”

“…bly simple, and it’s the sa…”

“…ch your Aether or Ether.”

“…me reason why the Aether and Ether…”

“By the way, what is the…”

“…within your body is mine.”

“…Name of the demon in your head?”

“It’s because your…”

“Its name is Apophis, Gaia’s Nemesis and the World’s Destroyer.” Nemes answered.

“…body was meant to…”

“Apoph- that was the name of an Ancient Drag…”

“…be mine.”

“…on, not a demon.”

Nemes didn’t react to the words of either party for a while- they had both been speaking over one another, and thus it was difficult to process what they had said. He had to go back and piece together their words.

And when he did, and he fully understood their words, he almost passed out.

***

“You may be ignoring me, but I can feel your curiosity and questions. For example, how would a male dragon be your progenitor? The answer is incredibly simple, and it’s the same reason why the Aether and Ether within your body is mine. It’s because your body... was meant to be mine.”

Apophis’ words made his head spin even hours later. What did it even mean, that Nemes’ body was meant to be his? He wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing that he had disappeared after his speech.

“There’s nothing we can do for you quite yet. Nothing like this has ever happened before, but it has now, and the Greenhaven Institute will be working hard to allow you to use your Aether and Ether. Until then, do not touch your Aether or Ether.”

…At least he knew what his prison was called; the ‘Greenhaven Institute’.

However, the more important of the man’s words were those that came next. “By the way, what is the name of the demon in your head?” The man had asked, “Apoph- that was the name of an Ancient Dragon, not a demon.”

The thing inside of his head… might not have been a demon after all, but one of the apex specimen of his entire species.

It was impossible to think of anything else after everything. Whether he was a weapon or a shield seemed meaningless. That the bugs had actually been golems seemed meaningless.

“…Well, that the bugs had actually been golems is actually meaningless.” Nemes thought jokingly, but it didn’t help him to lighten his mood at all.