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*Gasp* "Haah.. Haah.." I woke up in a panic, gripping my chest after having my reserve blow apart my insides, but an instant later, I realized the pain was gone.

*Heavy Breathing* -Am I dead?- Hastily looking around, I noticed I was in a small clearing in a forest next to a familiar hut.

-So.. I'm here again…- As I laid back to catch my breath I idly checked to make sure everything was as I remembered, which it was. -That should mean I'm alive… Hopefully…-

I ended up laying there for a couple more minutes to sort my thoughts before eventually sitting back up and taking a look at myself. -I’m not sure why I’m even surprised by the changes anymore…-

My body was actually quite similar to my true form, but I was much taller and less childish, with a much longer tail and ears. -I look to be around 15 or 16 as well.- It was quite a jump from the 12-year-old body I was used to, but it was a welcome change. -Such a small body was really inconvenient…-

But that was when I subconsciously controlled a part of the energy around me like mana and noticed some more concerning changes.

Inside my body, there was not a single thing that looked even remotely familiar. No reserve, no organs, no bones. I was simply made up of what felt like an infinite number of tiny black tubes, too small for even the nucleus of a hydrogen atom to fit into.

-Am I actually dead and just dreaming of all of this? What are these tubes even made of?- I struggled to wrap my mind around the abysmally tiny scale of them, but things only got worse when I finally noticed that the energy I was controlling wasn't even mana.

“Wait.. what.. is this?” Although it felt extremely similar to mana when comparing the energy of individual particles, the particles themselves were hundreds of millions of times smaller.

They were so small in fact, that if I was more proficient at controlling it, I could look inside of singular particles of mana and even manipulate whatever composed it. -But currently, I can't even look at mana with any detail...-

It was quite disappointing seeing that I couldn’t answer many of my long-standing questions about what mana was, but nonetheless, I was excited to have discovered the new energy itself.

But even though I felt like I could spend decades simply experimenting with the energy, I stopped myself before I got carried away.

-Alright, I need to stop before I waste all my time here...- Remembering back to my previous experiences in this place, I figured it was safe to assume that my time here was limited. -I need to make the most of what time I have left…-

Finally pulling myself from my thoughts, I hopped up and looked around with haste. -Let's start by exploring this cottage, shall we?-

Quickly moving inside, I found a table full of unusual equipment made of both glass and metal, with dozens of books thrown about.

It honestly looked like some mad scientist’s den, but even though it sounded like a joke, I couldn’t deny that possibility.

Looking down at an open book on the edge of the table, I read:

'Step 24: Pour flask in b and c with equal proportions.

Step 25: Add powder 2a to flask b.

Step 26: Heat flask b until contents match orange 1d. The flask should glow slightly.'

-Hm… It really is quite scientific…-

Deciding I probably shouldn't touch any of it, I continued to look around but didn’t really find anything of interest.

As I walked back outside to continue exploring though, I felt something ‘call’ me.

-It's just like back then…- Although it was only vaguely similar, it immediately reminded me of the attraction I felt towards the tesseract I touched right when I hatched, but even after having previously experienced it, I couldn’t resist it in the slightest.

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After another moment, my mind simply went blank and I started idly floating toward the source of it.

As I flew, I steadily lost track of time and even passed over countless cities, kingdoms, lakes, and oceans without even noticing.

But eventually, the fog in my mind finally started to dissipate. -Huh, where am I?-

Looking around in a lethargic manner, I noticed I was hovering above a large city. -Is this.. Kaelallan’s capital?-

Looking down into the streets, I noticed everyone was frozen in time and either wearing a panicked expression or simply unconscious. -Am I too late?-

Continuing towards the palace, where the source of the attraction was, I noticed innumerably more people lying on the ground, unconscious, but kept my mind from making any preemptive assumptions.

By the time I actually got to the palace though, I couldn’t hold back anymore.

Everyone in the palace, without exception, was unconscious, be it butlers, maids, or knights, but none of them were injured besides minor bruising like they suddenly fell over. -What's going on?-

Looking more closely at the mana around a nearby maid, I was quick to notice that the mana wasn’t actually being absorbed by her reserve at all, instead, it was just being pulled into the ground through her body.

-What the hell...- Deciding to check it out for myself, I thoughtlessly flew through the ground before eventually popping out of the ceiling in the shelter.

Looking towards the source of the suction of mana, I saw my dragon form lying next to Ilios while wrapped in a large black bubble.

Although it was a bit troubling to see, it let me let out a breath of relief. "Phew..." -I thought Kaelallan was already attacked...- But that feeling of relief didn't last long. -To think I'm really having a dragon sleep right now...-

I honestly couldn't believe it.

Not only was I not due for another one yet, but it was also just about as untimely as it got. -If I don’t wake up in time, Kaelallan will fall…-

But as I lowered myself towards my dragon body, that dwindling hope was revitalized. -Woah…-

Looking into the black sphere, I noticed that time was moving incomparably quicker than the rest of the world. -Does time pass faster inside this barrier?-

But before I could fall into thought, an all too familiar voice met my ears. "To think you unconsciously made this kind of thing."

The woman's voice ripped me from my thoughts and sent a chill down my spine immediately. -Why do I always run into her?!-

Not wanting to show how startled I was, I tried to play it off like I knew she was there. "What kind of barrier is this?"

"You'll figure it out eventually." As I heard the voice, a familiar woman walked out from the other side of the bubble and looked up at me with lustful eyes.

I couldn’t hold back my look of disgust seeing her expression.

"Awe~, don't look at me like that, you'll love me soon enough~."

"I doubt that."

"Oh come on~." As if she teleported, she appeared behind me and wrapped her arms around me. "I spent so much effort to find your physical body so I could watch over you and you end up nearly killing yourself. How do you not feel sorry for me at all?" She tried giving me 'puppy eyes', but it just made me cringe further.

"What's wrong with you all of the sudden?" The first time we met, she looked at me like I was food, the second she looked at me like I was a toy, but now she treated me more like she was my mother. -What could even cause that kind of change...-

"Oh, so am I supposed to be emotionless even after seeing the person most important to me almost kill themselves?"

"It would’ve made me less uncomfortable at the very least..."

But as I spoke, her exaggerated expression turned warm. "You don't believe me, do you?"

It felt so genuine that it caught me off guard, but I didn’t let myself get convinced that quickly. "Of course not. How am I supposed to believe that the person who has only ever treated me like a toy, suddenly became super attached to me?"

She simply hesitated before pouting. "Hmph, you wouldn't understand."

"That's not an answer... Haah..." Feeling her slowly pull her arms out from around me, I tried to slip away. "I'll just do what I came here for." Quickly managing to escape her embrace, I made my way to the ground and mindlessly reached for my dragon body.

Right before I could reach it though, the woman grabbed my wrist. "You can't do that yet!" She spoke with a slightly panicked voice.

Although a part of me knew I could force my way past her, something instinctual stopped me. "Why not?"

"You'll die if you try to do that now!" Her worry felt concerningly genuine.

I was honestly taken aback by it. "Do what?"

"If you touch your body now, you will die. Your physical body simply isn't ready to merge yet..."

-Merge?- "What do you mean by merge?"

She jolted slightly like she had a slip of the tongue. "I.. can't say that yet..." She looked like she was racing to change the subject. "Anyways, your dragon sleep is about to finish so your time is up!"

-Already?!- Before I could even react, her hand gripped onto my face.

"You'll understand more next time... Please don't despise me too much." She gave me a guilty look as my consciousness blacked out once again.

*tap* As she set her feet on the ground after dissipating my consciousness, she looked at my body with a look of worry.

"Your soul would destroy your body before you could even react..."