Cale sat slightly agitated on the armchair, while Fengari squatted on his lap and curiously watched Grischa.

<"He doesn't look that happy">, the little dragon remarked, so Cale looked at the two High-Magicians as well. The Eldest, Damian von Fiet, and the first seat of the Magistrat, Grischa Vonstetten, sat across from him on the sofa, staring wordlessly at the black cat.

<"Can't blame him. Grischa hardly knows a day about you dragons. He's going to be pretty nervous">, Cale explained calmly.

<"More scared than nervous, if you ask me.">

<"Maybe.">

"Now what?", the concerned man spoke up himself, as his green eyes turned from Fengari to Cale.

"We'll wait a moment, Chioni is busy connect everyone together", Cale explained calmly, sensing her mana at the same moment, which made him smile.

<"I'm back. Do you want these two Apostles to participate?">

<"Yes. The Raphael Maron and Grischa Vonstetten will participate alongside my humble self. I'll guide you on">, Cale stated in thought, closing his eyes before sharing the feeling of the mana of the two mages in turn. It was interesting to watch Chioni's mana connect to them like a spider, so Cale waited curiously for the reaction.

<"Apostle Raphael Maron and Apostle Grischa Vonstetten, can you hear me?">, Chioni politely announced, causing the two mages to flinch in surprise. Cale opened his eyes and could see the Eldest was calm himself, while Grischa was pale in the face.

<"Yes.">

<"Yes, we hear you">, the Eldest summarized and looked with an examining view at Cale, who nodded in agreement.

<"Now then, I'll connect you four with my siblings.">

<"Thank you">, Cale replied.

Cale had agreed with the Eldest and Grischa that only he could speak up during the conversation. They thought it better not to have three people at once trying to prevent the dragons from starting a war.

All at once, Cale felt a great mass of foreign mana spreading rapidly through his body and unconsciously tilted forward a bit. Immediately, this sensation reminded him of the power he had felt back on the Holy Island, even though his mana sensitivity at that time was not as mature as it is now.

<"I, Chioni from the folk in the east, will now begin by introducing all those participating. Please confirm when your name is called">, the white dragoness raised, causing Cale to swallow nervously. He was very sure that some mana sources exceeded the powers of Chioni or Palaios. He couldn't make an enemy out of anyone, that much was certain.

<"Attending from the western gathering at Tsuke: Koekoin.">

<"Present">, a male voice replied.

<"Skira">

<"Present">, a female voice politely announced.

<"Lofonus">

<"Here">, the voice called out joyfully as Cale flinched in surprise. The dragon was allowed to be one of the stronger participants of this meeting, and its manner also revealed that it was aware of it.

<"Members from the Holy Island of the Gods are: Velence.">

<"Present">, a deep voice gave to word that gave Cale goosebumps. This dragon must be the namesake of the Holy Island itself, presumably one of the earlier leaders before the dispute began. Cale had learned quite a bit about the dragon, and you could really feel his influence on the dragons just from the way he answered.

<"Aforsio">, Chioni continued speaking without acknowledging the leader of the dragons.

<"Present">

<"Stagona">

<"Present">, replied the third strong source of mana besides Velence and Lofonus.

<"Katidiss">

<"Present">

<"Participating from the eastern group besides me: Palaios">.

<"Present">, the great dragon replied, which is why Cale felt a spark of relief.

<"Fengari">

<"Present">, the cat on Cale's lap replied, looking up at him.

<"Attending as provisional representatives of the humans: Apostle Caleb Leuen.">.

<"Present">, Cale confirmed with forced calm as he placed his hand on the white body of Fengari. He had not lifted the illusion for his friend's sake, though the mere fact that a dragon was present was enough to leave him completely silent.

<"Apostle Raphael Maron">

<"Present">, the Eldest repeated dryly. Damian found it a bit strange if dragons would called him 'the Eldest' when they were hundreds of years older than him. Therefore, as usual, he used his alias.

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<"And Apostle Grischa Vonstetten">

<"P-Present">, Grischa gave uncertainly as he clenched his hands convulsively. An unusual picture to see the usually confident High-Magician nervous.

<"Now then, if I may, I will lead the conversation and begin to explain the background of what happened.">

Since there was no response from the other parties involved, Chioni began with the hard-hitting facts.

<"Alright, as you all know, the gods disappeared without a trace 17 years ago. Recently, we learned what the reason for that disappearance was and why much of the gods' mana was lost. The god of the future, Mellontikos, gave the gift of rebirth to the Apostle Caleb Leuen in the year 1165, who was subsequently sent back to the year 1145. The day completely overlaps with the moment in which the existence of the gods disappeared. We assume that the Thormods are one of the reasons for this. According to the Apostle Caleb Leuen, in the future the creatures will successfully claim the whole world for themselves">, Chioni reported matter-of-factly, followed by murmured and some emotional outbursts from Mana. <"According to current facts, we assume that we are in a false reality, without knowing its origin.">.

<"This is insanity, Chioni">, Lofondus shouted between them, but Chioni completely ignored the dragon.

<"Our group, led by Palaios, has decided to join forces with the Apostles and, accordingly, with the humans. We are currently searching for a solution, both to the problem of the Thormods and the three gods themselves.">

<"So especially you are saying that the gods have not turned away from us.?">, Skira gave skeptical voice.

<"What exactly is your statement based on?">, Katidiss reported.

<"Based on the testimony of Caleb Leuen. In his insight when he became an Apostle, he had met Mellontikos">, Palaios reported calmly. Cale now understood why he should attend. The dragons did not simply believe the testimony without receiving proof. Only logical, after all, he would think similarly in their place.

<"Chioni, allow me to use my abilities on the Apostle Caleb Leuen">, Velence interjected in a clear voice, causing Cale to flinch in surprise.

<"Caleb Leuen is not subject to us, he is a friend and ally">, Chioni countered before Palaios spoke up.

<"Caleb, our leader Velence has the ability to see and share memories. He would like to use this ability to test credibility.">.

<"I see">, Cale raised calmly and gave a questioning look to Fengari, who merely nodded. <" I would be honored, Velence. Please explain to me what exactly I have to do.">

<"Receive my mana and also remember things from the past, I'll take care of everything else">, the mighty dragon assured, but Cale couldn't help but hesitate. He clasped his arm with his cold hand as he closed his eyes and felt the powerful mana gain entry. It was definitely a different feeling than what he felt with Chioni or Fengari. Velence's mana spread out abruptly and Cale had to struggle to hold his body back during this action.

He did as Velence had explained and tried to remember the insight from then, followed by the powerful, almost burning mana. But in the next moment it merged with Cale as he recalled the images and feelings of the vision. Calmly, Cale repeated the memories, in which he stood on the top of the mountains and looked over Sylve as well as Altona. When he turned backwards, the black dragon stood before him, radiating a mana that Cale had not felt in a long time.

<"What do you see?"> the dragon Aforsio inquired.

<"Nothing at all. Even with my ability, it is not possible for me to see the insight of the Apostles">, Velence replied, causing Cale to freeze abruptly. <"But I feel the mana very clearly. This is, without a doubt, Mellontikos">.

<"So basically we know nothing at all">, Lofonus interjected.

<"I wouldn't say that">, Palaios came to the rescue. <"Caleb, please do us a favor and show us your past">.

<"You mean my other lives?">

<"Correct">, confirmed Palaios, the unofficial leader of the Dragons from the East.

Cale paused for a moment. Mentally, he suddenly found himself in an empty room and the only thing he perceived was himself and Velence. Everything else had completely disappeared.

<"I'll show you some events from my second lives">, Cale explained before recalling the creatures' attack on Exarion.

He was standing in the middle of the battlefield inside the city walls, fighting side by side with the Anuxers and Mages against the creatures charging at them. His memories were so clear that he could feel again the sounds, smells and feelings he had experienced at that moment. His body moved on its own as he formed flame in front of his hands and shot it at the creatures, before suddenly a loud scream was heard from Philippa. Reflexively, he turned around and saw the archer's head being separated from the rest of her body in the next moment. A feeling of panic overcame him, which is why he abruptly ended the memory and instead found himself in a third life in Sylve.

He flew over the heads of friends and enemies as he looked around and unexpectedly recognized Grischa's Igrikum. Cale did not even know that the 1st seat had participated in the battle at the time, so he watched them for a few moments and then looked to the west. The newly built Magistrat was visible in the distance on the 7th island of Sylve. The same island that Cale recently had bought in his current life. As he looked around, he discovered many ruined buildings, barren landscape, and countless corpses of people and creatures. Between them lay the bodies of some Thormads, which Cale noticed with fright. So they had actually been among them back then.

Cale resolved this memory as well and went back to his first life. He showed Velence his encounters with the Dragon Queen on the island. Anxiously, he stood behind Ben and stared at the majestic dragon in front of them, which was several meters tall. Her mana was so imposing that he almost could not perceive any other source. But to his surprise, he noticed two he knew and directed his gaze in that direction. Immediately he recognized Chioni, who was standing at the edge, silently watching the spectacle. Next to her, Cale spotted a dragon he had never noticed before. It was about the same size as Chioni and covered with shimmering gray scales. The mana it emitted was Velence's, so Cale couldn't help but stare at the dragon for a few moments.

But suddenly his body moved again on its own and seconds later an unimaginable heat reached him. Cale screamed and looked forward, only to see the huge mass of fire flying towards them. He tried to take cover, but his legs were paralyzed as William screamed for his name. A tremendous power of mana abruptly spread within Cale, followed by an unbearable pain. In a split second, Cale doubled over in shock and instantly severed the memory, only to realize that Velence had also disconnected from him.

Cale breathed heavily as he opened his eyes and realized he was bent over, holding his hand at the site of his heart. The memories of his death that he tried to forget were now rock solid and clear in his mind.

Velence's ability was not just to see the memories... he reconstructed them completely, which is why it felt like being right there. The pain of his first death had been clearly felt by Cale, if only for a brief moment.

Hesitantly, Cale looked up, only to discover that the Eldest and Grischa were also in pain. For a moment, he was shocked and looked at Fengari, who was also hunched over in front of him.

<"Sorry, I didn't mean to... I... I should have stopped this sooner">, Cale needed to stammer to speak, so the Eldest opened his eyes and looked at Cale. With Velence's ability, everyone connected to Chioni could also see and feel Cale's memories. Cale was immediately aware that all the dragons had literally witnessed his first death.

"That was rather uncomfortable", Fengari complained, slowly straightening up before shaking her body.

<"I think we are and all agree that Apostle Caleb Leuen speaks the truth">, Velence finally announced. <"Or is there anyone else who doubts?">

For a few minutes, the dragons were silent, to be able to process for themselves what they had seen and felt. But a denial to the question did not come.