It’s one ridiculous thing after the other with you, Kathy sighs. Are you an arch mage pretending to be a helpless whelp? One with a gambling addiction, playing roulette with the faith of the world? Even at the height of my power, I wouldn’t mess around with time. Everyone knows you cannot control it. One time, you erase a city from history, and nothing truly significant changes in the present. Another time, you kill one measly human a mere 100 years ago, and everything changes. You might even have erased your own existence. What in the eleven hells made you think it was a good idea to even try?

Fidgeting with my fingers, I look down in shame. I didn’t even try to control it; I whisper. The spirit of time answered when I asked nicely. It named the price, and I accepted. Granted, I didn’t truly realize what the price meant. But that’s on me. I don’t think that the spirit had malicious intent. It gave me everything I asked for. And I kinda like what I got but didn’t ask for. I say as I send a mental smile towards Carnelia.

You … asked … nicely? Kathy punctuates each word with disbelief and disdain. To interact with the very fabric of our world and shape it to our will is the pinnacle of Draconic magic. We bend and control it to do our bidding. Without complicated arcane spells that lesser races need to rely on. However, even for the mighty of us, this doesn’t come easy. The natural forces of this world are strong. And being able to overpower and force them into submission is a mark of honor. There is no other way to make them do anything they don’t want to.

Euh, I stutter, did you ever think about asking them what they want? To respect them and not ask for things that go against their nature? Why does nobody just listen and talk to them? Prayer to the divine is ever present in Carnelia’s memories. But she doesn’t even know that the spirits exist.

Only the higher species of the realm possess the ability to speak to the world itself. Kathy lectures me as if I’m an idiot. Lowly humans can not distill true meaning from everything happening around them. Nor do their voices carry enough weight to pull the attention of the world to them. When they forced me into this wretched human body, even I, the great Vivex Darastrix, lost this ability. That you, a mere infernal, are capable of this is a mystery I am very interested in. If you can do it, I should be able to do it as well.

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I don’t mind teaching you my ways; I reply. However, before we even try, you need to work on dropping your high and mighty attitude. Most of the spirits are pretty chill, and you don’t need to grovel before them by human standards. From a dragon’s perspective, however, assume you are a pest that has been annoying them for quite a while. You need to convince them not to slap you into oblivion when they notice you. We’ll focus on listening first. Don’t even try to speak to them until you’ve practiced social interactions in human society. That will give you a chance to practice and fail without dying for it.

You assume I would fail at something so trivial as talking? Kathy bristles at me. Yes I do, I reply blankly. You’ve never had to consider someone else’s feelings when talking to them before. You didn’t care about those you considered lesser. Cause nothing they did could ever affect you in any significant way. But now they can. You don’t have empathy to guide you. So it’ll be an uphill battle to learn about human emotions. The ‘complicated spell forms’ you mentioned before are probably a walk in the park compared to this. So drop the attitude and accept that you have things to learn and work on. If you don’t, I won’t guide you in speaking with the spirits. There are easier ways you can kill yourself. And I’d appreciate it if you don’t make me watch.

Kathy’s eyes glow a fiery red. She trembles, clearly holding herself back from assaulting me. But I don’t back down either. I look at her with defiance, but also pity. For this psychopath who is learning what it’s like to be human. I ready my shield magic just in case. Hoping that I won’t need to kill her. I’d rather see her grow and learn. But if I have to, I will kill her to save myself. She moves, but not towards me. She turns around and screams her frustrations into the forest. Together with a large jet of flames. FUCKING HUMANS, she sneers, and walks away without another word.