Primordial Soul's Rebirth

The sky was clear as patches of clouds moved around. For some, they were barriers stopping the sunlight, while for others, they weren't even there.

The sea glistened far below as an endless expanse of blue, stretching to the horizon, reflecting their movements.

Fish calmly swam under the shade of the patched clouds, and the atmosphere remained serene until—

"YEAH!!!"

A scream, along with a crashing wave of wind that sent the fish hurtling through the air.

It was as if a tornado had hit the surroundings, but it was so fast that even the atmosphere remained stunned, unable to comprehend what had hit it.

They were a group of three girls.

Riding the wild wind, they clung to the ridged back of a massive dragon, their laughter nearly lost in the roar of the air.

"WOOOOOOOHOOO!" Ann screamed, arms spread wide like wings as her black hair fluttered furiously behind her. "Now this is how you fly!"

She always loved flying, especially high-speed ones, so she enjoyed every moment of this ride.

Alice, on the other hand, didn't seem like a fan of this ride as he clung on tightly with a much less adventurous expression, groaning, "How can you love it when you can't even see anything?!"

The last one was Seraphyra, and she sat behind Ann and Alice, who shielded most of the high-speed air for her, protecting her.

After all, she wasn't strong enough to tolerate the air pressure.

She sat with her face turned to the back, observing everything growing distant.

After focusing a lot, she would barely be able to make something out, but before she could even look at it, it would vanish into the distance.

But it didn't stop her from enjoying it.

Her dark blue hair whipped across her face, her eyes sparkling with awe and curiosity. "This is... incredible. I can feel the mana around him shift with every beat of his wings."

Yes, she enjoyed the feel of mana in the surroundings, which was being purified by his mere presence.

But amidst the excitement and enjoyment, Ann asked a question everyone wanted to ask.

"Tell me honestly. Did you have to be this big?"

The wind shifted momentarily as the dragon they rode on gave a deep, thunderous chuckle that vibrated through their bones.

"I wanted to stretch my new wings," came the voice, deep and smooth, reverberating within their minds. "And fly at my real speed. You know... enjoy my large form for a while."

From below, the sea was a blur of waves and streaks.

Above, birds scattered in fear, and even the clouds parted around him. The massive black and purple dragon they rode—nearly 50 meters long—was Alex.

In this form, he was terrifying.

The very air trembled with each flap of his wings.

His scales shimmered with an ominous glow, and his horns curved wickedly from his skull. Every beat of his wings cut through the wind with surgical precision.

Yet to them—his companions—he was still Alex. And right now, Alex was clearly enjoying himself.

"Showoff," Ann muttered with a grin, while Alice finally started to relax, watching the sea dance beneath them.

Seraphira, however, caressed his back, feeling the mana in the surroundings with calmness.

She didn't even know why she was here.

Alice and Ann were his women, so it was understandable that he wanted to give them a ride, but why her?

He had asked her to tag along, and in excitement, she came along, but now, she couldn't help but ponder.

Suddenly, a thought struck her as her eyes widened. 'Does he want me as well?!'

Heat rushed to her cheeks as she covered her face with her palms, fearing others would see her.

But before she could calm down, the air shifted, and without warning, Alex banked sideways in a smooth, corkscrewing dive.

"Eeeeeeeek!" She quickly clung to his back, forgetting about everything else.

"Shit!" Alice also screamed in surprise, clutching Seraphyra.

And Ann—

"WOOOOO!"

—She howled with laughter.

It took a while, but soon, the adrenaline went down, and their bodies relaxed.

They recalled their reaction and shook their heads.

Even Seraphyra couldn't help but giggle, and Alex, looking at all this, smiled inwardly.

'It's good that she's smiling again.'

With a flourish of his wings, Alex pulled them into a graceful loop before soaring upward again, the sunlight scattering off his wings like refracted starlight.

"Um, Alex?" Seraphyra suddenly called out, her expression saying that she remembered something.

Curious about what it was, Alex asked, "What's wrong?"

With some hesitation, she asked under the interested gaze of Ann and Alice. "Since when were you a dragon?"

The question silenced the wind for a moment.

Alice and Ann exchanged a glance.

They knew it was related to Alex's power called 'System,' but was it alright to tell Seraphyra about it?

It would've been simple if Alex were to lie to the girl, but they knew he wouldn't, so they turned to him, listening closely to what he would say.

Then, Alex's voice came, calm and casual. "When I killed that Part-dragon... I absorbed her bloodline."

Ann and Alice raised their brows at those words, nodding their heads, seemingly realizing how needless their worries were.

"Um, absorbed? Like the dragon of gluttony?" Seraphyra asked, as the only entity she knew that could absorb powers was the dragon of gluttony, who was part of the demon empire before.

Those words reminded Alex of his promise to a catgirl he met on Gaia, but for now, he decided to focus on Seraphyra.

"Yes. She had a diluted royal bloodline," he continued, banking left gently. "I decided to take a gamble. Absorbed it through my power. Looks like I hit the jackpot. It turned into a bloodline of some dragon that can control several elements."

[That's a primordial dragon bloodline, Alex.]

Sophia, hearing his words, sighed, still surprised at how his bloodlines worked.

'She doesn't need to know that, does she?' Alex smirked inwardly.

After all, he wasn't lying to her, and he had already told enough to satisfy her curiosity.

Seraphyra's golden eyes were wide. "So... you can just become a dragon now?"

"Well, I am a dragon right now." Alex sounded like he was still getting used to it himself. "And this is the form I can take thanks to that bloodline."

"With that being said," Ann said, "when are we going to fly inverted?"

That question made Alex grin while Alice cried, and Seraphyra, well, she just enjoyed everything.

......................

Some time later.

There was an island in the middle of nowhere, lush with greenery, surrounded by coral reefs and soft sands.

As it looked special and unique, Alex decided to land there.

As his feet touched the ground, he shrank back into his human form, and the girls stretched their limbs, giggling with excitement.

Alex wasted no time.

"All right," he said, brushing his cloak over his shoulder. "Let's do some magic training. Seraphyra, I want to see how you manipulate raw mana. Ann, you're next—I'll test your elemental weaving. Alice, you're on reaction control."

"Aye aye, teacher~" Ann sang, beaming from ear to ear, as this was one of the best times she had recently.

As they moved into their lessons, Alex demonstrated his new elemental powers.

First, he summoned a swirling vortex of wind, condensed it into a then shifted it into water without changing form. The water then froze, then shattered into lightning.

"Whoa," Seraphyra gasped. "You're switching elements without incantations?"

"I couldn't do it as proficiently before," Alex admitted. "But this new bloodline gave me... a bit of a push."

He lifted a hand, and threads of fire, ice, shadow, and earth danced in his palm in perfect harmony.

Each girl watched, enraptured.

"Still can't use time and space elements well," he muttered. "But I'll get there."

Ann whistled. "And here I thought you were already cheating before."

Alice rolled her eyes. "He's always cheating."

"I heard that," Alex smirked.

He then taught them some things, especially Seraphyra, complimenting her on every little achievement.

This was his way of showing her that she wasn't bad at anything; she just needed time.

After all, she was progressing quite fast by this world's standard.

Of course, he would teach her how he powered up and help her in the process, but that was after he returned to the Demon Empire.

For now, he thought of teaching them by sparring with them, but just as they prepared for the next part of the lesson, the air shifted.

A breeze brushed past—not Alex's doing.

A tall man, dressed in sea-blue robes with skin that shimmered like scales, stepped from the tree line. His eyes were the color of the deep ocean, calm yet ancient.

"Impressive," he said with a soft, smooth voice. "I got curious when I saw you playing with so many elements together."

The moment the man appeared, Alex's senses flared.

[He's strong—probably equal to Azaroth.]

Sophia's warning echoed in his head, but he didn't care.

He didn't care before, and he wouldn't care now.

The man was unknown, and his intentions were unknown.

Alex wouldn't relax until he was sure this man meant no harm.