I watched as Galadriel came towards us, her movements a little erratic, and by the looks of it, the Nephilim queen was exhausted. A few of her attendants helped her settle down a bit, while I moved to the edge of the island we were standing on, and looked over. The rapidly approaching figures of the envoys and hunters could be seen, with Asare and Malek at the forefront. I'm sure I had quite a bit of explaining to do, but before that, I turned to the Nephilim and said.

"Welcome to your new home! And I hope from today, you understand and accept, that you're now one of us, a part of my family, and we protect each other, regardless of race. We're the ones who the world has forgotten, and it wouldn't be right if we let the world dictate how we treat our fellow. This is a new beginning for the Nephilim, a better and more stable one. Because today, you're no longer a prisoner in the Aviary, you're a citizen of Ethernalia Leonis. Welcome!"

x.x.xx.x.xx.x.xx.x.xx.x.xx.x.xx.x.xx.x.xx.x.xx.x.xx.x.x

Over the following days the Nephilim integrated nicely with the vampires and the Nagas surprisingly. There was a little friction with the humans, werewolves and elves that lived amongst us, but these guys were already becoming familiar faces, and thankfully there were more smarter people, than idiots who couldn't let go of their own anger. So they were still safe, and they could mingle better amongst the other races.

Galadriel and Ariel now lived with us in the palace, there was no need for that, but Asha was fond of the little girl for some reason apart from the obvious facts. I'm not so sure what to feel, she hardy speaks, though she was only two so I don't imagine there's much words in her vocabulary. But she stared a lot, almost as ifs she was trying to figure something out, trying to figure me out.

But my unexplored relations.h.i.+ps with Ariel aside, we've been getting a steady influx of refugees over the past three months. Most of them were vampires, but there were still members of other races within them, and even the surprising additions of a few aliens here and there. All these were the fruits of Kodak's hard work, and surprisingly one of the slaves he had set free, had turned out to be a clone of Galadriel. Which was why I had sent a message to him, explaining the situation, and asking him to keep an eye out for the rest of her clones.

Every other thing seemed to be in place, and Malek and Nefisat were working hard around the clock to try and intergrate the Aviary and it's technology with Ethernalia Leonis. So far they've been quite successful in their endeavors, as under the first two days, spiraling metal bridges were built from the ground up, making it easier for those who couldn't fly to get to Ethernalia Leonis. Also the barrier that protected the entire city, was expanded to encompa.s.s the new addition, giving the Aviary equal protection as the city below.

There were still quite a few things on my agenda to take care of, which means that vacation that I seriously wanted, would have to wait a while until my next trip is completed. With the addition of the Nephilim and Serpentis, two of the maps meant to lead us to the ancient capital city of the vampires Idaho was complete. Combine that with the piece we already had, that was three, and the final piece was left in the hands of the purist vampires. But there was no hurry in retrieving it, as Malek had still not figured out a way to break through the gates that would give us a safe path through the mountain ranges beyond the black district. We couldn't fly over it due to the pressure that worked in much the same way that natures backlash worked. The faster you fly, or jump up, then the more intense the pressure that slams into you. Come to think of it, isn't that the same pressure that's on the mineral mountain. It seems in one way or another, these two things were connected, especially since the gates to Transylvania and the mountains that serve as a natural wall for it, were completely immune to the effects of runes and wards.

It was weird, but at the very least, I believe that Malek was making progress with what he was doing. So all we had to do was be patient with him. But with the possibility of exploring the land beyond the gates still in question we had to channel our energies into other projects. I still had to go see the giants, maybe even convince them to become one of us. But apart from that, I'll be heading there for a very important matter, as it seems like the giants had crucial information that would tell me about the next steps to take as a Dragon King. Especially since the merger of the seventh and sixth universe was already happening and pus.h.i.+ng forward rapidly.

Baeki and I would be making this trip, though we had two hanger on's in the form of Teluna and my sister Rhea. Teluna has been cut off from quite a lot of people since Nisi died, and nothing his mother did, could bring him out of the sh.e.l.l that he seemed to have built for himself. So when he asked if he could come along, I readily agreed, the young man needed time and a proper environment to heal, and maybe a trip would help with that. I really missed our banters.

As for Rhea, I believe it was time she started taking an active role, especially since the she's also a reincarnate like me, and a dragon queen like Baeki. Her dragon is the earth dragon, and though she's heard it's call, she's not been able to find it or pinpoint which direction it was coming from. So maybe if she was around things that had to do with this intense destiny and fate of ours, she might be able to find her path to her dragon.

I don't think anything happens without a reason, and that p.i.s.ses me off, since I believe it's earth moving pieces around like it's some sort of chess board. A lot of things have been conveniently placed in my path, along with a whole lot of generic obstacles to help me get stronger and put me in the right position to checkmate whatever cosmic enemy we have to beat. Most days it became incredibly hard for me to deal with it, but all I had to go on, was the fact that this was a responsibility that would make me save lives.

Lives that included those of the people I loved, so without a doubt, if I had to kick cosmic a.s.s, then that's what I'm going to do. Destiny was an elusive concept. I don't think I'm ever going to understand it, but without a doubt I hope I can make my own destiny, that I can decide how I should live and how I should die. It was the only thing I could really was try my best. And so far it seems my best had always been enough, I hope the day never comes when it isn't. Because if it does, I have no idea how I would fight or live.

Because once my best is not enough, then without a shred of a doubt, I'll lose everything and everyone I love. And I'll be broken.