The day had been a wild rollercoaster of events, leaving the children physically aally exhausted.

  As night deepehey succumbed to a deep slumber, falling asleep on a makeshift bed of sheets and cloths.

  Dimitra refused to leave Draco's side, setting up her own bedding right o his.

  He had positioned himself closer to the lower area where the va fountain was located.

  He didn't want any of his family getting hurt from the molten rock, so he took that strategic position to protect them.

  He made a barrier of earth to block out the excess heat, leaving enough space for ventition.

  Draained awake, his mind rag with worries and pns for the day.

  'Sigh, where exactly are we going to go? We have no map or any idea where this town is even located,' he pondered, brow furrowed ihought.

  He didn’t want his siblings to worry, so he put up an all-knowing facade.

  The st thing they needed after su event was an unreliable adult.

  He khey o sge other intact houses and gather supplies.

  'I don't know how long we will have to travel before seeing the settlement. I remember Grandpa Marcus saying this pce was inally a frontier vilge, so it's terribly isoted,' Drapted, ay building i of his stomabsp;

  His reasoning was sound - their current residence was indeed a froown, far removed from most surroundilements.

  'Aah, the vilge chief's house. If it's still intact, I at least find a map there,' an idea suddenly popped into his head.

  'If there is o would be best to find a pce to settle immediately. I ime to acclimate to my new abilities and the others ime to solidify their training. They also ime to grow both physically aally,' Draco surmised.

  'Sigh so many things to worry about, being the adult sucks,' he thought.

  There was a lot to do starting from the day.

  He was now the only oo make the big decisions in what was left of his family.

  He also pondered on how to cater to their mental health as well as his own.

  He was definitely going to get his revenge on the One-eyed bck dragon, but he pted if leading his family oh of revenge was the right thing.

  He was well aware that his as were going to influeheir young minds, so even if he po do it on his own.

  They were probably going to follow him.

  The One-eyed bck dragon was a mohat couldn’t be taken lightly.

  'A level 9 isn’t enough, maybe even a level 10 might not be. Perhaps my fully grown future dragon form might provide enough of a boost to rip its head off, but that’s all specution' Draco deeply pondered.

  ‘No I will need help iure, maybe I try saving the Astraea familia and any other useful characters that died in the series. Their help might be invaluable iure. Additionally who is to say a threat greater than the one eyed bck drago pop up’ Draco deeply sidered.

  With some rudimentary siderations made, Draco finally decided to turn in for the night.

  The air was still warm from the molten rocks created by the bck dragon's attack earlier that day, isoting them from the cold of the night.

  It still hadn't cooled dowe several hours passing, and was even hitting an underground water source, which should have cooled it down, but the va remained.

  Draco couldn't be bothered thinking about anythied to the bck dragon now.

  The memory of it killing his family only served to make him sad, restless and angry.

  He needed some mental peace right now. Just like that, he drifted into a deep sleep.

  While Draco slept, he suddenly woke up, but not in the hole that he and his siblings were residing in.

  "Where is this?" Draco questioned, eyes wide with surprise and fusion.

  Looking into the distance, he could see various beings, some humanoid in shape, almost like fairies, some like animals, and the rest in forms he couldn't begin to describe.

  They had ahereal, otherworldly feel to them, their auras resembling the elements.

  "Spirits," he couldn't help but mutter under his breath, awestruck by the strange and wondrous sight before him.

  'Am I in the spirit world?' Draco thought, heart pounding in his chest.

  "No, you are not," a feminine voice replied, causing Draediately react, jumping back to distance himself from the sourbsp;

  "o be wary. This is but a dream, brethren," the voice said, a calming, soothing quality to it.

  Draco looked to the source of the voice, and what he saw left him breathless.

  Before him stood a stunningly beautiful water spirit, her form seemingly made of casg waves and glimmering droplets.

  Her eyes sparkled like the surface of a pristine ke, and her flowihereal hair danced as if moved by an unseen breeze.

  "Who are you?" Draco asked, his voice barely above a whisper, transfixed by the spirit's mesmerizing presenbsp;

  "I am Undine, a spirit of the water," she replied, her voice melodid enting.

  "I have known of you since your birth, young Draco. I came to you because I sehe great fury you carry, the weight of loss and the fear of the unknown future," she said.

  Draco felt a strange sense of calm wash over him, as if Undine's mere presence was soothing his troubled mind.

  "How do you know about me? And what do you mean by brethren?" he asked curiously.

  Undine smiled, her expression radiant and serene.

  "How could I not know you, A dragon kin, the st real oo the boot. Are you not aware that you are part spirit?" she asked.

  ‘Oh, I did remember reading something like that in my race description,’ Draco thought.

  “The spirits themselves have taken an i in your journey, for you possess a great power, ohat has not been seen in many geions,” she said.

  Draco's brow furrowed in fusion. "A great power? What do you mean? I don't uand." he asked.

  ‘Is it my elemental skill or is it my high elemental affinity that drew the spirits to me,’ Draco wondered.

  "In time, all will be revealed," Undine said, her voice lilting with a mysterious quality.

  “I see,” Draco replied.

  “We had tried to warn you about the ing of the one-eyed bck dragon. But your e to us was not yet strong enough. The best I could do was mask your preseh mine. You might even fet what we are speaking about after waking up,” Undine said, caressing his cheek with her soothing hands.

  “So the bad feeling I had that day and the dragon suddenly leaving was because of you and the spirits,” Drauttered.

  His mind thinking about how everything would have ged only if he was strong enough to hear the warnings of spirits.

  "For now, know that you are not alohe spirits of this world, and the elements that they govern, are with you. We will guide you wheime is right." Draco opened his mouth to speak, but Undine raised a slender hand, sileng him.

  "Rest now, young Draco. You have a long journey ahead, and you will need your strength. When you wake, you will surely find the way forward," she whispered.

  Before Draco could protest, a soothing, lulby-like melody filled the air, and his eyelids grew heavy.

  As he succumbed to sleep once more, he heard Undine's voice, soft and reassuring,

  "Sleep well, child of the elements. Your destiny awaits. Head to Orario and find the dragon goddess Bahamut. She will be of help to you along the way. Till we meet again, brethren.”.

  Draco's eyes fluttered open, and he found himself ba the familiar fines of the makeshift shelter, his siblings sleeping soundly beside him.

  The air was still warm, the va's heat enveloping them in a f embrabsp;

  Draco sat up, his mind rag with the fragmented memory of his strange dream.

  "Was it real? Or just a figment of my imagination?" he wondered, his brow creased with ption.

  As he shifted, a glint of light caught his eye, and he looked down to see a small, shimmering puddle of water right beside him.

  ‘Is this water or did Dimitra pee on herself, wait did I…….’ Draco panicked, cheg himself.

  Carefully, he brought his nose closer and took a whiff of it.

  “Phew, It’s just water, but how did it get over here,” Draco sighed in relief.

  “Where did it e from?” Draco questioned, frantically looking around for a source, but found nothing. It was almost like if appeared out of nowhere.

  "This wasn’t here before so how?. Could it be Undine? Is my dream real?" he questioned.

  ‘Strange I ’t remember what I saw, but I ’t help but feel that my dream was real. Our versation is so vivid in my head but the location, her appearand everything visual is bnk’ he pondered.

  ‘Ah yes, Bahamut, a dragon goddess that she mentioned. I should definitely remember that must be very important’ Draco thought.

  “Hnnn, Mama, Papa,” he heard Eleni call out in her sleep, drawing his attention. It looked like she was having a terrible nightmare.

  Draco quickly got up from his bed and rushed to her side.

  Gently, he stroked her head, trying to soothe her; he didn’t know what else to do.