What... ? was the only thought of about a dozen Hunters in the crowd.

  Paul ?

  "Wait what ?" Jeanne muttered, a warm feeling of hope flooding her chest.

  The noise caught the attention of the dragon who approached myriad of Hunters, its snout getting closer and closer. Nobody had the strength nor the means to stop the creature, the Hunters here were only putting up a facade and were waiting anxiously any action.

  The magic shock-wave had destroyed the majority, if not all, unprotected electronics on top of sending non-Awakeners into coma in the surroundings.

  The enormous snout searched around above the Portal-divers. It breathed in the scent of the crowd while the people avoided the big drops of dark red blood dripping from its fangs. The head hovered again near the Hunters closest to it and suddenly a sharp grin showing countless teeth of grey appeared on the dragon's face.

  Jeanne. I found you. Dear... Sister. I have waited. For so long.

  You are... gazed upon by a star. I see. You have grown. You were about to celebrate your thirteenth birthday. When I left you. A shame. I have missed... So many. Things. How are mom and dad ? How is the world... doing ?

  Pierre. I know you are here. I sense your scent. Different, but definitely you. Were you promoted as you wanted ? Did you find a new profession ? Why were you all in my rift ? You riled up my spawns. I had to put them down.

  ... Phase. Good. To. See. You. You seem less... shy. Than before. That's good.

  The booming voice was tired, laced with an hint of something else. Something impossible to describe, as if a thousand voices were speaking through one.

  But despite what it was saying, the voice lacked the emotion and warmth of someone who was reuniting with close-ones. It was blank. Almost sounding like nothing more than statements.

  A sigh escaped the bloodied maws, with grey smoke falling off from it.

  I have... rifted across the Universe. To find home. Again. You cannot imagine. How much of a toll. It was to do so.

  I suppose. I deserve a... rest.

  Pierre. Sister. I trust you... to handle things accordingly. Sorry to burden you.

  The eyelids of the dragon closed off and the body fell on its side. The two arms that also acted as wings draped themselves over the being, covering its entire self in a coat of darkness.

  As soon as the first heavy snore was heard, the Returnees among the Hunters exploded in intrigue and worry. Questions about how to handle the situation, whether Nidhogg should be welcomed or seen as a potential threat now that he was holding the mark of Them.

  The Returnees who personally knew Paul were thinking hard. The others were dumbfounded. What was happening ? In just a few minutes the situation turned into something even more complicated than an EX-rank Portal appearing.

  Phase, Pierre and some others discreetly started to sign at the Returnees among the crowd of Hunters. Eventually, with a little bit of effort, the Returnees were able to gather near the head of the sleeping giant. Silence reigned for a few moments before Buster, in an unusually tiny voice, broke the ice.

  "So this is... Nidhogg. What happened to you my buddy ?" he sighed as he extended his gloved hand to touch one of the horns near the dragon's neck.

  "I wouldn't do that, egg-face. Even though we can't sense it, there has to be miasma in his scales. You should step away, unless you want your arm to be amputated. Up to you."

  "Ah, right. Sorry Aaron."

  "Paul. What happened during all those years ? You are... even the previous dragon you wasn't that big."

  "Speaking of which..." Maya the Sky Seer step forward. "This form, the vibe. It's all wrong. This wasn't the one I saw when The Knowledge allowed me to see it."

  "What do you mean ? Is this a trick ? And why aren't the Stars responding ?"

  Thousand Iai scoffed and looked around. "Do you really think you should saying that when we're out in the open ? Should we even be having this conversation here ? I mean, eyes and ears are everywhere, even though we're filtering this conversation." the Japanese man pointed towards an almost invisible barrier.

  "You're right. Ahem... Sorry Phase. We'll have to ask for your services again today. Could you get us to..."

  The woman's eyebrow twitched but she obliged. After sending texts to her second-in-hands, she manifested a warper that encompassed the entire group plus the body. Phase silently sent her sorry to the Star that was sponsoring her. They wouldn't be happy at all. She guessed that this part of her skills would be locked out from use for quite some time...

  -

  Argh- Gonna punch the bastard who sent me rotten meat again. Huh ? What's that noise ? What the hell is this alarm ? Make it stop!

  Wait, there's no alarm in the Hunting Grounds.

  I'm not with The...

  That's right. I am back. I am... finally back. That may be why I was having such good sleep. Speaking of which. The Horde within me has been... silent. For now. They have been silent, but... still there.

  That's right. Wherever I had been transported, it was dark. Not the shade of Darkness of The Horde. But dark. It should have triggered some reaction, yet, I am able to think. I am able to hold it... hold this spirit together.

  How much time since the last time I was able to think with my spirit ? Too long.

  What you did Hyperion... I will take revenge. I will mend the soul you shattered. I will... destroy the Horde.

  Huff...!

  Ah... So violence is a trigger. Right. That makes sense. Because He named me... I will have to restrain myself. The stars of healing... even if they said they couldn't help... It's worth a shot.

  ... But why is it dark ? Wasn't it morning ? Or...

  -

  FLASH...

  FLASH...

  FLASH...

  FLA-

  WHAT ?! LIGHT !

  The space the dragon was standing on was suddenly filled with light. Not normal light.

  A Light from Them... The stars. The Pre- No! Absolutely not.

  The brain He remodeled and trained for what felt like eons reacted instantly. A blast of Darkness was sent and devoured the Lights. Expecting the surge of power, it couldn't help but grind its teeth... but nothing came. Only a tiny sliver of Light's energy came. An amount that would amuse Sun Eater.

  This Light was so weak that... this Darkness still lingered in the air.

  No, this wasn't right. There was a scent too. Light, laced with something else. Was this... sweat ? Yes. Sweat and fear. From where ? There ? There ? Or there ?

  It was everywhere. Many scents. There was... Pierre's ! Did he dare to... attack me ? Him ?! Of all people ?!

  Pierre Richard ! Where are you ?! Why did you attack me with these flickers ?! Answer me ! Face me !

  Only silence answered back. And despite spending literal years into a black hole, patience was a skill that only faded with time. Waiting was beneath Her ! The Horde had turned Her into an impatient, violent and arrogant being. Something else She would have to fix.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Heart of The Holrde ! Dragon ! Nidhogg ! Paul ! Whatever you are ! We are here !"

  ... Pierre. So you showed yourself.

  Khahahahaha... Pierre and... everyone it seems. Everyone of years ago. Everyone of...

  "Of five years ago. Paul."

  ... Five years. Of your time. Hundreds for me. Hundreds of years, living among The Horde. Five years for Earth to change. You do possess shiny new clothes. All of you. They look like the armors you donned.

  Buster, still as bald as ever. Mr. Chevalier, healthier than ever. Maya, still as nerdy as before. Phase... Wait. Why are you so... tired ? And what's up with the TV's ? Is this a Zoom meeting ?

  "So we can finally conclude that Nidhogg is the one we're speaking to. Can we all agree now... ?"

  About a hundred nods answered the question of the N°1 French Hunter, along with countless faces on countless displays that started to light up one by one.

  What ?

  "Ah, sorry Paul. We... had to take some measures. At the minimum. The Stars were scared. They wanted guarantees ? We had to make sure you were yourself. Light was a surefire way we were told. Please forgive us."

  ... That's one hell of a welcome. But who the fuck got me here ? I swear we're not in Paris anymore.

  "T-that would be me."

  Phase ?! You ?! What a betrayal ! Boo-hoo-hoo... Uhhh, what are your skills then again ? I kinda forgot.

  "Ah! I- I can make warpers, like portal guns, the videogame, I can create pockets of space, like videogame inventory, I can teleport stuff, I can connect two faraway places, see the fabric of space ? Well I can knit it together. Basically, I manipulate space.

  What the... Are you some kind of overpowered female lead in a novel or what ? There has to be a price.

  The white-haired woman coughed awkwardly, waving her hands in the air. The others present here, or behind their screens snickered. There he was, the snarky and blunt Paul, Nidhogg from years ago.

  "Ah, yes. You're right on that. I- It's for... all of my skills are usable for limited amount of uses everyday. I can't abuse the power to shift one of the law of the Universe. Speaking of which, someone ahem... made me overuse this specific teleportation ability today... So my little Star kindly told me I would be unable to teleport for the rest of the following 2 weeks." she glared at a certain Frenchman.

  Wait so you basically can't do shit if you overuse your skills ? That wasn't a thing a hundr- five years ago. What happened ? I mean, we were supposed to train to protect Earth, if you have limits to your powers then how can...

  "It actually varies depending on the nature of your skills. Phase's are interfering with the Laws of the Universe, Maya's |Clairvoyance| too. Both of them are heavily restricted by their Stars and Constellations. But Buster's are straightforward. Punching stuff until it breaks. He gets almost no restrictions. Do you understand ?

  -?

  ... This is so dumb.

  "Enough of us. This is your return, Paul, or Nidhogg, or whatever. How are you doing now ?"

  "Yeah ! This is your celebra... tion"

  Even the Returnees behind their screens could feel the atmosphere changing. Nidhogg's tail fell on the floor, his wings stopped flapping, his charcoal black eyes dropped and he stiffened.

  I suppose that I will have to come clean.

  This... is. This was a nightmare. Hyperion, The Dark Star... He was interested in the similarities of my form and with His spawns. The Horde destroyed me. He completely transformed me. I became this.

  He turned me. He wanted Me to become... the Mother of The Horde. His mate. His... second. He wanted me to become... Tiamat.

  "What do you... Paul. If it's too much, don't."

  No no no. I have to face this. I came to Earth because I was strong enough to break free from Him. I want to reclaim M-my body. But more importantly, my Humanity. To atone for the Darkness I've brought upon worlds.

  Because I have killed countless. Worlds, clusters of newborn suns, Life. I've already extinguished so much. Corrupted so much. I have to take revenge against Him. It's the only way I can live in peace.

  He robbed me of everything. My emotions, my feeling, my pity. My Humanity. As I said.

  instead he put Vice, Wrath and Instincts that shouldn't belong in my mind. Instincts that ruled for years.

  I was... a stranger trapped in my own body, fragments of a mind unable to take back control. I was...

  I need to retake everything back. To truly be Paul again.

  He paused, scanning the room. A slight growl escaped his throat.

  I will... show you. What he intended to do to me. But. An unannounced guest is present here.

  Paul's right arm-wing punched in the air and disappeared in a dark void. A few instants later, a small yelp was heard and the arm came back, holding an upside down Jeanne by her feet.

  Sister ? What are you doing here ?

  Many eyes darted to Phase, who shrunk on herself in embarrassment.

  "This was an accident. She was... too close. I didn't sense her until we warped here."

  As long as... she can keep this secret, won't you, dear sister ? As far as I can deduct, from the mana and materials here, this is a place hidden from the outside world. Some sort of secret base ? For... you ? Us ? The first thousand ?

  In any case... I need to show you what I became. But how can I explain such a thing...

  ...

  I think I know.

  From what I saw, The Horde as a whole is made up of entities who are able to create spawns from parthenogenesis. There are no males or female drakes, wyverns, dragonmen... All of them are practically made from His Darkness. Genetics are not involved to create The Horde.

  With that said, Hyperion was the First. The most powerful. Their ruler. A status He wanted to share He told me before turning me.

  He wanted a mate. A proper way to say that The Horde would never fall as long as there was a leader. He could not turn one of His spawns as they were diluted version of Him. He could not create an equal version of Himself. Otherwise it would have gotten His mind too.

  He had no options...

  "So you mean... five years ago, he was interested in you because- ?"

  Yes. Because I did not share His blood. Because I was not one of His clones. I was the perfect seed. He could force The Horde's ways into me while keeping my sex. And with how much of His power He put into me, it was easy to alter every aspect of my being. The sex of this body, namely. And then the mind.

  That is why, I truly hope that healers or a star might be able to cure this. To revert both soul and flesh to what they once were. The forms He gave me are ones that I detest. The instincts made me a murderer.

  I loathe this body, but I will have to get used to if for the time being, if I want to live among you. Until I find a solution...

  The people in the room could feel the air thickening as Paul finished his sentence. Sparks of black lightning were bolting from his entire body and his body started to shrink. The Awakeners could feel the tremendous amounts of mana being concentrated to an extent they believed impossible.

  Meanwhile, the wing membrane formed some sort of cocoon that started to shrink as a purple light shone in surroundings. A few instants later, the commotion stopped and the wings unfolded.

  What came out of the winged cocoon was a grey-skinned woman with obsidian hair reaching to her hips, sharp facial features and very heavy eye-bags. There wasn't anything wrong from this point of view. The slender build and rather small chest created a boyish contrast with the overflowing long hair that added a feminine air to the silhouette.

  Did I- Did I finally succeed ? a tired, but husky and feminine voice came out of the woman's lips. She started touching herself all over her body, her head, her back, her arms, everywhere.

  Fucking yes ! I've managed to form a human body ! It's so-

  With another blast of mana, the forearms had thickened and grown, almost reaching the knees. The skin had been replaced by dark scales and both hands grew purple claws. Wing membrane sprouted back from both sides alongside two sets of dark purple horns on each sides of the woman's head. The sclera of the eyes turned black and the pupils thinned out. A tail that was not here before had also magically appeared on her back.

  I-

  Paul stopped mid-sentence and instead, sat on the floor of the room, staring at the scaled limbs that were his. He sighed in a weary tone, looking up at the ceiling and cursed under his breath, all while hitting the ground with his disproportionate winged arm.

  I can't. Still can't. For years I've been trying. But all I end up with... is this. Always. A woman's body. And reminders that I belong to The Horde. When will this stop ?

  After a while, despite their tense relation, Jeanne and Pierre approached together the dragon ? man ? woman ? they knew. Jeanne crouched at her brother's face level, with a cheeky smile and a mango milkshake, which Paul took without hesitation. A forked tongue wrapped around the paper straw and a light sucking sound reached the siblings' ears.

  "Paul. You've calmed down. How was the drink ?"

  It brings back many memories... that I thought forgotten. Thanks sis. But... where did you get that ?

  The deserter of The Horde didn't notice his sister exchanging glances with a fidgeting Phase.

  Nevermind that Jeanne. Aren't you- aren't you... scared or disgusted by this body ? Of me ? I hate this so much. What about you... ?

  "You're dumb Paul. You've always been a little dumb. I've waited five years for this. I've waited five years even after Pierre told me you died. Mom and dad are still waiting too. Your coffin was never commissioned. Granddad swore he'd beat your corpse up if you showed up dead.

  Dad didn't want to believe you'd lose. Mom's been making mango milkshake every weekend for the past years, to the point everyone in the house is disgusted by the smell alone. Even Orange, the kitten you've rescued. He's been waiting patiently. He's fat now, he's the one who finishes mom's mango milkshakes. Can you believe this ?

  I became a Hunter to protect people and to maybe find you in a Portal one day.

  And now, you're here again. So no, I don't care about what you are nor how you look. You're here, and that's all we need."

  Jeanne sat down and rested her head on her brother's shoulder, who closed his eyes and opened his mouth again.

  Ah... you always had you way to make your brother happy. You're right. I'm finally back. Thanks for not giving up.

  "We'll find a way to solve everything. As we always did."

  Right. We will.