Garrl and I just stayed there, him pouring out his feelings and me, well, I also had mixed feelings, but mainly a great sadness overwhelmed me. It's strange to see part of yourself die right before your eyes; however, their memories are with me as if they were always mine, which technically they are, but it doesn't stop being strange. I can't help but think that this life was his and not mine.

  I hear how the battle is ending, how the last humans are being killed, I hear their desperation and fear. I know they did us a lot of harm and I still feel hatred; I know you can't blame me, but I can't stop thinking and feeling that this is wrong. I would like to stand up and help them, try to prevent them from being killed, show them that we are not the monsters they must believe we are, but with the miasma field so close and having experienced what it causes, I know their fate is sealed.

  I try to get up and Garrl helps me, although we almost fall while helping each other. We are very affected by overloading our crystals, but we support each other shoulder to shoulder.

  I feel strange in this body again; it's not that after almost a year as a kobold I haven't gotten used to it or that my kobold soul is no longer here to help me, it's just that I grew out of nowhere. I am taller, my tail is longer, my horns have also grown, I have wings! and it feels strange to know and feel that these new parts are attached to my back. Now my center of gravity has changed, that's why I feel strange, but I'll get used to it, I know that; after all, what other option do I have?

  Seeing Garrl also surprises me; he is different and, if you ask me, it's like seeing a bipedal dragon, that simple, but without wings. I suppose I look the same; we both awakened our draconian blood, but it's not the time to think about these changes. Out of nowhere, we both know it; only silence remains, no more sounds of swords or human screams, just the sound of various creatures that came to help us. It was truly not in vain to create alliances; they exude a mana of euphoria for having won. It's over.

  We walked to where we perceived Mrs. Spider to be, which fortunately is also where the human magic barrier was. We must recover them and I must tell Garrl, ………………… Damn! More reasons to hate humans, but I can't hide it from her; she's her mother and our friend and teacher. As we walked, we passed by some human bodies; I avoided looking at them, Garrl just growled at them. I felt guilty about this, I couldn't help it.

  In the end, we reach Mrs. Spider; she is very injured and even missing some legs, but she signals to us with her mana that she will be fine. We can't return the message to her, and she knows it, so she just approaches us so we can touch her. She points to where the body of the human who killed Kirkarrg is, while emitting that he had killed her friend and had to pay; I just watch him and, although I hated him, I wondered: "How had we come to this?" Who was he? How can I prevent this from happening again? Or is it even possible, or are we destined to be at war? No! There has to be a way and I will find it or at least I will try; in that moment I see Garrl, I know he looks at the human with great hatred, more hatred than mine, or so I think, but out of nowhere he takes a deep breath and exhales while telling me.

  - Brother, I really hate him and humans, ……………………. But you were right, seeing him dead doesn't make the pain go away. I will continue to support you and I hope we find a way to be left in peace; I don't want to inherit more hatred; I don't want to drown in it.

  - Wow, you've really matured. You know, Garrl, you are someone worthy of admiration, you give me hope.

  - What strange things are you saying, brother? I only think this way because you have shown and taught me that it is better to build than to destroy. I also saw with great sorrow what happens if you let yourself drown in your hatred, but I'll explain it to you later. Moreover, it's not that I have forgiven all humans, but I won't condemn them either; it's just that I want to focus on our people, for them to feel proud of their lineage and for us to grow together.

  - I'm glad you want to seek everyone's happiness, but I must tell you something else and I beg you that what I'm going to say does not change your opinion; however, you have the right to know, I hope I'm not mistaken. ..................... Where do I start? Where do I start? Do you perceive the same mana where the magic seal is up ahead?

  - Yes?

  - This is how the humans got here, they used a crystal that was imbued with that mana; I don't think they suspected anything about the magic seal, they were just looking for the mineral, but the crystal must be …………… I ………………… the great ancestor believes that the only option is that it has to be from Tammat. I'm sorry, Garrl, I think that's why Kirkarrg ran into them; they also have the great serpent's. If you concentrate, you will also perceive their residual mana.

  - Our mother's glass? Are you serious! Did they extract it and want it to locate and destroy the legacy of our people and the great ancestors? And they also extracted it from the great serpent!

  - I'm sorry.

  - And why are you apologizing? It was those damn humans! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, they really want me to drown in my hatred for them, but you know what? Fuck them! Let's go for our mother's and our friend's glass; she doesn't deserve to be near those humans, or any other human!

  We continued walking in the direction where we perceived the crystal of Tammat should be. During that short time, Garrl's last words kept spinning in my head: "of no other human." Does that include me? I couldn't get that idea out of my head. Upon arrival, Garrl's anger had been replaced by sadness as he took his mother's crystal between his claws and began to pray. He asked me to accompany him, as she was also my mother, and out of respect for him and Tammat, I did.

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  While we prayed, I still wondered so many things. Here, amidst the corpses of humans, I was once again accompanying my kobold brother in his pain, a pain caused by my former species. Did I deserve to be here, paying my respects? I couldn't stop asking myself that question.

  After the prayer was over, we approached the crystal of the great serpent; even though we knew she was dead, feeling her mana faintly hurt, because it confirmed her death. Memories of her and her friendship came to my mind as we prayed. In the end, Garrl stood up and asked me what I had been fearing for so long, but which I can no longer keep hidden.

  - Do you still think we can get along with humans? If it were up to me, I would get rid of each and every one of them, just like we did today. Why do you think there are good humans? Where do you get that idea, if since we hatched, they have only given us pain? Does it have to do with what you've been hiding from me and are afraid to tell me?

  - …………………………. I ……………………. I promised to tell you everything after this fight and I keep it, I …………………….………. I can't blame you for hating humans; I partly hate them too, but I know from my heritage that not all of them can be bad, because ………… because ………… I ……………… The truth is that I'm afraid you'll hate me, that you'll distance yourself from me. I want to help you; I've been trying to do it all this time, not out of any obligation or inheritance, but just because you are my brother and you saved me. Maybe I'm selfish because I don't want to be left alone; I've already lost so much and I don't want to lose more.

  - Breigon, I would never hate you; you are my brother, you have taught me so much, I know you are different and that has helped us. Trust me, as I trust you; no matter what it is, you will never stop being my brother, Breigon.

  - Even if I told you that I was once a ………………… a human? ... Not this world, but after all, a human of the kind you hate so much, Garrl. With all due reason.

  I said it, I could no longer hide it, I could no longer backtrack, it's all or nothing. This would define who Garrl would be, if our dream would be the same, if our friendship ends here, but if I want to make a change, Garrl must understand why, although I don't know if it's possible.

  I waited for Garrl to say something, but he didn't. He was confused; I could see it on his face, he didn't know how to react or he was hoping I would tell him it was a very bad joke. I waited, clutching the crystal of the great serpent that I carried, and I waited, but he said nothing; so, I decided to continue.

  - I don't know how I got here; one night I just came home from work tired, wanting only to sleep, and suddenly I woke up inside an egg as a kobold. That's why I behaved differently, that's why I couldn't speak until Kirkarrg passed on his language to me, that's why I have that strange heritage for you, because it's from my life as a human and that's why I didn't tell you; I knew you hated humans, so I thought you would hate me and abandon me. I was and still am afraid of that. I lost my loved ones from my life as a human, I couldn't even say goodbye to them, and I woke up here, in a body so different and a place so strange and dangerous, but then you helped me. You saved me not just that day in the nest, but ever since you decided to consider me as your brother, I knew I wouldn't be alone in this madness. I didn't want to lose that; I'm terrified of losing that. I'm sorry, if you decide to hate me, I'll understand, but please, just allow me to accompany you until you're safe with other kobolds; then I'll disappear from your life.

  - Don't you dare say that you'll disappear! …… I ……. I don't understand … I ………….… I don't understand … ...I don't understand... How? How? Why? Is that why you defended the humans? Is that why you didn't want to kill them? Was the whole great ancestor thing a lie?

  - The how and the why, I don't know. Of humans, of course, in my world there have been and still are bad people, but also good people; my parents were among them, as well as other family members and friends, whom I still miss, but there were also other people I only knew from history books and the media, people who gave everything for others without expecting anything in return; and killing, well, I was taught that it's wrong, just like that. From the great ancestor Drazird, he is indeed real and has helped us, and he also knows that my soul or essence is human, and of course, at first, he hated me, but in the end, I think he accepted me, and I am grateful for that. I thank him for everything; without him, we would have died that day after facing those two humans and we also wouldn't have completed the magic seal without his knowledge. But I also thank him for teaching me, just like you, just like Kirkarrg, and just like Tammat, that I should be proud of my lineage and accept my new life, to be grateful for being a kobold, despite everything that has happened to us. ……………………… I don't know what else to say, Garrl, other than I'm sorry for hiding it from you for so long and expecting you to understand.

  I didn't know what to think, my brother Breigon, was he a human? How is that possible? But a human! Just like those who have caused us so much harm. No! He is not the same. Since I saw him being born, I knew he was different, although I never thought it would be this much.

  Now everything makes sense, his way of being, his way of behaving, not knowing how to walk. I thought it was because he was a wanderer, but no, his strange heritage! Wait, everything he taught me is from humans? Did he deceive me? Just like humans do! But he's my brother, he helped me, he accompanied me in my pain, no, in our pain. My head was about to explode with so many doubts and remembering everything I lived through with my brother, can I still see him as my brother?

  But the great ancestor Drazird accepted him, but is his essence human? I was caught between my hatred for humans and my affection for my brother; but then I turned to look at him, and I only saw my brother Breigon, who managed to awaken his lineage, who was chosen by one of our great ancestors, but above all I saw my brother in fear, lowering his head in shame as he clung to the crystal of our great friend, as if hoping she wouldn't leave him alone.

  What am I doing? Am I seriously judging my brother, and why? For being my brother, for being by my side, for helping me grow, for having a dream and wanting to help our people, for giving almost his life to protect our heritage, am I really judging him? I see my mother's crystal, who is also Breigon's mother. She protected him, Kirrkarrg protected him, and I protected him; that's when I realized my great mistake.

  - Breigon, I'm sorry.

  I felt so embarrassed. He is my brother Breigon, and together we have a dream that we will fulfill, and as I hug him, I say to him.

  - I truly apologize, I promised you to trust me, that you would always be my brother, and what did I do: I doubted you, I made you feel the fear you dreaded so much. I'm sorry, I'm not worthy, forgive me, I don't understand many things, but what I do understand is that you are my brother; no matter if your essence or if in your previous life you were human, I accept you just as you are. You are my brother! And we are together.

  I hugged my brother tightly, fearing that he would no longer trust me, but he only said, "Thank you, Garrl," and we stood there, wondering so many things, but none that would make me doubt that Breigon is and will always be my brother.