I Am The Game's Villain Chapter 764: [The Rewritten Lost Past] [4]

Amael glided effortlessly across the heavens, as if the skies were his natural domain—and in truth, they largely were.

His strides propelled him onward, the breeze yielding to his command. Indeed, he was a Demigod, but even beyond that, the potent Core Bloodline of House Falkrona surged within his veins. Flying wasn't merely an ability for him; it defined his very essence.

In reality, he navigated the winds more skillfully than many avian creatures crafted expressly for aerial mastery.

Yet he'd readily concede that he hadn't yet matched a dragon's prowess. Perhaps he never would.

That notion curved his mouth into a grin right as a group of those majestic beasts appeared nearby, enormous and formidable forms slicing through the lofty gales with elegant poise. Dragons. A handful of them, traversing their rugged homeland in a relaxed squadron.

The instant they detected him, their gazes shifted to him with caution.

Next, they noted the silvery locks streaming in the gusts. The striking silver gaze.

Tension dissolved in a flash, supplanted by an emotion not quite affectionate—dragons rarely warmed to others—but the nearest equivalent they could offer. Acknowledgment and a sense of kinship.

They recognized one who truly fit among them, or at minimum had proven worthy of safe passage without facing fiery retribution by default.

This was the individual who frequented their lair with such regularity and audacity that it continued to puzzle many. Who strode amidst them unarmed, without bared steel?

A companion to the dragon kind. Such phrasing might seem ridiculous from another's lips, yet for Amael, it rang utterly true.

It was exceptionally uncommon. As a race, dragons held scant regard for humankind, and justifiably so. Mortals possessed an infuriating tendency to behold beings of immense might and splendor and immediately plot their subjugation. The bondage of dragons had plagued relations since their worlds intertwined, and the beasts' reprisal remained unwavering and direct: attempt restraint, and they'd reduce your possessions to cinders, deeming it just recompense.

However, Amael defied nearly every human norm, beginning with the crucial detail that he wasn't wholly mortal anyway.

Precisely half divine, or possibly three-quarters. Sprung from the coupling of a half-Goddess mother and Nihil, Eden's Guardian God and among the mightiest deities alive. That lineage alone elevated him to a separate realm, distinguishing him from the typical folk fueling dragonkind's ire.

Beyond lineage and godly roots lay his bond with Vysindra. Even those dragons irked by Amael's visits could scarcely object when he commanded the ear and true fondness of their sovereign.

Amael traversed the dragon's mountainous realm, threading past summits, drawn unerringly to the grandest peak at its core. He'd undertaken this path so often that he could manage it sightless.

From afar, he already discerned Vysindra—the vast violet wings proved impossible to overlook, extended indolently over the leveled mountaintop like a monarch opting for an open-air seat at the utmost elevation.

A grin bloomed on Amael's features as he accelerated, darting toward the crest.

He skipped any courteous landing and approach. Rather, he angled in and alighted straight onto one of those immense violet wings, his boots meeting the armored hide.

'Napping as usual, Vysindra,' Amael hailed casually, folding his arms and peering downward.

'Get off,' came the rumble in reply as Vysindra jerked his wings with abrupt vigor, unleashing a gusting blast outward.

Amael vaulted ahead from the wing ere being fully dislodged, tracing a graceful loop through the air before settling gracefully on the summit’s level rock, right before the colossal dragon’s snout. Vysindra had raised his massive head from its restful spot, his vast amber-gold orbs locking onto Amael.

'Why the sour mood this morning, Vysindra?' Amael inquired, cocking his head.

Vysindra's retort was a brief, fierce huff paired with a puff of violet blaze.

'Let me guess,' Amael continued, utterly unfazed by the flames licking so close. 'A challenge to your rule?'

'That, and your wretched kin,' Vysindra huffed. 'Yet again. Perpetually your wretched kin, devising fresh and ingenious schemes to bind us and our offspring whenever chance arises.' His amber-gold gaze tightened. 'As if prior attempts haven't taught them the inevitable outcome.'

'I can't account for every decision,' Amael responded. 'I can't justify others' actions, Vysindra. Though I'd dearly wish to at times.'

Vysindra issued another huff.

'Someday,' Vysindra warned, 'I won't manage to restrain them longer. Those craving vengeance over equity—I can curb that only so far before restraint turns traitorous.' His enormous eyes fixed on Amael with a steely spark. 'When it arrives... I truly hope you're not opposing me.'

'I hope I won't need to slay you either, Vysindra,' Amael answered plainly.

'Hmph.' The noise blended disdain and growl. 'As if you could.'

Amael chuckled. He advanced and extended a hand, delivering a firm slap to one of Vysindra’s vast wings, akin to a chummy pat on a comrade’s back.

'Don't fret,' he assured breezily. 'I mean it, Vysindra. I won't allow it to escalate there. If necessary, if direct action's required, I'll intervene. I'll wield my rank and sway to maximum effect. I'll ensure the proper ears catch wind and suffer repercussions.'

He rarely relished exploiting his standing. Amael had largely shunned the godly intrigues tied to his birth. Yet boundaries existed to his aloofness. The dragons merited breaching that for—he truly esteemed them, honored their nature, and grasped that a folk of such feats warranted shielding from humanity's darkest impulses.

Moreover, like any kin, dragons boasted virtues and vices. He knew Vysindra's alignment well.

'If only your sire held that worry,' Vysindra remarked, valuing Amael's vow yet compelled to invoke Nihil. 'Isn't he a Guardian of this realm? Doesn't that role demand safeguarding it? Fostering some harmony among its dwellers?'

'He is a Guardian,' Amael conceded, 'but their creed favors watching over meddling. They opt to observe, permitting destiny and results to unfold organically. Unless a threat endangers them gravely, an apocalyptic peril, they deem it outside their duty to act outright.'

Vysindra expelled another contemptuous flame burst. 'A persistent clash between dragons and humans lacks gravity for them? The more I learn of your father and his ilk, the slimmer my esteem grows.'

Amael laughed once more.

'I echo your views, Vysindra. You know I disapprove of his approaches too. His mindset, his focuses—none align with mine.' He shrugged. 'I'd gladly sever all ties to him, Eden, or that whole sphere if possible. But alas, emerging as the Vessel of the notorious Samael Eveningstar renders total detachment a fanciful notion.'

'Had I such a sire,' Vysindra shot back, 'I'd pour every ounce into maximizing separation from him.'

'Oh, I've attempted it,' Amael sighed in response. 'He invariably tracks me down, wherever I hide.' He hesitated briefly. 'Though lately, I discovered a splendid haven. A spot I'm certain even he wouldn't suspect. When I crave true solitude undisturbed, I'd retreat there, and he'd never locate me.'

Ere Vysindra could reply, Amael took a quick step and bounded, resettling on the dragon’s expansive wing. He sprawled backward casually, lacing fingers behind his skull and gazing at the vast heavens overhead.

This occasion, Vysindra forbore from bucking him loose.

'A splendid haven where none could find you, not even Nihil,' Vysindra echoed, intrigued. 'Now you've piqued my curiosity fully.'

'Not a chance, old wing,' Amael countered, eyes shut, a faint grin tugging his lips. 'That mystery remains mine alone. Even from you.'

Vysindra huffed and dropped the matter.

'I've heard the Celesta-Arvatra war drags on,' he noted, pivoting topics.

'Ever the case,' Amael affirmed. 'Mortals, humans, or any ephemeral folk clashing over vanity and avarice. New era, timeless tale.'

'That's just your flawed essence,' Vysindra stated sharply.

Amael cracked one eye and angled his head. 'When will you cease grouping me with them?' He winced. 'I share no link with those fools.'

'You feign indifference,' Vysindra observed, his amber-gold eyes flicking toward the lounger on his wing, 'but you care. At minimum, you cherish this world. You yearn for its tranquility. That's ever defined you, admitted or not.'

Amael fell silent briefly. The grin softened to a truer, subtler expression.

'I originated here,' he stated plainly, eyes fixed skyward. 'My mother did too. I refuse to witness it devolve into a hellish inferno.' He halted. 'That's the extent of it.'

Vysindra rumbled deeply. 'It shan't reach that, provided your folk cease provoking us. Your kind excels at crafting novel provocations against far mightier beings.' His tone shadowed. 'One fellow presently fancies himself supreme. A certain Redhoran.'

Amael's eyebrow arched faintly. 'Redhoran.' He mulled the name. 'It sounds vaguely familiar.'

'A son begotten by Apollo upon a mortal female,' Vysindra explained.

'Apollo.' Amael scowled. 'What an utter nuisance.'

'Like every spawn of that loathsome self-proclaimed God King,' Vysindra interjected scornfully. 'The title's hubris alone sours one's tolerance.'

'No disagreement there,' Amael conceded, raising a palm in accord. Then, after a pause—'Though fairly, his daughters have fared far superior to his sons. Among the scant I've encountered of his... vast progeny, that is.'

Vysindra cackled approvingly.

'A figure of rampant and seemingly boundless lust,' the dragon quipped, eyes alight with mirth. 'One might credit him for securing his lineage's endurance doubtlessly. Perhaps you ought to study his example.'

Amael's scowl intensified. 'Emulate that wretch? One who's likely forgotten most of his offspring's names? No thanks.' He shook his head. 'Anyway, I'm already committed—to two ladies, in fact.'

'Oh?' Vysindra's attention honed instantly. 'Now you've hooked me.'

'My mother,' Amael deadpanned flawlessly, 'and Ephera.'

Vysindra paused precisely a beat.

'I'll pretend the first name escaped me,' he declared. 'Yet you've prattled endlessly about this elusive Ephera. A lady I've inexplicably never glimpsed, despite your frequent visits. She stays hypothetical to me.'

'She’s real,' Amael groaned. 'I'll escort her here personally someday to demonstrate. When the moment suits.'

'And what use would that serve me?' Vysindra derided. 'I require no verification of your affections. I possess an exquisite spouse of my own, thanks.'

'Such a faithful, adoring mate,' Amael remarked, rolling his eyes. 'A true beacon for us all.'

'The finest fortune I've known,' Vysindra affirmed earnestly. Then his huge amber eyes drifted back to Amael. 'But if loneliness gnaws at you—and evidently it does, despite your quips about your mother and this phantom lady—there's truly no harm in pursuing one to truly claim your heart. Lest time claim you as a virgin.'

The dragon's mocking laughter followed swiftly.

Amael contemplated the firmament awhile before answering. His tone, when it came, shed its levity for a subdued candor.

'I'm nearly divine, Vysindra,' he noted. 'I hardly wish to outlast all I hold dear. To see loved ones wither and vanish as I remain unchanged. I've pondered it deeply; it's no light matter.'

'Then seek among the immortals,' Vysindra suggested, gentler now. 'Fellow deities, entities to match your span. Certainly some has stirred you, one whose days align with yours.'

'You know,' Amael observed, glancing aside with a spectral grin, 'you're oddly fixated on my romances, Vysindra. Far more than my father ever bothered. I can't tell if that amuses or saddens me.'

Vysindra's deep chuckle resounded.

Amael's grin held briefly, then mellowed as his gaze returned upward.

'Well,' he murmured, almost soliloquizing, 'there is one. Perhaps someone I love. But she seems... unattainable. Utterly, perhaps. And neither parent would cheer my pursuit of her.'

'And who,' Vysindra queried, 'might elude you while displeasing both progenitors at once?'

Amael's grin resurfaced. 'Oh, you know her intimately. More than many. You're the initial folk she forged, drawn straight from her essence.'

Vysindra froze utterly.

Then his colossal amber-gold eyes widened enormously.

'You love that Khaos Princess.' He voiced it as if verifying a cataclysm. 'Merithra.'

'I never claimed that,' Amael rejoined promptly, scrutinizing the heavens with feigned detachment. 'I said I admire her defiant spirit. The rare times my negligent father unraveled were near her.'

'Not another syllable,' Vysindra declared. 'Your feminine preferences are utterly, deeply warped, and I won't indulge further. And I'm certain this Ephera mirrors Merithra precisely.'

'Ephera's a gentle soul,' Amael retorted, shooting him a glare. 'She wouldn't harm a gnat. She's the antithesis of chaotic.'

'I credit none of your words regarding the women in your world,' Vysindra snorted. 'Now off my wings!'