The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 85

The fact that all of this was somehow connected to Sylvia didn’t surprise me. If anything, it just confirmed everything that I had presumed until now.

But...

Lady Sylvia...

The daughter of the highest position of power in a land of deities...

Even with my status as a king in my previous life, a figure of such stature would be someone I could only kneel down in submission to.

A dry lump caught in my throat as I stared down at my bond. Of course, the possibility of Sylvie being the actual child of Sylvia was always there, but due to the circumstances of her being chased by the black-horned demons... the Vritra Clan, I could never confirm. The fact that Sylvie’s appearance looked vastly different from her mother also didn’t help.

Grandpa Virion’s voice suddenly popped into my mind. He was the one that confirmed that Sylvie was a dragon. From what he told me and what I’d read, while dragons were extraordinarily rare and powerful, nothing mentioned them being higher beings, let alone Asuras.

"So are the dragons written down in past texts actually deities?" I inquired.

Windsom faced me, letting out an impatient sigh. "No. While there are lesser races that have descended from us deities, it is rather offensive to compare us. I will put aside the biology lesson for another time, but there are general facts you do need to know. While there are special exceptions due to innate differences in each clan, in most cases, deities have three main forms. The humanoid form that I am in currently, a draconic form which is most likely the form that Lady Sylvia had used to pass down her will to you, and a third form which integrates both humanoid and draconic aspects."

"Then you’re saying that Sylvie has a human form?" I couldn’t help but point a finger at my bond in exasperation.

"Yes, but Lady Sylvia must have cast a seal on her own daughter, because the mana signature that she is producing is not nearly the same as it should be. Arthur, how did you come to meet her?"

"Before Sylvia was killed or taken away by the black-horned demons, she gave me a stone that turned out to be what I figured was an egg," I clicked my tongue. Explaining this made me recall some unpleasant memories.

"Black-horned demons?" Windsom tilted his head.

"It’s how I describe them because of their appearance. From what you told me just now, though, they seem to be what you call the Vritra Clan."

"Indeed, the Vritra Clan is known for their prominent onyx horns... While this was one of the most probable outcomes, it also means that there is very little hope that she is alive. Arthur, Lady Sylvia undoubtedly put a seal on her child in hopes that the Vritra Clan would not be able to find her." For once, there was a twinge of emotion on Windsom’s face that wasn’t annoyance. I could see the sadness glazed over his eyes as he took a moment to gather himself.

"So does that mean deities are usually born in a humanoid form?" I couldn’t help but ask.

"Yes. Our draconic form uses up a lot of our mana so we spend most of our time in our humanoid form. However, just like how I can shift into the form of a smaller animal, Lady Sylvia’s daughter seems to be in that form to conserve energy."

"You keep referring to her as Lady Sylvia’s daughter, but she has a name. It’s Sylvie. I named her after Sylvia," I pointed out. "Also, is it possible for Sylvie to turn into her humanoid form now?"

At this, Windsom merely shook his head before responding. "Most likely not. The humanoid form is the most natural for us, so if Lady Sylvia’s—Lady Sylvie, was able to transform into this form, she would’ve done so already."

There was a torrent of questions flooding my mind now that I knew for a fact that Sylvie was an Asura. Imagining her in a human form was hard enough, but what did it mean for us since we were bonded? Did Asuras bond to each other in Epheotus? Although Sylvie was the one that initiated the bond, it wasn’t something that I could imagine doing with someone that looked like a human.

I knew Windsom would say something along the lines of, ’I’ll only tell you what is necessary for you to know right now,’ so I pushed those thoughts aside and pressed on what we talked about earlier.

"So since Sylvia, the daughter of a very important figure to you deities, did give her will to me, that makes me automatically involved in this upcoming fight that you guys are most likely going to have with the Vritra Clan and co., right? Also, the fact that Sylvie, the granddaughter of the so-called very important figure, is bonded to me begs another question... Are you planning on taking her back to Epheotus?" My eyes narrowed as I tried to read Windsom’s expression.

"Yes. Dumbing it down quite a bit, that is the essence of what I explained to you. You may or may not have figured out just how mysterious and powerful Lady Sylvia’s powers are. Even if you were able to unlock some of the mana arts only she could use, I doubt you were able to tap into a fraction of her true abilities. Arthur, even Asuras would drool in greed at the thought of receiving Lady Sylvia’s powers. While even she wasn’t able to fully control them, her powers had...have the potential to outstrip her father’s." There was a look of longing and respect in this Asura’s eyes as he explained all of this.

"Of course. Do you think that my master will stand idly now, knowing that he has a granddaughter? Arthur, you are the last one to have seen Lady Sylvia. On top of that, she has passed on to you, her mana signature. You may not realize what that means but to us Asuras, it would be metaphorically pulling out your own mana core and giving it away. If she was forced into a state where she had no choice but to do this, we have no choice but to assume she has passed away." _{freёwebnoѵel.com}