Chapter 16

A gigantic meteor burst through the clouds, revealing its enormous form.

In the eyes of the dragons watching it, there was shock, fear, and despair.

“Mo-Mom?! What on earth is that?!”

“Mom?! Please don’t get angry!!!”

“Oh my god…”

I’ve never had to exert this much power before; it’s really making me work for it.

“Mom! We messed up!!! Please forgive us!!!”

“I’m so, so sorry, Mom….”

“If that thing falls, the world will be demolished! It’ll be completely wrecked!!!”

The immense pressure from the giant meteor crushes down on the world. It’s so heavy that even these tough dragon bodies can barely move under the weight.

The meteor hasn’t even hit the ground properly yet, and already, a massive crater has begun to form in the plain.

If this is just the forewarning, what will happen when the meteor actually hits?

Well, obviously, the world would be obliterated.

“You underestimated me too much, so I just wanted to show you what I’m capable of.”

“Mother?!”

“Of course, I have no intention of letting that meteor fall.”

Because I don’t actually want to see this world destroyed.

I just want to show these foolish kids a taste of my power.

I completely cleared the clouds away and gazed at the meteor revealing its true form.

A massive meteor, glowing red as it hurtles through the atmosphere—like a mountain, seriously.

If that thing crashes down, the ground would flip upside down, the lava would boil, and the debris thrown up from the impact would create a gigantic dust cloud to cloak the world.

But that kind of destruction isn’t what I’m after.

I collected my magical power in my mouth and let it burst out.

A silver breath. The quality contained within it?… Annihilation.

The breath of destruction that eliminates everything it touches.

A silver streak, reminiscent of the Milky Way, strikes the giant meteor head-on.

“Mother’s breath…?”

“How could such a breath possibly deal with that meteor…!”

Despair still clung to the kids’ eyes.

It seemed like throwing a bucket of water on a raging wildfire, which, honestly, was a reasonable thought.

But then…

BOOM!

When the breath hit the meteor, the whole situation flipped upside down.

The breath penetrated the meteor, just like poking soft tofu with chopsticks, and then slowly spread, enveloping the entire thing.

The silver mist annihilates everything it touches, transforming it back into magical energy, and it started to whittle away at the meteor.

In just a few seconds, numerous cracks spiderweb from the silver hole, and the giant meteor turns silver before shattering into pieces and scattering everywhere.

Without a single shard remaining, the dragons could only stand there in silence.

“Have you forgotten who brought life into this world? Who gave you your bodies? If I wished, I could destroy this world by myself! And yet, you thought I’d just sit here quietly.”

Fear filled the children’s eyes. Shock flooded through them. Dread loomed large.

It was too late. There’s no going back now.

But maybe, in a strange way, this is for the best.

“My children, return your scales.”

I spoke softly.

“You failed to control your children properly. You failed to manage them. Until my patience ran out, you brought forth no results, merely exploiting loopholes to create chaos.”

I approached the nearest child.

Sylphid.

“Return to the wind.”

“Mo-Mom!”

As I plucked the silver scale from Sylphid’s jaw, Sylphid disintegrated into a gust of wind.

Not dead or obliterated, mind you.

Just their sense of self scattered due to the loss of their physical form.

Just like with Ifrit, after some time, they’ll return to their original whirlwind self.

“Thetis.”

“Mo-Mom….”

“Return to the sea.”

“N-No!!”

Thetis shook her head, clearly not wanting to return, but it was already too late.

Haven’t you not listened to my words? Haven’t I given you countless chances?

If you didn’t want to return, shouldn’t you have been a better manager for the kids?

Now, with the silver scale from under her jaw taken away, Thetis turned into water and scattered.

As this water flows to the ocean, she’ll awaken once more.

“Sagarmatha.”

“Yeah. Sorry, Mom.”

“Return to where you belong.”

Sagarmatha accepted their punishment in silence and surrendered the silver scale without a fuss.

Thus, Sagarmatha’s shining scale faded into dust and scattered away.

The forehead of this silent world will find its way back to its rightful place.

“Yggdrasil.”

“I’m sorry, Mom. We should’ve done better…”

“Regret is always too late. Return to your original form—a tree.”

I removed the scale from beneath Yggdrasil’s jaw, and its green scale transformed into leaves of the same color, scattering away.

When the buds sprout, leaves grow, and flowers bloom on Yggdrasil’s original form—an enormous tree—it will revive once again.

“Shamash.”

“Uh, Mom…”

“Shamash.”

“I-I’m sorry. I am…. I am….”

“Shamash.”

I called Shamash’s name three times, and finally, she offered up her scale.

“I’m really… sorry….”

“This is a punishment. A punishment for not managing your children properly.”

“Mom….”

“And it’s also a punishment for me. For not managing you correctly. Even though we don’t share blood, it’s still a punishment for taking away my precious children’s physical forms.”

I took Shamash’s silver scale, and she vanished in a dazzling light.

And for the last time…

“Erebus.”

“Mother.”

The child, as dark as a shadow, looked up at me.

“Do you have any last words?”

“I’m sorry. I was too foolish. I was too hasty.”

“You shouldn’t be apologizing to me. You should have apologized to your children.”

What must have been the feelings of those kids who had to be sacrificed for the greedy whims of parents like me?

Still, how must those kids have felt, complying with their parents’ orders despite everything?

That’s why I couldn’t just let Erebus go.

He was smarter than the others, a good kid longing for family.

I had to do something.

“Return to the darkness.”

I should have paid more attention. Could I have done better? If I could rewind time, would I achieve a better outcome?

I don’t know. It’s exactly that: I don’t know.

I just felt exhausted.

“Hand over the scale.”

I reached out towards Erebus’s jaw.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, an explosion of magical power erupted from Erebus’s silver scale.

“Erebus? What have you done this time?!”

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

Was this due to the explosion? The silver scale beneath Erebus’s jaw split into two.

“I’m truly, genuinely sorry.”

And just like that, Erebus sank into the shadows and vanished.

“Erebus? Erebus?!”

Even when I called his name again, there was no response.

[Erebus! Show yourself!]

Even though I shouted with my heart and magical power, Erebus didn’t make an appearance.

Did he really not want to lose his scale that badly?

What kind of greed was this?

All I wanted was to live peacefully alongside the other kids.

Where did it all go wrong? From the very beginning? Was it when I handed the scales to the children? Or was it when those children wished to share their scales with other dragons like me?

I was left feeling nothing but regret.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The Creator Dragon is a unique faith upheld by Lizardmen. It’s a primal belief that this world was created by a gigantic silver dragon and that wrongdoers will be taken away by the Destruction Dragon, the mate of the Creator Dragon.

Scholars argue that the origin of this faith stems from primitive dragon worship. They claim it dates back to the age when countless dragons ruled the earth.

To the primitive Lizardmen, who were the earth’s first inhabitants before humans, the presence of strong, imposing dragons was akin to divine beings.

And this faith in the Creator Dragon mentions the existence of the Destruction Dragon, who brings everything to an end. It holds that when this world fills with sin, the benevolent Creator Dragon will lose faith and transform into the Destruction Dragon, which will lead to the world’s ruin.

Lizardmen assert that the obsidian spear gifted by the Creator Dragon is evidence of its existence. They say the Destruction Dragon awakened from its slumber due to the anger borne of sin and war during an age filled with dragons.

Afterward, the Lizardmen claimed the Destruction Dragon obliterated the majority of the dragons that disappointed it, though scholars don’t accept that claim.

The most likely cause pointed to for the end of the Age of Dragons is the cataclysm brought by a gigantic meteorite. It’s claimed countless dragons sacrificed their own lives to prevent a meteorite capable of destroying the world from crashing down.

This assertion is backed by dating numerous dragon corpses excavated from dragon burial sites and experimental evidence that traces the thick magical layers created by vast magical energy used to dismantle the meteorite, all appearing at the same time. This theory is currently the most widely accepted one.

– The Faith of the Lizardmen: The Creator Dragon and the Age of Dragons.