A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

“It’s done! Raaargh!” Vifi slapped her palms as she showed me a ferocious smile, standing proudly on the corpse of a griffon-sized reindeer after she finished skinning it. Covered in some light blood that was being washed away from the melting snow on her clothes, Vifi looked like a proper hunter as she sheathed her knife. “Ahhh, can’t wait to get somebody to tailor this up for us!”

Today was the 11th of HarvestBloom, in other words, it was the day after I woke up after our little encounter with the ice elemental king. After getting ready with a good breakfast and warm shower, including hiring Jadhund and his dwarven artificers and craftsman to help us fix our equipment, Vifi and I returned to the glacier through the subspace portal and we managed to dig ourselves out of the mountain after some time, before using that dug up cavern as a resting place for the rest of the night.

Yothmlak was nowhere to be seen. Vifi couldn’t detect any of his scales that she was so used to seeing, nor could we find any of his valuables. Fortunate, really, since the ice elemental king’s core was, well, far too large to bring around without making it conspicuous. Of course, we weren’t that foolish to lug it around with us, so we placed it in the subspace after we notified Lady Hestia about everything.

Haaaaaa… my aching heart managed to find rest after I personally made sure that Lady Hestia was very healthy, aside from her broken core. To see her bright smile and hear her angelic voice after nearly ten days of being away from her… it felt like my perseverance mattered. Sadly, due to her father’s decree, she couldn’t enter the subspace, and I couldn’t serve her any tea. Tsk. I was quite close to voicing my complaints about His Imperial Majesty, but the annoyance couldn’t be compared to how long I had to endure Yothmlak’s ceaseless prattling.

My, I am quite willing to criticize him now that I have a reason to consider him, at best, a neutral. Still so many questions.

Considering what we had heard from Yothmlak, he embodied quite a few values you would expect from an Istari follower—a true mage. Knowledge was a currency for many of the Istari religion, and to seek and unveil the unknown was a pathway to true power. The fact Yothmlak was so interested in the elementals and the peak, not to mention how he tried to persuade me to follow him for real was frightening now that I knew the truth.

He caused the current issue in the glaciers, yes, but it still didn’t answer some other questions I had. Why and how did that mandril possess the spear Her Imperial Majesty’s mother created? Why are the elementals following them and hunting dragons? Was it due to Yothmlak that the other dragonkin were slain? Honestly, this coincidental meeting with the elemental king might have just created even more questions in my head.

Yet, the mystery shall be revealed once we progress on this quest of ours. Lady Hestia, the twins, and Lord Rhekkraxus needed to stay behind and find Prince Nongramos. Aside from staying hidden to regrow her core, she did confirm what Vifi said about preparing a big “event” with, surprisingly, Gravy of all people. Her little monster room core seemed to have had a small growth spurt due to Lady Hestia’s absence.

Certainly, one way to show your loyalty to Lady Hestia, and I couldn’t help but agree with little Gravy. A wise decision to act in her interest without being issued an order.

Well, aside from that, I did hear that Shay and Beth were now trying to search for Prince Nongramos as he hadn’t shown himself anywhere at all. With Shay gaining the [Hestia’s Imperial Guard] title just like me, he was leading by example by taking charge of retrieving our best combatant against Yothmlak, in the case we had to fight him once we reached the peaks.Which begged the question: was I truly willing to take up the role as the “ice elemental king” of the Frozen Nest glaciers? I mean, it did fit with what Empress Melloxtressa suggested when she told me my body and wardress could possibly transform by being in contact with the pure ice mana of the peaks. Absorbing some, like the ice elementals, wishing to achieve divinity, could help. Now I knew it would help if the ice elemental king were to be believed.

I just had to decide if I wanted all the power, or just some, so I could remain as Lady Hestia’s maid forever.

“Should be enough to get us proper coats, but don’t expect enchantments, unless we buy some of the already enchanted pelts,” I stated as I examined the well-dismantled reindeer pelt. “Although… a low-level rank B is still better than the dragonewt-scaled pelts you could buy.”

I then turned to the carcass, examining the numerous knife wounds Vifi and I inflicted when we slew this monster, barely having any trouble in doing so. We probably could have done a better job of preserving more of the pelt, but this monster’s muscles are massive. Tough as metal, and it didn’t bleed much either. It took Vifi smashing the poor beast’s skull in with a thunder warhammer to slay it efficiently and cleanly.

“… Priscilla will love this.”

“Oooh, she will! It’ll be a challenge for her!” Vifi smirked as she smacked the carcass, beginning to dismantle the body into meat chunks. “Ahhh, freedom! Fresh air, the scent of blood in the air, and a lack of dragon snoring!”

“Your excitement is certainly bringing the berserker side of you out.”

“True. Probably should keep it to myself, but I’ve been itching to eat some pastries and seasoned meat for days, now! Felt like being stuck in the slums again with the routine of our days. Work, survive, sleep; every day, every second. You really start to appreciate even simple delicacies if you only get smelly fish to eat, or in this case, grilled meat.” Vifi twirled her knife, cleaning the blood and viscera off.

“I can see that. You are far more animated than usual.” I noticed. “Are you sure Lord Sanzaphon’s mana drain didn’t somehow change you more than just a few percentage points?”

“Without a doubt!”

“So your L.E.P. uptime is just lower than usual because of all the arguments you had with Yothmlak? I dislike suggesting this, but maybe if you were to argue with people more, maybe that would stop your lower energy self?” I said, knowing wrath demonkin were prone to feeling depressed if they didn’t receive any emotional stimuli. Vifi’s bad mood and sharp tongue were caused by this very fact, and the moment she felt anything emotional impact, her personality would shift completely. At her peak, it would be similar to Lady Hestia showing [Battle Frenzy] symptoms.

“I do not know! [Original Sin: Satanael]’s death save effect is rarely noted in records! It saves you from death once, but if you can’t flee, you’ll quickly get killed because you lose most of your wrath powers. I know there is no noted recovery from the curse, but I don’t think any former Warbringer and Prince of Wrath had access to a mana dragon that eats mana. The fact that I can raise my emotions over 15% is already unprecedented.”

“That number might rise if Klea is saved.”

“Oh, don’t start me on Lady Lust. I’ve been waiting for a year for her to help me out, but look at me. A dragon helped me out more than she did, and this isn’t even talking about Donut’s cousin blackmailing me for a cure for it.”

I giggled a bit as I helped Vifi load up the meat chunks on a floating ice table. “Maybe so, I apologize. Then, maybe it is more of a psychological issue? Remembering how you acted when all your emotions reached 100%, it made me remember how the Kargryxmor clan uses [Battle Frenzy], and the mantra associated with it.”

“Former wrathies have only tested various ways to control our emotions. It doesn’t work.”

“None of them have access to the unique way Kargryxmor dragons control their natural battle lust.”

“Uuuuurgh, then maybe you should have suggested this before we went through all of this.”

“It took you being annoyed with a dragon that you can complain to without hurting our lady’s reputation for you to show these results. Though, honestly, the most likely answer is due to Lord Sanzaphon. He probably unlocked something with how your demonic mana works. Like a blockade, or something.”

It felt soothing being able to talk with Vifi like this. Our carefree talks, despite being wary of our surroundings in case of a blizzard or the appearance of Yothmlak, were refreshing after all that happened.

After we delivered the meat and fur into the subspace, Vifi and I continued on our journey through the glaciers, using the mountain and a pile of snow to stay as hidden as possible from anything flying above us. Thankfully, due to the height of the snow, this was entirely possible as the tunnels we dug wouldn’t show on the surface. One of the benefits of the amount of blizzards.

Speaking of which, another one actually happened on the evening of the same day. How fun.

“Haaaa, warmth in this damn cold!” Vifi let out a deflated sigh as she marveled at the reindeer stew our chef had created in the subspace created for us. Since we couldn’t just leave the portal exposed, despite our cave being buried in snow, we took our meals outside the subspace. “We’re getting too spoiled now.”

“Aha! Now there is the aloof Warbringer I am so used to seeing!” I teased, causing Vifi’s already enthusiastic expression to worsen, as she stared at me with a deadpan look. “What? You switch attitudes faster than Lady Hestia and Lady Hikari change control of their body. You were so cheery during the morning.”

“Yeah, yeah… It’s like that is the only joke Aurora can make when I’m around.” Vifi then turned to the entrance, sighing again. “Then again, it’s just all the same.”

“True enough, but at least on our end, things are changing. Shay evolved into a rank A and Lady Hestia and Lady Hikari are using their time-off to train each other’s [Battle Frenzy], and not to mention how much more helpful Lord Rhekkraxus seems to be. Ours is the arduous path, for we are to make way for our mistress. Isn’t this similar to how you would do it as a Warbringer?”

“Awesome, you just described what serving means.” Vifi rolled her eyes. “It’s the same, sure, but that is just how it goes as retainers who willingly kneel before their chosen lord. I similarly served Lord Wrath in the two out-of-country operations I performed… even if they weren’t really effective. That ingrate ruined the first with a shoddy plan, and then my over-confidence in taking out a weakened rank SS, only to be roped into doing the work of Envy.”

The Siege of Elyonda is the second, then the first must be about Estralia.

“Speaking of that ‘ingrate,’ I presume you mean O’Bloom, that senator who stood against Reajaen and was working with you, what exactly happened to him after you bought him away? I realized we’ve forgotten about him.”

“Who knows? Saved him, handed him over to Lord Envy’s people, and that was the end of my orders. ‘Ensure Senator O’Bloom’s safety, and reacquire the Lord Envy’s phylactery’ were my orders, and you already know I failed one of them. My guess: he got executed because he consumed that demonic potion. No matter how close it is to perfection, the content isn’t supposed to be drunk by anybody but demonkin,” she said, wrapping that part of my past. Not like it gave me much reprieve, considering the actual people responsible for my human hatred were all already dead. “What is it, Tasianna? Are you still thinking about what that elemental said?”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Not really… no. Merely curious,” I replied as I took a bite of the warm stew. Here and there, even well-cooked meat could be irresistible. “Well, a lot of things changed after what happened in Gleisvale. Mostly for myself, you see. I managed to finally drop that irrational hatred I had for humans, even though a foxian—a beastman—had hired those fae hunters who caused the death of my previous mistress. When I had the chance to take revenge on that woman, I gave it up. I tortured her to satisfy my bloodlust, but I did not push the dagger in.”

“Admirable. I wouldn’t have stopped. Or, more like, I couldn’t.”

I nodded, feeling a bit of pity for our difference. “Reajaen survived because I decided so, accepting to put down my vengeance and to find forgiveness for myself. I wasn’t at fault for Princess Schuri’s death, but I can’t just overlook the fact that I could have done better. It was liberating, sure, but after that… I understood my mind had accepted the status quo. I would serve Princess Hestia to make up for Princess Schuri’s death, dedicating myself to training to protect my mistress, unlike my past self. Therefore, I was dragged into a war, made a captain for people far stronger than me, and I then opened the path for my mistress to reach her actual opponent, like a good retainer should.”

“Everything sounds good, so what’s got you looking… so unsure of yourself?”

“Would you lend me your ear?”

“Why are you asking? I’m asking you because I am curious about it,” Vifi scoffed, causing me to giggle.

I smiled, appreciating her blunt side. “Vifi, if I were to accept the powers of the ice elemental king, and become lord of all elementals on Frozen Nest, do you think my life would remain the same? Am I allowed to remain as Princess Hestia’s maid? Will the status quo be upheld?”

“… No.”

No pretense, and she didn’t even try to sugarcoat it. Truly, she was blunt. Blunter than even Master Grimnir when it came to talking. At least he would soften the blow by acting shy about it.

“Take it from me,” Vifi said. “When I gained my voltaic lightning, my entire life changed. No longer was I part of the runts fighting on the frontline of a war, used as fodder to grease the blades of Bole’Taria, but I was made a daughter. I was adopted by the family of an active Warbringer and for the next two years, taught about so many topics that my entire demeanor changed. I learned how to miss somebody. Dream of their presence, and the fact… they aren’t there any longer.”

“The happy and sad moments gel into one. Even during the bad times, they were there,” I said as I remembered my time with Princess Schuri and that I could never do them again with her.

“As an urchin, you have nothing, so what could you possibly miss? No parents, no real friends; you don’t even know how to truly be happy! Every day can be worse than the one before, or just a tiny bit better. That wasn’t the case for my fa—adoptive father. The best two years of my life… and then it was ripped away from me. I thought I knew what the worst day of my life was but—haha, how foolish—you have to know the peak before you can see what the true abyss could look like.” Vifi shook her head, her mouth forming a shivering smile as she looked at her untouched stew. “So, no, Tasianna. Take it from me, the moment something big happens, you can’t turn it back to the status quo. That’s not how the world works.”

“What if I preferred everything to remain the same?”

Vifi chuckled, forming a wry smile. “Like I said, you gotta take the plunge. Take the step forward, like I did when I once again changed the status quo in my life. I took Donut’s words to heart and took her hand. Like how you changed your hatred into forgiveness, and moved away from vengeance.”

“But… what if taking the plunge separates me from my lady?”

Vifi remained silent, looking conflicted as she couldn’t answer me. In the end, she shook her head and finally took a bite from the stew, complaining that we took too long to talk. The stew had gotten cold.

I tasted mine again. I disagreed. Mine still tasted warm enough to enjoy.

“I have to find that answer for myself,” I murmured as the two of us continued to eat our stew.

“Ice Elemental King” Tasianna Marina Silverpond. What would a version of myself with that title look like?

After all, when Lady Hestia became “Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor” and Miss Saori became “Belzac Descendant” Saori Segawa, their entire lives were overturned. Miss Saori… left Aurora for longer periods. We didn’t even meet when we visited Yeos, and it took until the very end of the Event Quest in Inkoran-Tazul for her to reunite with us. If I took the power, would I be forced to go and deal with my issues over Lady Hestia’s?

Miss Saori and Lady Hestia had to separate because their objectives had to be fulfilled at the same time. Their paths diverged, instead of being together, like how the three of us had been together since we met in the Belzac forest.

I didn’t want to be forced away from Lady Hestia, like during the Event Quest, where I had to lead the expedition party. I knew the unique Job I would gain from the Quest would make me stronger to protect Lady Hestia better, but it felt suffocating being away from her. Here, it could again!

To serve a being with a shorter lifespan, sadness was unavoidable. As a fairy, I was immortal, and once Lady Hestia and Miss Saori reached rank S, they would be as well. We could live together and keep our friendship up. Yet… the same couldn’t be said about the other members of Aurora.

Ellaine, Master Grimnir, and Vifi could not extend their lifespan like monsters could. The garms and virigresses could remain with us as long as they trained, after all! Not our humanoid friends. Maybe Ellaine could do something since she had the Prince of Envy’s demonic phylactery, but…

I looked at Vifi as she hastily consumed the stew. The thought of not being able to sit at the same table, eating the same food while exchanging small talk, was starting to make me anxious.

I…

I hate change.

I wanted things to be the same, maybe even frozen in time for us all to remain happy. Have everything slow down so we could enjoy the moment and reminisce on the good, while leaving behind the bad. Without all the bad, Aurora could be happy as we all shared a cup of tea on a peaceful night.

It made it impossible for me to properly decide if I wanted to gain power for Lady Hestia’s sake, but at the cost of potentially losing my freedom. No, maybe I wouldn’t even lose that. Maybe the problem was that I would gain a reason not to serve Lady Hestia her morning and evening tea.

Haaa, the best choice is to just find an elemental strong enough to take on the role, and be done with it. Though, how am I even supposed to approach them?

My mind was preoccupied with finding the correct answer to my current conundrum. I felt too mentally drained to continue thinking about the subject, and decided to leave this problem to my future self. Let future Tasianna handle the issue. It was better to go to sleep early so this day wouldn’t get any more convoluted.

Hold on, Svena did say that core freezes things with ice mana. I shouldn’t leave it inside for too long, I remembered as I pulled out the giant elemental core from the subspace, barely able to fit it inside this somewhat large cave. Merely being in its presence made me feel like I was getting frozen, but it was better for me to feel a bit cold, than let the subspace suffer.

As I lay down on my sleeping bag, my eyes felt so heavy. Sleep came quickly.

… Though, as dreams started to pervade my mind, a sound pulled me back to consciousness. I snapped up, noticing Vifi hadn’t moved one bit. Her silent snoring, barely audible even from here, made it clear she was still sound asleep, although I knew she would jump up, ready to fight the moment she felt something. Yet, she didn’t.

“—ere.”

I snapped my head to the entrance, towards that voice. It was light, almost like a kid’s, but showed some trepidation. Maybe it was better to call it exhaustion? Regardless, considering I heard it, but Vifi didn’t, meant this was a faefolk. Now, from whom?

Nymphs?

Three floating blue balls poked through the snow sheet of the entrance, flying in the air like tired flies. Their voices started to become clearer for me.

“So tired! Ahhh!”

“Yeah, yeah! Why is chasing so hard? King… Oh, king, make our pain go away.”

“Oh, king!”

The moment the three water fae noticed me looking at them, they froze as they repeatedly shouted “Oh, king!” Loud as a raucous crowd, they charged at me with reckless abandon, showing not even a shred of caution. I had to grimace, as this was so typical of my race.

“Oh, king of ice! King! We are here! Oh, how far you flew, but we followed you here! Your servants await, oh, king! Ehehe!”

I squinted, ignoring their jolly monologues as they kept flying around me, not noticing how perplexed I felt. Not wanting to wake up Vifi, I activated [Telepathy].

[“I remember you. You’re those nymphs who led us to the ice elemental king,”] I said.

“The king! Oh, king of ice…”

“Gone! Gone! Forever gone. Our king.”

“But, you, but you! Oh, fairy king! Queen! King of Ice Elementals! Anointed by the past king! We dance, we fly, we sing, and cheer!”

Ah… Of course.

I grimaced as I heard this, understanding why they followed after me. [“So the ice elemental king talked to you? Did he say you should follow after me?”] They danced around in jubilation, laughing so wildly I could only take that as a yes. [“ I have nothing here for you. I’m sorry. You should probably leave and rejoin your fellow nymphs.”]

“Oh, king, oh, king! Oh, ruler of the glaciers! You are our home!”

“Why should we run away, when others will flock to you, oh, anointed one!”

“We stay! They come! All seek the one true king! Oh, king of ice! Hear us as we arrive, for we have awaited your return!”

[“W-wait? More are coming? No, no, I don’t—”]

“Oh, uncrowned one! The anointed without the title! Your realm awaits! Your home!”

“To crown a new king! To birth the Ice Elemental Emperor!”

“No, stopping! No more stopping, fairy queen! Hehe!”

[“No!”] I grabbed the dancing nymphs, holding them in my hand using mana to tether them to me. Their voices were starting to grate my nerves, more than other lesser fae! [“I am not your king! Or at least, I haven’t decided on it, yet. I—No, the ice elementals should be the ones to decide. I am an outsider, not even from these lands. I seek the most able ice elemental to hand over the core.”]

The nymphs turned to the freezing core to the side, but could only laugh.

“You are king! You are king! The most worthy of all!”

“None can decide but the king! And the king decided you should be the king!”

“And so, you shall! Hehehe, now enough being sad, fairy queen! No more stopping, no more stopping! A long journey awaits your return!”

As the nymphs said that, the cavern started to shake, immediately alarming Vifi and she jumped onto her feet, arms sizzling with red lightning. As she readied herself for a fight, the snow blocking the entrance was dug up with surprising strength and deftness, pulling nearly everything away, revealing the raging blizzard outside.

As the two of us awaited the appearance of the intruder under the giggling of the nymphs, my eyes widened as I saw a griffon-sized mole monster appear. Though instead of possessing flesh and fur, it was completely made from ice, like an ice golem. Yet, unlike them, this creature showed no sign of a core.

“King. Our king,” the being spoke as Vifi shouted, calling it an elemental. “We have come to serve you, oh, king of the glaciers. King of the ice elementals. We are here to serve.”

“Shit! Tasianna we—” I grabbed Vifi’s shoulder as she formed her lightning halberd, releasing the nymphs as they flew around me. “Tasianna?”

“King, king! We are here to serve! We brought you your people! All to serve the king and bring you to your realm!”

“To the peaks! To the mightiest point of our home!”

“Oh, king! To the place we all seek the birth of a god! Oh, king of ice! Let us return there!”

I looked at the dancing nymphs and the fact that the mole elemental bowed its head. I then turned to Vifi, frowning a bit.

“They are telling me to follow them. They will lead me to the peaks.”

Well… I did not expect this for a royal entourage.