“I am right in front of you!”
Cirri answered.
“Huh…?
Where?”
Kael questioned.
“All around you, all around this place.”
“What…?”
“When I was the Cloud Dragon, the Cloud Form was my only true form, but I am not a Cloud Dragon anymore.”
The little Cirri explained.
“You are a…”
“A Primordial Sky Dragon.”
Cirri answered proudly,
“I have multiple forms, even Air.”
“So you are currently…”
“I am the Air around you.”
Then suddenly,
Bzz
Kael saw a small electric spark right in front of him.
“I did it! I did it!
I can do anything here! This is my Domain!”
Cirri exclaimed excitedly as suddenly, Kael felt a cool breeze on his face before a few droplets formed above him and washed his face.
Kael would have laughed joyfully at his daughter’s actions but right now, he had too many questions in his head.
“Why are you not affected by the winds?”
Even if she was ‘Air,’ the strong winds should still affect her, no?
“They do affect me, they dissipate my body everywhere. They increase my sphere of influence.”
“So the wind is… your ally now?”
“I am a Sky Dragon, everything in the Sky is my ally.”
Cirri answered in a prideful tone. Soon, however, her tone turned heavy and,
“Other than her…”
“Other than what?”
Kael questioned.
“The Throne. I cannot influence her with my current powers.”
“What…?”
“I am a baby right now. My powers are limited. It wouldn’t have made much difference if we were in Nerathis, but this dimension is unstable. The Wind, Air, and Lightning here are strong, much stronger than what I can control.
Everything here is currently under the Throne’s control, and the only way for me to get stronger is for you to claim the Throne.”
Once again, Kael had no clue how Cirri knew all this, or how she even unlocked her new ‘Air Form.’ He just credited everything to the ‘Dragon Knowledge’ and moved on.
“How do I claim the Throne?”
He questioned.
“You sit on it.”
“And how do I reach it?”
“You jump.”
“Jump?”
“Jump.”
“But tha–”
“Jump.”
Cirri repeated herself. Kael did as he was told and jumped. Once again, he appeared about 25 meters above the ground and suddenly,
“Jump again.”
Cirri spoke as the wind beneath Kael’s foot pushed him up.
“Huh…?”
Kael frowned. The wind tried to push him, but since he didn’t jump in time, he fell on the ground again.
“Why didn’t you jump?”
Cirri questioned. From her tone, Kael knew she was pouting.
“I…
How am I supposed to ‘jump’ mid-air?”
“Just trust me, Father. Jump the moment I tell you to. Do not think of anything else.”
“…Alright.”
In the end, Kael gave in and jumped in the air again.
“Jump.”
Cirri spoke as once again, the wind beneath Kael tried to push him. Kael jumped and suddenly,
He did.
He jumped mid-air. Now, he was about 35 meters above the ground.
“I-I did it!”
Kael exclaimed.
“Jump again.”
Cirri, however, wasn’t done yet and ordered again. Kael did what he was told and jumped again, now standing 45 meters above.
“The higher you hover above the ground, the longer you float. But keep in mind that you still cannot fly. Sooner or later, the ground will pull you towards it.”
Cirri explained. Kael nodded.
“So what do I do now?”
He questioned.
“You fall.”
“Hmm?”
Kael frowned as suddenly, he felt the ground pulling him and he fell.
“Aaaahhhhh!!”
He screamed, trying his best to not die. He landed on the ground and this time, his legs trembled from the fall.
It wasn’t much, but he was still somewhat hurt. Of course, his regeneration had already kicked in.
“That hurts.”
He complained.
“Father needs to understand how this works if we are going to face them.”
“Face who…?”
Kael raised his eyebrow.
“Above the 100-meter mark, I sense three things that Father needs to defeat.”
“So I have to fight?”
“We need to claim the Tempest Throne. There will be fighting involved.”
Cirri answered and Kael’s expression changed.
“Alright, teach me.”
Kael spoke as he jumped in the air again. Cirri nodded and Kael’s training began.
The movement here wasn’t just about pushing the wind and moving up. Kael needed to learn how to stay in air, control his force and move exactly where he wanted to. He also had to get used to the wind and rain of the Sanctum which constantly restricted his vision and movement, and much more.
It was like an entirely different challenge, but with his daughter guiding him at every step, Kael pushed through.
For the next 10 hours, the training continued. More than once, Igni checked on them, worried since they hadn’t returned yet. Kael calmed his eldest and continued the training until finally,
“I believe you are ready now.”
Cirri spoke up, satisfied.
“I am?”
Kael blinked, somewhat surprised.
“You can learn the rest during the fight.”
“…”
Kael stayed silent for a while, unable to believe the brute-like method she had come up with. Of course, since he couldn’t act weak in front of his daughter, he nodded confidently.
“Alright.”
Yes, a bad choice.
But what else could he do? What father could possibly crush his daughter’s hopes and say that he cannot do something she wants him to do?
Kael would rather die.
“Let’s move.”
Cirri spoke confidently. Kael nodded as he jumped in the air, instantly appearing 25 meters above the ground.
Then,
He jumped again and again, instantly reaching the 100-meter mark, a mark he never crossed, almost instantly.
His body felt light as he hovered in the air. At the 90-meter mark, he could stay in the air for about 9 seconds before he had to move and reset the time again, so at 100 meters, he thought that he would have around 10 seconds.
Not that Kael cared about that right now, his attention was on the three beings who seemed to have been waiting for him all this while, prepared for a battle.
And Kael, who saw them…
‘T-These were the ‘things’ she mentioned…?’