The First Dragon God

Some distance above Earth, an entity enveloped in white light, dressed in a white, shining attire that seems even brighter than the sun, with an halo above his head and white wings on his back, could be seen hovering and looking at the blue planet with a piercing glare.

The angel's form radiated a blinding light, his wings unfurling in celestial majesty, their edges shimmering with golden fire. Against the vast black void of space, he appeared like a burning star, his presence suffocating yet impossibly beautiful.

Yes, the entity hovering above Earth is Angel and he seemed to be searching for something but no matter how much he looked, he can't find whatever it is.

"You're the first to arrive, huh?" He seemed to ask the vastness of space around him.

"Yes. The princess insisted we arrive early," Elda's replied as she appeared behind the Angel.

"So, she went through the stress of going to buy information from unverified sources when she could had just waited for the announcement from the Eternals of Balance?" The Angel asked, as he slowly turned to look at the lady in blood red dress, behind him.

"Are you saying that this is what happened, Elda," he asked, as he looked at her with a piercing glare.

Elda smiled when she heard the angel's questions. She knew that if she answers affirmative to his question, then things might not go smoothly for Tatiana as the Angel before her might look for ways to disqualify her from the upcoming competition.

And if that is to happen, then it's going to affect her race for the throne. Something that she doesn't want to see happen.

Elda wanted to delay answering the question but seeing the piercing glare the Angel was giving her. Also, her delay in answering the question might just be the answer the Angel needs.

She could also feel the air between them becoming very oppressive as the Angel was slowly releasing his aura. And this is even though they are in the emptiness of space.

"Cael, the princess was only curious about the newly awakening planet and wanted to visit it earlier to see how it looks before the awakening. She didn't have any ulterior motive," Elda said with her most convincing voice.

Though she wasn't exactly lying about the fact that Tatiana wanted to visit the planet before its awakening. No matter how strong an awakening makes the planet or its inhabitants afterwards, the destruct that it caused can never be erased.

A lot of things would change to accommodate the introduction of mana into their environment and a lot of things would be built around it. But before the awakening, she wanted to see how mundane the planet and its inhabitants was.

Cael looked at Elda intently when he heard her response. He knew that she wasn't lying as he could feel it. Also, he knew that arriving early won't give the Blood Princess an advantage over her other competitors, unless...

Elda forced a smile, the angel's piercing gaze making her muscles tense.

"As I said, Cael, the princess was merely curious. Nothing more." She felt the oppressive aura tighten around her like an iron cage, her composure slipping for just a second.

She straightened, masking the flicker of unease with a sharp breath.

"I assure you, her motives are benign"

"Then, do you know anything about the brief presence that was felt some moments ago?" Cael asked, giving an even more piercing glare.

His gaze seemingly boring holes into her dress and body.

"No, Cael. We were also shocked by it. It's also the reason why I came here. I thought you might know something about it," Elda replied.

There was no way that she was going to tell Cael that the presence came from a young boy who is one of the natives of the planet. She didn't need to be told as she already knew what they would do to him.

Elda's crimson dress rippled faintly as her smile froze in place, the oppressive light of Cael casting sharp shadows across her sharp features.

Her knuckles whitened, gripping her hands behind her back, yet her voice remained calm, even as resentment simmered under the surface.

"Hmmm... Are you sure? Because I was definitely sure that the presence came from this planet," Cael said, looking at Elda intently, before turning his attention to the blue planet in front of him.

"Though, what I don't understand is why a presence that has a trace of divinity in it would be doing in such a planet. And how was he or she able to descend into it without turning it to dust?" He said, more to himself than to her.

Cael was very confused by the brief divine presence that enveloped the planet and its surrounding. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't wrap his head around it.

What was the motive of the owner of that presence? As a presence that's on par with his master, there's no way that he doesn't have his or her own domain to take care of. Then why come here?

Cael sighed internally at the realization that he might never get the answer to his question. He turned to look at Elda one last time.

Elda maintained her courteous tone, though her thoughts dripped with disdain.

'Look at him, parading his authority as if he owns the stars themselves. Cael, you're just a dog on a divine leash.'

"The tournament's timeline has been accelerated," Cael said, his tone clipped. His golden eyes scanned the planet below.

"The Eternals have declared it so. Whether it's the divine trace or the planet's awakening, this place is far more significant than anticipated. I'm just telling you this because I know it's of no use to you. I will be taking my leave then.

And please, if you get information on the presence from before, please let me know. You can come here and call me, I will appear immediately. Thank you in advance," he said and disappeared.

Cael appeared a couple of distance away from Elda and the planet, a very solemn look on his face.

"A trace of divinity in a forsaken corner like this? No, something doesn't add up. Divinity does not simply manifest without purpose. If this is a deception or a sign of rebellion..." Cael's gaze hardened, his wings flaring slightly.

"I must uncover the truth before it festers." He said and disappeared.

Immediately after making sure that Cael had truly left, the smile on Elda's face faded, replaced with a disgusted and angry expression.

'That stupid pigeon. He acts all high and mighty because he serves a divine level being. Asking me to tell him when I get information on who the divine presence belongs to, like I'm his servant or what?'

Her expression of disgust and anger was replaced with a frown when she remembered what Cael said about the the presence having a trace of divinity to it.

'But how does Leo have a divine presence around him?'

She wasn't able to sense it then as she had never come in contact with a divine level being all her life. It's only people like Cael who have an entity like that as their master or have felt one before, would sense the familiarity and it's even more difficult for her since it's in a trace.

She could already guess from the faint aura of the universe's two powerful races surrounding Leo that he was related to them in one way or the other. And what Cael said about the presence proved her guess to be correct.

"It seems like things are going to get very complicated going forward and the princess have thrown herself into it. I hope everything pans out." She sighed and looked at the blue planet in front of her.

"Time to go back and start preparing for the upcoming tournament," she said, and disappeared from her position.