Gaelion could faintly think back to a time when he was happy; he could feel the sunshine upon his scales, taste the sweetness of the cool mountain airs, and be left alone in peace. Though all that changed when Fate presented him with an unexpected blessing. A young Demi-Human had come crashing upon his tail as he idly napped in the afternoon's sun. Her name was Wyndia. Taking pity on the young bedraggled hatchling he took her into his home, helping her to grow past the traumas she had endured at the hands of the Waves and the Humans of this wretched country. If he had not given his solemn word to the reigning Queen he'd have left with his daughter long ago but his oath was given and so he would keep it whether he liked it or not. His daughter deserved to live and so she would as best he could provide for her. And so it was. They lived there for a time in harmony and Gaelion rediscovered what it meant to have a family, then the Hero came.

He lost everything when he perished at the hands of the Sword Hero, his life, his peace, his future and the one thing filling his heart since his previous family passed on, the love of his adopted daughter. Just as he thought his rage couldn't become greater he was proven wrong when villagers of the very place he had sworn to protect from the Waves ransacked his home and made a slave of his daughter. Gaelion wanted nothing more than to burn the whole world to not but ash and cinders. But all he could do was lay there and rot as his pain and anger grew. He mustered up enough strength to move a claw as the caged wagon carrying his precious daughter disappeared over the hill. His heart still ached as he recalled her locking eyes with his decayed ones as she saw his movements and screaming for him.

He lay there continuing to feel his rage consume all he once was until every scale of his carcass oozed with enough raw hate that it manifested into a noxious toxin which eventually brought another to him. This male was strange to him, he walked like a Human, and yet he acted every bit the Emperor he had once been. His rage was now strong enough for him to raise himself and fight with a recklessness that only a grief-stricken father could muster.

The Human dismissed his companions to a safe distance and once they were suitably out of sight, he instead raised his arms to either side showing his empty palms, and spoke to him in the tongue of his people.

Gaelion was so dumbstruck that his body collapsed upon itself from halting mid-strike. The Human walked closer and his fading sense of smell finally connected to the remains of his addled mind. This was none other than an Emperor's Son standing before him. He expressed his deepest apologies as he felt the rage leave him and his corpse out of pure shock.

The male waved it aside and gradually approached Gaelion's face until he was level with his left eye. They stood there and spoke for a time, each explaining the plight of the other. A bargain was proposed by the youngling that had Gaelion questioning his sanity; in exchange for being allowed to harvest from him, Naofumi would give him the proper burial due to him. Taking the deal one step further, he offered to find Wyndia and extract the remains of his soul to give a new form to when the time was right and he could use more of his power. Seeing no better alternative to the hate-filled one he'd been leading to that point, Gaelion accepted.

All of which had led to now; his soul set adrift in this endless void as it healed itself piece by piece. He knew not how this Naofumi child knew such ancient and powerful sorcery but for now, he was thankful. There would be much time later to ask his questions once he'd been restored. Slowly at first, his memories began to return. All that he had been and all that he was, the memories he had once long forgotten came back to him anew as though he were experiencing them for the first time. Battle, fear, love, and triumph. He oversaw every last one of these precious experiences being returned to him from the beyond.

Here he remained in a strange state of communion with the essences of those long since departed. Today felt different to him though, he couldn't quite place it but there it was. A feeling that he felt occasionally in his lifetime, the feeling of change. Gradually he felt it. It was subtle at first but then it grew to a more firm tug on his spirit.

Opening his eyes, he was surprised to find Naofumi standing in front of him but not as a Human, but as a proud Dragon, and instinctively he knew deep in his core that Naofumi had risen to the state of a true Emperor.

Remembering himself, he bowed low to his Lord and spoke with a calm softness. The agony and wrath within had long since faded into the Aether.

"Hail to you my Lord. How can this old combatant be of service to you?"

There wasn't a word said for a few breaths but before he could ask again, he felt Naofumi place a claw on his shoulder.

"When we met, I made a deal with you. I took upon myself an impossible task that shouldn't have been accomplished in fifty of our lifetimes. Nevertheless, I have scattered my soul in as many directions as I could hoping to find a string that would lead me to that which you asked me to find."

Gaelion felt his hope stir again and his strength began to beckon him as he looked up into Naofumi's emerald gaze with wide eyes.

"It is time Gaelion."