96 Noia
: Respecting the Elderly and Cherishing the Young
“That’s a very old prophecy.”
“Ten thousand years ago, shortly after I quelled the Dragon Race’s civil war, a dragon priest made this prophecy.”
“The priest’s exact words were:”
“When the sky falls, and the universe collapses, the end of all things, the terror of all creatures will descend upon this land once more. At that time, only the one who wields thunder can reverse the flow of destiny and save humanity from annihilation.”
“In ancient times, the Dragon Race really believed in prophecies and premonitions. Sure, most of the time they were about as reliable as a chocolate teapot, but every now and then, one hit the nail on the head, and then everyone would treat the prophet like a celebrity.”
“When asked how this priest made such an apocalyptic prediction, he simply said he glimpsed the future of the Dragon Race and all creatures of the Samail continent through the wails of fate.”
“You know how it is; priests and prophets are always all mysterious and cryptic. In your modern kids’ terms, you could call them… riddle-makers?”
“But whether they’re frauds or riddle-makers, the prophecies of ancient priests do carry some weight. Plus, the ‘terror of all creatures’ he mentioned is likely the same ultimate fear I’m trying to prevent. So even I have to give a nod to this doomsday prophecy.”
In the dark golden waterway, Noia leaned against the wall, quietly listening to the Ancestor run a history lesson.
Ever since this Primal Dragon King laid her cards on the table with Noia, besides borrowing her body for a breather now and then, she also shared bits of knowledge not found in textbooks.
Especially historical tidbits.
After all, no amount of archaeological evidence can match hearing the truth of history from Noah, a living fossil!
And little Noia was more than happy to soak up all kinds of knowledge.
The more she understood history, the clearer the world’s reality became.
After digesting the Ancestor’s words, Noia pondered for a moment and asked,
“So the prophecy talks about this thunder-wielding person saving the world?”
“Yup. In later generations, some called him ‘Son of Thunder’ for convenience.”
“Has this Son of Thunder shown up yet?”
“Until I sealed myself away, the Son of Thunder had not made an appearance.”
The Ancestor continued using that ‘little cat paw’ pose, curled up in front of Noah, with her upside-down dragon eyes reflecting the little one’s figure. “Of course, the apocalypse hasn’t popped up either. According to the priest, the Son of Thunder should appear at the same time as the disaster.”
“Only when ‘the terror of all creatures’ strikes can they truly become the Son of Thunder in the prophecy.”
Noia nodded, deep in thought, and asked again,
“You just said that even you have to consider this prophecy—what does that mean?”
“It means that back in my ruins, when I chose to nest my soul in your body, besides the fact that Constantine is a mad dragon and not suitable as a host, there’s also the fact that… your thunder magic really dazzled me.”
It had been a while since the Ancestor praised Noia—of course, Noia wasn’t the type to seek compliments. She didn’t care about the Ancestor’s praise or lack thereof.
But when the Ancestor said, “Your thunder magic dazzled me,” it genuinely came from the heart.
“At just five years old, being able to use that level of thunder magic, even defeating the guardian giant of the ruins—that’s impressive.”
The Ancestor said slowly, “So I think, this little rascal of yours might become the prophesied Son of Thunder.”
Noia was startled and blinked.
While her heart stirred slightly, she wasn’t one to believe too much in fate or coincidences.
She waved her arms. “If that’s the case, your job of saving the world seems a bit too easy, doesn’t it?”
After a pause, Noia added, “And you just said that the Son of Thunder can only appear when doomsday truly arrives.”
“Eh, that’s all guesswork. I said, prophecies are just references.”
“Oh, in that case, there’s some logic to it.”
“So, little rascal, do you want to be the savior Son of Thunder? I can help you, as long as you give me your body~”
“If you were a creepy old uncle, I would have already told my dad about you.”
Noia replied coldly, “So as an old aunt, can you stop talking about wanting to take over someone else’s body?”
Although they were still in a playful banter phase, their relationship was noticeably more relaxed than when they first met.
Back then, Noia would directly call her an “old coot.”
So now, referring to her as “old aunt” was already a rather affectionate nickname for someone obsessed with controlling her body.
“Well, it’s not like you only give me two hours of usage time every day.”
The Ancestor countered, raising her dragon head. “Two hours barely lets me gather a smidge of Primal Power. At this rate, when will I be back to full strength?”
“You can recover whenever you want, but if you keep talking, I’ll cut your borrowing time down to one hour.”
“……”
Sigh, living under someone else’s roof, what can I do?
The Ancestor lay back obediently, letting out a resigned dragon sigh.
But she also knew that Noia’s attitude towards her had softened quite a bit.
This little girl didn’t seem as fierce as she looked; she treated their interaction like a game of “competition” or “strategy.”
Her father was quite exceptional, teaching her many negotiation tactics.
And Noia had been quick to apply those strategies to the “negotiation table” of body control.
As for other matters, the Ancestor could clearly sense that this Silver Dragon Princess was quite a little gem.
When she couldn’t control Noia’s body, the Ancestor could still see what Noia saw and hear what she heard in her consciousness space.
A while back, Noia had dug up several historical documents about the ancient civil war of the Dragon Race and understood just how great the Primal Dragon King was for quelling the chaos.
As a child who yearned for heroism and strength, Noia could not fail to respect this Ancestor.
However, most of that respect was usually reflected in her inner thoughts.
When it came to speaking, it transformed into something like, “Old aunt, stop plotting to take over my body.”
After all, Noia didn’t want to lose in this “negotiation.”
“Let’s get back to the topic.”
The Ancestor said, “Such powerful thunder magic—did your father teach that to you?”
Noia nodded. “He started teaching me when I was two.”
“You’re now five years old, and in just three short years, you’ve become so adept at using thunder magic… and you say you’re not the Son of Thunder!”
The old coot was getting better at cracking modern jokes.
But Noia merely gave a symbolic grin, her smile looking more like a grimace.
“Just being able to use thunder magic doesn’t make you the Son of Thunder; there are more than a few of them on the Samail continent, even enough to form an army!”
The Ancestor scoffed, then seriously replied, “That’s a mistaken notion; you are not just an ordinary user of thunder magic.”
Noia blinked, curiously asking, “Then what am I?”
“You are a thunder magic user possessed by me.”
“……”
Here we go again with this old coot!
Is being possessed by you something to brag about?
Can it help me score full marks in the academy?
Noia pouted, crossing her arms, and ignored her, turning to walk down the other end of the waterway.
“Are you leaving just like that?” The Ancestor called out from behind.
Noia didn’t look back. “My sister is back; I don’t have time to chat with you.”
The little figure gradually faded into the dark golden depths, and the ripples on the water’s surface slowly faded away.
Noah gazed at where the little rascal had gone, lowering her eyes slightly and murmuring,
“Could it be you, Noia?”
