Both Dallas and Mōkō paused, then shrugged.
"Maybe," Dallas said, "it's because of how suns are born. There's something... sacred about it. Something universal."
"You ever hear how a sun is born?" Mōkō asked.
Maxi scratched his head. "I know the myth... It's said that when dragons die, they become suns, right?"
He remembered learning that long ago—back when the main library was off-limits to him. It was a common myth told in the books he used to read.
Mōkō laughed. "Nope. Opposite, dummy boy."
Dallas smiled. "Suns are born when dragons give birth. Specifically, when a dragon egg hatches."
Maxi blinked. "What?"
Dallas explained, "When a dragon lays an egg, it's already charged with insane magical power—enough to pierce through all three realms when it hatches. That ripple effect... that's what creates a sun."
"It doesn't destroy anything," Mōkō said. "It's like dropping food into a still pond. It ripples through everything."
Maxi frowned. "Why food?"
"Because everything wants a bite of it," Mōkō said, grinning. "A hatching dragon egg is that powerful. Everyone—gods, demons, whatever—wants it."
Dallas nodded. "So the parents protect it. The mother nourishes it, then when it's ready, she hurls it into space. The father flies around it, absorbing the power from the egg to fuel his defense. They shield the egg until it becomes a sun."
Maxi's mouth dropped slightly. "That's... way more dramatic than I expected."
But then again, what did he expect from a world where gods treated mortals like children?
He tilted his head, still curious. "So... what happens when a dragon dies?"
Mōkō and Dallas chuckled in unison.
"Well," Dallas began, "depending on its age, three things can happen. The most common? The dragon flies into the sky and becomes a black hole."
"The less common one," Mōkō added, "is that it becomes the opposite of a black hole. A... reverse hole."
Maxi blinked again. "What's that?"
Dallas smirked. "A theoretical thing. Scientists used to propose it as an alternative to black holes no singularity, no event horizon. Just... the opposite."
"There's a name for it," Mōkō said, tapping his temple. "But it's outdated now."
Maxi's eyes lit up as a long-buried memory surfaced—one from his past life, back when he went through a phase of binge-watching space facts.
His eyes widened.
"Gravastars," he whispered.
Dallas snapped his fingers. "That's it! A early new human from the awakaned blessings age after our ancesters betrayal one of the old scholars—came up with that term. It stuck around, even though it's been phased out."
Maxi exhaled, a small laugh escaping his lips.
Dragons creating suns. Dying into black holes. Or reverse ones. Fire that freezes. Fire that electrifies. Fire that eats souls.
He'd stepped into a world more divine than myth and more myth than logic.
And he was only beginning to understand it.
Dallas folded his arms while he yowned . "And the final thing... The final thing that happens is when a dragon becomes so old that it earns the title of Ancient Great Old Dragon. When one of them finally dies, it creates a black hole—bluish or greenish in color."
Mōkō whistled. "It's the biggest black hole known... at least in this dimension."
Dallas nodded. "But it doesn't stop there. That black hole... births a new dragon. One stronger than the one that died. It skips the entire process of dying, going through the 1000 Spiraling Hells, and choosing to reincarnate."
Maxi blinked. "Reincarnate...?"
Mōkō leaned in with a grin. "Oh yeah. Some of us believe that's one of the choices after the 1000 Spiraling Hells. You finish the trials... and you pick. Reincarnate, ascend, vanish, or become something else."
Maxi's eyes narrowed slightly as he began to think.
Wait... If dragons—or even people—can reincarnate... Could someone reincarnate from the future or past of this world? From a time when the gods stop being active... when only fragments of them remain like in my world?
Images flashed through Maxi's memory statues from temples, relics he once overlooked.
A golden monk...
A four-armed being wielding weapons in each hand...
A shepherd figure surrounded by a flock of glowing sheep with a light absuring his face...
A massive figure holding a hammer as if it bore the weight of an entire world...
Maxi could only remember a handful, but each one carried the weight of forgotten worship. His thoughts spiraled.
If that really is the case... If I was reincarnated from the futer... then what happened? What happened to cause the gods to stop giving their power?
His mind raced.
But before he could finish the thought—
Mōkō cut him off, voice loud and carefree, shattering the silence.
Mōkō stretched his arms above his head and smirked. "Anyway, was that all you wanted to learn, dummy boy?"
Maxi paused, thoughts swirling. After a moment, he nodded. "Yeah... that's all."
Dallas gave a small nod of approval, while Mōkō threw him a teasing grin. "Alright then. Don't lose, dummy boy."
"Yeah," Dallas added with a subtle smirk, "if you survive the battle test, we might stick around a little longer to teach you more. So, you better not lose."
Maxi chuckled and gave a wave. "Thanks, brothers. I'll remember that. Let's go, Angelina."
The two older brothers waved him off before turning back to their own conversation, their voices fading behind Maxi as he and Angelina climbed the spiraling stairs. When they reached the top, Maxi hesitated.
"Should we close the stairs?" he asked, glancing back.
Angelina shook her head. "No. Master Dallas and Mōkō are still inside."
Maxi nodded, but a thought tugged at the edge of his mind. Then why was the entrance closed and hidden when we arrived? He sighed, brushing off the thought for now, and continued walking toward the exit.
As they passed the garden, Maxi's eyes drifted toward it instinctively, searching for a familiar figure his mother. But the space was empty. He sighed again, softer this time, and continued forward.
Reaching the castle's grand front doors, Maxi pulled them open and stepped out into the crisp air, heading back toward his own smaller castle. The moment he stepped inside, he let out a breath and turned to Angelina.
"Can you make me a sandwich, please?"
She nodded and disappeared into the kitchen while Maxi pulled one of the six books he'd borrowed from the main castle's library. He settled down and began to read, letting the knowledge fill the silence.
Half an hour later, Angelina returned, holding a plate. On it sat a sandwich layered with green lettuce, crimson tomatoes, slices of lamb chop, and a rich, golden-brown sauce spread across the base of the bread.
Maxi took one bite and immediately felt like he'd been transported to heaven.
"This…" he whispered between bites, "is divine."
When he finished, a blissful expression still on his face, he looked up. "Angelina, you're free to go."
She bowed and left silently.
Maxi returned to his book, but his thoughts drifted toward the looming trial.
Colen's test is in two days…
He took a deep breath, steadying himself. Then, without wasting another second, he dove back into his studies.
The next two days passed in a blur of books and quiet determination.
Maxi consumed knowledge like a man starving, reading every text he could find. He spent hours in the main castle's library, and what little time remained was spent in the garden, sitting beside his mother. Her warm presence, her gentle smile—it lifted his spirits higher than any book could.
On the evening before the trial, after spending his final hours resting in her lap, Maxi returned to his room and fell into a deep sleep.
Darkness.
Maxi found himself standing in an endless black void, silence pressing on all sides. He took a long breath... then he ran.
He sprinted through the emptiness, faster and faster, until something broke the monotony a single spotlight ahead, illuminating a pristine coffee table with a lone book resting on top.
Maxi's pace quickened.
But then shadows.
From the blackness, they rose like smoke in the nights shadow, stretching into hands that reached for him. Dozens. Hundreds.
Still, he didn't slow down.
He leapt toward the table and the shadows caught him in midair, clawing at his arms and legs. But Maxi just smiled.
"It's time," he whispered.
And the shadows pulled him back into the endless black void.
Maxi woke up, heart calm, breath steady.
Today, he would face Colen's trial.
And he was ready.