Igneel's POV
After leaving them in the village to explore, I immediately teleported to the Fa family ancestral shrine.
The moment I entered, I sensed they had noticed my presence.
"Come out, I know you're here," I said.
Smoke appeared and formed into dozens of spectral figures.
"Who are you?" asked one who appeared to be the leader, eyeing me warily.
I offered a slight bow.
"I am Igneel Haddock, the Emperor of China," I said.
Their eyes widened before they bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty, what brings you to our shrine today?" they asked.
"What do you know of the divine dragon?" I inquired.
Most looked confused, except for one.
"H-how do you know of the divine dragon?" he stammered.
"My daughter is of the Fa lineage," I replied.
"That means..." His eyes grew even wider.
I nodded.
"I have made Fa Mulan my empress, and our child appears to possess the ability of the divine dragon," I explained.
"Hahaha! You see? My descendant was destined for greatness. She even became empress," one spirit boasted.
"Shut up, you idiot. You were the one who refused to accept her before," another snapped angrily.
"Silence," commanded the first man.
The shrine fell quiet.
"The day has finally come," he said reverently.
I remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
"Thousands of years ago, there lived a great dragon who could control all elements. Her power was immense, but one day she entered the human realm. During her travels, she met a human man—our ancestor, Fa Long. The two eventually fell in love, but their story ended in tragedy.
The divine dragon became ill during pregnancy and faced a choice: kill her child or give birth. She chose to give birth. Her husband, Fa Long, tried to convince her to end the pregnancy, but ultimately accepted her decision. This marked the beginning of their tragedy.
After giving birth, the children drained all her power, transforming the divine dragon into a mortal woman who could never return to her true form. Despite this, she continued to love and cherish her children.
The children, however, proved ungrateful. Thirsting for power, they discovered a book describing how consuming dragon flesh could grant them strength. Their greed consumed them, and they began plotting. The divine dragon knew of their plans but couldn't believe her beloved children would do such a thing. She confided in her husband about their children's intentions, asking him to help guide them.
But Fa Long, who had always resented the children for taking his wife's affection and viewed them as dangerous, finally snapped and killed them. Upon learning this, the divine dragon fell into deep mourning. Her body grew weaker by the day. Fa Long tried everything to heal her, summoning doctors from across the land, but none could help. In desperation, he made a deal with a demon. The bargain saved her life but cursed future generations. In the end, it didn't matter—the divine dragon took her own life anyway."
Such a tragic story. If this demon truly cursed future generations, I'll need to either destroy the curse completely or find and eliminate the demon.
"The demon—who is it?"
"I don't know who the demon is, but you might find some clues if you find our ancestral residence," he said.
Ancestral residence? That means they didn't always live in this village.
"Where is it located?"
"The place has been lost to us, but it is definitely somewhere in China."
Erik's POV
As I stared at the two girls, I couldn't help but sigh. Moon and Crystal had finally reached their first metamorphosis and their bodies had grown into adults.
"Father, I wish to go," Crystal said respectfully.
"Yeah, Daddy, I want to go too," Moon said.
I shook my head in refusal.
"This will be an intel mission. I don't want you two to mess it up," I said.
They pouted.
"I'm great at keeping a low profile," Moon said. Crystal nodded along.
I looked at them in disbelief.
"Moon, you're loud and won't even be able to keep still for long. And besides, both of you have unique features that would draw attention," I said.
They didn't give up and jumped onto my shoulders.
"I want to go! I want to go! I want to go!" they chanted as they moved back and forth on my shoulders.
"Stop it, you two. You are already adults. I've spoiled you enough. If you keep going, I will have no choice but to punish you."
These words shut them down and they got off of me.
"Daddy?"
I turned to the source and smiled.
"Melody, aren't you supposed to be with your mother?" I asked.
She smiled and ran to me. I picked her up and gave her a hug.
"Daddy, I was singing when I saw sisters walking towards your study, so I followed. Where are you going, Daddy?"
Her smile was contagious.
"Ah, I was planning to do a spy mission in a kingdom near one of my territories," I said.
"Can I go?" she asked excitedly.
Seeing her excited face, I gave a faint smile.
"Sorry, Melody, but this is dangerous."
Of course it wasn't dangerous, but I didn't want to spoil her too much like I did the other two.
She pouted a little, then climbed down from my arm.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"I'm going to Mommy. She's the only one that loves me," she added and slightly turned to me, her eyes looking pitiful as she walked away.
My eyes widened in shock as I saw her leave. I clutched my chest.
"H-how could you..." My sweet Melody.
I paused when I heard snickers from the two girls. My mouth twitched.
"You two," I said coldly.
They took a step back and gulped.
"You're grounded for a year," I said.
Their eyes widened in shock.
"What? But we didn't do anything!"
Igneel's POV
A few years later
It's been a few years since I had that conversation with the Fa family ancestors. After that conversation, I set out on an expedition in search of the forgotten residence, but only now did I finally find it.
I stood in front of a forest. It had the same aura as that curse Yao was born with, but for some reason, the trees and plants had not died nor withered.
"Your Majesty, are you sure this is wise? The forest feels like death," Shang asked from the side.
"No need to worry. There doesn't seem to be any danger. The aura coming from the forest only seems to be warding off people," I said, putting the soldiers at ease.
I signaled them to follow me as I walked toward the forest. I looked around and noticed a lot of unique plants in this place. What a treasure mine! I'll have to collect them later.
"Growl!"
My men ran in front of me instantly and took out their weapons to defend me. Fast, but not as fast as I want them to be. I had trained a bunch of these men, but none were able to live up to my expectations. Though their powers were in the realm of a rank three, it wasn't enough for me. My powers had already reached the 7th rank, and I calculate in ten years I will reach the 10th rank.
Whatever was in front of us wasn't much of a threat, especially with my transformation. A moment later, a huge monster appeared. I looked it over and realized it was a Kirin. This place was becoming more interesting. I released a bit of my presence, which froze it in place.
I walked forward and inspected it. Its magic was negligible, and its power was only at the fourth rank. It was nothing special, but I paused at one thing.
Metamorphosis: high fourth stage.
What does that mean? I inspected more of the Kirin, noticing that its scales were falling. Ah, it's going into a metamorphosis. But why would it leave? Leaving while in such a situation is dangerous. Either it was arrogant or—it was protecting something.
"Tell me, what are you protecting?"
Its eyes widened as it growled.
"Leave, human. Your kind is not welcomed," it warned.
I paused at its words, then laughed. My laugh unsettled both the Kirin and my men. I then stopped and looked at it seriously.
"I know you can sense my power. In what sense do you feel that I am human?" I asked.
It gulped.
"Though you have a different aura, I can still sense human in you," it replied.
I smiled at its words. The Kirin was right. Though I was a god, I am incomplete. I have yet to reach my final stage of evolution. But once I do, I will gain my own divine skill and become a true god.
"You're smart," I said.
Seeing that it decided to stay silent, I spoke up.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?"
It looked hesitant but still spoke.
"My name is Lu. I am the Patriarch of the Kirin clan in this forest," it answered.
So I was right. But since he's the Patriarch, I can only assume that he's the strongest in the clan. The only problem is how many Kirin there are. My men only have the rank of 2.
"How many are there?" I asked.
Again he hesitated but answered faster than last time.
"If I were to reveal it, what would you do?" He asked.
"Nothing, I just want to know how many there are just in case you become a threat. And I'll know if you're lying." I said.
still hesitant he gulped.
"will you kill hunt us?"
i shook my head.
"no, your deaths serve no purpose." i said.
he nodded sensing the truth in my words.
"There are a total of 102 of us in the forest."
sensing that he didn't lie i nodded. i signalled to my men and walked passed the kirin. my men followed behind and ignored the kirin. as i walked through the forest and headed towards where the energy was the strongest i couldnt help thinking. should i add the kirin's into my army?
the one i met was pretty strong, but i haven't met the other ones. well have to see later, honestly though i might just leave them be since the one i met wasn't aggressive. a while later i stopped at a old and musty covered manor.
the wasnt big by any means but it could fit over a hundred people inside. i entered and started looking around. the place looked damaged, it seemed like a fight occured before it was abandoned. soon i reached a room where the energy was the most dense.
checking the place i instantly noticed two skeletons. guessing from the tattered and worned clothes i could only assume it was a man and woman. i sensed the dead energy coming from the men while it slowly eroded the other skeleton.
sensing something inside the female skeleton i walked toward. i then disrupted the flow of energy going into the female skeleton. once i did that a light bursted out of the skeleton and sperated from it. i turned to where it headed and my eyes widened.
she looked at me and tears slowly fell down her cheeks.
"Fa Long," she said.
i raised an eyebrow.
"I am not Fa Long," i said.
she shook her head.
"though you may have been reincarnated, your soul remains the same." she said with certainty.
that's…it might be possible. but…
"how can you be so sure?" i asked.
"our souls—they are intertwined. you made a deal with a demon to have our souls intertwined in fate. meaning you, one way or another will find me in this form or another." she said.
what she says matches with the story from what the ancester told me.
"but Fa Long made a pact with the demon to save you," i retorted.
she shook her head.
"you were smart. you knew i would have commited suicide so you did only one thing you could do in that short time you had. You cursed us, in exchange for our reunition in ach lifetime you sarificed love for obsession and are children with curses."
my body shook.
"but, thats not possible. i already have a wife and a child." i said calmly though my heart was beating quickly.
"tell me when you met her—did you feel an attraction. not in love at first sight but curiosity that woulnt leave your mind."
my eyes widened. hat she was saying—it was matching everything that happened. she was right, back then even if i found that mulan was a powerful talent i normally wouldnt care much. why did i proactively get close to her?
"no, thats-"
"was our child born with a curse?" she asked, but i knew she already knew the answer to the question.
"I am no just a fragment of a soul, soon my energy will run out and i will reurn to the soul in my current life which is the woman you married. once i return not only will she remember everything, she will also regain the power she was meant to have."
my eyes widened.
"if our love is trully real in this life then maybe i will decide to stay this time." she said as her form slowly disspated and flew away.