The space collapsed, and Asura Ryuu returned to the starry sky. Around him were twenty-three people he recognized. He was the reason for the calling in their hearts. He was the one who led all of them to this place, even though he wasn't aware of that himself until now.
All of them sat around Asura Ryuu forming a ring, like stars orbiting around a black hole.
At this moment, the ashen-white dragon girl was standing next to him.
The two were of the same size and with the same eyes.
The children sitting around Asura Ryuu looked at the girl with shock and awe in their eyes. Nobody was an exception, not even Asura Tenka.
Asura Tenka was breathless at the beauty of this girl.
Only then did she see Asura Ryuu next to her and her eyes filled with amazement.
Her mouth was slightly open, forming a shadow of an 'O' shape.
Asura Tenka: "Is she your..."
The ashen-white dragon smiled and nodded her head. Her five-clawed hand grasped at Asura Ryuu and his most important things appeared before him. The Dragon God appeared, trembling in fear for some reason. He was coiled around the spherical ball that was previously the Celestial Tree.
The girl smiled to the Dragon God, which made his heart leap. With a flick of her fingers, Dragon God turned into ray of light that integrated with Asura Tenka and became her Soul Spirit.
The ball that remained was condensed to a drop that paired together with the drop of Heavenly Devil's black blood and merged into one. The girl once again flicked her fingers and the drop of blood integrated into Xun Meng's body as twin figures rose behind her.
One was the shadow of a Devil while the other was a shadow of an Angel. Those were her twin Soul Spirits as of now.
The girl flicked her fingers again and all the stars in the space magically started moving and several of them shot off, falling on the bodies of each kid. Every single child got an advanced form of Spirit Emblem - the Spirit Avatar. It was something none of the Celestial Realm's residents knew of.
Asura Ryuu didn't do anything. He could feel everything the girl did and the reason for every action she took. She wanted all of these children to be his lifelong companions because all of them had luck to undergo awakening together with Asura Ryuu. When their Soul Avatars awoke, they felt an enormous suppression coming from the girl and Asura Ryuu.
The Chaos Dragon: "All of you have luck to be his friends. As long as you cherish the bond with him and remember the favor all of you have received from him today, you will be able to soar beyond the confines of your current world. If you want to become Gods, follow him. His name is Asura Ryuu."
The children took every word the girl said like divine decree. It was because of the influence of the intangible majesty and towering feeling hidden in her voice that suppressed them on a fundamental level. The children only felt their little hearts throb as they looked at the boy their age that got a favor from this Goddess. Just when they began thinking whether she was his Soul Emblem, the girl spoke once more.
The Chaos Dragon: "I believe you know what kind of Soul Spirits you've received since you also got their memories. Even though you appear to be children to the outside world, your minds are very stable. Listen well to what I have to say next. Never, ever in your lives speak of what happened here to anyone - not even your parents or future lovers. Only the twenty-four of you can know what happened here, understood?"
Everyone nodded their heads, and Asura Ryuu was able to feel their emotions for some reason. He immediately knew why - it was the effect of his Soul Spirit. The dragon girl faced Asura Ryuu and smiled once again as her eyes shone with endless satisfaction. She turned into a ray of light and transformed to the little white dragon Asura Ryuu saw within the crystal.
Just as he was about to ask about the crystal, the girl's enchanting voice resounded in his mind: "It only served to maintain my connection with your world, there's nothing special about it. That's the most basic material that can be found in upper realms, but for your realm, it's a treasure."
Asura Ryuu gazed at the children that gathered before him and felt a bit strange. The small white dragon on his shoulder licked his cheek and started rubbing its small horns against him. At the same time in his mind, there was a voice that left him shocked.
The Chaos Dragon: "Purrrr... I have you all to myself now, hehehehe. I'm so happy."
Asura Ryuu was at a loss. "Is she a dragon or a cat?! Also, what does she mean she has me to herself?"
At this moment, he noticed something weird. The Dragon God wasn't in his Divine World anymore. Because of the connection between them, the white dragon knew what he was thinking about.
The Chaos Dragon: "That little guy is your girlfriend's Spirit Avatar. However, the duty he gave you still lies on you. It's just that she'll become the new Dragon God after you collect all of his remains instead of you. It's a good thing for her."
Asura Ryuu: "...?!"
The Chaos Dragon: "Oh? You're wondering how and why did I throw him out from your Divine World? How can that little snake be worthy of you? Only I can reside here, hehehe. Ah, right! That little girl, Xun Meng. She'll be quite a hassle to manage when she reaches a certain level of cultivation, so you need to be by her side then. Only with you there can she break through safely because of the conflicting Soul Spirits."
Asura Ryuu: "What about Xun Bao?"
The Chaos Dragon: "What about him?"
Asura Ryuu: "Why didn't you give him something too? You only gave Asura Tenka and Xun Meng my possessions."
The Chaos Dragon: "Eeh... but I don't want to help men."
Asura Ryuu: "Huh? Why?"
The Chaos Dragon: "What do you mean why? I need to enter their mind and read their memories in order to help them, why would I do that for a man?"
Asura Ryuu: "But... I'm a man too..."
The girl laughed with the most charming laugh he had ever heard. It didn't seem like that kind of laughter can come from an angel-like girl. It's like she was a devil in the form of an angel.
The Chaos Dragon: "But you're my man now, so that's something else."
Asura Ryuu: "..."
The Chaos Dragon: "You can help him yourself, there's no need for me to do it."
Asura Ryuu thought about it and realised what she meant. He summoned the Divine Core his parents had left behind and threw it to over to Xun Bao. The little lazy guy who was still watching the dragon as it jumped around on Asura Ryuu's shoulder and poked his cheeks with its horns suddenly saw a spherical object flying toward himself.
He tried to react but the dragon's eyes flashed at that moment and the core shot directly into his body. He felt a huge force hidden within that thing and considering that he didn't know what it was; he was slightly afraid of it.
Asura Ryuu glanced at the small dragon that kept poking his cheeks while her magnetic laughter resounded in his mind with doubtful eyes. She slightly turned her head as if not knowing why he was looking at her like that. She was simply feigning ignorance. Knowing that he couldn't do anything, Asura Ryuu sighed once again.
It was at this moment that six Demon Beasts and eight Spirits came forward and knelt before Asura Ryuu.
"We greet the Lord!"
Asura Ryuu was scared out of his wits when they suddenly plunged to their knees and didn't know what to do. It was then that the little white dragon flew up from his shoulder and nested on his head while looking at the humans that were still standing in the back.
The eight humans, Xun Bao and Xun Meng included, hastily ran up and did the same. The little white dragon glanced at them kneeling before 'her man' and flapped her wings in happiness.
The Chaos Dragon: "You lot won't regret this as long as you follow your Lord. I congratulate you in advance."
The kids that were at first slightly unwilling suddenly became filled with a strange sense of pride, being praised by this dragon that they saw as a genuine God in their hearts.
Asura Ryuu shook his head slightly and helped everyone up. He wasn't comfortable with them kneeling because he didn't want to see that scene happen with borrowed power.
Asura Ryuu: "There's no need to act like this. If you really want to follow me, then we can all be brothers and sisters. Like that we'll all be equals."
The dragon on the top of his head was slightly dissatisfied with how he behaved and started pulling his hair with her teeth and slightly clenching her claws which caused a tingling and irritating feeling on Asura Ryuu's head. His face slightly contorted, and he began pulling the dragon. The children saw this and started laughing. One of them suddenly said: "Then, if we are all brothers and sisters, can we call you Big Brother Ryuu?"
Asura Ryuu looked at the shining eyes of this kid and nodded his head. But the irritating tingling returned once again as he 'fought' with the dragon and ended up falling in the end. The white dragon circled twice above him to mark her victory and then flew down on his chest and nested there. She yawned and swung her tail, which made a crack in space. The crack suddenly spread and sucked in all of them as all of them returned to their world.