After she warned them, Yasenia quickly dashed forward and carried Kaleina to the garden. She couldn't help but smile wryly. 'Must always something happen when we are relaxing? Well, it's not like I didn't expect it at all."
She was quick enough with the placement change that Kaleina didn't even sense being moved to the garden. As soon as she placed her down, Yasenia retreated with the rest, leaving Kaleina in the middle of the garden alone with what remained of the sandwich and three more in case she wanted more. 'If they get destroyed by the tribulation, it doesn't matter.'
Andrea asked, curious. "Were you expecting something like this?"
Yasenia shook her head as she looked up at the slowly gathering light grey clouds. "No. But it's also not surprising."
Andrea nodded. "You were quick to react, to be honest. I failed to sense anything until you said so."
The other girls agreed with Andrea. Cecile and then Evelyn, who was playing with her, were the only ones who reacted as soon as Yasenia. Cecile commented, "Hm… The tribulation feels off. It's a bit stronger than it should be."
Yasenia looked at Kaleina as she devoured the final piece of meat and then felt a pulse of energy coming from her. More than feel, though, it felt more like the absence of energy. Yasenia lifted her eyebrow. "Void Energy?"
Void Energy was contradictory for people who didn't have it because it was an energy that made the other energies "disappear." While, in truth, Void Energy just sent everything it touched "outside" of space and into the [Void].
Therefore, void energy's sensation was a lack of feeling and deprivation of sense.
During all these years of care on Yasenia's and the rest's part, Kaleina and Flame both reached the peak of the first realm, Flame for Body Cultivation and Kaleina for Beast Cultivation.
Flame was stuck there for a few more years until her body fully matured, but Kaleina was not as such.
Beasts could break through as long as their core developed enough and they had absorbed enough energy. That's why some beasts with powerful bloodlines were born with cultivation they had developed while being gestated.
Our dragoness was filled with a mix of uncertainty and excitement, unsure of when and how she would break through but confident that it was imminent. She had a hunch that it wouldn't take more than three years. 'Fu Lang Zu's meat seems to be much more potent than I anticipated. But the reaction is quite intense; what could be the reason for that?'
Yasenia observed that Kaleina was entirely focused on herself, ignoring everything else. 'Hm, it seems that the extra meat was- Oh, never mind.'
Kaleina's nose twitched, and she began munching on another sandwich, gaining extra energy that could be seen going through her body as streaks of light. She was satiated after eating another one, leaving the other two there.
Then, Kaleina, with her body full of energy, began stretching and looking upward to the sky. Her golden eyes glowed as her purple-gold body crackled with energy. Then, a powerful bloodline pressure spread around the place as Kaleina opened her mouth and, for the first time, roared like a real dragon.
"ROAR!"
The powerful sound coming from the bottom of her throat was smooth yet imposing. Thanks to her Void attribute, it reverberated with the body in a unique way. It was very different from Yasenia's deep and overpowering dragon cry.
When Yasenia roared, you would feel small and want to cower in fear and awe as the sound seemed to weigh on your body and soul.
When Kaleina roared, your mind would go blank as the body sensations felt faint for a fraction of a second before returning to normal.
Right after her roar, the light grey clouds lit up, and a bolt of thin lightning dropped in the blink of an eye.
BANG!
Kaleina's serpentine body stiffened as electricity crackled through it. Her face twisted in pain as some of her scales cracked.
Yasneia's face changed, and she asked, "Why was it so quick?"
Tatyana pondered and looked up at the tribulation clouds. Her spiritual sense extended toward them, enveloping them in an enormous net where she could observe at will. "Hm… It seems that there aren't just three bolts; there are five."
Three was the standard number for creatures entering the second realm. Having almost double was quite rare. The dragoness was honestly confused.
Mirrory appeared, floating about like always, and looked up as well. "That little one is not only breaking through, it seems."
Tatyana nodded. "I agree, but do you know what is happening?"
Mirrory pondered as she observed the clouds charging and shooting the second bolt of lightning.
BANG!
Her eyes followed it and observed the changes happening inside Kaleina. The pain she was experiencing was far beyond what the lightning should've done, and Mirrory had a few ideas in her head. "I think I know, but I'm not one hundred percent sure. Do you want to hear either way?"
Yasenia nodded. "It's better than looking while not knowing anything. She is far more injured than she should be because she can't really defend herself with the Heavenly Lightning's speed."
Mirrory commented. "Well, I think that hatchling is trying to transform."
Angel blinked and asked, confused. "Transform into what?"
Yasenia muttered, her voice incredulous. "She is humanizing when she is just in the second realm? Are you sure?"
The girls were stunned when they heard Yasenia looking at the little dragon struggling with a profound gaze. Humanizing was usually done much later because of maturity problems. However, the fact that Kaleina could do so already gave away how special her bloodline was.
If the bloodline was powerful enough, there would never be a need to reach such a stage to humanize. For our girls, Kaleina gaining that ability in just the second realm was nothing but something miraculous.
Mirrory commented. "It's no wonder you couldn't hatch her previously. She comes probably from a high-level world, perhaps even higher. Your bloodline level before your awakening was just not enough."
Yasenia had already guessed it, but having it confirmed was another thing. As she saw the third lightning bolt about to drop, she asked. "How are Kaleina's chances?"
Tatyana hugged her arm. "Don't worry. If the second tribulation could kill her, that bloodline of hers would honestly be wasted. Oh, look."
Yasenia looked over and saw Kaleina looking up with defiant eyes. Her golden eyes shone with determination and strength, and just before the lightning bolt descended, a wave of Void Energy surrounded her body, making it flicker.
BANG!
The lightning bolt landed either way. However, the girls could clearly see that the damage it did was much less than even the first one. Kaleina looked up and roared. "ROAR!"
Evelyn smiled. "She is very similar to you, Yasenia."
Yasenia's lips arched proudly. "Of course, she is my daughter, after all."
RUMBLE!
The clouds shook, and the fourth bolt fell while Kaleina did the same trick. The impact was much more potent than before, creating more injuries across Kaleina's serpentine body.
However, even when she was aching and burning everywhere, Kaleina kept her face straight, clenching her jaw as her claws sank into the soft dirt. "COME!"
RUMBLE!
The fifth and last bolt fell with double the strength of the previous one, striking Kaleina into the ground from the sheer strength behind it and creating a small explosion.
Yasenia wanted to rush forward, but Tatyana grabbed her hand, stopping her. The dragoness was so focused on Kaleina's well-being that she almost threw the hand away. However, before that, she remembered who it was and stopped herself. "What's wrong? Why are you stopping me?"
Tatyana smirked. "Wait a moment, she is going to transform, so she needs focus. You can go right after she does so."
Yasenia struggled, her body fidgeting. Still, she didn't rush forward.
The girls could clearly see what was happening in the small crater created by the lightning bolt and saw Kaleina's body growing in size. Her body lengthened and thickened, becoming much more dragon-like. Her purple scales with golden patterns were clearly reflected, while a beautiful mane that changed from purple to golden slowly grew.
Her body, now around 6 meters long, was already too big for Yasenia to carry around without Kaleina dragging on the floor. Moreover, because she was a dragon and not a snake, she was much thicker and had the same proportions, looking powerful and elegant.
The girls noticed Kaleina's energy rotating inside her while spreading around thinly. As more and more energy was released from the core, Kaleina's body began strangely shifting and becoming translucent. It was as if she was changing between a ghostly form with white glitter inside and her usual look.
Then, her body began to shrink. It was a very gradual process.
You could see the energy moving and carefully changing her. Her scales slowly blended with her skin, her mane gradually separated except around her head, and her draconic face changed as it gained increasingly clear human-like features.
The first transformation was always the slowest one.
Yasenia didn't sit during the entire event; she was standing attentively while watching Kaleina gain an increasingly noticeable human form.
As with most beasts, all her draconic traits disappeared, making her purely human-looking. Her shape was clearly that of a child, looking around eight years old.
Yasenia quickly rushed forward and used her arms to pick up the small girl carefully. Her movements as she did so were slow and gentle, holding her as if making a bit too much strength would break her. "Baby, are you awake?"
Kaleina's eyelids trembled, and she slowly opened her big and round eyes, revealing a pair of charming golden slit eyes identical to Yasenia's.
Seeing that image, the girls couldn't help but pause. If they didn't know the child's true origins, looking blankly at Yasenia, they would've really thought that she was her biological daughter.
Kaleina's body was, well, that of a child, while her hair was purple like her scales. Still, it wasn't wholly purple. It had golden highlights that gave it a beautiful mix of colors. Her round face was adorable, and her beautiful straight eyebrows and long eyelashes made her so pretty that those looking were tempted to pinch her.
Kaleina looked around, confused, and then her eyes remained fixed on Yasenia's smiling, soft golden eyes as if entranced. Her heart felt full of satisfaction as the love coming from her mother filled her. "Mommy?"
Kaleina saw her mother's smile widen gently as she softly spoke to her. The soothing voice calmed her body, while the familiar beating heart made her entire body soft and completely reliant on her. "I'm here, my baby. How are you feeling?"