The House of Dragonheart was thrown into chaos when they discovered Ardiel had vanished the night his Dragon Mark resonated with Exzhen's. For such a well-guarded place, this disappearance was incredibly alarming.
It had been nearly four hours since Ardiel went missing, but that was enough time for everyone to turn the entire territory upside down in search of any clue about him. Meanwhile, Ardiel had only spent about two hours in the Spirit Realm. The time difference was due to the high concentration of mana in the Spirit Realm, causing time to flow more slowly there.
A small rift appeared in Ardiel's bedroom. The void stretched gradually until Ardiel slowly emerged from it and collapsed onto his bed.
"Aghh, my head feels like it's splitting apart," he groaned, clenching his hands tightly against his temples while gently massaging them.
He unknowingly fell asleep as the pain subsided. The sudden changes in environment, especially concerning the Dragon Mark, had been taxing for his young body and had brought forth changes in his constitution.
While the whole territory of Dragonheart had been sparing no time to find him, here he was taking the deepest sleep he ever had in his life, even snoring from time to time. Midnight was approaching and everyone was busy turning every stone upside down, sparing no effort.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway, growing louder and more frantic with each step. The urgency was palpable, each footfall betraying the deep worry of those searching for him.
When the door burst open, Frey was met with the sight of his youngest son sleeping soundly on his bed. As the head of the household, Frey had been the first to notice Ardiel's disappearance and his sudden reappearance. He rushed back to Azure Hall to check on him, his concern evident.
Frey's brows knitted as he noticed something unusual. The Dragon Mark on Ardiel's back had changed. What had once been a simple black mark now had hints of gold woven through it, and the dragon wings, once coiled, were now fully spread across his upper back.
A shock, like cold water, splashed over Frey when he realized that Ardiel's body, previously devoid of mana due to events ten years ago, now held a small amount of extremely pure magic power—more potent than his own—circulating throughout his prematurely opened mana channels.
While this brings good news, it also screams danger. Ardiel's body might struggle to adapt to this sudden influx of power, which could put him at great risk.
Footsteps followed as several individuals entered the room one by one. Thesia sighed in relief upon seeing his son safe. Reno, with tears in his eyes, sprinted to Ardiel's bedside, his worry and joy mingling in his embrace.
"How is he?" Thesia asked, her face etched with stress.
"I'm not sure yet," Frey replied, still grappling with the implications of what he was seeing. "He seems fine, just asleep."
Ravenia stepped forward, placing her hand gently on Ardiel's chest. A green aura enveloped him as she carefully assessed his condition. Shock appeared on her face as she examined the results.
"What do you think?" Frey asked, his concern growing.
"I'm uncertain," Ravenia admitted. "This is new to me too. His body is definitely trying to adapt to these changes, but the process is very subtle—almost microscopic."
The room fell silent as they absorbed the gravity of the situation.
"We shouldn't disturb his rest," Ravenia suggested. "I'll take charge of monitoring him until he wakes up. You should all get some rest, and Frey, tell the search parties to stand down. This troublesome kid of yours is here."
Reluctantly, they agreed and left the room, trusting Ravenia to keep watch over Ardiel.
As morning broke, the cold wind blew relentlessly, overpowering the soft warmth of the rising sun. Everyone woke up and went straight to their duties, with the majority still thinking about what happened last night.
Ardiel was met with a familiar white ceiling as he opened his eyes and exited from his sleep. He felt unexpectedly light in contrast to how much he had to endure yesterday, which in turn made him feel pleasant about it, at least things are fine now.
"You're up!" Ravenia greeted, peacefully seated on the chair beside his bed while writing something on a paper with her favorite quill.
"Grand Auntie!" He exclaimed as he saw the elegant lady.
"You caused quite an uproar this time huh, so tell me, how do you feel?" she asked.
"I feel…normal," Ardiel uttered while also feeling weird how perfectly normal he was right now.
"Exzhen said about the time difference," he whispered to himself, to which Ravenia didn't miss.
"Exzhen?" She curiously inquired.
"Ah, Exzhen is my Dragon Pair," Ardiel remembered Exzhen's advice to only reveal their connection as Dragon Pairs for now, keeping their deeper bond a secret until the time was right.
"You have a lot to explain," Ravenia said, sensing that Ardiel was holding back. However, she knew it wasn't her place to delve deeper; the council would need to hear everything and make a decision.
Fortunately, Exzhen was a clever individual that he had prepared Ardiel for this very scenario, anticipating how Dragonheart would react to every single thing concerning their family's legacy.
"For now, I'll call Reno to help you get ready. Go to the Dragon Citadel after breakfast," Ravenia instructed before leaving him alone in his room.
Ardiel nodded absently as he watched her go. Excitement bubbled within him at the thought of starting his training and joining his siblings for their peerage training before their provisional deployment. Meeting the council seemed less important, given the leeway Exzhen had provided him.
A few minutes later, Reno burst in, his face a mix of relief and amusement and proceeded in bombarding him with questions.
"To even move the Golden Scale Knights last night—oh boy, you really threw everyone into a panic," Reno said, laughing as he recounted the chaos of the previous night's search.
"That actually happened?" Ardiel was touched at how valued he was, he had always been, but he was so occupied with his vision that he tends to overlook some aspects.
"Father showed a new side of him though, he looked like he would conquer the Empire with this aura, It's giving me chills, lightning was sparking around him like tyrant who just went from war," Reno continued, spinning exaggerated tales as they walked through the long corridors toward the Dining area, with the hallway flanked by bronze-armored knights who was casting their eyes onto them, making sure Ardiel wouldn't disappear into thin air or something.
"Good Morning sister Eileen!" Reno joyfully greeted their only sister who was now seated at the right side of the table.
"Hello! It's good to have you both here for breakfast, especially you, Ardiel, I hope you're fine!" she gazed at him with concerned eyes but that changed almost an instant and was replaced with a nonchalant look.
"Thank you for your concern, Sister," Ardiel smiled and sat beside Reno, located adjacent to their sister. He observed his sister's peculiar behavior, similar to that of her twin brother, Erick, their second brother.
"Where's Bro Erick?" Reno asked.
"Uncle Tristan took him out for an errand. Brother Yuran is off on his mission for his provisional deployment," Eileen replied.
Starving, Ardiel dove into the breakfast spread, tuning out Reno's ongoing stories about last night's events, again, still unbothered on what was about to happen later with the family's elders.