Chapter 3953: Second Place (Part 2) "You two share a mind link, the life-and-death bond, and I’m the one locked outside of your special relationship, am I not?" Nalrond asked. "That’s fair." Faluel chuckled. "Don’t worry, I’ll be extra careful, Kami." "Now that this is solved, how do you feel knowing you’ll be the second Lesser Divine Beast to achieve Dragonhood, Faluel?" Morok had remained silent until that moment only in respect for his fellow soon-to-be father. "What do you mean, second?" Faluel’s eyes twitched uncontrollably, way worse than Ajatar’s. "Well, yeah." Morok shrugged. "Master Ajatar’s evolutionary path is simpler and more straightforward. He was bound to beat you to Dragonhood even without this forced break. "On top of that, he is not going to put his research on hold for fairness’s sake while you wait for Friya to give birth. Unless Master Ajatar falls into a coma, you have no way to achieve Dragonhood before him. "You’ll be the second out of two. In other words, you’ll come in last. Unless, of course, another Drake figures out the trick after Master Ajatar shows off his Dragon form to his clan. Then you might be third, fourth, or maybe even-" "Shut up!" The Hydra cut him short. The Tyrant had a gift for annoying people, but what made him truly insufferable was the hard, cold truth in his words. ’Once Ajatar achieves Dragonhood, he has no reason to keep it hidden from the rest of Mogar.’ Faluel inwardly cursed her unjust fate. ’At that point, even if he doesn’t share anything about our joint research, all those in the Harmonizer project will realize the truth. ’They know I’m the one who brought Ajatar in and that we are on friendly terms. What stumps the rest of the researchers is the idea that Dragonhood is still a faraway goal, but, as Zagran said, once they witness Ajatar’s success, they’ll know it’s possible. ’It will be enough for other Hydras to involve more Drakes in our research, and it will take them much less than eight months to walk in our footsteps. By the time Friya’s twins are born, I won’t be even among the first ten to achieve Dragonhood. I’ll just be one of many.’ ’But my babies will grow up knowing they have the best godmother in the world.’ Friya said, intruding on the Hydra’s thoughts via their bond. ’Thank you for sacrificing so much for me, Master Faluel. ’It means a lot for me, my husband, my family, and all my friends.’ She brought the Hydra’s hand to her womb, and Faluel felt the two small lives through the blood they shared with her. Anyone else would have thought that Friya had taken a page from Jirni’s book and was trying to manipulate the Hydra, but the relationship between Harbinger and master made such deception impossible. Listening to Faluel’s thoughts had allowed Friya to realize how much the Hydra was giving up for her twins’ sake, just like Faluel felt Friya’s honest joy and gratitude. On top of that, the blood bond between them stirred one of the few instincts capable of overriding Dragon greed in the Hydra. ’There’s no need to thank me.’ Faluel replied, her determination to protect the unborn babies no less than if they were growing inside of her. ’Hatchlings must be protected at all costs. Treasures and glory come and go. Children cannot be replaced.’ Master and Harbinger shared a tender moment of motherhood that brought a happy smile to Faluel’s face and awakened a part of her that had grown dull after Sedra’s death. ’Gods-dammit, Nalrond is right!’ Anger and warmth fought for control over the Hydra’s heart, but warmth quickly beat anger into a pulp. ’About what?’ Friya asked, confused by the whirlwind of the Hydra’s feelings. ’I am the Solus in your relationship.’ Faluel admitted. ’I already love these children as though they are mine.’ ’Good to know.’ Friya chuckled. ’Just keep your hands off my Kamila, okay?’ ’I’ll do my best.’ The Hydra stared at Ajatar. The Drake had suddenly become incredibly attractive to her eyes, and a few thoughts formed in her head that made Ajatar take a few steps back. "Why are you staring at me so intensely?" He asked. "I have no idea what you are talking about." Faluel lied through her teeth. "Come on, Friya, let’s get this over with." "Gladly." She embraced Nalrond tight, and he gave her a sweet kiss. After he let her go, he bent down to kiss her womb. "Come back safe. All three of you." Nalrond said. "We will." Friya entered her life support tank, quickly imitated by Faluel. "Aren’t you afraid they’ll steal something of your research with Dragon Eyes?" Morok asked as the nutrient’s fluid flooded the crystal containers. "No. This is our joint research facility." The Drake replied. "Faluel already knows every enchantment in the room." Then, a thought flashed through his mind. "I stand corrected. I forgot about your Wyrmguard armor. Put that away, please. It’s one of my best pieces." "No problem." Morok swapped his clothes for an army standard issue of Skinwalker armor. "Thank you for the trust." Faluel shapeshifted into her full Hydra form and clicked her many tongues. "I’m ready to begin. I’ll stop at the third step, do you copy?" ’Damn, I forgot about the inbuilt communication system.’ He thought. "Loud and clear." Ajatar actually said. "All arrays are charged and operational. Your and Friya’s energy signatures are strong and steady. They are being recorded as we speak. You may begin." "Commencing now." Faluel wore the Hands of Menadion and used them to gain surgical control over the world energy coming from the mana geyser below. Then, she used her breathing technique, Lifestream, to study her life force one more time and establish a road map. She started from the imperfection that she now knew to be the atrophied organ for Dragon Eyes. The influx of mana turned the bump in her life force into a bubble and then into a sunspot that collapsed on itself, forming what looked like a vertical slitted pupil. Both the Hydra and Friya felt an itch in their eyes that grew stronger over time. Even with the distortion of the nutrient liquid, Friya’s sight became keener, and details that she hadn’t noticed until a moment ago became evident as if someone had drawn a red circle around them. ’That’s phase one. Dragon Eyes on the eyes.’ Faluel said. ’Don’t fight it, but don’t focus on anything either, or the information will overload your brain.’ More bubbles and sunspots appeared in master’s and Harbinger’s life force, and Faluel focused solely on the former. The bubbles burst into new sunspots that collapsed into a vertical slitted pupil as well before merging with the first. The itch reached the back of Friya’s eyes and spread to her brain. Now, not only did she notice more details of the enchantments in the room, but she could also guess their properties and how to reproduce them. ’This is phase two. You have Dragon Eyes, and your brain can process all the information safely. Feel free to take a look around the room. What’s mine is also yours.’ ’Thanks, Master Faluel.’ The shared mind with the Hydra allowed Friya to deconstruct most devices at first glance.