"I'm sorry for your loss." Lith said after a while. "I swear that I was certain that Jormun was still under the effects of the Unwavering Loyalty array. I had no idea he would have died. "You have no idea how ashamed I am that my final words to him were of taunt whereas he forgave me with his last breath." "Don't worry, Lith. I don't blame you for Jormun's death." Leegaain said, making eyes go wide and mouths agape, but no one said a word. "He was my son, but he was also an adult Dragon over 900 years old. "It was by his choice that he returned to Thrud's side, refused my offer to get away with his child, and faced you in a battle to the death. We can say whatever we want, but it's our choices that define us and the actions that follow such choices are what determine our fate. "Jormun made many wrong choices which lead to his death and none of them is your responsibility. He was my son and his death bears on my shoulders. My only wish is that I could receive his forgiveness as well." The Father of all Dragons sighed, feeling his heart torn by grief from the death of one son and by the joy from the other who was about to be born. "Thanks. Your words mean a lot to me." Lith offered him his hand which Leegaain promptly shook, realizing how heavy the Tiamat's burden was. "I'm very sorry to add even more to your plate, but I have to ask." The Guardian said. "Jormun wanted you to raise Valeron the Second in case of Thrud's death and when I visited her, she expressed the same desire. What are your intentions?" "What a smart son of a Dragon." Lith inhaled sharply as the memory popped through the mist of worry about his marriage that clouded his mind. "He wants our children to grow together so that they learn from each other and benefit from the Guardian's protection." "Wanted." Leegaain corrected Lith even though he was happy with the slip of the tongue. "Also, I think Jormun knew that someone who went through so much shit as you would empathize with a child destined to be hated for who he is and not for what he has done. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂 "He probably wanted Valeron to be raised with love." "Why the farm does everyone always want to entrust their children to me?" Lith's felt his eyes become watery but kept his mouth in check since the children were there. "First Protector, then Kalla, Vladion, and now Jormun. "I must ask my wife and Solus first, but I can tell you even now that no matter their choice, I'll do my best to make sure that Valeron the Second doesn't have to suffer for the crimes of his mother." "Thank you so much." Leegaain embraced the Tiamat, making the awkwardness in the room fade away and everyone forget about the Kinslayer title. Dragons and Phoenixes approached both men to congratulate them when Salaark pulled up the curtain and walked toward Leegaain while holding a baby wrapped in a thick cloth. "Congratulations, dear. It's a boy." The room literally almost came down from the booming cheers, applauses, and stomps. Yet Salaark's palace quickly countered the shockwaves, stopping them before they caused a quake. "Already? We barely got here!" Kamila turned toward Elina with a flabbergasted look on her face, finding that their expressions matched. They had arrived for barely a couple of minutes and Salaark was already on her feet and the baby clean and wrapped. It meant that the delivery had taken a minute if not less. "I'm a Guardian, kid." The Mother of All Phoenixes replied. "If after having so many children I hadn't developed a foolproof method, I should be ashamed of myself." Before Selia, Elina, and Kamila could ask her to employ such a wonderful method on them when their time came, Salaark ignored them and walked forward to Leegaain. She offered him the baby that still looked human due to his mother's shapeshifting. Leegaain took him with infinite care and tenderness as if it was the first time, his heart torn more than ever. "Hello, little one. Let's see what we have." Leegaain turned into a human-sized Dragon and Salaark into a Phoenix, letting their blood resonate with the baby's. The shapeshifting came undone and the baby boy was replaced by a featherless chick bigger than an adult vulture. Leegaain gently caressed his beak, triggering the transformation into a Dragon whelp covered in black scales. 'Not to be that guy, but is that a Black Dragon like Syrook or a Shadow Dragon like Zoreth? Also, what about the Phoenix's side?' Lith asked Surtr via a mind link to not ruin the moment for everyone except the Dragon of Light. 'He's neither.' Surtr didn't appreciate picking the short end of the stick and his thoughts didn't hide one bit of his annoyance. 'The Firstborn of a Guardian always inherits their traits until the blue core. 'The black scales come from Dad, just like once the feathers grow, they will be red. The baby will be "just a Phoenix" until the blue and get the full scope of his bloodline abilities on violet. 'His children, instead, will be born with the same color of scales or feathers as our little brother, depending on which side of his life force he chooses, of course.' "I don't care what you are going to be, little one." Leegaain gently rocked the small Dragon. "Daddy promises to raise you right and to make sure that nothing bad happens to you. "You've lost two brothers already, Xedros and Jormun, because I failed them. They grew distant from me until they lost themselves. I'm not going to let it happen to you as well. "This time, I will be with you until you feel you don't need me anymore and even then, I'll always watch over you." The oath of a Guardian held a lot of weight, but Leegaain's heart was even heavier that day and he didn't mind. The little Dragon cooed before shapeshifting back into the chick and chirping. "I can't believe what an amazing job you did, Salaark. He's perf-" Then, it happened. The chick shapeshifted again, growing arms as the wings moved to his back and the bird feet grew into legs. It was still featherless and so were his wings, but his muzzle was that of a Dragon and a stumpy tail came from his back. Leegaain couldn't believe his own Dragon Eyes until he used his breathing technique, Worldkeeper. The child had two life forces, just like any hybrid, yet they danced together, merging into another perfect life force whenever they met instead of clashing. Leegaain clenched his teeth as his eyes became watery. The joy eclipsed the grief to the point that he allowed himself to hope that Jormun's soul wasn't lost and he had just found his way back to Mogar somewhere. "You did it, noisy sparrow. You really did it." The Father of All Dragons plus one felt his heart swelling and so did his body. "We did it, old lizard. Practice makes perfect, remember?" Salaark hugged him from behind, soothing his spirit.