Chương 109: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 109 - Gift — What Was Lost

"Ah! It's beautiful!"

"This — is this for Anna?" Anna's voice trembled. She could barely believe it. This was the first gift she'd ever received. And what a gift. The pendant showed a black dragon and a small girl, and the Black Dragon had clearly made it with care. Just looking at it, she could feel Su Nian's love. Love. For Anna, that word had always been a luxury. In ancient times, most Half-Elves had followed Emperor Shivi off this scarred continent, and the world gradually slid into the Age of Decay. Magic thinned.

Resources dried up. For races that relied on mana and fighting spirit to grow stronger, advancement became nearly impossible. Half-Elves were the exception, in theory. All they needed was to find their Wilderness Source, complete their first-stage awakening, and they would ascend into High Elves, powerful and exalted. The names were nearly identical. Half-Elf. High Elf. One word apart. But the gap in status was a chasm. High Elves were the Emerald Forest's pinnacle power, feared and revered.

Half-Elves were something else entirely. They only had the chance to become that. Because Half-Elves were so rare, the Emerald Forest poured enormous resources into raising each one, searching carefully for the right moment of awakening. Before adulthood, every Half-Elf was given ten attempts, ten chances to reach a Wilderness Source and cross over. Those who succeeded became High Elves, cherished by all elvenkind. Those who failed all ten were branded as trash: bloodlines too thin to matter.

Anna was one of those failures. Her childhood had been happy. The Emerald Forest's protection, the constant flow of resources, she'd been treated like something precious. But there were those who resented her for it, who watched and waited. When she finally failed, she didn't just fall from grace. She fell into the abyss, and people lined up to kick her on the way down.

Her family was driven from the Emerald Forest's core, exiled to the dangerous outskirts where ferocious beasts roamed and human slave-hunting parties prowled. Her relatives didn't blame her outright, but the disappointment was there, plain and impossible to ignore. The warmth they'd shown her before quietly cooled, like embers going out. Life on the outskirts left no room for softness. Every moment was survival, every second a held breath. Who had time to tend to a small daughter's feelings?

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Thinking back on the humiliation, the insults, the family members who died at demons' hands, Anna's bright eyes blurred. Besides her family, only the dragon in front of her had ever truly loved her. Even her former teacher had abandoned her after learning she'd never awaken. Only Su Nian. Even when she was sick. Even when she was nothing but a burden.

He'd brought her along anyway, looked after her, and now made her a gift that meant everything.

"Wuu... Brother..." She couldn't hold it in anymore. She pressed her face against the Black Dragon's neck and cried. These tears were sour and bitter, carrying all the old grief and hurt with them. But once they were spent, what remained should be sweetness. It should be happiness. Su Nian had been gazing up at the sky, waiting for her reaction. He got a reaction, all right. Just not the one he'd expected. The crying completely threw him. Was the pendant ugly?

Had he not cleaned the dragon breath liquid off properly, and now it was burning her? No. That couldn't be right. He'd checked it multiple times. He'd even rested it on the most sensitive barb on his body to test it after finishing. No problem. None at all. But she was crying, and regardless of why, he had to do something about it. He scooped her gently into one claw and pushed his massive body upright. Anna fit in his palm like a toy now. They used to be able to barely manage a kiss.

Now a kiss would be a full bath.

"Brother..." She clung to his chest, crying quietly.

"Clung" was generous, she was more like a small girl throwing her arms as wide as they'd go against a wall. Still, through the opened scales, he could feel the softness of her against him, and his keen nose caught the clean, faint scent of her skin. His tongue felt a little itchy. Uncomfortable. But that was not the priority right now.

"What's wrong, Anna?" he asked.

"Do you not like the necklace? Or did it make you think of something unhappy?" His dragon head was right in front of her, the only part of him she could still somewhat embrace. She turned and wrapped her arms around his broad snout. His warm breath washed over her in steady waves, drying the tears from her cheeks almost as fast as they fell.

"No... Brother, Anna loves this gift very much." She pressed her cheek softly against his nose, rubbing gently against the bone. Behind her, her fox tail curled tight around one of his claws.

"It's just... I thought of some things. Old things. But they're in the past now."

"Anna has Brother. That's enough." She lifted her tear-bright eyes. A soft smile settled at the corners of her mouth. Her little dimple caught the light. A teardrop rolled into it and stayed there, like something sweet slowly fermenting.

"It's just that Anna seems to have nothing to give Brother in return." Her voice grew quieter.

"Anna has nothing... nothing except Brother." The words trailed away. Her fluffy white fox ears drooped.

"Anna, you're already my best gift," Su Nian said simply. He meant it. Giving a gift to someone you cared about didn't call for reciprocation, it came from somewhere deeper than that. And he wasn't naive about it, either. That kind of feeling only made sense when it went both ways, and this did. Even as the one giving, he felt something. A warmth. A sense of being needed. But Anna didn't see it that way. To her, if he gave her something, she had to give something back.

"No." Her voice was small.

"It's not the same." She tilted her head and thought, turned herself over and over searching for something to offer, and found nothing. Color crept into her fair cheeks, a helpless blush of embarrassment.

"Brother... Anna is too poor." She lowered her head.

"I'm sorry." Her long lashes fell against her cheeks. Her bare feet trembled slightly, toes curling gently against nothing. Then, after a quiet moment, she raised her eyes — those soft, peach-blossom eyes — and lifted both hands to cradle his chin. She looked directly into his pale gold dragon eyes, and when she spoke, her voice was steady.

"Brother... Anna..."

"Anna has nothing to give you right now. So Anna can only give you her heart." She held his gaze.

"And if Anna ever accidentally dies... please eat her." A small smile crossed her face.

"That way, we can be together forever." Su Nian stared at the elven girl in front of him. She smiled, just slightly. The breeze lifted a strand of her snow-white hair. [Anna Hathaway Favorability +9, Current Favorability: 99] ➤ Next: Bond