Chương 679: Chapter 680: Tephe's lesson

Tephe had her eyes closed as she floated in the lava. After impacting the lava and sinking below the surface, Tephe had entered a kind of trance as she suddenly heard the voice of her mother. As she opened her eyes, she found herself staring up at a sky she knew all too well before her body moved on its own and rolled over, allowing her to stand up on all fours.

Initially, she believed that she had once again entered the memories of Tephe Two; however, she immediately changed her mind after recognising the memory as one of her own from when she was younger and still unable to take her humanoid form. Tephe looked up at the green coloured dragon that towered above her before saying in complaint, "Mum, that hurt." Pevaphio laughed at her daughter's response before saying, "Of course it did, little one. What did you think would happen if you took my breath attack?

Though admittedly, that was only a fraction of my full power."

"That was only a fraction?" Tephe asked in amazement before adding, "You're really strong, Mum."

"Hahaha, of course," Pevaphio laughed before adding in a bragging tone, "Your mum's the strongest."

"Could you beat Grandpa?" Tephe asked in wonder. Pevaphio coughed awkwardly before she changed the subject by asking, "So what did you learn?"

"That breath attack's hurt and I shouldn't have asked you to teach me how to do it," Tephe replied.

"I did warn you and tell you that you're still too young to learn, but you insisted that I teach you," Pevaphio replied in amusement.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you would use your breath attack against me," Tephe replied with a pout before adding, "I thought you would use it against a tree or something."

"A tree?" Pevaphio repeated with a frown before asking, "Have you been slacking in your studies again?"

"No," Tephe immediately replied.

"Then why did you assume I would use my breath attack against a tree?" Pevaphio asked suspiciously before adding, "Surely you know what would happen if I did that?"

"Oh, errr, of course, hahaha," Tephe replied before laughing nervously.

"Then why don't you explain to me what would happen if I were to use my breath attack against that tree?" Pevaphio asked in amusement while using her claw to point at a tree in the distance.

"It would naturally be destroyed since you're so strong, Mum," Tephe said proudly.

"That's sweet of you to say, dear, but you're wrong," Pevaphio replied.

"What?" Tephe asked in amazement before asking, "Mum, you can't destroy a tree?"

"Damn, brat, of course I can," Pevaphio said in annoyance before flicking Tephe's forehead with her claw.

"Oww," Tephe yelled in pain while covering her head with her paws and mumbling, "That hurt, mum."

"It was supposed to hurt, little one; you should know better than to cheek your own mother," Pevaphio replied.

"Cheek you? How did I cheek you?" Tephe asked in confusion as she looked up at her mother with teary eyes.

"By saying that, your mother can't even destroy a simple tree," Pevaphio retorted. Tephe looked up at her mother in confusion before saying, "But you're the one who said the tree wouldn't be destroyed if you attacked it."

"This is why you need to focus on your studies, little one," Pevaphio said with a sigh. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"But they're so boring," Tephe complained before adding, "Also, why do I need to learn so much when I'm not even allowed to leave the planet except for special occasions and accompanied by someone?"

"You know very well why," Pevaphio replied while looking down at her daughter in sympathy.

"Stupid prophecy," Tephe grumbled before asking, "Why couldn't the oracle give me a different one?"

"It doesn't work like that, little one. Oracle Andromeda only receives the prophecies; she doesn't make them herself," Pevaphio explained calmly.

"It's still not fair," Tephe said sadly before adding, "I wish I had been born a green dragon like you, Mum, instead of a stupid white one." Pevaphio looked down at her daughter in a loving way before asking, "Would you like to see something cool?"

"Something cool?" Tephe repeated as she looked up at her mother with interest. Pevaphio nodded before asking, "As a green dragon, do you know what sort of element I'm connected with?"

"I thought you were going to show me something cool, not give me a lesson, Mum," Tephe complained.

"Everything in life is a lesson, little one," Pevaphio replied before asking, "So do you know the answer?"

"Plant," Tephe replied.

"Well done," Pevaphio said with a smile before adding, "Now watch what happens when I attack that tree." As she finished speaking, Pevaphio opened her maw before a green light began to gather there that steadily got brighter, and as it reached its peak, she released her breath attack at the tree she had indicated. The green breath attack rapidly crossed the distance between her and the tree before impacting it. However, instead of it being destroyed as Tephe had expected, something incredible happened.

The tree actually began to grow bigger and bigger, and the trunk expanded outwards, causing it to get closer and closer to Tephe. As her mother's attack came to an end, Tephe had to crane her neck in an attempt to see the crown of the tree, which had actually vanished into the clouds.

"WOW!" Tephe said excitedly as she stared in awe at the enormous tree, whose top she couldn't even see.

"Impressed?" Pevaphio asked with a smile. Tephe turned to her before saying, "You're so cool, Mum."

"Told you your mum's the strongest," Pevaphio boasted.

"Right," Tephe nodded in agreement before adding, "No wonder you're our races senator."

"Haha," Pevaphio laughed before nudging Tephe's head with her jaw affectionately, after which she asked, "Do you know why my attack suddenly made the tree grow so much?" Tephe thought for a moment before saying hesitantly, "Because your attack affected it in some way?"

"That's correct," Pevaphio nodded before saying, "Now listen carefully, little one. A breath attack can be released in two ways; the first way is what you just saw, where we release our breath attack in its normal form and it contains the element we are connected to. In this way, our attacks can influence and even enhance external sources of the same element, for example, a blue dragon attacking water or a red dragon attacking fire.

The second way is where we use our breath attack, but without any of the elements we are connected to being part of it. In this way, our breath attack is purely destructive power and if I had used that version, then the tree would indeed have been destroyed like you originally thought."

"But what about me, Mum?" Tephe asked before adding, "White dragons don't have any element they are connected to, right?" Pevaphio crouched down in front of her daughter before bringing her head down to her level as she said, "If you had been born a green dragon like me, then you would have been connected to the plant element. However, you were chosen for a far greater destiny, little one. You became the white dragon, the colour that our race respects above all others."

As Pevaphio finished speaking, the memory began to fade and soon after, Tephe opened her eyes; however, this time, there was something different about them. Reef Galaxy, Near Aqua Primus.

"I hope Tephe's ok, she's been down there a long time," Erkath mumbled to herself. She was well aware that Tephe should be fine since they can survive in lava; however, she couldn't think of a reason why Tephe would remain below the surface for so long, even a sneak attack shouldn't have taken her this long.

"Now arriving at Aqua Primus," The automated voice of the AI on Erkath's ship said before adding, "Dropping out of FTL." As Erkath glanced out the window, she saw the stars stop flashing past the side of her ship as it rapidly slowed down before a beautiful bluish-green planet appeared in the window.

"Begin docking procedure," Ekath instructed.

"Yes, madam," The AI replied before suddenly adding, "You have an incoming call, madam. It's from Vurguth."

"Ignore it, and block him," Erkath ordered immediately.

"Yes, madam," The AI replied before going silent. Erkath sighed as she glanced at the stream that was playing on a large holographic screen and currently showed Revi talking happily to Adam.

"Was I ever that happy when I was with Vurguth?" Erkath mumbled as she focused on Revi's happy smile. As she continued to stare at the stream, her eyes couldn't help but wander towards Adam as she remembered Rowena's joke about her joining Adam's harem. She had to admit that the idea was appealing since she liked Adam's personality and had enjoyed the interactions she'd had with him back on Oceana Seven. However, she wasn't sure about joining a group relationship since she had never been part of one before.

As she continued to stare at the man on the holographic screen, who was two millennia younger than her, her attention was suddenly caught by a message Kasumi sent in the chat.