Delphina

Delphina Casimir.

That is my name.

My mother is the daughter of the Eldest Princess of the Great Dragon Divine Dynasty, and my father is the only Duke among the Dragon Tribe.

From the moment of my birth, I was destined to be draped in glory and surrounded by a halo. I was noble, intelligent, and unique; I have heard these words of praise countless times from my mother’s lips and those of the maids.

As a child, I grew up amidst these sweet and honeyed compliments.

Due to the royal Glazed bloodline flowing within me, the talent I displayed far exceeded that of ordinary people. Slowly, under the frequent envious gazes of my peers, I began to believe that I was indeed a once-in-a-ten-thousand genius.

My mother told me that I was a favored child blessed by the Dragon God. The position of Saintess, hanging at the very pinnacle of power in the Great Dragon Divine Dynasty, was naturally prepared for me; I was born to be a high-ranking dragon standing above tens of millions.

The young me listened to my mother’s beautiful descriptions and believed them; from then on, I regarded the position of Saintess as something already in my pocket.

Every dragon that stood in my way to the Saintess’s throne was an enemy, and among those enemies, there was one I loathed above all others.

The “unclean brat” with impure blood and no father mentioned constantly by my mother—she should have died, yet she defied all logic and survived.

She should have had no qualification to participate in the Saintess selection, yet for some reason, Saintess Lamia held her in exceptionally high regard.

Just like that, this “filth” who, in my mother’s words, polluted the very air by living, became a competitor standing on the same stage as me by some twist of fate. My mother was furious; she felt this was an insult to my noble bloodline.

Mother even went personally to the cathedral to confront Saintess Lamia, but in the end, she returned empty-handed.

While I also harbored dissatisfaction, my feelings toward this aunt—at least in name—were mostly a mix of disdain and incomprehension.

As a genius of the Dragon Tribe who had been taught by famous masters and assisted by precious resources since childhood, I did not believe an aunt who had been mistreated from a young age and spent most of her life just trying to stay alive and fleeing for her safety could pose any threat to me.

This was the pride of a genius in my heart, and the reason for my disdain.

As for my incomprehension, it was even deeper.

As far as I knew, her formal cultivation began only one month before she became a candidate for the Saintess—exactly when the Saintess found her in some unknown corner of a remote village.

From then until now, her total cultivation time, at most, was only three months. Even setting aside how high her talent actually was, even if she could match me, how could three months of effort compare to the ten-odd years of my diligent hard work?

I did not understand where she got the courage to stand before me. The result of the selection was a predetermined conclusion; by standing across from me, she was destined to receive nothing but ridicule and failure. Yet, from the first time we met, I did not capture a single hint of fear or panic in her gaze…

She was very calm. She possessed a pair of golden pupils as brilliant as my own.

She did not look like the “impure filth” my mother described. More importantly, in her eyes, I saw a conviction that could not be destroyed no matter what—an extreme hunger to obtain something and thus grow stronger. Her will left me shaken, but it was only that…

Reality is the result of long-term accumulation; it cannot be forcibly changed by the will of a single moment. I respected her spirit, but as an enemy, her destiny was fixed as a loser.

Until…

That day, I was summoned by the Saintess to come to the cathedral alone.

The Saintess led me to an independent and secluded courtyard.

On the way, she told me that my aunt, due to some physical conditions, was currently unconscious in bed and needed my help.

Though I was suspicious, I followed out of respect for the Saintess.

Upon entering the room, I saw the girl lying on the bed with a pale face; she looked like a flower on the verge of withering.

That face, so similar to my own, was as white as paper, and even her lips were devoid of color.

“How did she become like this?”

“After hearing news of the death of the person she was obsessed with, her heart died, all her thoughts were extinguished, and she fell into this state…”

The Saintess walked to the bedside and carefully tucked the quilt around the girl. Her gaze seemed to hold pity, yet also a sense of helplessness.

I had often seen pity in the Saintess’s expression—it was the compassion a Saintess ought to have. But that helplessness was something I had never seen before; it was a unique, heartfelt worry.

For a moment, I felt a spark of doubt regarding the relationship between the Saintess and my aunt.

“How does the Saintess wish for me to help her?”

“Let me state this beforehand: although she and I share a blood relation, we are ultimately competitors. If the ‘help’ you speak of harms my interests, then even if it is your decree, please forgive me for being unable to comply.”

Though the position of Saintess was high, this Saintess Lamia had never truly wielded her power like a weapon. As the sole bloodline of the Duke’s Manor, I was naturally not afraid.

“No, it won’t harm anything of yours. I only want you to enter her spiritual world. I do not possess the White Dragon bloodline, so I cannot dive into her spirit. If she continues like this, she won’t be able to participate in the selection. I hope you can stimulate her to a certain extent…”

The Saintess spoke slowly.

“Of course, this is also an opportunity for you. Though you share a blood relation, your understanding of this aunt has likely only come from the few words spoken by your mother. But that is one-sided after all. I want you to see clearly in your own heart…”

“I know you are extremely curious about certain things regarding this aunt. Now, the opportunity is right before you. Whether to choose it or not is entirely up to your single thought.”

If it were the other two Saintess candidates before me, I might have hesitated, but if it was her…

The spirits of those with similar bloodlines can communicate more easily. With the help of the Saintess, my consciousness indeed entered my aunt’s spiritual world.

In that vast, blank spiritual world, I saw a lonely figure crouching in a desolate corner.

Beneath the background of an all-white desert, before her was a campfire on the verge of going out.

And within that campfire was everything that girl held in her heart.

I froze on the spot, not daring to take another step forward, because in this spiritual world, I clearly felt the aura emanating from the girl.

That was the massive mental energy that only a powerful High-tier Mage could possess. My aunt had actually reached the High-tier.

The absurdity of the truth shattered all the pride in my heart.

Words can be false, but facts are facts; even if you are unwilling to believe them, they exist, eternal and unchanging.

Just what kind of monstrous talent could allow a girl to advance to the High-tier in a mere three months? Sensing the despairing yet unique soul aura on Aurelia, I learned the answer that the world would find impossible to believe…

She had awakened her Dragon Soul.

Only by awakening a Dragon Soul could a girl with zero cultivation transform to this extent in such a short time.

In the entire Great Dragon Divine Dynasty, only two people had truly awakened their Dragon Soul: one was my uncle, Dragon King Harks, and the other was the Archbishop of the Dragon God Cult, Hodmogh.

And now, this aunt whom everyone looked down upon had become the third.