Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls

Chapter 560: We’re officially back!

Kael remained silent for a few more minutes as Nidhogg continued to traverse the skies above the central continent. The wind had subsided somewhat since they left the more violent currents of the upper atmosphere, but the speed was still absurd enough to transform the clouds below them into distorted white blotches. The sun had now fully risen on the horizon, spreading a golden light over the entire world. The mountains below seemed too ancient to belong to the same reality as the human cities. The rivers reflected the dawn like liquid blades cutting through the earth.

Kael observed everything in silence, but his mind slowly began to return to reality.

Or at least to the extremely problematic version that his reality had become.

He thought of Elion.

He thought of her emotional state before teleporting them out of their own house.

He thought of the fact that his mother was probably at this very moment mentally rearranging new and creative ways to threaten primordial entities without destroying half the continent in the process.

After a while, he finally sighed and raised his head slightly.

"I think we should go back."

Nidhogg slowly moved one of her enormous golden eyes toward him.

"Already?"

"My mother will probably kill us if we take too long."

This caused the dragoness to emit a low sound that seemed like a mixture of laughter and deep vibration that echoed through the entire sky. The noise reverberated through the nearby clouds as she slowly slowed her flight.

"Yes," she replied calmly. "That seems plausible."

Kael massaged his face once more.

"You talk about it as if it were normal."

"To me, it’s relatively normal."

"My mother tried to throw you into a volcano."

"She was emotionally overwhelmed."

"You two talk about attempted murder as if it were a domestic dispute."

"Because it usually is."

Kael consciously decided to stop trying to analyze it deeply. His sanity had probably already been damaged enough in a single day.

Nidhogg slowly began to lose altitude as it surged over a gigantic sequence of dark mountains. The wind shifted as they descended. The extreme cold gradually lessened, replaced by denser, more humid air currents coming from the forests below.

After a few minutes, she finally landed on a huge hill surrounded by black rocks and ancient trees twisted by the wind.

The impact was absurdly gentle considering the colossal size of her body.

Her enormous paws touched the ground without completely destroying the mountain, which Kael honestly considered a physical miracle.

She slowly lowered one of her claws so he could descend.

Kael jumped onto the rocky ground, still feeling his legs unsteady after so long flying at that impossible height. The mountain wind tugged at his clothes as he finally managed to see Nidhogg in its entirety, with no clouds obscuring parts of her body.

And even now, his mind still struggled to comprehend her size.

The gigantic body occupied a large part of the hill. Black scales reflected the dawn in metallic golden hues. Its partially open wings seemed capable of covering entire cities. Its golden eyes observed the world with an ancient calmness too ancient to exist naturally.

Kael stared at it for a few seconds before finally speaking.

"You’re in a reduced form, right?"

Nidhogg slowly tilted its gigantic head.

"Yes."

Kael crossed his arms as he observed the absurd proportions of the creature before him.

"This already seems large enough to destroy countries."

"My true form is significantly larger."

He immediately narrowed his eyes.

"How much larger?"

Nidhogg remained silent for a brief moment, like someone trying to find a reasonable measure for something completely irrational.

"Larger than this continent."

Kael stared at it expressionlessly.

The wind continued to ripple through the surrounding mountains as he tried to decide if it still had the capacity to surprise him.

Unfortunately, it did.

"This shouldn’t exist."

"Technically, that’s exactly why there’s a separate dimensional realm for me."

Kael let out a weary laugh.

"Fair enough."

Nidhogg observed his face silently for a few seconds before his body slowly began to emit a soft golden glow. The mana around the mountain reacted immediately, vibrating between the rocks and trees as his colossal form began to diminish.

The enormous wings disappeared first.

Then came the gigantic scales.

The absurd pressure that filled the entire hill slowly began to dissipate as her true form ceased to exist before him.

Seconds later, Nidhogg was back in her humanoid form.

Her silver hair was still carried by the mountain wind while her golden eyes remained fixed on him with an eerie calm. Even in human size, there was still something profoundly unreal about her. As if the world accepted her presence only out of obligation.

She walked slowly towards Kael.

Without haste.

Without sarcasm.

Without provocation.

Then she embraced him.

Her arms enveloped his body with quiet firmness as the wind continued to sweep across the mountains around them.

Kael immediately noticed that there was something different about her behavior now.

More restrained.

More honest.

Nidhogg slowly rested her face against his shoulder before speaking in a low voice.

"I’ll wait for you to come back."

Kael remained silent as he listened.

"You don’t need to show up only when there’s some dimensional crisis happening." His tone carried a slight, weary humor. "You can just visit me sometimes."

She slightly raised her golden eyes to meet his.

"Talking would be enough."

There was a brief pause before she finished, almost murmuring:

"Although sleeping with you would be very nice too."

Kael ended up laughing despite his accumulated tiredness.

"Of course you’d spoil the moment in the end."

"I needed to maintain the consistency of my personality."

He shook his head slightly as he observed her face.

Then he gently held her chin and kissed her.

This time there was no uncontrolled intensity.

No mana exploding around them.

No dimensional chaos.

It was just silent.

Calm.

As they moved away, Kael let out a small sigh before nodding slowly.

"I will appear."

Her golden eyes softened immediately at that.

And for a moment, she seemed genuinely relieved.

Not like a primordial dragon.

Not like an ancient entity.

Just like someone who had spent too much time alone.

Nidhogg then took a small step back as he slowly raised one hand.

The reality around them reacted immediately.

Kael had seen powerful magic before. He grew up surrounded by people capable of altering entire structures of reality through runes and mana manipulation.

But this was different.

Nidhogg didn’t seem to conjure magic.

It seemed to simply ignore the existing rules.

The space before them began to crack slowly like glass being pressed by an invisible force. Golden lines streaked through the air as the very fabric of reality opened in absolute silence.

There was no explosion.

There was no uncontrolled energy.

The fissure simply appeared.

On the other side, Kael could immediately see the Original Kingdom.

The gigantic roots.

The golden glow traversing impossible structures.

The bluish light filling the horizon like a distant ocean of living mana.

The very existence of that place seemed wrong by the normal standards of the physical world.

Nidhogg observed the open fissure for a few seconds before turning her gaze back to him.

"She’s probably still annoyed."

Kael let out a short laugh.

"That’s an extremely mild way to describe my mother."

"Perhaps it’s best if I avoid provoking her for the next few minutes."

"That’s probably the smartest decision you’ve made today."

"Technically, I chose you too."

Kael closed his eyes for a moment.

"You really never stop."

"No."

She replied with absolute sincerity.

Then she slowly took his hand.

And together they crossed the fissure in reality as the space around them closed again, erasing the mountains, the wind, and the dawn of the physical continent as if none of it had ever existed.

The dimensional fissure closed behind them with a low, distorted sound, like stone being slowly dragged through water. The air of the Original Realm immediately enveloped Kael once more with that strange pressure of living mana that seemed to exist in every inch of that place. The gigantic roots of Yggdrasil stretched across the horizon in every direction, illuminated by golden currents that pulsed slowly beneath the surface of the colossal wood. The artificial sky of that dimension remained as still as ever, trapped in a deep blue twilight that never fully changed.

Kael was still trying to mentally readjust to the absurd difference between the two worlds when he noticed Nidhogg standing silently beside him.

She was observing the horizon.

Or perhaps just the Original Realm itself.

There was something different about her expression now.

Quieter.

Less provocative.

Like someone who had just returned to a place that was all too familiar.

Kael slowly exhaled through his nose while running a hand through his wind-torn hair.

"So..." His voice came out tired. "We’re officially back at the center of my mental breakdown." Nidhogg slowly turned her golden eyes toward him.

"Technically, your collapse began earlier."

"You keep trying to exonerate yourself from this."

"Because I am innocent."

"You literally altered my spiritual structure."

"With affection."

Kael let out a short laugh before returning to observe their surroundings.

Even after everything, that place still seemed impossible.

The gigantic roots of Yggdrasil moved slowly in the distance like living structures supporting the entire reality of that dimension. Currents of energy coursed through the colossal wood like blood circulating in an organism too old to die.

The silence there was different from the silence of the physical world.

Heavier.

Deeper.

As if the dimension itself were constantly observing everything around it.

Kael then realized that Nidhogg remained motionless.

She didn’t seem in a hurry to return.

Nor exactly calm.

Just... thoughtful.

"You’re thinking about her."

Nidhogg didn’t deny it.

"Yggdrasil always senses when I fully cross over into the physical plane." His voice came out low as he observed the distant roots. "She’s probably felt the bond with you too."

Kael slowly crossed his arms.

"How bad is that?"

"Hard to say."

"That answer never improves my life."

"Because your life is naturally unstable."

Kael sighed deeply.

"You know normal people don’t live like that, right?"

"Normal people don’t survive dimensional dives, atmospheric falls, and primal bonds all in the same day either."

"That’s not reassuring."

"I’m not trying to reassure you."

Despite the curt reply, her tone remained strange. Lighter. As if she were still partially distracted by the hours they had spent in the physical world.

Nidhogg then began to slowly walk across the enormous natural platforms formed between the roots of Yggdrasil. Her steps were silent on the living wood as the golden glow of the surroundings softly reflected in her silver hair.

Kael followed her in silence.

They stopped in front of Nidrogg’s House.

"I’m sensing a lot of mana in there," Kael murmured.

"Yeah... I think Elion’s annoyed by the delay."