The Central Area of Arulion was actually more of a city than half of a kingdom. There were definitely swatches of untouched land here and there, but for the most part, the central region was both developed and connected.
Dragons very much valued their true forms over their humanoid forms, however, the old tradition of building nests in caves was simply too outdated. As the independent beasts formed a society, they were forced to change a lot of their ways to accommodate more people.
The Holy Dragons and the strongest beings under them were given the privilege of moving around in dragon form whenever they wanted. It was possible for others to earn time they could spend transformed, but it was an expensive privilege and often used to identify the upper class.
Even if they were called dragon royalty to those in the outside world, the majority of the True Dragons who were able to live in the central region were still just regular middle-class citizens.
They maintained their human forms and lived in the megacity, pretty much entertaining the same daily lives as regular humans.
The training process of a dragon was, after all, quite slow and uninvolved. They would eat, comprehend laws, and try to purify their bloodlines by gaining merit through tasks posted by the true royalty.
It was quite funny. The illusion of high society shown to the dragonkin, the lives they yearned for and worked to gain…
They weren't much more decorated than the lives they were already living.
Damien and the child were on the outskirts of the central region. They would eventually need to go closer to the center when the time came to register for the heir wars. However, that time was not now.
'This place is good.'
Though they were in the central region, the area was relatively rural and the people lived simple lives. There was a mountain in the distance that would be perfect for training, and since it was a more isolated district of the city, there wouldn't be any unnecessary eyes watching their actions.
'This kid can't be raised as a weapon.'
Even if his purpose was designated from birth, Damien refused to force the child to be a tool.
He was innocent, naive, and intelligent. He had talent surpassing talent. Even if Damien waited a while, he would still be able to train that child to become great.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})'First and foremost, he deserves a fulfilling childhood.'
Damien had a soft spot for children. He knew how much trauma that developed in one's youth could negatively impact one's future. He had seen several times what happened when children raised as tools finally became strong enough to demand free will.
In order to keep this child on the right path, in order to set him up for not only success, but happiness, Damien chose this district.
When he arrived with the child on his head like an ornament, he raised his arm into the air and sent out a wave of mana that rapidly grew into a dome that encompassed the entire district.
It didn't bar entry and exit from the district. Rather, it made time truly relative.
Within the district, time would flow at a rate far removed from the outside world. Damien had ten years to spend as he pleased.
The residents of this district would also be subject to the time distortion, but not entirely.
The moment they left the territory, their time would be reoriented, and it would be as if there was never a dilation in the first place.
It was hard to understand and pretty much impossible to pull off without alerting those who were being influenced, however, Existence changed the story.
As Damien got closer to the concept of control, his ability to maneuver Existence became far more precise. He could now accomplish things that would usually be impossible by imposing his will upon reality, but he couldn't yet make seamless changes like the Dark God.
Damien still had to make sure that his powers wouldn't completely destroy reality. He had to at least somewhat abide by the natural laws, bending them rather than changing them to his liking.
Nevertheless, this place had become a home where Damien and the child would spend the next few years.
And that was exactly what happened.
There were three months until the start of the heir wars and six months before the entire Heavenly World was placed under a time dilation.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Those first three months had been stretched into ten years in a place that nobody cared about, and a mysterious man and his son had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
At first, the residents were a bit skeptical of them. They didn't look like commoners at all. That man was handsome enough on his own, and had an aura like a supreme ruler. However, his son was even more of a spectacle.
He was perhaps the cutest and most well-behaved child any of these people had ever seen, and because of him, the district had become far more joyful than ever before.
He was truly a bundle of light.
But when the denizens asked that man what his son's name was…
"He doesn't have one."
Damien was honest.
"I just encountered him recently, and it doesn't seem like his parents ever gave him a name."
It was a sympathetic situation. That man, Damien, had become a father to a child someone else had left behind. When they realized this, the denizens went into an uproar.
That was the first great event this place had held in many times. A grand feast that they put together just for the two of them.
Damien had been unwilling to name the child because he wanted the name that child remembered to be one his actual kin had chosen for him.
However, it was indeed inconvenient to just call him "kid" or "boy" for his entire adolescence.
August.
They named him after what was, in Earthen tradition, a month. It was the start of autumn, a period symbolic of change.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})However, August wasn't the same in Dragon culture. After all, those months that existed on Earth weren't necessarily used in the Heavenly World.
To Dragons, August was a name close to the first Dragon Emperor, Augustine. It was a name they used to put their wishes and hopes for the child's success into his identity, to make sure that the universe would support him in achieving happiness and prosperity.
It was nothing more than a nickname that would suffice until the child gained his true name from his real family, but…
'...it's nice.'
Damien quite liked it.
Everything that had happened here happened in no more than three months in the dilated district. The denizens warmed up to the duo fast, and before even Damien could get used to this calm lifestyle amidst the madness, they'd given him and August such a warm welcome.
It wasn't a bad thing to use the name they'd come up with, right?
For better or for worse, these people were the ones that child would grow up around, the people that he would look up to and learn from when he was establishing his sense of identity.
A child's environment was just as important as their upbringing. If it was these people, then Damien didn't have to worry about bad influences at all.
Ten years.
For ten years, they would remain here, living in peace.
For now, the hurried pace of the outside world could be put aside.
All that mattered to Damien in this moment was being a responsible parent to the child that had suddenly become a part of his life.
Perhaps, just a little bit, he wanted to live vicariously through him.
Maybe Damien wanted to give this child the upbringing that he could never have.
But, the real question was…
Would he be successful?
