“That is a very ancient prophecy.”

“A thousand years ago, not long after I quelled the civil war among the Dragon Clan, a Dragon Clan priest made this prophecy.”

“The priest’s exact words were:”

‘When the heavens crumble and the cosmos collapses, the end of all things and the fear of all existence will descend once again upon this land. When that time comes, only the one who wields thunder shall reverse the heavens and earth, saving mortals from annihilation.’

“During the ancient times, the Dragon Clan held great faith in prophecies and premonitions, even though most of the time these weren’t particularly accurate. However, if even one or two coincidentally turned out to be true, they would gain a large following.”

“When someone asked this priest how he managed to foretell such an apocalyptic prophecy, he simply stated that he had seen the future of the Dragon Clan—and all the races of Samael Continent—amid the wails of fate.”

“You know how it is with priests and clergy. They like to sound mysterious. Or, as you modern youngsters might put it... riddlers?”

“Whether they’re charlatans or riddlers, there’s a certain credibility to the prophecies made by ancient priests. And since the concept of ‘fear of all existence’ in his prophecy could be closely tied to the Ultimate Fear I’m trying to stop, even I have to take this end-of-the-world prophecy into consideration.”

In the dimly lit golden waterway, Noa leaned against the wall, quietly listening as her ancestor recounted a piece of history.

Ever since the Primordial Dragon Queen revealed her presence to Noa, she had not only borrowed Noa’s body for her outings but also shared knowledge that was absent from textbooks.

Especially about history.

After all, no amount of archaeological evidence could compare to a living relic telling the story herself.

And Noa, the ever-curious Involuted Queen, welcomed all kinds of knowledge with open arms.

The more she learned about history, the closer she came to an understanding of the true nature of this world.

After silently pondering her ancestor’s words, Noa asked,

“In the prophecy, it mentioned that the one who wields thunder would save the world?”

“That’s correct. Later generations came to refer to this figure as the ‘Child of Thunder,’ as a convenient title.”

“And has this Child of Thunder appeared yet?”

“As of the time I sealed myself, the Child of Thunder from the prophecy hadn’t appeared yet.”

The ancestor, now perched comfortably in a ‘paws-tucked-under’ position before Noa, gazed at the little one with her inverted dragon pupils, which were reflecting the child’s silhouette. “Of course, the end of the world hasn’t occurred either. According to the priest, the Child of Thunder is supposed to appear at the same time as the calamity.”

“Only at the moment the ‘fear of all existence’ arrives will that person truly become the Child of Thunder as mentioned in the prophecy.”

Noa thoughtfully nodded, then asked,

“You just said that even you had to reference this prophecy. What did you mean by that?”

“What I mean is that, when we first met at my ruins, I chose to bind my soul to you not only because Constantine is a lunatic and completely unfit to be a host, but also because... your lightning magic truly caught my eye.”

Throughout all this time, the ancestor rarely praised Noa—of course, Noa wasn’t the kind of kid who sought validation after every achievement. She didn’t care whether she was praised or not.

But “your lightning magic caught my eye” was indeed genuine and heartfelt.

“To be able to wield lightning magic of such intensity at the age of five, and even defeat the Colossus guarding my ruins with it, is nothing short of remarkable.”

The ancestor spoke leisurely, “So, I suspect you might actually be the Child of Thunder from the prophecy.”

Noa froze for a moment, blinking in surprise.

Although her heart wavered slightly, she wasn’t someone who believed in fate or coincidences.

She waved her hands dismissively. “If that’s the case, then your mission to save the world would be way too effortless, wouldn’t it?”

After a slight pause, Noa added, “Besides, you just said that the prophecy states the Child of Thunder would only emerge when the apocalypse truly arrives.”

“Heh, these things can’t be predicted. I’ve already said—you should only treat prophecies as a reference.”

“Hmm, when you put it that way, it does make a bit of sense.”

“So, kid, do you want to become the savior, the Child of Thunder? I can help you with that, you know, as long as you give me your body~”

“If you were some creepy old man, I’d have reported you to my dad by now for saying something like that.” Noa said coldly, “So, as an old auntie, could you please stop going on about wanting to take over someone else’s body?”

Although their banter still carried an element of playful bickering, their relationship was clearly more harmonious than that when they first met.

Back then, Noa outright called the old queen “old fart.”

Now, calling her “old auntie” was practically a term of endearment, considering this was someone constantly scheming to take over her body.

“Not like I have much choice. You only let me use your body for two hours a day,” the ancestor replied self-righteously, raising her dragon head as she spoke. “Two hours is barely enough to gather a smidgen of my Primordial Power. At this rate, when can I fully recover?”

“Oh, feel free to recover whenever you like. Complain again and I’ll cut it down to one hour.”

“...”

Ah, such is the plight of a soul dependent on another. No way around it.

The ancestor obediently crouched back down, letting out a resigned sigh.

She knew, though, that Noa’s attitude toward her had softened considerably.

This little brat wasn’t as combative as she appeared—she just treated their relationship as a form of “game,” a “negotiation.”

Her exceptional father had taught her many strategies for dealing with power dynamics, and Noa had put them to full use, applying this knowledge at what could only be described as their ‘negotiation table’ for body control.

In other aspects, however, the ancestor could clearly sense that this silver dragon princess was an excellent child.

Even when not in control of Noa’s body, the ancestor could perceive everything she experienced from within her consciousness, seeing and hearing through her.

In the past few days, Noa had been researching numerous historical texts about the ancient civil wars of the Dragon Clan, learning about the immense achievements of the Primordial Dragon Queen who had brought peace to the land.

As a young girl who aspired hero and eager to become stronger, it was impossible for Noa not to hold this ancestor in awe.

Of course, this veneration mostly remained in her inner thoughts.

When expressed aloud, it became phrases like, “Old Auntie, stop scheming to take over my body.”

After all, Noa wasn’t about to concede in this “negotiation.”

“Let’s get back to the topic.” The ancestor redirected. “All the impressive lightning magic—was it your father who taught you?”

Noa nodded. “He began training me when I was two.”

“You’re now five, and in three short years, you’ve mastered lightning magic to such a degree... and you still claim you’re not the Child of Thunder?”

It seemed the elder dragon had begun to master modern sarcasm.

But Noa only gave a perfunctory smirk, her lips curling in feigned humor. “Just because someone knows lightning magic, that makes them the Child of Thunder? Then there are enough so-called ‘Children of Thunder’ on Samael Continent to form an army.”

The old ancestor let out a chuckle before offering a serious rebuttal, “That’s where you’re wrong. You’re not an ordinary lightning magic user.”

Noa blinked and asked curiously, “Then what am I?”

“You’re a lightning magic user possessed by me.”

“...”

Here we go again with this ancient lunacy!

As if being possessed by you is some grandiose accomplishment!

Will that boost my grades to a perfect score in the academy?

Noa pouted, crossing her arms as she turned away, walking deeper into the waterway.

“Leaving already?” the ancestor called out.

Noa didn’t look back. “My sister’s back. I don’t have time to keep chatting with you.”

The small figure gradually vanished into the golden-lit depths, and the ripples on the water’s surface stilled.

Watching the direction Noa had gone, the ancestor half-lowered her gaze and murmured softly to herself,

“Could it really be you, Noa?”