The dragon's harem

Sitting around a massive round table, Kossuth, Arad, Eris, Zaleria, and Amber were the only ones in the titanic private room. They were here to discuss Amber’s current training regimen, and of course, Merlin was live on a call listening to everything.

"Were I trying to burn Amber to nothing?" Zaleria shrugged. "Yes, I won’t deny that. It was the whole point of her training." She threw a glance at Arad, who looked both enraged and calm. She still found it hard to look directly at his beautiful Nymph face, but at least she didn’t just go blind or die.

"A soul is vulnerable without a body, so even if Amber could maintain herself, she won’t survive long in that form with divine protection." Arad growled, speaking what Merlin whispered into his mind. "That would mean you were planning to bind her to Kossuth."

Kossuth laughed. "Zaleria wants to bind her to me? That’s absurd. The main goal for that training is to not be bound by anything, not even a physical body. The reason all of Zaleria’s former disciples died is that they couldn’t exist without divine protection." She then looked toward Amber, making her flinch. "Look at her, beautiful, blond, well built, but most importantly, she is right up here." She tapped her temples. "You’ll need the right mentality to reach such a level."

Zaleria sighed as she leaned back. "Mother is right. Look at yourself and Eris." She smiled, "Both of you can function without a body for a while." She was directly referring to Arad’s void form and Eris’s plasma body, which were made of their own elemental energies.

But that’s where the similarities ended. Both of Arad’s void form and Eris’s plasma body were temporary states, not permanent ones. They both still had actual bodies to use, and that they could fall back into so their souls could recover. Trying to exist as a bodyless soul and form your own body with your soul’s power was similar to a mortal trying to live their lives standing all the time.

If Zaleria had managed to do it, that didn’t mean anyone else could mimic her. She was a unique case that managed to achieve what no one else could, and the circumstances of her evolution were also extreme, as she didn’t choose to become a bodyless soul; she was forced into it when Nyar destroyed her body.

Through all of history, untold billions of living beings and gods died, some in gruesome ways, with regret, and many of them had such a vast will to live that it could shatter the fabric of reality, yet all of them remained dead. Their souls were eventually harvested by Death, and so existing as a mere soul in itself felt impossible.

"When Nyar destroyed your body, and you came back... what did Death do?" Arad asked, and Zaleria tilted her head. "Well, that happened far outside the universe where Nyar is hiding, so Death couldn’t reach me to claim my soul. He erased my entire body, so I formed a new one from my flames and kicked him."

Kossuth waved her hand. "When Zaleria came back, Death did talk to her, but she didn’t try to claim her soul. Just confirmed what happened with Nyar." She then threw a glance toward Zaleria. "What did she tell you?"

Zaleria shrugged. "As you said. As for what happened, I saw Nyar, what I’ve seen, and also asked about the details of what happened. She didn’t even bring up the subject of claiming my soul."

Eris stared at them. "This is the point. We aren’t against what you do training Amber, but we’re here to argue about its fundamental nature and if such a result is even possible. We can’t let her do something that we’re certain would just kill her."

Amber, who was there, crossed her arms. "I think I got it, though... just a few more weeks and I would have achieved it. Maybe even better than her." But when Arad looked at her, she flinched. Even if she was protected from his beauty, she just wasn’t used to seeing his Nymph form. It looked odd, far different from his usual self.

Was this the same guy she was teaching fire magic not that long ago?

"Then why don’t we ask her?" Kossuth waved her hand, cast a ball of light above the table, and the shadows around the entire room moved. After just a few seconds, her own shadow grew a lot darker, and a maid emerged from it, looking a bit annoyed even though her face looked expressionless and her eyes resembled those of a dead fish.

"What did you need, Kos?" Death asked, and Kossuth smiled. "I wanted to ask you about Zaleria. Why didn’t you claim her soul in the past?"

Death immediately shifted her gaze toward Zaleria and then summoned a chair from the shadows to sit on. "Why, you ask... It really isn’t that hard of a question. Why would I claim the soul of a lich?"

Hearing that, everyone froze. Zaleria wasn’t a lich... "Wait, what are you talking about? I’m not a lich." She growled, and Death sighed, flicking her fingers. "Let’s ask your sister then; she is the expert."

At that moment, a massive skeletal gate of green flames opened beside the table, and a few seconds after, a tall, brown-skinned woman with freckles on her face walked out wearing a black robe. "Ah, this place. It’s been quite a while." She looked at everyone, and her eyes stopped at Arad. "Hoo, you can’t trick me; I can smell the cum from here. You’re a guy, aren’t you?"

Arad blinked, "What?" He then sighed. "This is a Nymph’s body... yes, I’m a dragon." He thew a glance at her. "What do you even mean?"

"Just what I said, I can smell it on you. I only care about souls, and yours..." She then blinked. "Forget what I said. Death, why did you call me here? I’m sure it isn’t about some love and fun with him here."

"Is Zaleria a lich?" Death asked, and Morena sighed. She flicked her fingers, and a naked woman appeared in front of her. The woman got on all fours, and Morena sat on her like a chair. "A lich is a soul that clings to life after death, either by linking itself back to its body, or using some other magic. Strictly speaking, by that definition, Zaleria is a lich."

Zaleria sighed in the back, "And if not strictly speaking by your definition?" She then glared at her. "What am I?"

Morena was silent for a second. "You’re Zaleria. There is no strict definition for what you are since you’re unique, the only one of your kind." She then lifted her palm. "I got several ideas."

"You’re yourself, and what you became is just an extension of your own power and flames. Meaning it’s an evolution that only you can achieve." She then looked at Amber with a smile. "But I’m certain this explanation won’t tickle the lady’s fantasies, so let’s think about the second one."

"What fantasies?" Amber growled, and Morena looked at her with a grin. "I can read souls, so how about I tell them?" Amber immediately shook her head. "Fine, I didn’t say anything."

"The second option is that you’re a lich like Death said, meaning that what you achieved is just a unique case of the lichdome trials. One tailored by your own flames and power. I guess Arad saw something similar with the undead that Damnation created in the land of the Volcanic Titans, those Ash spawns."

"I doubt that is the answer." Zaleria growled, and Arad spoke right after. "The next two options are that she became a pseudo-divine or an abomination. I don’t think either is the case."

Morena stared at him with a surprised face. "So, Arad Orion that I’ve heard about so much isn’t dumb. You’re right; those are the next two options. Why do you think they are wrong?"

Arad couldn’t just say that he could tell since he is AO and that it was clear that Zaleria didn’t have any Eldritch or divine magic. "She doesn’t feel like any of them. I want to believe that I can mostly tell abominations and gods apart."

"I’m not following..." Eris mumbled, and so did Amber. "Yeah... where is this going? Can I achieve what she did or not?"