And that mother is no one other than Eden herself. The person who fought alongside me in the war againt Merlin.
"I see you have reincarnated, my dear son."
"..."
"Yes, Mother. Do you know why I summoned you here?"
"Why is it, son?"
"I want you to let me have a fraction of my power back. That's the first step to defeating Merlin."
"We will need to become much stronger than both of us were at our peak. But... I suppose you can. Why do you need my permission?"
"When a god wants their power back, they need the permission of another god. Merlin killed all the other gods, and only you can grant me a fraction of my power. If I told Merlin... I would meet my end."
"You're right..."
"You know what to do, right?"
"I do."
"By the way, Mother."
"Yes?"
"How are you still alive? How did Merlin not find you all this time?"
"I hid in my domain until you summoned me. No one can find me while I'm there."
We finished the ritual, and I gained a fraction of my true power. With this, I could barely defeat a Rank 4 mage. Not very strong, but enough to protect myself.
I can finally stand up to Marcus, that insolent brat.
But I still have a long way to go.
Right then, an idea struck me.
I could join a magic academy. The only problem is that no academy accepts dark magic. Well... I kind of invented it along with my shadow magic.
I need to gain another power strong enough to let me enter an academy. Something that isn't dark magic.
Which means I need to obtain a new power I never had before that is just enough to pass the entrance exam.
I went to sleep and woke up at 8 AM the next day for training with Draven.
"Father, what's today's training?" I asked with excitement.
"You will wield a sword for the first time in your life. I'm expecting a lot from you, son."
Draven handed me a wooden sword. It looked carefully carved, as if it had been made just for me. My initials were engraved on it: KV - Kael Vorthrn.
"Did you have this made for me, Father?"
"No, but someone I know did."
"A blacksmith?"
"Yes. He is one of the five most talented blacksmiths in the world."
"That's so cool!"
Draven stopped me.
"Enough talking. Today is the real beginning."
"What do we do today?"
"Just follow my lead."
Draven drew his sword and swung it. "Do this 1,000 times."
He demonstrated several different swings and techniques, then told me to repeat each one 1,000 times.
He left, and I began practicing.
After two hours, at 10 AM, I finally finished. I went to Draven's room.
"I'm done, Father."
"Good."
"Do I have anything else to do?"
"Repeat this every day. If you're busy in the morning, wake up earlier."
"Yes, Father."
I returned to my room. It was time to figure out how to obtain divine power.
I placed my sword in a drawer and sat on a rug in the center of my room.
I could try summoning Eden again...
She could lend me a very small fraction of her power, but she's already facing multiple threats after leaving her domain to speak with me.
Taking more of her power could put her in danger.
There are other methods, like finding or creating artifacts. But if I lose one, I'm finished.
I'd be expelled, and someone might discover my dark powers.
And I know what happens after that.
If I still had my shadow powers, not just darkness, this would be easy.
With shadow power, I could transform it into any technique below my level. It was extremely useful in my past life.
The entrance exam for a magic academy is in two months, so I needed a solution as fast as I can.
I fell asleep without one, since I couldn't think of any.
The next morning, I woke up at 5 AM for sword training. This time, I trained alone, quietly.
I finished at 6:30 and returned to my room.
My family usually wakes up around 9 AM, except Father.
He wakes up even earlier than me to train, watches the sunrise, then goes back to sleep.
That leaves me with about two and a half hours alone.
And I'm not wasting it, I plan on summoning Eden.
When summoning a god, time flows differently.
If ten minutes pass in the real world, only five pass for the one interacting with the god.
So I have about... 75 minutes.
Less, since I'm already using time talking.
I prepared the ritual and summoned Eden.
"I see you have summoned me again, O Kaelthros."
"Yes, Eden."
You might have noticed that when we first met after my reincarnation, she called me "son." Now she uses my name. The rules among gods are different.
If more than 1,000 years have passed since your last meeting, you must address each other formally.
"Is there a particular reason you have summoned me, O Kaelthros?"
And if the god is stronger than you, you must say 'O' before their name.
"I want you to help me regain a portion of my shadow power."
"And why do you need it?"
"It's a secret for now. Can you help me?"
"I believe I can. There is a fragment of your power in the Hollow Mountains."
"Can you bring it to me?"
"I'm afraid not. If I come into contact with it, it will merge with me instead. And there is no way to transfer that power from a god to a human."
"Then I'll go with you."
"You must. But be careful. A red dragon guards it. You may not get another chance."
"A red dragon is the strongest type, right? I've never heard of other types."
"They appeared 20,000 years ago. Red dragons use fire, blue use water, white use wind, and brown use earth. Brown dragons are second only to red."
"Can we go today?"
"If you wish, O Kaelthros."
"Good. Come to the human realm in a human body. I'll tell my parents I'm meeting a friend. Summoning you is exhausting... this body is too fragile."
"As you wish."
"You may go now, Eden."
She disappeared, and I cleaned up the ritual materials.
Later, after spending time with my family, a girl knocked on our door.
My father answered.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Kael's friend," she said.
Father called me.
"Do you know this girl?"
She whispered, "It's me, Eden."
"Yes, Father. She's my friend."
He looked surprised.
"How did you meet?"
"I met her while training. She accidentally entered our land."
"Why is she here?"
"We're going to the market." Eden was obviously lying. But we were lucky that my father believed her.
"You may go. Be back within an hour."
We left and made our way to the Hollow Mountains.
The path was hard, but we made it in 30 minutes to our destined location.
When we arrived at the location of the dragon, we froze.
"Who are you?!"
Someone was already there… standing right next to the stone.
And next to him... The red dragon's corpse.