Reborn as a DRAGON

Chapter 169: Stranded

My eyelids twitched as I opened my eyes, a lazy yawn escaped my mouth. I slowly stood up and stretched my limbs. The field of white flowers was as comfortable as a bed. I hadn't felt this refreshed after a nap for a long long time.

I raised my head and glanced at the small cabin a distance ahead. The goddess still showed no signs of coming out. It wasn't surprising considering what she just found out. I don't know how long it has been since the war against the gods had ended. But from the ruined battlefield, and the giant corpses of both Amanita and the gods surrounding it, I could somewhat guess it's been a while.

The goddess seemed to have been stranded here during the war and was unable to leave ever since. This made me a tad nervous. I tried to reach out to my cosmic mana, though when I did, the strands inside my soul space simply stirred for a second before regaining their previous stillness.

The statue of the dragon inside my soul space shone brightly as well during my attempt, yet that also did nothing as it soon reverted to its previous state. 'I can't reach out to the cosmic mana on the outside world,' I inwardly muttered.

'If I can't use cosmic mana, then that means I can't teleport. And if I can't teleport,' Reaching that chain of thought, I nervously gulped down, 'If I can't teleport, then I can't go back.'

This entire situation confused me. How was it even possible that I could use my other elements, but not my main pillar? Besides, when I was still in the normal world, I passed through the astral plane during my teleportation.

This means that cosmic mana should be able to pierce through the astral plane. Or at least it should be able to allow me to teleport inside of it. But for some reason, I can't create a link to the outside world. And since no link means no more cosmic mana, which also means I can't go anywhere.

"Argh, this is bullshit," I grumbled in annoyance. I need to pierce through space and summon more cosmic mana to help my teleportation. Problem was, I was unable to pierce through the astral plane. Something here was interfering with my connection to the outside world, making it impossible to create a link.

'Why did it work when I was in the outside world though? Usually, I'd reach out to my cosmic mana, create a thread to the void which helps bring back an even larger amount of mana, that I then use to help my teleportation.'

'Okay let's think. When I'm outside, the connection and teleportation work, even when I pass through the astral plane. So that means, the astral plane is a tunnel of sorts?' I scratched my head deep in thought.

"Okay, let's say it's a tunnel. One that takes me from point A to point B. When I'm outside said tunnel, I can reach out to the cosmic mana no problem, but when I'm inside, I lose that connection."

Thinking about that, I subconsciously drew the shape of a tunnel on the ground, with a tiny dot standing outside of it. 'Hmm, cosmic mana descends from space creating a link with me. Now to teleport, I have to have a destination in mind. Is this when cosmic mana creates another link, only this time to the other side of the tunnel?'

"Hmm, that would make sense. So it acts as a guide of sorts, creating a link between me and my destination. But once I'm inside the tunnel, I can't exactly reach out to it, which means no link, which also means no teleportation."

I had no idea if what I was thinking about was even remotely close to the truth. But it sounded plausible enough for me. A long sigh escaped my mouth as I cleared my ugly drawing off the ground.

Raising my head to glance at the multicolored sky, I quickly found myself thinking of my siblings, my grandma, my mother, my father, and my grandfather.

"Essie will have her rite of passage soon. With grandma overseeing it, I don't think she'll be in danger. Father, should wake up soon too. Though, I wonder where mother went."

All sorts of thoughts made their way to my mind. I turned my attention towards the small cabin before shaking my head and resting on the ground once again. I could still sense the presence of the goddess inside.

Resting my head on the soft field of flowers. My mind slowly drifted into blissful sleep. 'No point in staying awake, anyway, I'll just overthink. Let's just sleep until the goddess comes out.'

With my mind set on the matter, I let the darkness embrace me. I was going to rest for a few more hours at most. Or so was the plan...The goddess's emotionless voice suddenly shook me awake. A yawn escaped my mouth as I lazily opened my eyes to look at her.

"How long do you plan on staying at my doorstep?" She asked.

"Hmm? How long was I sleeping for?" I asked.

Her face twisted to an annoyed expression as she replied. "How should I know, at least a couple of weeks,"

"Hmm, a couple of weeks ... Wait! What?!" Hearing her response, I immediately shot upwards.

"What do you mean at least a couple of weeks?!"

Annoyed, the goddess looked at me like I was an idiot. "I didn't know the oh-so mighty chosen ones, couldn't count."

"No, you idiot! How could I have stayed asleep for two weeks?!"

Taking a deep breath, the goddess glared at me before replying. "Don't mock me, dragon. It's your race that's fond of sleeping instead of doing something productive."

"Oh fuck off, by productive you mean staying holed up inside your little cabin," Although I had a hard time believing I slept for that long, I instantly retorted with a sneer.

"Hmph, how I spend my time is of no concern to you."

Rolling my eyes in annoyance, I decided to change the subject. "Enough, how did you get stuck here?"

Hearing my question, the goddess's expression froze for a second as thick bloodlust emitted out of her body. I hurriedly raised my guard, ready in case she decided to start another fight. Luckily though, she did not. After a few seconds, she forcefully reigned in her killing intent and surprisingly answered my question.

"A space hole was created during the war, and I was thrown inside alongside a few others."

"Oh? There are others here?"

A frown made its way to her face as she replied. "No, only I was able to reach the astral plane, relatively intact."

"By intact you mean?"

"Only some limbs and body parts made it from the others."

Hearing that, I nervously gulped before nodding to indicate my understanding.