The Dragon Lord's Aide Wants to Quit [BL]-Chapter 348: Full-Fledged

"HREE-AAAAAAAH!"

It was a harsh, tearing screech that reverberated throughout the walls. The sound was so jarring it could’ve rattled the dead.

And it wasn’t even an exaggeration, for the two beings who shouldn’t have been privy to such a piercing wail clearly heard it from where they’d been marooned.

But simply saying they could "hear it" would’ve been inaccurate, because they actually felt it in their bones as everything around them rattled.

Yes, everything.

Including the barrier that had prevented one Dragon Lord from rushing over to his mate.

However, that wasn’t the case anymore, as Kael and Thyrran braced themselves for the barrier that shattered with sudden intensity.

"Ugh!" The golden dragon had to shield himself and the familiar from the impact of a barrier splintering.

Thump.

Thump.

It wasn’t so much any solid particle, but more like concentrated mana raining down on them in dense waves.

However, Kael Dravaryn, Dragon Lord of Eryndra, didn’t expect to be swept away by mana that suddenly washed away all the darkness in the crypt.

Thump.

Thump.

To be more accurate, it was as if the haze dispersed in a sudden wave, only to be recalled in a motion so fast that the concerned dragon felt the need to scramble after his mate.

With the barrier gone, Kael rushed past the giant gateway only to stop as he shouted, "Riley—!"

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

His words died in his throat as his heartbeat caught up to the sight before him.

The suspected mausoleum, much like the crypt, was no longer dark.

The shadows that had swallowed the chamber moments ago were gone, replaced by the imposing presence of something that made even a golden dragon hesitate.

At the center of the expansive hall stood a fully mature black dragon, mid-screech, wings outstretched in a majestic form that Kael never thought he’d ever see in his lifetime.

The wings were vast and powerful, spanning nearly half the width of the chamber, their membranes stretched wide, enveloping him with a darkness that felt unbelievably bright.

It was ironic like that.

Because all of a sudden, his mate, his fragile twig, looked nothing like the being who had walked through that door on his own.

Instead, what stood before him was a body that was long and formidable, built not for brute force alone but for dominance that felt ancient and inevitable.

Midnight scales layered seamlessly over rippling muscle, each plate catching the light in subtle iridescence before swallowing it whole. His horns curved back like polished obsidian blades, framing a face that was both fierce and unmistakably perfect.

The black dragon’s chest rose and fell as the last echo of that tearing cry faded. The ground beneath his claws bore faint fractures from restrained strength, and the air around him trembled with residual power that had yet to settle.

Then those stunning eyes lowered.

They locked onto him.

And the world narrowed.

Kael stood there, suddenly aware of the difference in scale.

Who would have known that he would stand before his mate in a body so small he should have felt dwarfed. Yet when those emerald green eyes looked straight at him, Kael felt like he’d never been bigger.

And just like every time he saw his one and only beloved, Kael Dravaryn found himself rendered utterly speechless and perfectly taken.

So taken that he could’ve fainted when he first heard it.

"Kael."

The name didn’t pass through the air. It didn’t shape itself upon scaled lips. It arrived directly in his mind, clear and resonant, carrying the unmistakable cadence of the one he loved like it was proof that all of this was real.

Heart-stoppingly real.

Kael felt it settle into him, deeper than sound, deeper than magic.

He remained rooted where he stood, overwhelmed by awe and something dangerously fragile beneath it.

Then the voice came again.

"My love."

This time it was softer, intimate, filled with warmth that cut straight through the overwhelming presence before him.

That was what unraveled him.

The tear slipped free before he could stop it, tracing a quiet line down his cheek as centuries of composure fractured under the weight of relief.

Kael inhaled sharply, his chest tightening with emotion too vast to contain.

He moved without another thought.

He broke into a sprint, feet striking precious stone as he closed the distance, every instinct urging him forward. Golden light erupted around him mid-stride as he shifted, body splitting into radiant scales, limbs elongating, wings unfurling in a blaze of brilliance that illuminated the chamber anew.

His roar followed, raw and unrestrained, carrying relief, fear, devotion, and the fierce pride of a dragon who had just witnessed the impossible.

In full golden form, Kael surged toward his mate, answering the black dragon’s presence with all that he was.

__

And what a beautiful and perfect sight that was.

Riley’s heart swelled the moment he saw his mate barrelling towards him in full golden form, radiant and unrestrained, answering his call without hesitation.

Just moments ago, when he regained consciousness, he had felt intensely afraid and unfamiliar with himself. Everything had been too bright. Too loud. Too big. For a fleeting second, he genuinely thought he might have failed. That perhaps he had come all this way only to fall short of achieving his goal.

So imagine the ex-mortal’s surprise when he realized the sudden difference in his body.

"..."

"..."

As if his memory hadn’t caught up because he just woke up, Riley had been one gasp away from a total crash out.

But that just wasn’t in the cards because his body had a different set of plans.

Like ripping off a band-aid in one smooth motion.

The ex-mortal’s entire being seized the moment the truth slammed into him, and he was forced to remember just why the hell his vision was so far from the ground.

"!"

A dragon.

He was really a dragon.

A full-fledged one.

One who had just inherited a whole race’s worth of generational trauma that would take a lifetime to unpack.

However, at that particular moment, none of it seemed to matter.

For there was nothing more important than his entire being calling for his mate.

Ah.

Yes.

That couldn’t be truer.

But soon he would learn that there was no better feeling than his mate responding to his call.

Riley was most definitely humungous; he was scaly and could probably serve as a mainstay in children’s nightmares.

He knew that.

He felt it in the sheer weight of his body.

But the moment Kael’s golden dragon head pressed against him in a fierce, desperate nuzzle, the fearsome black dragon heir practically melted into a puddle.

His massive form stilled.

His wings lowered slightly.

The rumble in his chest softened into something far less intimidating.

For the dragon lord’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Va Thra."

It stirred inside him, not as a sound, but as something primal and long forgotten.

It would have been something he wouldn’t have understood before. Even if he had been told the direct translation, he wouldn’t have grasped the full significance of it.

At least not until today.

Not until "my mate" embedded its meaning into his core.

Because this time around, he embodied it.

My life.

My flame.

My creed.