My Dragon King System-Chapter 250: Archon Siblings

Aiden scoffed and shook his head.

Then another question occurred to him, one born purely out of curiosity about this pantheon he’d found himself standing among:

"How many siblings do you actually have?"

Thera leaned back in her seat, with a thoughtful expression crossing her face.

"Right now, there are ten of us," she said. "Gaia is the First. Umgadi, the Second. Orion is the Third—"

She stopped abruptly, her lips curving into an amused smile.

"Speaking of Orion, I wonder where that boy is right now," she said with a laugh. "He’s never in one place. Today he could be in Eden, or he could be halfway across the universe testing which planets he can and can’t lift. Silly boy."

Aiden raised an eyebrow at that.

Thera waved one hand dismissively, still smiling. "It’s his way of... staying entertained, I suppose."

Then she continued.

"You already know Jorus, the Fourth. Then there’s me, the Fifth. After me comes Celion, Astia, Myria, Vyntis..." She paused, her expression shifting slightly. "And then... well, there’s the last one. A half-sibling."

Aiden frowned slightly, noticing the deliberate vagueness in her words.

"A half-sibling?" he repeated. "Is him being a half-sibling why you won’t even mention his name?"

He wondered briefly if the gods treated their own the way humans often did, with disdain toward children who weren’t fully legitimate.

Thera’s demeanor changed at that question. The warmth in her expression dimmed, replaced by something more serious, and almost uncomfortable.

She let out a slow breath before answering. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Well, I’m not sure myself... but this sibling of ours was not born of our father. Therefore, Adam refused to give him a name."

"He made it a rule that no one, not even the child himself, could take a name for himself."

Aiden’s frown deepened as he processed that information.

"So this child is just Lilith’s..." he muttered.

Thera nodded slowly and added:

"And Samael’s."

Aiden’s eyes widened at that name.

Thera continued. "Samael... the angel who now rules over the creatures of the pit. The one humans have come to know as the Demon King."

She paused for a moment before adding:

"Adam couldn’t bear the betrayal. The moment our half-sibling was born, he locked our mother away from Eden... and it’s been that way for several millennia ever since."

She shook her head.

"It’s been so long that it’s hard to even remember exactly when it happened. And yes, we also lost a sibling shortly after Lilith was sealed away."

She paused before continuing.

"Arzun was originally the second, not Umgadi. After Lilith was dealt with, he confronted the All-Father and demanded her return. Father, enraged by his defiance, cast him away as well."

Aiden stared at her for a moment as the information processed for him.

Right here in Eden... there was a god who had been born from Samael and Lilith’s affair. Cronyssia didn’t even know of this part when she was telling him the story earlier

But more importantly, he realized something else:

The way Thera spoke... she hadn’t realized that Lilith was free now.

Aiden’s expression stayed neutral, but his thoughts moved quickly.

If Adam did not know, and if no one in Eden was aware that Lilith had escaped, then this knowledge held real value.

Value that could be used to form an alliance with Adam himself. Together, they could deal with Lilith and the demons who had freed her.

And once that alliance was established, Aiden could push for access to the Holy Grail, or at the very least secure Adam’s cooperation in using it when the time came.

Aiden then repeated his intentions again.

"I need to speak to the All-Father. Soon."

Thera tilted her head curiously and smiled at him.

"Oh, that’s not very nice, Dragon Vessel," she said playfully. "Have I not been good company?"

Aiden opened his mouth to defend himself, "No, it’s not that—"

But he stopped mid-sentence.

His head turned sharply toward the entrance of the temple as his senses picked up something approaching fast.

There was a figure moving at incredible speed directly toward them.

Thera smirked knowingly. "Well, that answers my question about where he is."

A moment later, there was a blur of motion, and then a figure materialized inside the temple with an audible thud as he landed on both feet.

The god stood tall, broad-shouldered and was radiating yellow lightning around his body.

His blonde hair was wild and unkempt, falling loosely around his face, and his golden eyes gleamed with mischief and excitement.

He wore no clothes above his upper body, just pants below his waist.

He grinned widely as he looked between Thera and Aiden.

Thera sighed but smiled fondly as she gestured toward him with one hand.

"Dragon Vessel, I present to you the knucklehead... my brother, Orion."​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

——

Orion grinned widely as he walked toward

Thera, who rose from her seat and moved to meet him halfway.

The lightning that had been crackling around his body flickered once more before dissipating as he reached her.

They embraced warmly, and Orion lifted Thera clean off the ground in a tight hug despite the fact that they were both well over six feet tall.

Slightly taller than Aiden, who stood right at the six-foot threshold.

When Orion set her back down, Thera pulled back with an amused smile on her face.

"Where did you come from this time?" she asked.

Orion’s grin widened even further, his golden eyes practically glowing with excitement.

"Thera, you won’t believe how long I can sit in the sun for now," he said eagerly.

Thera raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "How long?"

Orion straightened up proudly, raising his chin slightly as if presenting himself for admiration.

"Take a guess," he said.

Thera tilted her head thoughtfully, pretending to consider it seriously.

"I don’t know... five days? No, wait—ten days?" she offered.

Orion shook his head.

"Wrong!" he declared. "Sixty-two and a half days—and that’s without any burn scars."

He paused for dramatic effect before adding:

"But of course, I could sit it out maybe an extra thirty days with just a few minor burns."

Thera looked genuinely impressed as she crossed her arms and nodded approvingly.

"That’s... actually impressive," she admitted.

Orion beamed at the compliment before suddenly turning his attention toward Aiden.

His grin didn’t falter as he stepped forward and grabbed Aiden’s arm with both hands in an almost overly friendly manner that caught Aiden completely off guard for a second.

"Oh, forgive me, Dragon Vessel!" Orion said warmly, gripping Aiden’s arm firmly but not aggressively. "I got carried away there."

He released Aiden’s arm but stayed close, still grinning widely.

"In fact," Orion continued excitedly, "I came rushing to Thera’s temple the moment I heard you were here!"

Thera scoffed lightly and shook her head with mock disappointment.

"And here I thought you came to see your favorite sister," she said dryly.

Orion laughed. And it was a loud, booming sound that echoed through the temple.

"You know there’s always that part too!" he said with a wink before turning back toward Aiden once more.

His excitement was radiating off him now.

Aiden stood there watching this exchange unfold while still trying to figure out exactly why Orion had rushed here so urgently to see him specifically.

Then Orion spoke again, leaning forward slightly as his golden eyes locked onto Aiden’s red ones:

"Dragon Vessel," he began earnestly, "would you be so kind as to go against me in a contest of strength?"

Thera let out a short laugh and rolled her eyes as she shook her head in exasperation.

"How typical," she muttered under her breath, though there was fondness in her tone.

Aiden blinked twice at the question. "A contest of strength?"

—-

Meanwhile, in another area within Eden...

Far removed from the main city, several distances away where no other structures existed.

Gaia floated slowly toward a large structure.

It resembled an abandoned castle, with tall spires reaching upward into the cosmic skies above Eden and walls overgrown with vines.

When Gaia reached the gates, she stopped and spoke calmly:

"Will you let me in?"

For a moment there was only silence.Then the large gates began opening slowly on their own.

Gaia floated through without hesitation and continued deeper into the structure, moving through corridors until she eventually arrived at an open veranda overlooking the endless cosmos beyond Eden.

A figure stood there already. He had white hair and was facing outward toward the stars.

Gaia floated into place beside him without speaking at first, simply standing silently while gazing outward through the same view.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then finally, the white-haired figure broke the silence.

"Why have you come, Gaia?"

This being standing before her, this god who existed within Eden yet remained apart from all others, was The One Who Shall Not Be Named.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​