Adrien clambered into the tub slowly, sinking down low into the steaming water. Bubbles and slick oil snaked against his skin, lulling him into a relaxed state.

Other than the back pain, he was really glad he came. He was able to take his mind off of everything during this trip. Though it was unfortunate that this peaceful spell would end once they arrived back at the Academy. When that happened, Adrien would have to start his exhibition painting, study the music of this time period, find a song to rearrange for this time period, and figure out his family secrets.

I really needed this break. It’s only going to get exhausting from here on out.

Grabbing the book that he had brought with him, he leaned against the edge of the tub. The book he had randomly grabbed had a white, hard-bound cover. On the front was a golden outline of a dragon that was reaching for a black, four-pointed star.

Flipping the book open, Adrien realized that it was a fictional book about Velron the Great. I can’t believe someone was brave enough to write a romance book about the founding dragon.

Tucked inside the book was a note. The handwriting was elegant and neat with sprawling loops that gently titled to the right.

’I found this book in my second year while living as the Queen Regent. The book had been sitting in a hidden location in the back of the library for a good decade or two before I stumbled upon it. The author is unknown which has irked Asher and the previous king to no end. It’s a beautifully written fictional piece that describes the love between Velron and Shigaron. I have a feeling you will enjoy it since it was the inspiration behind some of my works.’

Adrien stared down at the note left by the Queen Regent. A small smile splayed playfully on his lips. Interesting. A fictional romance based on lore. I wonder if there is any truth behind some of the things that might be written in it?

Adrien, whose arms were resting against the marble lining, allowed his legs to float in the water. It was kind of ridiculous with how wide and deep the tub was, but it was quickly growing on Adrien.

He placed the note from the Queen in the back of the book and slowly began reading, digesting the words as if they were a delicious snack.

[Long ago, the Goddess of Creation, Zephyra, created twelve divine beasts to serve as her messengers, each assigned to a different task. Each divine beast held a special element tied deeply to their souls, and based on whether the beast held one or two elements determined their rank among them.

The main base elements included water, fire, earth, air, space, shadow, light, and poison. The eight beasts who possessed just one of those elements made up the lower ranks while the higher ranks had the ability to control two of those eight elements.

The lower ranking divine beasts included the Roc Bird who controlled the wind, the fire Phoenix who ruled over fire, the Horned

Rabbit who ran with the power of earth, the Siren who sung praises to the boundless water, the Basilisk who was the master of poisons, the Nine-tailed fox who was the master of space, and the Shadow Wolf who could blend into the shadows by using the Shadow Element.

The higher ranking beasts who were considered the most special of all Divine beasts were Bella the Hydra who was the master of both Earth and Poison, Velron the Dragon who governed over the Fire and Light elements, Shigaron the Shadow Phoenix who commanded the Shadow and Water elements, and Ren the Unicorn who traveled the worlds by implementing both Light and Space together.

One day, the Goddess commanded for the Divine Beasts to travel down to the middle realm. Once they descended, each beast chose a land of their own to watch over, almost none of them choosing the same Continent. It was only natural since they had very little contact with each other even while in the upper realm with their beloved Goddess.

While in the middle realm, their powers expanded and accumulated until others of their kind were born from them. Ren the Unicorn gave life to the Unicorns, who became the masters of space. Springing forth from Bella the Hydra’s power were a mixed race of Hydras who controlled poison and Giant Serpents who could manipulate the earth. Velron the Dragon’s power gave birth to other dragons who easily commanded fire. And Shigaron the Shadow Phoenix watched as other Shadow Phoenices were born from his darkness. Each of their descendents were only able to control one element since they were merely a byproduct of the great Divine Beasts’ overflowing Mana.]

Adrien felt his eyes widened at the shocking information revealed in the beginning paragraphs. As far as he was aware, there had never been any mention of the Poison Element existing in any of the books he had read. Is this purely a fictional element or had it been sponged from history?

It wasn’t uncommon to erase an event from history. It was, of course, up to the victors to write down past events according to their whims.

He made a side note to ask Mikyle about it later. And there was another mental note he made to himself. He had noticed that two of the greater Divine Beasts mentioned both possessed the Light Element. I wonder why that is? Was there a special reason why two of history’s Ancient Kings needed to have control over Light? And why were the higher ranked divine beasts referred to as the Ancient Kings while the lower ranked divine beasts were labeled as just that?

After making several mental notes, Adrien’s eyes refocused on the words written in the book. His interest grew with each sentence.

[On a Continent in the Southern region where the weather stays warm all year round, clouds bellowed softly, blocking out the harsh rays of the summer sun. High up in the mountain peaks where the sun shone the brightest, and where the shadows were the longest, rested a colony of Shadow Phoenices.

Their feathers shimmered with a blackened light while also having an inconsistent shape, much like the smoke from a dying fire. One that stood above the rest, had eyes that were as clear as any sapphire. Their cornflower blue color glistened as the Shadow Phoenix stared up into the vast sky]

Adrien read the page, falling into the story as he flipped one page right after another.