Chapter 300: Leno Kin, the God Born from a Mortal Woman

"...What?"

A rumble bellowed in the dark expanse below. Trillions of small shards of light flowing down soft azure scales, each seeping into any crack they can find. Tremors shook his god-like mind, his will fade into nothing, yet his sense remained intact.

"...What is this?"

An angelic melody crashed against his soul, similar to how rivers were halted by giant stones in their path. Some of its grace would go through him while the vast majority would continue on its uninterrupted travels towards an unforeseen ocean.

Suddenly, silence.

A small tunnel of light.

Swim, slither, survive.

Months pass of the same routine. The light begins to recede. He chases its path desperately. Three minutes pass until the chase ends, the light had found its source. A large dark room, a soft thump every second, and a human fetus curled in place.

"Here."

The source of melody had made itself known to the serpent. The unborn child was calling out through its blood stream. It was aware of the serpent’s presence, and it was impossible to tell what kind of emotion it was feeling. Something that wasn’t developed capable of processing emotion, calling out to a serpent of his divinity, and having the capacity of will, was terrifying.

"Mortal child."

"Here."

The Serpent hesitated. A bright power was brimming inside of the unborn child with each passing second. Light was constantly flowing inside of it like a sponge, including the serpents own. Without a doubt, this child was not going to be born mortal. Absorbing any amount of the serpent’s essence turns any mortal into something beyond human prowess.

"I am making my return. You will be my vessel, child."

No response or reaction. The serpent slithered its way towards the child, hissing as it wrapped its tail around its neck. However, its tail began to dissolve the moment it touched its skin. The thumping in the area began to hasten. The serpent recoiled back while opening its maw in anger.

"Here."

Suddenly, an incomplete hand grabbed hold of the serpent’s entire body. With no effort, its being had been completely absorbed inside of the unborn child. The inside of its body glowed even brighter than before. A light that was incapable of being extinguished had been created. A power so unfair that its very existence threatened Zalo’s eternal life. Yet, there was still three months until the child’s birth.

An unborn child had killed a God with its own power and absorbed it for itself.

Slimo stared into his child’s eyes with his own.

"I will name you after the man who still holds a place special in my heart. A man whose kindness and strength knew no equal. I will name you after my brother, Leno Kin."

Slimo looked around at the dragons bowing to his kid’s presence. A bead of sweat dripped down Jacob’s face.

"It looks like being royalty reaped us some rewards."

"They said your child is the next coming of The Great Serpent. How is that possible?"

"Jacob, Maria, can one of you use your eye on him and see if it says anything?"

Maria nodded and walked over to Leno, looking into his small, innocent face with curiosity. However, there was nothing that came up. It was as if the aura coming off of the child was overwhelming their vision.

"It’s no use. The power coming off of him is too strong. He’s extremely cute, but his power is beyond crazy for an infant. Not to mention it stifles our powers completely it seems."

Lidia slowly regained consciousness, wiping her forehead before sitting up. Sarah helped prop her back up while Squabee was beginning to mash up fruits into a thin paste for food.

"My baby. Where is my baby?"

Slimo handed Leno over the Lidia who immediately started crying as her child laid in her arms.

"Isn’t he so cute? This is the greatest day of my entire life."

Lidia saw the dragons surrounding her, but she ignored their presence to give her full attention to her newborn. However, as she was holding on to her child, she began to pant heavily.

"Man. Holding him is a bit exhausting for some reason. It feels like my energy is being sapped."

She studied the light surrounding the child, her eyes widened coming to a conclusion.

"This child’s power is incredible. I think its absorbing my light power to fuel its own. I don’t think it can control it right now."

She looked over at Slimo.

"Did you come up with a name yet?"

Slimo smiled weakly and nodded his head.

"Leno."

Lidia whimpered and looked back down.

"It’s perfect. Our little Leno."

Suddenly, Lidia’s head felt light and her vision started to fade. Sarah caught her while Squabee held on to the baby before she could pass out.

"Lidia, don’t push yourself. I know you’re all healed, but you just gave birth. Give your body a moment to rest before moving around."

Lidia muttered to herself close to Sarah.

"He’s... pretty large for a baby, but he is my son. So precious."

Squabee’s arms shook slightly as she continued trying to hold up the child.

"Geez, Lidia. Did you feed him already?! He’s so heavy!"

However, what took Squabee too long to realize is the child was already starting to grow. The leaf covering it was almost not nearly enough to hold it anymore. It was growing incredibly fast. Maria noticed as well and dashed around to get more leaves to cover the child.

"What the hell? Are babies supposed to have growth spurts this early?"

However, it was not just any ordinary growth spurt. Leno was aging even faster. In three short moments, he was already capable of standing up on his own. In another three, he was able to straighten his back. Finally, his growing stopped. He looked like a young adult with painfully perfect features.

He had a long neck, rough jaw, the same yellow eyes as his father, and an incredibly sculpted physique. The leaves that were once covering his entire body were now covering his privates. His hair was the same color as Lidia’s: a dark autumn brown that highlighted itself in the sunlight. Everyone around him had their mouth open, staring dubiously at the man standing before them.

Similarly, Leno stared back with a curious look. He ran his hands through his hair, rubbed his face and studied his body before speaking his first words.

"Hi."

Slimo’s face had gone completely white. His legs refused to move from the shock. Even Squabee didn’t know what to do. It took three more awkward moments before Leno finally spoke again.

"What was my name you gave me again, father?"

Slimo’s eyes widened further.

"L-Leno?"

White royal robes clothed Leno’s entire body, creating themselves from the light surrounding his body.

"L-Leno. The extra L at the start is odd, but I will wear your name proudly, father."

He studied everyone’s faces further until his eyes landed on Jacob and Maria.

"All your faces tell different stories and express different emotions. You two in particular appear to be... afraid. What are you afraid of?"

Jacob hesitated before answering.

"You... you were just a child. How can you speak so eloquently? Where did you get those clothes? What... are you?"

Leno brought his finger to his chin, a habit that he appeared to inherit from his father.

"Hm. I simply aged myself so my body could contain my power easier. These clothes on my back are an extension of that power. As for your last question, I don’t quite understand what you mean. Do you know what you are?"

"We’re humans, are you?"

"Are you?"

Leno’s words cut Jacob’s soul like a knife. In truth, Jacob wasn’t sure what they were anymore. No one in their group could be considered normal by any means. It felt like the more they strove for power, the more of their humanity they would need to leave behind.

"How can you talk?"

"I’ve had nine months to learn your language from my mother. How would I not be able to talk?"

"Nine months? You were learning our language while your body was still developing?"

Leno nodded.

"Is that unusual?"

Jacob was at a loss for words. The only thing that was keeping Leno from seeming like a genuine older gentleman was how little he knew. His ignorance of the world was that of a child, including when things should or shouldn’t be normal. He was a unique person even among a group like them.

"Father, am I unusual?"

Slimo stood up to meet his son who was now almost the same height as him.

"Leno... I... don’t know what to say."

Squabee stood frozen staring at him.

"That saying says they grow up fast, but I could never have imagined them to grow up THIS fast!!"

Leno looked over at Squabee.

"Ahh. I recognize your voice, ma’am."

Squabee perked her head.

"You do?! You recognize Auntie Squabee’s voice?!"

Leno nodded his head.

"Auntie Squabee is your name? How peculiar."

"Did you enjoy my little talks with you through your mothers’ belly?!"

Leno shook his head.

"Truthfully, I always found them... galling."

Squabee turned her head.

"What does that mean?"

"It simply means I would have preferred if it happened less. I apologize if that offends you in any way, Auntie Sqaubee."

Squabee felt defeated and slouched over.

"At least he called me Auntie."