Chapter 920: Vex discovers he has fifteen mothers.
Asgard appeared on the horizon so suddenly that, for a few seconds, Vex didn’t even realize what she was seeing.
Until then, for much of the journey, she had been observing forests, hills, roads, and small towns scattered across the landscape. Everything seemed large to her. Everything seemed interesting. Everything seemed worthy of attention.
Then Asgard appeared.
And immediately made everything else seem small.
The enormous city stretched beyond what the eye could easily follow. From above, it looked like a living organism pulsating in constant motion. Hundreds of streets cut through the neighborhoods in organized patterns, connecting residential districts, commercial areas, squares, gardens, and monumental structures that Vex had never seen before.
The little dragon simply froze.
Seated among the scales on Strax’s back, she leaned forward as she observed that colossal sight.
Her eyes were wide open.
Her mouth slightly open.
And, for the first time since he’d met her that day, she wasn’t asking any questions.
None.
Absolutely none.
Strax noticed immediately.
And that was so rare that it made him laugh.
The deep sound echoed softly through the wind as they continued flying toward the city.
Vex didn’t even react.
She kept watching.
Absorbing.
Trying to process.
The distance gradually decreased.
And the closer they got, the more details emerged.
The houses.
The snow-covered roofs.
The bustling streets.
The people walking like tiny colored dots below them.
The towers.
The walls.
The bridges.
Everything seemed absurdly large.
Too absurd.
At one point, she saw something different.
A gigantic structure built of dark metal and reinforced stone.
Several chimneys rose above the building.
Clouds of white steam continuously escaped from them.
But the most curious thing was something else.
Around those chimneys, snow simply didn’t exist.
Or rather.
It was melting.
Vex observed this for several seconds.
Fascinated.
The heat escaping from the structure created dark patches on the surrounding terrain, revealing stone, metal, and earth where normally there would only be snow.
She finally found the strength to speak.
"Dad..."
"Hm?"
"Is the building burning?"
Strax chuckled softly.
"No."
"There’s smoke."
"It’s steam."
"What’s the difference?"
"Smoke usually means trouble."
"I see."
"And that means work."
Vex continued observing.
"What do they do there?"
"Various things." She tilted her head.
"Like what?"
"Machine parts."
"Machines?"
"Trains."
Her eyes immediately lit up.
"Trains!"
"Yes."
Now it seemed she was finally functioning normally again.
But only for a few seconds.
Because soon after, her attention was captured by another part of the city.
And then another.
And another.
And another.
Every instant something new appeared.
Something different.
Something she had never seen before.
The result was simple.
Her brain apparently gave up trying to keep up.
She fell silent again.
Strax watched this with amusement.
Throughout the trip she had asked enough questions to exhaust any normal person.
Now she seemed completely defeated by her own curiosity.
He finally smiled.
"You really lose your words when you’re impressed." Vex blinked.
Then she looked at him.
Then she looked back at the city.
"There’s so much."
"There is."
"So much indeed."
"There is."
"I don’t even know what to ask."
The statement made Strax laugh again.
Because that was probably the most absurd sentence he had heard from her so far.
A creature that seemed capable of formulating endless questions had just admitted that she didn’t know what to ask.
That said a lot about the size of the impact.
"You don’t need to ask everything now."
"No?"
"No."
She seemed relieved.
"Great."
"You’ll have plenty of time."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Vex looked back at the city.
Almost immediately forgetting the conversation.
Because now they were already entering the outermost districts of Asgard.
The houses passed below them.
The streets became more visible.
Some people pointed to the sky.
Others waved.
Others simply watched the enormous white dragon crossing the skies of the capital.
A relatively common scene at that point.
What, to Vex, was completely absurd information.
How could anyone get used to that?
She definitely didn’t understand.
After a few minutes crossing the city, Strax finally pointed to a higher area.
"We’re almost there."
Vex followed the indicated direction.
And saw something enormous.
A gigantic property surrounded by gardens partially covered in snow.
Decorative walls.
Trees.
Auxiliary buildings.
Frozen fountains.
And an absurdly large mansion positioned in the center of it all.
Her eyes widened again.
"Dad."
"Hm?"
"This is a smaller city."
Strax chuckled.
"It’s not that big."
"Yes, it is."
"No."
"It is."
She pointed to the mansion.
"There’s even another house inside the house." "This is a separate wing."
"It’s another house."
"Almost."
Vex seemed convinced she was right.
The dragon began to slowly lose altitude.
The approach was smooth.
Controlled.
Without any hurry.
As they descended, the little dragon noticed something curious.
Behind the mansion was a huge open area.
No trees.
No buildings.
No obstacles.
It was a gigantic platform reinforced with dark stone and metal structures.
It seemed to have been built specifically to receive enormous creatures.
"What is that?"
"Landing area."
She blinked.
"Landing area?"
"Yes."
"You have a landing area?"
"I do."
"At your house?"
"I do."
Vex seemed unable to decide if this was incredible or absurd.
Perhaps both.
Strax smiled.
"It was my idea."
"Of course it was."
"Monica approved."
"Who is Monica?"
"You’ll meet her."
The approach continued.
Then they finally touched the ground.
The dragon’s enormous paws landed on the reinforced platform with no more than a slight impact.
Everything remained stable.
Silent.
Safe.
Vex immediately began to look around.
The new location.
The mansion.
The gardens.
The statues.
The people working in the distance.
Everything was new.
Everything was fascinating.
Strax observed this for a few seconds.
Then he opened one of the wings.
But he didn’t just open it.
He carefully positioned it against the ground.
Creating a huge inclined ramp.
Or, more precisely.
A slide.
Vex looked.
Then she looked at him.
Then at the wing again.
"Daddy."
"Hm?"
"You made a slide."
"Maybe."
Her eyes lit up immediately.
Before he even finished speaking, the little dragon was already running across the surface of the wing.
Then she slid down.
The snow accumulated on some parts helped even more.
She slid down quickly.
Laughing.
Partially spinning during the descent.
And reaching the ground with an expression of absolute happiness.
"AGAIN!"
Strax started laughing.
"Later."
"But it was fun."
"I noticed."
She already seemed ready to climb back up.
Fortunately, a bigger distraction appeared.
The dragon’s colossal body began to shrink.
The scales disappeared.
The wings folded.
The enormous draconic structure gradually transformed into a human figure.
Seconds later, Strax was standing before it again.
As a man.
Vex watched the transformation intently.
Even though he already knew he could do that.
It still seemed incredible.
"You look smaller."
"Thank you."
"That wasn’t a compliment."
"I figured."
She laughed.
Then she approached him.
Strax simply extended his hand.
Vex looked.
Then took it.
Naturally.
As if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
And together, they began to walk towards the main entrance of the mansion.
As they approached, the little dragon noticed more and more details.
The enormous doors.
The windows.
The sculptures.
The carefully arranged gardens.
Everything seemed straight out of a fairy tale.
When they finally reached the main entrance, Strax grasped the doorknob.
Vex remained beside him.
Curious.
Anxious.
Nervous.
Excited.
Perhaps all at once.
Then the doors opened.
And her eyes simply lit up.
The enormous entrance hall was magnificent.
But that wasn’t what caught her attention.
What made her freeze were the people.
An entire row.
Perfectly organized on both sides.
Maids.
Butlers.
Mansion staff.
All lined up.
All impeccably dressed.
All waiting.
As soon as Strax and Vex crossed the threshold, the greeting happened simultaneously.
Perfectly synchronized.
"Welcome back, Lord Strax."
The collective voice echoed through the hall.
Vex froze.
Completely.
Her eyes widened.
Her mouth slowly opened.
She looked to one side.
Then to the other.
Then again.
She looked like a small animal trying to process a supernatural phenomenon.
Then she discreetly tugged at Strax’s sleeve.
"Dad."
"Hm?"
She pointed to the entire row.
Still unable to believe it.
"They all came for you?"
Strax smiled.
"More or less."
Vex remained staring at the scene.
Still trying to comprehend.
Still impressed.
Still speechless.
And considering who she was... This was perhaps the clearest possible demonstration that her adventure in Asgard had just begun.
"Shall we go?" Strax took her hand.
Each of Vex’s steps through the entrance hall seemed to echo in a place where everything was made to be heard, even when no one spoke.
She still held Strax’s hand, but now with less curiosity and more caution, as if the simple act of stepping on that polished floor required invisible permission.
The employees remained lined up.
Immobile.
Perfect.
And that, for someone who until then had only known forests, open skies, and unanswered questions, was almost more frightening than the flight itself.
Strax, on the other hand, walked as if it were just... Tuesday.
He didn’t even slow down.
"You can rest," he said, without raising his voice.
The order didn’t sound like an order.
And yet, everyone relaxed at the same time.
Vex noticed this.
And that was worse.
She tugged lightly at his sleeve again.
"Daddy..."
"Hm?"
"They obey you very quickly."
Strax glanced sideways at her.
"Training."
"This doesn’t look like training."
"What does it look like?"
Vex thought for a second, too seriously.
"Group magic."
He let out a low laugh.
"It’s not magic."
"Then what is it?"
"Trust."
She didn’t seem to like that answer. Not because it was wrong... but because it was too big to fit in her head yet.
Before she could insist, a new sound emerged from the back of the hall.
Firm footsteps.
Calm.
Controlled.
But different.
They weren’t the footsteps of someone following a routine.
They were the footsteps of someone commanding the routine.
A figure emerged between the columns.
A woman.
"You took your time," she said to Strax, ignoring the little girl who was confused; it was the first time someone had ignored her...
"I went to get the little one to spend some time with us," he replied, smiling and stroking Vex’s head.
The woman slowly bent down, "So you’re little Vex," Monica said, smiling, and looked at her. "You’re very pretty."
Vex stammered: "Y-you’re very pretty too."
Monica smiled, "My name is Monica, I’m one of your father’s wives."
Vex turned to his father. "Wife? So she’s also—"
"Well, I’m not your mom, but I’m your father’s wife... so I’m your stepmother? But you can call me mom, I’m flexible." Monica said smiling, a smile that filled Vex’s heart with kindness.
"I have more than one mom?!" She questioned, looking at Strax who gave a crooked smile...
"About fifteen..."
Vex’s gaze almost fell from her face.
"FIFTEEN MOMS?!!"
