Chapter 559: Valley of Silence
Nidhogg continued soaring through the skies above the clouds while Kael remained nestled between its enormous claws, observing the distant horizon with silent weariness. The cold of the altitude still stung his skin, but he had now partially grown accustomed to the constant sensation of the wind crushing his clothes and pulling his hair back. The absurd speed at which it flew made the landscapes below change rapidly. Mountains disappeared behind them in minutes. Entire forests seemed like fleeting green patches seen from that impossible height.
After some time in silence, Nidhogg slowly moved its colossal head down, observing something among the lower clouds.
"We are flying over the Valley of Silence."
Kael raised an eyebrow slightly at the name. Her tone had changed a little again. It wasn’t exactly enthusiasm, but there was a different kind of attention in her voice now, almost like the satisfaction of someone recognizing an ancient place.
"I’ve never heard of it."
"That’s because humans have avoided that region for centuries." Her voice echoed softly among the wind and clouds. "The valley has an abnormally high concentration of natural mana. This directly affects the local ecosystem." Her enormous golden eyes scanned the mountain ranges below. "Extremely aggressive magical creatures often appear there."
Kael tilted his head slightly to try and see better through the clouds. Below, enormous mountain ranges formed a natural circle around an absurdly vast region covered by dense forests. Even from that height, he could sense that something strange was happening. The atmospheric mana itself seemed heavier. Small luminous currents ran through parts of the mountains like veins glowing beneath the earth.
Nidhogg continued speaking without him needing to ask anything more.
"Centuries ago, an entire colony of black basilisks emerged in that region after a fragment of astral ore fell into the center of the valley." His tone now sounded almost academic. "The magical radiation altered the local fauna for decades. Some species absorbed too much mana and suffered permanent mutations."
Kael slowly turned his gaze to her.
"You really know a lot about this."
"I like this stuff."
She answered so naturally that Kael remained silent for a few seconds, just listening to her voice. For the first time since she revealed her true form, Nidhogg seemed genuinely comfortable talking about something without provoking anyone, threatening dimensions, or flirting in a questionable way.
She continued observing the valley below as she spoke calmly.
"The eastern side has trees whose sap acts as an extremely efficient alchemical fuel. Some kingdoms tried to exploit the region economically in the past." A short pause accompanied the slow beating of her gigantic wings. "Almost all of them died."
"Reassuring."
"A crystal serpent destroyed three entire military expeditions in less than two weeks." There was a slight satisfied tone in her voice now. "It must still be alive."
Kael looked at her again, now clearly noticing something that had previously gone unnoticed. Nidhogg truly enjoyed talking about it. Not only because she possessed an absurd amount of knowledge accumulated over ages, but because she seemed genuinely interested in the world itself.
She spoke of magical creatures in the same way scholars spoke of literature or history.
With familiarity.
With attention.
With sincere interest.
Kael rested his head partially against one of the warm scales near him as he observed the valley below.
"You seem strangely animated."
Nidhogg moved one of her golden pupils slightly in his direction.
"Excited?"
"You’re talking about it like a living encyclopedia."
She was silent for a few seconds before answering.
"Perhaps because I really enjoy it."
Kael waited for her to continue.
And she did.
"My life is extremely lonely." Her voice was lower this time, but still calm. "I almost never get visitors." She slowly tilted her head as she passed through another layer of clouds. "Then I read."
Kael blinked slowly.
"You read a lot?"
"More than fifteen thousand books so far."
He immediately raised his face.
"Fifteen thousand?"
"Probably more." Her tone seemed genuinely thoughtful now. "I lost count after the first few centuries."
Kael remained silent for a few seconds as he tried to process that rationally.
Then he noticed another important part of the sentence.
"First centuries."
"The flow of time in my domain doesn’t work the same way as here." Nidhogg slowly adjusted her wings as she glided above the wind currents. "Time runs faster in that dimension." Her gaze shifted to the distant horizon. "Much faster."
Kael frowned slightly.
"How much faster?"
"It depends on dimensional stability." She answered that immediately. "But there have been periods when decades passed for me while only a few years elapsed in the physical world."
That caused a strange feeling in Kael. For the first time since he had met her, he tried to seriously imagine what it must be like to live that way.
Isolated. Separated from the rest of the world.
Watching continents shift while remaining trapped in her own dimension alongside a hostile cosmic entity.
Reading thousands of books simply because time existed in excess.
The silence between them stretched for a few minutes as Nidhogg continued traversing the skies above the Valley of Silence. The sun had already partially risen on the horizon, scattering golden light over the mountains below. Her enormous scales reflected that light in an almost metallic way, making it seem as if the sky itself shone around her colossal body.
Kael finally spoke again.
"That sounds sad."
Nidhogg slowly moved her eyes toward him.
"Sad?"
"That perspective." Kael watched the clouds drifting around them. "I’ve never seen anyone talk about their own life like that."
She remained quiet for a few seconds.
So, despite still being in his gigantic dragon form, Kael clearly noticed when she smiled. Not because there were human lips now, but because something changed in the expression of her golden eyes. Her gaze softened slightly as she continued to fly calmly above the continent.
"You are kind to think that way."
The answer came simply.
No sarcasm.
No provocation.
Kael fell silent after that.
Nidhogg continued speaking soon after, still observing the distant horizon as its wings slowly cut through the air currents.
"But the world works through rules." Her voice now sounded older. Heavier. "And I am one of those rules."
Kael frowned slightly.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that certain existences don’t belong to the rest of reality." She answered that without any apparent emotion. "My presence throws things out of balance too much." Her golden eyes followed the forests below. "The Original Kingdom exists precisely because entities like me cannot freely coexist with the physical world without consequences."
The wind continued to roar around them as she spoke.
"Yggdrasil keeps the dimensional boundaries stable because it’s necessary." A small pause accompanied the slow movement of her gigantic wings. "I remain isolated because it’s also necessary."
Kael observed her colossal profile in silence.
For the first time since all this had begun, he clearly perceived something that had previously been hidden beneath sarcasm, provocations, and absurd behavior.
Nidhogg was accustomed to solitude far too deeply.
Not as someone temporarily alone.
But as someone who had already accepted it as an inevitable part of her own existence.
She continued speaking calmly as they passed through another layer of clouds.
"At first I hated it." Her tone remained steady. "The isolation. The constant silence. The feeling of observing an entire world without truly participating in it."
Kael didn’t interrupt. "After a long time, it just becomes normal." Her eyes slowly returned to him. "You learn to fill the time."
"With books."
"With books."
Kael slowly exhaled through his nose as he observed the enormous mountains below them.
This was strange.
Because until a few hours ago, Nidhogg seemed like an impossible creature to comprehend. A provocative, ancient entity, too powerful to exist naturally alongside ordinary people.
Now, hearing her speak like that, she seemed much less distant.
Still monstrously powerful.
Still absurdly ancient.
But also strangely human in certain specific aspects.
She liked books.
She liked talking about ancient places.
She liked observing the world.
And clearly, she had spent too much time alone.
Nidhogg realized he was still thinking.
"You’re analyzing me."
"I’m trying to understand you."
"Results?"
Kael took a few seconds before responding.
"You’re less frightening than you initially seemed."
She seemed genuinely offended.
"That was extremely rude."
"You literally destroyed a dimensional wall today."
"Technically, it was two."
Kael let out a low laugh.
The sound quickly faded into the wind from the heights, but Nidhogg clearly noticed.
She remained silent for a while afterward as they continued traversing the skies above the valley. The environment below slowly began to change. The forests became less dense. Small rock formations began to emerge near the mountains. At some distant point, Kael managed to see the reflection of a gigantic river cutting through the land like a silver line.
Then Nidhogg spoke again, this time in a much lower tone.
"That was strange."
Kael raised his head slightly.
"What?" "Finding you for real." Her golden eyes remained fixed ahead. "After so many years of just watching."
Kael was silent.
"When you were a child, everything seemed..." She searched for the words for a few seconds. "More distant." A short pause accompanied her heavy breathing. "You existed in another world. Another rhythm."
The wind violently swept across her enormous wings as the continent continued to pass far below.
"Now you’re here."
Kael didn’t respond immediately.
Because honestly, he didn’t know what to say to that.
Nidhogg then let out a small sigh.
"And honestly..." There was something almost weary in his voice now. "I still don’t know exactly what to do with this."
Kael watched the sky silently as she continued to fly above the golden clouds of the sunrise.
And for the first time since all this madness had begun—
The silence between them didn’t seem strange.
