Chapter 23: Adverse Reactions
In the first month of her pregnancy, Livia only belatedly realized—her entire dragon self seemed to be a little off.
The first day, she slept from evening until the next evening. When she woke up, she was groggy, thinking she had only dozed off briefly. It wasn't until her stomach let out a world-shaking, miserable groan that she shakily climbed out of her lair. Looking around, the sun had already sunk below the horizon once again. Only then did she realize she had slept for a full cycle of day and night.
The second day, she slept the entire day again.
The third day, she still slept a full day.
By the fourth day, she finally managed to drag herself up, her steps unsteady and wobbly. She crawled out of the main hall and followed the familiar passage to the platform outside the volcano crater.
It was noon outside. The sun hung high overhead, its harsh rays baking the volcanic rock until it was scorching hot. Stepping on it sent waves of burning heat through her. She lay down on the platform, intending to bask in the sun and wake herself up. But as she sunbathed, her eyelids grew heavy, her head tilted, and she fell asleep again.
When she was finally awakened by hunger, it was already deep night. Everything was pitch black, with only the moonlight coldly sprinkling over the charred, desolate plain.
This time, Livia was truly starving mad.
She suddenly spread her wings and dove straight down from the volcano crater. Her huge wings tore through the night sky, circling low above the dead-silent, blackened plains. Moonlight reflected off the charred rocks, casting a faint, icy silver glow. Only a few drought-resistant plants swayed weakly in the wind.
A plump Lava Lizard poked its head out from a crevice in the rocks, intending to venture out to forage under the cover of night.
Livia's eyes instantly lit up. Like a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey, she dove down, pinned it fiercely with one claw, and snapped its neck clean off in one bite. She barely chewed before swallowing it in three gulps.
With one down, the hunger in her stomach did not lessen at all; instead, it burned fiercer, like a wildfire.
She pounced on the second one, and ate it.
The third one, she ate as well.
That night, Livia frantically swept across the blackened plain, devouring five Lava Lizards, two Fire Rats, one Sand Snake, and even a reckless Desert Fox that had wandered out from the depths of the desert—none escaped her hungry dragon predation.
Only when her stomach was finally slightly distended and felt somewhat bloated did she contentedly pat her belly and drift back to her lair.
She lay down and gently touched her still not-very-obvious lower abdomen with her claw.
The dragon gestation period naturally didn't show much in the belly, but she could clearly feel three small lives slowly taking shape inside her. The System had already scanned them—two pure Red Dragon eggs, and one mixed-blood egg with blue markings.
The moment she thought of this, Talos's proud and fastidious dragon face flashed uncontrollably through her mind.
If these children took after him, they would probably spend every day licking her scales, cleaning her chest then her back, and even licking the tip of her tail after cleaning between her claws...
Livia shivered slightly.
Forget it, it's too terrifying; I won't think about it.
Entering the second month, gluttony had completely become a daily state.
Previously, she only ate one Lava Lizard every three days. Now, even three a day couldn't fill her stomach; previously, she was very particular, only eating them after roasting them fragrant with Dragon Breath. Now, she swallowed whatever she caught, raw or cooked, right into her mouth; previously, she was picky, only eating the tenderest hind legs and the freshest organs. Now, she even crunched the bones to pieces and swallowed them whole—the main goal was absolutely no waste.
Before long, the Lava Lizards on the blackened plain had visibly decreased because she had eaten so many. Occasionally, she would wander around for half a day and might not even encounter a single one.
In the third month, Livia was forced to expand her hunting range, flying a bit further every day to find food on the more vast Gobi Desert.
The Gobi Desert was much wider than the blackened plain, and the prey was much richer: herds of Desert Antelopes, Giant Sand Lizards hiding in rock shadows, and occasionally, Great Sand Worms that suddenly burst from underground... Every time she went out, she would eat until her stomach was round and flying was a little strenuous before she would slowly fly back to her lair, flop down, sleep, and upon waking, continue heading out to eat. Her days passed like an emotionless eating machine.
By the fourth month, the lethargy and gluttony had not subsided, but her possessiveness over treasure had directly doubled, perhaps even more than tenfold.
That day, she was lying drowsily in the main hall when a Fire Hawk, only the size of a pigeon, drifted past the entrance to the Treasure Room. This small Fire Hawk had red feathers and a yellow beak; it looked like it was just passing by to rest, only curiously peering into the Treasure Room for a moment.
Just one look, its gaze happened to land on the largest egg-sized ruby.
The next second, Livia's eyes snapped open sharply, her vertical pupils shrinking into a thin, sharp line.
She stared fixedly at the Fire Hawk, with only one furious thought left in her mind:
This little thing wants to steal my ruby!
Without thinking, she opened her mouth and unleashed a ball of scorching fire.
The fireball grazed the Fire Hawk's tail as it shot past, exploding fiercely against the passage wall, sending gravel flying. The little Fire Hawk shrieked in terror, flapping its wings and fleeing in panic. Several feathers were blown off by the fright, fluttering down to the ground.
Livia stood up menacingly and chased two steps, then stopped abruptly.
She stood at the entrance of the Treasure Room, her chest heaving violently as she gasped for air.
After calming down for a second, she was a bit stunned herself: How could a Fire Hawk the size of a pigeon possibly steal a ruby larger than its own head? Even if it wanted to steal it, it couldn't carry it!
But the furious impulse to protect her wealth just now felt terrifyingly real.
She stared at the pile of treasure for a long time. The more she looked, the more uneasy she became, the more unsafe she felt.
Then, step by step, she walked over and carefully moved the largest ruby deeper and deeper into the treasure pile, burying it securely within the mound of gold coins; then she tucked in several sapphires one by one; finally, she even hid the few most valuable enchanted weapons deep inside, only breathing a slight sigh of relief when they were almost invisible from the outside.
After securing all her belongings, she flopped down right there, guarding the entrance to the Treasure Room like a Red Dragon statue protecting a mountain of gold.
As she guarded, she fell asleep again.
In the fifth month, in addition to the three symptoms of lethargy, gluttony, and treasure-guarding mania, Livia developed a new ailment—extremely unstable emotions.
That day, she was lying on the Gobi Desert, gnawing on a freshly hunted Desert Antelope. As she ate, Talos suddenly flashed into her mind.
Thinking of his smug and conceited face, thinking of the devoted look on his face as he licked his scales while holding his tail, thinking of his expression when he later discovered his treasure was stolen and he exploded in rage...
Livia let out a 'Pfft!' and burst out laughing.
As she laughed, her face suddenly darkened. The more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt:
Why am I thinking about him?
What right do I have to think about him?
He and I only had a fair transaction, done and done, no debts between us, we don't even know each other!
But the next second, his image of twisting his body, desperately reaching for his back, licking his scales as if practicing yoga, automatically replayed in her mind. The more she watched, the sillier he looked, and the sillier he looked, the funnier it was.
She couldn't help but laugh again.
After laughing, she lowered her head to chew the mutton. As she chewed, the figure of that man-dragon popped up again unexpectedly.
Laughing for a while, getting angry for a while, feeling depressed for a while, then inexplicably laughing again—repeating this cycle endlessly, driving herself to the brink of collapse.
In the sixth month, she started counting the days inexplicably.
Counting from the day of mating, today was the 183rd day.
Counting from when the System notified her of successful conception, it was the 180th day.
Counting from the first time she slept for a whole day...
She raised her claw and fiercely scratched a mark on the cave wall.
Then the second, the third... When she reached the fiftieth mark, her movement suddenly paused. She found it ridiculous herself:
Why am I scratching these?
What's the use of keeping track of these days?
She quietly retracted her claw and stared at the row of crooked scratches, remaining silent for a long time.
After being silent, she raised her claw and fiercely scratched another mark.
In the seventh month, Livia began to sink into endless pre-natal anxiety.
She worried whether the eggs would hatch successfully, whether the children would be healthy, but what worried her most was—the mixed-blood one, what if it completely took after Talos?
Would it also be born with mysophobia?
Would it also lick its tail endlessly?
Would it also take over a hundred minutes just to clean its scales?
If it ever accumulated its own treasure and another dragon stole it, would it also explode in rage and puff up on the spot?
What was even more terrifying was—
What if it inherited Talos's mysophobia, but also inherited her extreme possessiveness?
Constantly licking its scales while fiercely guarding its treasure—wouldn't that drive it crazy?
The more she thought, the less she slept; the less she slept, the hungrier she became; the hungrier she became, the more she wanted to eat; the more she ate, the easier it was to think of Talos; the more she thought of him, the more she worried about the child taking after him, falling into a desperate yet comical death spiral.
It wasn't until the eighth month that Livia finally gave up and came to terms with it.
Who cares who they take after? We'll see when they hatch.
If it really inherited Talos's obsessive cleanliness, she would teach it from a young age. If teaching didn't work, she'd hit it; if hitting didn't work, she'd scold it; if scolding didn't change it...
Forget it, she'd deal with it then. At worst, she'd lick scales right along with it.
The ninth month, the tenth month, the eleventh month, the twelfth month.
A whole year passed just like that.
Livia lay slowly in her warm, comfortable lair, her claws resting gently on her lower abdomen, which was still only slightly swollen.
Compared to a year ago, there was almost no noticeable change in her belly. Dragon gestation was inherently long, lasting a full five years. Now, she had only endured one-fifth of it; there were still four full years before the eggs would truly be laid, and after they were laid, there would be a long incubation period.
She let out a soft sigh, feeling a bit helpless, but also holding an indescribable anticipation.
After sighing, her stomach rumbled on schedule again.
Livia stopped overthinking, nimbly got up, shook her wings, and dashed out of the volcano crater to continue heading out to find food.