At the same time, back in the rebels' camp, another meeting was taking place. Like with the Ugburg's officials these skinks were also rather high profile and well-known. They were the leaders of the resistance, the acting captains of the various groups as well as the respected elders of the families.

At the helm, an elderly-looking skink sat wearing a clean white, simple robe. Though it vaguely matched that of the high priest's, this one had no lavish embroidery but was pure and simplistic.

Also, unlike the rigid and cold air the High Priest, Zokor has exuded.. having the aura of someone that couldn't and more importantly shouldn't be approached at any cases, this elderly skink, the ex-archbishop had the air of a true leader to him.

Unlike the High Priest, however, the man had a vastly different air around him. With the cheeky little girl sitting at his lap, gigging and being the little innocent angel she truly was, the figure portrayed the image of a doting father, a much more approachable and acceptable, down to the ground vibe that the masses could stand behind with their hearts fully.

The room did not have the ominous, eerie air that was present in its counterpart. No, it was like a gathering of the family heads, smiles and laughter filled the room, as they all waited for their leader to begin.

No matter if they were elders, or from the second generation, there was no ill-will or any negativity amongst them. The harsh living conditions, their struggle for survival, and their continued battle against true freedom had formed a bond, that transcended what those haughty, arrogant, and prideful officials in Ugburg could understand. They were truly a single cohesive unit, one big family instead of many smaller clicks grinding gears against each other.

No, on the contrary! These gears were working together, helping this big machine, this family to constantly march forward towards their ultimate goal. Even though it was just a wishful dream before, the recent change their leader has gone through and their latest victory has boosted their morale and once again planted the seeds of hope into their hearts.

Now they just needed to tend to it, cultivate it so it could sprout into a beautiful flower!

Aiden, long since transformed back into her skink appearance kept silent watching the people, his people as they interacted with each other. His heart warmed as he saw how caring and kind they were to each other, the taints of darkness, the corruption seemed to have never taken hold of their hearts and minds at all.

'Once this is all over.. I will take them with me.' He once again made up his mind to bring them over to Haven once this whole situation was finally put to an end.

Taking one extra moment, he sighed and coughed lightly to grab the attention of everyone in the room.historical

"KHM!"

In the next moment, the room descended into silence, the two rows of skinks situated at both sides of the long wooden table were looking at the helm intently. Even little Tolliah sitting in his father's lap was looking up with eager eyes, staying silent like a good little girl.

"[Reptilian] Let me start this meeting by welcoming you as well as thanking you all from the bottom of my.. ouch! .. OUR heart." He began, grabbing for his side when Tolliah punched at it with a pout and fixed his phrasing.

He took a momentary pause letting the crowd offer their own words before resuming a bit later.

"[Reptilian] Before anything, I will come clean to you all. Like how Little Tolliah and some of you already know, the truth about me and the sudden change you have seen is.."

Aiden sighed once more to reaffirm his resolution before he looked at Tolliah. Seeing the little girl nodding with a heartwarming smile and taking the initiative to hop down from his lap, Aiden couldn't help himself but smile brightly.

Taking one last second, he stood up and looked at the crowd in the room. Raising his arms high up and wide, he looked as if he wanted to hug everyone in the room.

His eyes suddenly lit up, glowing with a golden luster. His voice gradually shifted transforming into a darker tone, filling the room as if a storm was in the midst of brewing.

The air turned denser as an invisible aura of energy descended upon the unsuspecting rebel skink leaders.

"[Reptilian] The truth is.. that the archbishop is no longer al-"

"[Reptilian] ALONE! My Papa is no longer alone! He has become stronger now, and has many new fun faces!" Suddenly, little Tolliah exclaimed, freezing the words in Aiden. Still, seeing the determination in her eyes, Aiden couldn't bring himself to correct her, so instead, he just nodded.

In the next moment, under the shocked and awestruck gazes of the people in the room, his silhouette began to wobble, and resonate in an unknown frequency. Like if a bowl of jello was struck, ripples were traversing all around, slowly morphing and shifting his frame.

In front of the eyes of everyone, the elderly [Draconic Skink] ex-archbishop began to change, and transform. His scales and skin turned smoother by each passing second, his body growing like if it was on some miracle-drug-induced grow spurt.

Eventually reaching the size of almost twice those small mostly meter-tall skinks in the room, a young and vibrant looking young human man with a long smooth matte black hair and slightly tanned skin stood before them.

The previously spacious and baggy robe was now stretched to its limits and whilst it still fit the new frame, there wasn't much left for the imagination either.

The crowd looks at him with varying gazes, though mostly with utter shock and disbelief. It was hard to process what they had just witnessed. Was it even real, or did they just hallucinate?

Most of the elders were showing signs of confusion, most likely thinking, pondering if they had gone senile suddenly.

Apart from Tolliah, who was grinning, smiling proudly as he looked at his papa with starry eyes, and the six captains who have already learned of this secret and have got used to it, the room was stunned into a heavy silence.

Seconds passed as Aiden remained in his stance, looking back at the crowd with a calm, warm-looking smile, not taking any action. He did not try to explain what they were seeing, nor did he try making up any excuse either.

He wanted them to process it by themselves similarly to how the captains have done it before. Though he knew that this move was just as risky, he had already promised little Tolliah to not have any secrets anymore.

Eventually, the silence was broken when someone managed to gather enough of himself and exclaim:

"B-bareskin!"

---

>>>Check out my latest novel: The Strongest Demon Lord in the Modern World<<

It's an urban modern-day styled story, with a reverse transmigrated ('Banished') immortal entity from the fantastical world of Nova!

Planned Tags and Genre: # CULTIVATION # R18 # BETRAYAL # TRANSMIGRATION # URBAN # ACTION # ANTIHERO # OVERPOWERED (romance maybe at some later point)

---

Just a friendly reminder, that from wherever you are reading , you can reach out to me using any of the below methods!

Links:

/shaele