Night had already fallen. The afterglow had vanished from the horizon, leaving only the bright bonfires atop Dragon Mountain and fireworks shooting into the sky to cast flickering light through the layered clouds. From this distance, those flames should have looked brighter, but the mist shrouding Dragon Mountain's outskirts turned them into fireflies wavering in the night. As for the more distant Dragon Mountains hidden behind the clouds, only the occasional speck of light could be seen. Every dragon settlement was holding a celebration. Though some of those muddleheads probably did not even know what they were celebrating, they were still celebrating with great enthusiasm, as if this joyful time would last forever.
"Actually, they're doing pretty well like this," Older Sister said. She stood in midair a thousand meters from Dragon Mountain's summit, gazing through the clouds at the half-real, half-illusory lights. "After the Empire created them, it fell into slumber. These artificial dragons had no guidance, no care. They were given great intelligence and emotion, then simply thrown into an unfamiliar natural environment. It's already pretty good that they evolved this far."
When I found Older Sister, she had been standing there in the air. That was the first thing she said upon seeing me, which felt rather out of nowhere. But we siblings had depended on each other for so many years that we knew each other better than anyone. Some seemingly nonsensical conversations only happened because both of us knew exactly what the other was thinking. Like now.
"Sis, why are you sighing over the Old Empire's way of doing things again?" I smiled and stepped forward, wrapping my arm around hers.
"Before, I was sighing over how irresponsible the Old Empire was. This time, I'm sighing over how irresponsible I was back then. It's quite