“Strange ripples in the void, a power unknown…”

The ebon dragon raised its dread visage, its gaze piercing northward, vast eyes agleam with a spark of curiosity. In a low, resonant murmur, woven with the timbre of a human voice, it spoke.

What could it be?

It mused in the silence of its ancient heart.

Amid its reverie, a diminutive volcanic emberkin, alight with innocent wonder, drew near, brushing against the dragon’s ancient, midnight scales. The boundless fire essence pulsing within the dragon’s form kindled a deep yearning in the tiny creature’s core.

“Little one, do you not tremble before me?”

Despite its fearsome countenance, the dragon’s voice bore no trace of savagery.

As if stirred from the depths of thought, it lowered its titanic head to the scorched earth. Beside its mountain-like bulk, the emberkin—scarcely larger than a campfire’s glow—seemed a mere flicker, dwarfed by even a single scale. Yet, the dragon’s piercing gaze beheld it clearly.

Two figures, worlds apart in stature, stood in silent communion, the scene woven with an inexplicable harmony.

It parted its jagged maw, revealing a smile that held no warmth, and spoke in a voice resonant with the pride and majesty of a sovereign born to rule.

Flames wisped from its jaws, curling like specters into the smoldering air.

“Woo~ woo~”

A mere stir of the dragon’s form roused the world, summoning gusts of wind and dust that sent the fragile emberkin swaying. Its flames danced wildly, tumbling through the air, emitting soft, kitten-like coos—utterly enchanting in their innocence.

Yet in the dragon’s eyes, a hidden truth unfurled. A spectral panel, visible only to its ancient sight, shimmered beside the charming emberkin.

Name: Volcanic Emberkin (Capturable)

Level: Lv81

Skills: Elemental Form (Passive), Flame Barrage, Explosive Fireball, Volcanic Rain, Scorching Gust, Self-Destruct

Description: Forged from the purest fire essence of the natural world, this emberkin has awakened with the guileless intellect of a child. Exceedingly rare, dwelling only in the Flameveiled Barrens of the Far South, it can bestow upon its master unmatched fire affinity and resilience.

A world of marvels, where even flames could kindle life’s spark.

In another age, such a wonder would have shattered its worldview, leaving Darwin’s theories in tatters, his legacy undone.

Yet, compared to the fantastical fate that had claimed it, this seemed but a fleeting curiosity.

“Levels, skills, descriptions… Is this a realm of games? Or a reality bound by the weave of data?”

It raised its dread visage, gazing upon the smoke-wreathed sky, aglow with the molten haze of volcanic rivers.

“And I—what am I in this tapestry?”

A sigh, heavy with the weight of aeons, slipped from its maw.

Indeed, within this colossal dragon stirred a soul from a distant world.

Draven Zorathar, once a denizen of the ironclad metropolis, dwelling beneath the crimson banner where stars gleamed in the night. Handsome, perhaps, but unremarkable—awagebound toiler, his life a predictable trudge through the gray mire of ordinariness, with no grand horizons to chase.

His days should have stretched on, a monotonous rhythm of routine.

Yet, one dawn, he awoke to find his humble lodging vanished. In its place sprawled this inferno-scorched earth, a realm akin to the fires of purgatory.

His frail mortal frame had become this mountain-like dragon, a body forged in primal flame, unbound by the laws that govern the world.

He could feel it—the cataclysmic power surging within, a force capable of reducing the cosmos to ash.

But at the moment of his crossing, the dragon’s boundless might and ancient knowledge overwhelmed his fragile soul.

To endure, he surrendered to a deep slumber, absorbing memories and wisdom, tempering his spirit in the crucible of dreams.

A dragon’s slumber spans millennia, heedless of time’s relentless march.

Beyond, the world turned—wars blazed, civilizations rose and fell, new races emerged from the crucible of creation.

Yet none of it touched him.

The dread dragon, fearsome and mighty, lay quiet as a sleeping babe, cradled in the silence of eternity.

No soul dared tread the blistering, perilous Far South Forbidden Expanse to disturb his aeon’s slumber.

Until this day, when strange ripples in the void roused him.

A distant, eerie pulse stirred him from his dream, coaxing him to the edge of wakefulness.

In the depths of his ancient soul, a premonition kindled—

This world was on the cusp of transformation.

“Woo~ ha~”

Creatures of even modest intellect sense the shadow of danger.

When Elias awoke, the surrounding emberkin scattered, fleeing the weight of his presence.

Yet this tiny, radiant creature showed no fear.

It brushed gently against his ancient, rune-carved scales, emitting soft, playful coos like a child’s laughter, a balm to the solitude that lingered in Elias’s heart.

He paused, poised to speak, when a sudden sensation sharpened his gaze.

“O great Sovereign of Calamity, Lord of Finality!”

“Your majesty is boundless, your might unrivaled! You shatter all that stands, you end destinies, you trample the celestials beneath your claws, invincible in this world!”

“The masses are fools, swayed by the feeble whispers of lesser gods!”

“Heroes? Champions? Who could dare to challenge your dominion?”

“Your name shall echo eternal, your glory sung through the ages!”

“Most revered sovereign, grant me the honor of being your humble devotee!”

“Let me weave the saga of your reign, a testament to your everlasting might!”

Amid fervent, reverent murmurs, a strange vision unfolded before him, heralded by an unfamiliar face.

“Hm?”