“Hmm…”

Newly roused to sentience, the Flame Sovereign faltered, unable to fully fathom her master’s cryptic words.

With a soft, puzzled murmur, she remained on one knee, her silence a testament to her reverence.

“No matter. Rise!”

Draven Zorathar lowered his ancient gaze, banishing errant thoughts, his voice a gentle command.

Intelligence, after all, was a grand leap beyond her former innocence!

“Henceforth, you shall be Rona.”

Elemental sprites, born of the cosmos and earth, bore no names.

Draven mused briefly, then christened her.

A name she would need for the ages to come!

“Thank you, Master!”

Rona hesitated, then her eyes flared with fervent joy, her voice trembling with zealous devotion.

From this day, she bore a name!

A name bestowed by her master—

A stroke of divine fortune!

“Fear not, this time I shall shield you from that cursed fate…”

Draven’s gaze drifted northward, his murmur a whisper of secrets.

His words, veiled in enigma, slipped beyond Rona’s grasp.

“Too long have I slumbered! I have yet to behold… the true face of this world…”

“Rona, this domain is yours to defend!”

He spoke without pause for her reply.

Whoosh!

A gale of piercing winds roared,

His vast ebon wings thundered,

Unleashing a tempest that swept the scorched earth,

Whipping Rona’s fiery tresses into a wild, blazing dance.

Riding this mighty force, the dragon’s titanic form ascended,

A living mountain soaring into the boundless heavens.

His dread presence pulsed outward,

Awe and terror pressing all creatures below to cower and bow.

They hailed their sovereign!

The unconquered king of the Far South Forbidden Expanse,

The Lord of Finality.

To languish in slumber, awaiting challengers, was sheer folly!

To linger in this barren wasteland held no allure.

With the Fourth Cataclysm stirring, Draven resolved to roam the Dominion of the Celestials!

This lair, entrusted to Rona’s vigilant guard, he left with unshakable trust.

“I’m off!”

From the heavens, he cast a fleeting glance at the Flame Sovereign below.

With a cavalier farewell, his mighty wings flashed,

And in an instant, he was gone, a shadow streaking hundreds of miles distant.

The Dragon King, sovereign of the skies.

“Master…”

Rona gazed after his dwindling form, her eyes soft with yearning and reluctant parting, her whisper barely audible.

Then, her visage hardened to steel.

Blazing sparks erupted across the charred earth,

An inferno roared skyward, a cataclysm of flame.

From the world-scorching blaze, a cold, resolute voice rang out.

“Master, I shall guard this sanctum with my very soul! Where these flames burn, none shall profane our domain!”

“Those who dare trespass this scorched realm… their souls shall be forged to ash!!!”

Her chilling vow melted into the searing flames, fading into silence.

None knew

That the world’s most feared calamity had taken wing.

Nor did they know

That a new, peerless power now stood sentinel,

More ferocious, more unrelenting!

…

“Who’s that? So powerful! A player?”

“A Draconid! Such a striking race—why wasn’t it an option when I crafted my character?”

“Are we even in the same game? I need ten strikes to fell a slime, yet he slays with a single blow!”

“Big shot, carry me!”

“Master, how did you do it?!”

…

In the northern reaches of the empire,

On the fringes of the Haven of Beginnings,

A lone figure strode past, igniting envious stares from the gathered players.

So magnificent!

A Draconid, clad in gleaming scales, twin horns crowning his head!

Was this a player?

Why had this race been absent during character creation?

In the Starlit Realm, appearance kindled awe,

But it was not the heart of the matter!

Far greater was his strength—overwhelming, unmatched!

Without a staff, he summoned a dark, ebon flame, hurling it at a level-five Demon Toad that dared an ambush.

The deep, enigmatic flame blazed with relentless fury,

The massive toad wailed, its leap faltering midair.

It crashed to the earth,

Head lolling, its life extinguished,

Dead!

“Slain Demon Toad Lv5”

“Gained 50 Copper Coins”

“Gained 50 Experience”

“Hmph!”

The Draconid spared not a glance for the toad’s charred, fading remains.

With a fleeting pause and a quiet scoff, he pressed forward.

He deigned not to gather the toad’s materials or Common Gear.

The surrounding players swarmed, scrambling for the abandoned loot.

Far off, nearing the village’s edge,

He brushed his scaled wrist with a gentle touch.

A shimmer of arcane light flared,

Horns and scales melted away,

The formidable Draconid morphing in a heartbeat into a man—black hair, dark eyes, utterly human.

He stood indistinguishable from any mortal.

“Once I turn in this quest, I should reach level eight…”

He gazed at the sun sinking into the western hills, murmuring to himself, and strode boldly into the village.