I need your blood

Legion stared at his master in bewilderment. Ever since he was reborn, this strange man had not cared much for him, rather displaying criminal negligence and indifference.

He had no military or political ambition. He was unsure of himself. More than anything, he liked another man. For his sake, he left his dragon alone. But that was half the trouble, for as he grew older, Legion began to have dreams in his sleep.

One night he dreamed of a man stroking his head and saying something nice. He could not make out the words, seeing only smiling eyes, and how the beautiful lips were moving, making coherent sounds.

The dragon's heart leaped out of his chest at the sight of this man. When he commanded "go," the dragon rushed headlong into battle.

He was able to become very brave for that man and determined to protect him all his life. He saw wonders: that man created new worlds and took the dragon to show them.

The dragon hated the hideous monsters that lived beyond the threshold of his and the man's universe. They came suddenly, disturbing his master's peace, and the dragon, tearing them all apart, received his man's unfailing praise.

One day he was given the ability to speak. The man looked curiously into his eyes, waiting for his first words. But the dragon was in no hurry to use his new gift; instead, he fought against his enemies with even greater fury, believing that actions are bigger and more important than words.

But the dragon loved that man's voice. It was as gentle as birdsong and could be loud or quiet. Sometimes the man would tell the dragon stories about the lives of people living on a distant planet.

The dragon did not understand what Aether was and who the Elders were, it seemed that the man was making up all sorts of funny words on purpose to confuse him. But the dragon was not offended and listened carefully to everything he said.

It seemed to this man that his dragon was very tired of defending the frontiers of the world alone. One day he said that he would like to create other dragons, and then his faithful servant spoke for the first time.

"Don't," said the dragon grudgingly, "this dragon will defeat all of his master's enemies alone."

The man was astonished and promised not to return to the subject. He tried in vain to get the dragon to talk again. For several years he had not said a word, continuing to serve his man's purposes bravely.

It seemed to the dragon that his master was becoming more fatigued. He often disappeared for days at a time and returned exhausted.

"You should rest more," the dragon spoke to him again, and the man looked up at him with a wan face.

The dragon's words had a beneficial effect on the man, and he settled on a secluded planet: he built himself a house, planted a garden, and tried to take care of himself. He enjoyed living a simple life.

He was less withdrawn and quite happy. But sometimes the dragon would notice his man sitting on the roof of the house and staring at the stars until morning. He didn't know what his master might be thinking, but he seemed to be sad.

The dragon had learned a few tricks. He showed them to the man, and he laughed. But then he was sad again. Something inside the dragon hurt when he saw the man depressed. The dragon scratched his chest with his claws, hoping to get rid of the unpleasant itch. But the pain did not go away.

When the sun rose in the morning, it shone directly into the man's window. The dragon could see him frown as he lay in bed or tossed and turned. The dragon could not make the sunrise to the left or right, so it stood opposite the window, shielding the sleeping man from the annoying rays.

One day the man noticed that his dragon was taking care of him. At first, it was just his fantasy because he was going crazy with loneliness. No one could share his burden and responsibility.

The Overlord was doomed to be alone forever. And then the dragon made him laugh by performing a funny backflip in the air. His clumsy body struggled to cope with this trick, but the dragon kept performing, even if he was wrong. Then the man caught himself thinking that the dragon followed him everywhere, but tried to stay out of sight.

And then there was the sun. The man kept putting it off to hang the curtains and one day at dawn he noticed a dragon covering his window with its large body from the pesky rays of the sun.

The man was surprised that such a rough-looking giant was capable of tender care. If he were an ordinary man... wait, suddenly the man thought of a dragon that could become a man.

Ever since the thought occurred to him, he stopped sleeping. Closed in his workshop, he was creating a unique artifact that allowed a dragon to transform into... a man!

Perhaps by becoming human, Dai-Kun would be able to talk to him more often about simple and boring things, such as the weather or how many mosquitoes he had killed during the night.

The Overlord desperately needed a companion, a simple companionship, the company of someone else. When the medallion was finished, the Overlord fell asleep and slept for three days. He wanted to give his invention to a dragon in a beautiful place.

He went with it to a low cliff that offered a wonderful view of the winding riverbed and the picturesque mountain behind it. He waited until the sun had blazed everything in beautiful colors at sunset.

The dragon accepted the medallion and suddenly turned into a beautiful, fully nude man. He regarded himself with disbelief and interest. The Overlord would not have been able to speak to him in any way: the sight of this charming man made him speechless.

He could only stare in silence. In the rays of the setting sun, Dai-Kun's bronze skin shimmered warm gold. It was tall enough that its creator had to look up from below. His broad, muscular shoulders harmonized perfectly with his stunning torso.

The protruding muscles were symmetrically arranged, causing a burning desire to run a hand over them, and Overlord did so. As he touched the warm stone surface, he felt a thrill and excitement.

Though he was the one who had created Dai-Kun, there was no way he could have imagined that his clumsy but brave dragon would manage to become so incredible... The man took a step back, jerking his bold hand away as if struck by lightning.

All he had to do was take control of his senses, and look solely into the honey-colored eyes. And what did he see there?

Shock and confusion overtook him: the dragon was smiling, and there was an ocean of tenderness in his golden eyes. The Overlord drowned in those eyes, and despite his embarrassment, he experienced something special again. When Dai-Kun stared at him so intently, the man's legs began to buckle and his heart fluttered hopelessly in his chest.

Barely pulling himself together, he turned away and began to untie the belt of his outer garments. He removed the long robe and threw it over Dai-Kun, shielding his charms from his embarrassed gaze.

Clad in the Lord's garb, the dragon stood perfectly happy. Where did his warlike, blood"poured gaze, with which he greeted his enemies, go.

"Right now he looked more like... he looked like... who did he resemble?" The Overlord could not think of an answer.

The dragon took up residence in the house. The man gave him a bed and taught him how to wear clothes. Now they sat together on chairs unfamiliar to the dragon and ate from small plates.

Dai-Kun tasted food for the first time, and his shock was so great that he ate too much and had a stomach ache in the night.

The man did not leave his side, forcing him to drink the bitter water. After that, he was careful to approach the meals cautiously. He liked sweet foods, especially the fruit in the garden. But they often had hard things in them that were hard to chew. The man later said they were seeds and needed to be spit out.

Lately, the man had taken up the education of the dragon in earnest. He thought that by learning to read and write, the dragon would finally speak to him. Dai-Kun showed unfailing diligence in all things, and as an apprentice, he showed his best qualities.

It seemed to the Overlord that Dai-Kun's voice was like the most beautiful music. He enjoyed it when he read syllables or tried to answer a question posed as part of a lesson. At such moments, the Lord propped his head up with his hand and smiled dreamily.

Once he cooked a carp on the fire and got nothing because Dai-Kun took all the meat for himself with a predatory look. Seeing this as a great excuse to spend time together, Overlord made two fishing rods and patiently taught the dragon to fish from the lake, and, in time, it became their good tradition.

But, apart from the simple and carefree routine, the Overseer and his dragon regularly went to the frontiers to continue to fight side by side there. The Overlord became anxious.

He could no longer stare blankly at the bloody battles in which Dai-Kun was engaged. He caught himself feeling his heart stuttering, and if the dragon was wounded, it would go somewhere down and stop beating.

He tormented himself with worry and often thought that if Dai-Kun had had brothers or sisters who could fight bravely beside him, he would not have suffered so often from his wounds. This thought was firmly in the mind of the Lord, and he looked for an opportune moment to speak to Dai-Kun.

One day, when they were having a particularly good time together, harvesting apples and grapes, he went on the offensive.

"Dai-Kun, isn't it nice that we can live so peacefully here together?"

"Yeah," the dragon nodded, holding a huge basket of apples in front of him, where, standing on the stairs, the Lord was tossing the harvested fruit.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to leave this place to meet the evil spirits?" The man went on with his thought.

"Yes," Dai-Kun replied firmly.

"I think I've figured out a way to do it, would you like me to tell you?" The Overlord was almost close to the most important thing and was a little worried.

"Dai-Kun wants to know," the dragon replied with one of his most verbose phrases.

The Overlord decided that to continue the conversation, he had better get down to earth. He deftly jumped down and, taking the basket from Dai-Kun, set it to the side. Then he took the man by the hand and led him to crouch in the shade of the trees. Once he was level with the dragon's eyes, he continued.

"My men can take my place at the line now, they're ready and eager to fight. All that remains is to find a way to protect them. I would give each of them a dragon."

His Overlord was paying close attention to Dai-Kun's expression. Complex emotions could be read on it.

"Why is this dragon so stubborn?!" mentally the man rolled his eyes. Finally, it seemed to him that Dai-Kun had made up his mind.

He tapped his fingers on his knee and asked the Overlord :

"Will the Dai-Kun stay here and the dragons fight?"

"Yes," the Lord exhaled, "isn't that a good idea? And you can go to the frontier if you want to, but not as often, and I would like to take a break from business and rest with you here."

"I agree," the dragon uttered, and the worried man dropped his face in his hands in relief.

"I will need your blood," the Lord said as he removed his face from his palms.

"Take it."