The Man and The Dragon
Location: The Northern Continent
Zone: Unknown
Date: The year 2110 of the Magic Era according to the Archivist
Inside a humongous library, one that's so vast and extensive that it stood as the unrivaled titan of all Libraries, an old man was hovering in the middle of the air ...
The old man was surrounded by countless books. His eyes were closed, and the books seemed to be filling themselves with countless words on their own ...
The old man didn't look strong or weak, just average.
Honestly, there was absolutely nothing remarkable about how he looked, and apart from his yellow hair and eyes which are a rarity, he was just an average-looking being with no special characteristics whatsoever.
THUD
Suddenly, all the books around the man slammed shut and then disappeared.
At that moment, the man's eyes shot open.
His yellow eyes were faintly glowing, and he muttered to himself in a deep voice
"The time has arrived to commence the second phase"
Then he disappeared.
On top of one of the Northern Continent's lofty mountains, the man reappeared.
Instantly, he took to the skies, then he proceeded to glide south.
His destination was ...
'The Draconic Domain'
In a couple of minutes, the man entered the Draconic Domain and continued flying towards the middle of it.
He was heading to the Heart of the Domain, The Eroded Peaks, which was a mountain range in the middle of the Draconic Domain, inhabited mainly by the Ancient Dragon Lord and his direct underlings.
As the man delved deeper inside the Domain, more and more Beasts took notice of his existence ...
All kinds of Beasts, Mammoths, Lizards, huge birds, massive turtles, and of course, the supreme rulers of the Domain, Dragons ...
Countless beings glanced at the man as he flew by ...
However, the moment they sensed how powerful he was, they quickly averted their gazes and returned to what they were doing; they knew this was something unfathomably more powerful than their entire existence.
Naturally, the man sensed every single being that looked at him, however, he paid it no mind and kept flying to his destination.
Soon, the man reached the Eroded Peaks and descended atop its highest peak, landing in front of five Dragons.
The five Dragons were:
The Fire Dragon King
The Ice Dragon King
The Wind Dragon King
The Lightning Dragon Queen
The Ancient Dragon Lord
The Dragons were all colossal and covered with scales ...
The Fire Dragon King's scales were reddish-orange
The Water Dragon King's scales were azure-blue
The Wind Dragon King's scales were emerald-green
The Lightning Dragon Queen's scales were bluish-white
Their eyes matched their scales in color, and so did their horns ...
The Ancient Dragon Lord was the biggest among them. His scales were black and his eyes were of the same color as well, but his horns were red.
All the Dragons looked majestic, and naturally, the Ancient Dragon Lord was the most dignified among them.
The man stood in the middle of the dragons; two Kings were on each side, and the Lord was in front of him.
Each of the Dragons showed a different reaction to the man's sudden appearance ...
The Fire King showed disdain
The Water King showed submission
The Wind King showed boredom
The Lightning Queen showed interest
And as for the Lord, he remained neutral
After expressing their feelings, the four Kings spread their wings and took to the skies, leaving the summit empty except for the man and the Ancient Dragon Lord ...
After the Kings flew away, The Ancient Dragon Lord's body began to shrink in size ...
Within a couple of seconds, he shapeshifted into a human form. Human to an extent at least ...
He chose to keep his red horns, and his body was covered with black scales, but to him, this looked human enough.
After he was done transforming, The Dragon Lord spoke in a hoarse voice
"Long time no see, Archivist, or should I call you ... Hegemon"
The Archivist didn't immediately reply; first, he waved his hand and two chairs appeared
"Let's have a seat"
The Dragon Lord seemed annoyed
"Hmph, are you planning to stay here for long or what?"
The Archivist replied nonchalantly while taking a seat
"Not really. But the first step in having a civilized conversation is to sit down"
'Not that I would expect a Beast to understand ...' He thought to himself.
The Dragon Lord sat down and asked
"What brings you to my turf?"
The Archivist asked with interest
"First tell me, have you chosen a name for yourself?"
" ... I have told you countless times. Such things only matter to humans; Beasts only care about survival and strength! Not such useless concept"
The Archivist lost his interest again and returned to his neutral, nonchalant tone
"I came here with an offer?"
"What is it that you want?"
The Archivist waved his hand and a book appeared ...
The Dragon Lord glanced at the book and then looked back at the Archivist
"I refuse"
The Archivist sighed
'Such bothersome creatures'
"You didn't hear what I have to offer yet, nor what I want"
"I don't need to. You've decided to persuade me by showing me what you have to offer first, it must be something troublesome"
'When did this one get smart' The Archivist thought to himself ...
The Archivist chose his words carefully
"Don't worry. It's not troublesome. But it'll require you to be a bit modest"
When the Dragon Lord heard that, he grew angry.
His hoarse voice became more rough
"In other words, you want to humiliate the Great Dragons!"
The Archivist raised his hand up, calming the Dragon Lord down
"Now now, didn't you just claim that Beasts care only about Strength and Survival? Why do you suddenly care about pride?"
The Dragon Lord looked at him with narrowed eyes, but since he couldn't refute him, he kept quiet ...
The Archivist continued
"I am offering you Strength! Will you dismiss it for a measly concept like pride?"
Hearing that, The Dragon Lord felt intrigued
"What kind of strength are you talking about?"
The Archivist smirked; he now got the Dragon Lord's interest, and he wasn't about to waste this chance ...
With the smirk adorning his face, he asked the Dragon Lord a question
"How long has it been since the last Dragon King emerged?"
The Dragon Lord averted his gaze and didn't reply; The Archivist's question hit the nail on the head ...
This matter has been agonizing The Dragon Lord for centuries ...
'It's as if the new generations of Dragons are all weaklings!'
' ... King Level Dragons pretty much no longer emerge ...'
The Archivist took note of his expression and pushed further
"You're aware of the fact that King-Level Humans now significantly outnumber King-Level Dragons, right?"
The Dragon Lord looked at him with annoyance and asked
"What are you implying, Archivist?"
The Archivist waved his hands in an exaggerated manner
"Look around you ... Look at this massive turf"
He lowered his voice a bit and spoke in a dramatic tone
"What would you do if one day the Humans united and decided to exterminate your kin?"
He gave the Dragon Lord a moment to process the question then he continued
"Now it's true that Humans do eradicate their own kin over useless matters all the time, but what if it happened?
What if by some miracle, they united for a reason?
What if they deemed you too dangerous to live?
Or ... What if they decided that the corpses of Dragons are worth uniting for?"
Then The Archivist added with a sinister smile
"Like The Dracocide Era"
The moment the Archivist uttered these words, the atmosphere changed drastically ...