The Death of a Man, the Birth of a King

He was heading to the train station with the aim of getting home but his mind was still absorbed in the offshoots of his choice.

He felt... elsewhere.

When he arrived on the platforms, a vision of intense clarity struck him. Whooosh! A train was suddenly approaching with its ominous shadow.

«I can't go back,» he said with a desperate thought. Tchac, tchac, tchac! The noise of the train grew louder.

When the train hit him, CRAAACK! Williams Allens had believed that his end was inevitable. But instead of sinking into the darkness of death, he had found himself in a kind of empty space.

Whoomph...

It was a strange sensation as if he was floating without a body. Vrrrr... He was suspended between worlds.

The pain became an inner burn. Fwoosh! A warmth spread throughout his entire being.

His body was transformed. He now felt invincible like a creature born to dominate. He could feel his limbs lengthening Crack... Crack... and its spine twists to accommodate a new silhouette.

His fingers became more resistant and his legs became powerful crack! Then huge wings spread behind him whoosh. Each movement connected him more to the creature he was destined to become.

The loss of his humanity was total. Every aspect of his old self disappeared and the memory of what he had been faded under the effect of his new form. Williams Allens was no more. He was no longer that man sitting in an office confronted with moral dilemmas.

He was no longer the young lawyer ready to do anything to defend what seemed right to him. All this was now a distant memory. There was now a void, a loss of everything that made him a man.

But this emptiness was not suffering. It was more of a liberation. He had long borne the burden of his own ideals, he had long struggled to impose himself in a world of injustice. In his new body there were no more doubts no more inner debates.

He was no longer a man vulnerable to the weaknesses of the soul. He had become a superior being born to rule. The anger and frustration that had invaded his human life had now disappeared into this power that was growing within him grrr!

The first feelings of power in him were unsettling. He no longer needed to think to know that he could crush a mountain or fly through the skies like a whoosh shadow!

He understood that in this transformation his existence was no longer marked by morality, but rather by pure domination. He was a dragon, a predator, and he no longer had to apologize for who he was.

But small memories of his past sometimes came back to him memories of a man who had lived, loved and lost.

What had shaped him as a man, the choices, the idea of justice... All this had been swept away in his new life. He no longer had to worry about small human concerns.

But in the intimacy of his soul, he sometimes asked himself: who am I really if I am no longer this man? These moments of doubt were rare but relevant. He had become something bigger something different and he knew he could never go back.

Back to the present:

Volmeryn was silent for a moment, letting his subordinates digest the story. The revelation of his previous life was a moment of vulnerability for him and a feeling he had not felt since his reincarnation.

«I died because of my anger and my pride. It was an accident, yes, but it was also my own fault. I was blinded by my own morality and my refusal to relent. And that's how I ended up here, in this dragon body. My life before is over and the anger that caused my death has opened a door to this world.»

Volmeryn's allies stood around him with expressions of confusion. Darius was staring at the silhouette of the dragon that stood in front of him. His hands were clasped on the pommel of his clack sword. He had always believed that Volmeryn, their leader, was different from the others, but this? It was beyond anything he could have imagined.

Darius: "It's... it's impossible," he said in a trembling voice. He wasn't one to lose his temper, but at the sight he couldn't help but feel insignificant. «It's not you. You're not... a real dragon.»

Lyara was taking a step back with her hands shaking tac tac!

«But ... how?»

She had stayed close to Volmeryn throughout their journey sharing moments of camaraderie and even doubts with him. But now in front of this creature that stood in front of her, it seemed to her that everything she knew about him had just collapsed.

«You... Have you changed that quickly?»

All the other subordinates avoided Volmeryn's gaze as if looking directly at this dragon would force them to question everything they had thought they knew.

Lysandros stepped forward and then spoke, «You were a human... a real human. This means that everything we have done everything we have built together... It was shaped by a human.»

« And you didn't tell us. Not a word. You let us believe that you were... a dragon. That you were part of us.»

The reproaches in his words were clear, but a concern could also be read in his eyes. The change Volmeryn had undergone was far more far-reaching than a simple transformation. He had become something they didn't understand and this misunderstanding sowed doubt in them

Carlos: «Legend said... that dragons were immortal, that their power was immeasurable...» he clenched his sword tighter and tighter.

«And you, here you are, in front of us, a human reincarnated as a dragon king and what are you waiting for? That we prostrate ourselves before you as your servants?»

The distance between Volmeryn and his allies now seemed infinite.

«I'm not what I used to be,» Volmeryn replied in a towering voice. « Iam the one who will shape a future not a man who cares about human doubts and fears. But if you want answers, I'll give you some. Understand this... is not easy. Even for me.»

The band remained silent for a moment digesting his words. They were still there, but their bond with him seemed to be broken in a way they hadn't anticipated. Their eyes turned to Volmeryn, but what they saw was no longer the leader they had followed until now.

Eirlys: «But we believed in you... We fought for you, for all of us.» She was unable to hide the disappointment that invaded her being. «And now you leave us in the shadow of a human, a mortal.»

Trôk: «Really I'm at a loss for words, I don't know what to say»

The allies who had shared so many battles side by side now felt separated.

Michael was fighting his emotions. «You're the same, Volmeryn, but... No, you're not anymore.» He let out a last breath.

Gabriel: «I don't even know if we archangels will have to follow you again.»

None of the other archangels or dragons moved, they waited for Volmeryn to respond, to prove to them that their trust had not been betrayed.

Volmeryn: «Then follow me or leave,» he finally said. « The choice is yours. But know one thing: my power knows no bounds. And if you accept me, it will propel you to heights you never dreamed of.»

A silence fell on the group. Volmeryn's words resonated with them as an unshakable truth but their hearts still hesitated.

Nethrath: «You talk about power, but what is power without those who accompany you? You ask us to choose, but we have already chosen by following you so far. So prove to us that this choice was not a mistake.»

Volmeryn slowly held out his hand in front of him. A wave of energy passed through the air, it was so dense that it vibrated within them. the light distorted and a vision imposed itself on all.

Infinite landscapes opened up before their eyes: forgotten kingdoms, floating cities. They saw beings beyond imagination, entities whose very existence upset the laws of the world. Then they saw themselves transcended more powerful than they had ever been.

Eirlys put her trembling hand to her heart. «It's...»

«A preview of what's to come,» Volmeryn concluded.

«You doubt what I've become but I'm not asking you to understand immediately. I offer you a choice. If you stay, I will take you where no mortal or dragon has ever set foot. If you leave... then you will only be an echo of the past.»

Arelon: «What you're showing us is incredible... But can we really trust you?»

Volmeryn: «Make this choice not for me, but for what you really want.»

Sepharon: «You don't really give us a choice, do you? I don't trust you completely but I'm also not ready to turn my back on everything we've been through.»

Metatron: «Me neither... I want to understand. I want to see how far this path will take us.»

One by one the others bowed their heads hesitantly but ready to move forward.

Volmeryn (smiles): «Then get ready. This journey has only just begun.»

CHAPTER ENDED.