How to fight a dragon?
Fuuuucccck! Kaden felt his scalp go numb as the maw closed right above him. At the last possible second, he jerked his tiny rat body sideways, his claws skidding against the dirt.
The dragon's jaws snapped shut just inches from his head, the force of the impact creating a shockwave that sent him tumbling across the ground.
His vision spun. The world became a blur of red, black, and dust—until he slammed into a rock. Pain exploded through his tiny body, a squeak involuntarily escaping him.
No time to think. No time to breathe. He forced himself to move. His legs burned. His ribs screamed. But he knew he had to act now. Otherwise, he would be dead in the blink of an eye.
Kaden's tiny rat heart thundered against his ribs as he immediately activated bestial shift.
[Bestial Shift: Raven!]
The transformation hit hard. His body erupted into feathers, bones twisting and stretching at an unnatural speed. He barely had a second to adjust before—
WHOOOSH!
A massive gust of wind slammed into him, nearly knocking him from the air the moment he took flight. However, Kaden somehow stabilized himself and shot forward with all the speed he could muster.
His raven body screamed. The wind resistance fought against him, his wings struggling to keep up with the sheer force of his sudden flight. He pumped them furiously, desperately, trying to gain altitude. If he could just get in the air… if he could just get high enough…
Wait, did dragons have wings?
Kaden suddenly had a bad feeling. The next second he got his answer.
WHOOSH!
The air split apart behind him.
A shadow— dark, and fast—rose from the ground.
The dragon had wings.
Kaden barely had time to process it before the force of its takeoff sent a violent gust of wind his way. His raven body twisted midair, completely losing control.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
Why did this fucking dragon have wings, damn it? Couldn't it have been a dragon that didn't have wings? He flapped hard, trying to regain stability. But the dragon was already on him.
A golden eye locked onto his tiny, fragile form.
WHOOSH!
The dragon folded its wings, diving straight for him. Kaden's instincts screamed. He didn't think—he just jerked left, then down, barely avoiding the dragon's massive talons.
A second too slow, and he'd be dead. But the dragon wasn't done. It flapped once—just once—and was already back on his tail. Clearly, it was better at this whole flying thing than him. But he still had a small advantage. He was smaller.
Kaden was not ready to give up. He refused to die in a random way like this. He dove down right for the treetops.
Branches snapped against his wings. Leaves whipped past him as he twisted through the thick canopy, weaving between trunks and vines like his life depended on it. Because it did.
CRASH!
The dragon barreled into the treeline behind him, tearing through wood like it was paper. It was bigger than him but it was also stronger. The densely packed trees were only slowly it down so much. He needed a better plan.
Kaden was panicking. His brain was not working. He wasn't able to think. He was holding his life in his hand and every second he was getting closer to death. What could he possibly do to get away from a creature like this?
A fucking dragon was chasing him!
He still couldn't believe what was happening. If he did not have one right behind him, he would have never thought that a dragon would show up on a planet like earth. What was he supposed to do now? How was he supposed to fight a dragon?
A supreme creature that stood at the top of the food chain. Even a newborn one was so powerful.
Kaden gulped as his mind wondered how powerful a full grown one would be. They were heaven blessed creatures that were born to rule entire universes. How the hell was he supposed to fight a dragon? He should have never gone near that egg sac in the first place. It was way too suspicious.
A shiver ran down Kaden's spine as he thought about how he had stolen the essence of a heaven blessed creature for hours together. Fuck! He was an idiot.
"Stop it!" Kaden let out a frustrated caw at the top of his lungs. There was no use thinking about the past. He needed to focus on the now. He had poked a sleeping dragon and he needed to somehow survive. Now.
Wait a second. Then it struck him. He had stolen from that dragon. A hatchling evolving newborn in the egg sac. It was weak enough for him to steal from it. Sure, it was outside the egg sac now and was inexplicably stronger than him. A lot stronger than him.
But that did not mean it was the strongest in the area!
And if he had stolen from it, then he was pretty sure there would be a lot more beasts interested in stealing from it.
This little dragon was a treasure trove from head to toe for any being. It was their ticket to change their fate. Who wouldn't want a piece of this pie?