Fight or Flight?

Kaden forced himself upright, and he staggered forward. He needed to get out of here now before either of those monsters remembered he existed. He needed to run as far away as he possibly could. He needed to survive and for that, he needed to get away from here.

And yet his legs were not moving. He knew better than to stay back and involve himself in this bloodbath and he still did not want to leave. His instincts gnawed at him. Something was off. 

He getting a second chance like this, the dragon's egg sac so close to his beginner tutorial, even the priestess's starting point being the same as him. Everything felt too much of a coincidence.

It did not strike him before but now that he saw the dragon right in front of his eyes, everything kind of clicked together. Kaden had wondered countless times why was he even given this second chance.

He was an ant in front of that madman. No matter how much he grew, standing up against a person who had been living for centuries was an impossible task. There was almost zero chance for him to defend this world.

At most he could run away and hide somewhere in the vast universe like a little rat, hoping that no one would catch him and enslave him again. Maybe he could lay low and slowly in a hundred years become as strong as that madman and then take revenge against him.

Realistically, this was the best he could do. Even this was a long shot. So why was he given this second chance? Why did that person think something would be different this time around? 

His knowledge about the future wouldn't really make that much of a difference. He was a nobody in his last life. Sure, he had gathered some interesting information from the gossip of the prison guards and such. He even knew some alchemy tricks from the many times he had been tortured as a prisoner.

But was something like that enough for a second chance?

Kaden's fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms as a cold shiver ran down his spine. No. There was no way that was the reason. His knowledge was trivial, his existence insignificant. In his previous life, he had been nothing more than a shadow, a prisoner trapped in chains, a plaything for that monster. So why?

Why was he given another shot at life? Why him? Why now?

His eyes flicked toward the Bone Pit, the shadows swirling beneath the mist as two titanic forces clashed. The dragon's roar shook the earth, followed by a monstrous growl that seemed to echo from the abyss itself. He couldn't see them clearly, but the vibrations, the sheer pressure of their power… it was suffocating.

No matter how much he ran, no matter how much he struggled, he would always be this weak.

An ant.

A little rat scurrying in the shadows.

Even now, his heart was pounding with fear. Even now, his body screamed at him to run away, to leave this place and never look back. But his legs refused to move. Because he was tired of running.

He had been running all his life. From his enemies. From his fears. From that man who haunted his nightmares. His gaze hardened, his teeth gritting as his fists trembled. No more.

If he ran away now, then nothing would change. He would live in fear for the rest of his life, constantly looking over his shoulder, constantly wondering when the next catastrophe would strike.

If he ran away now, then he would never break free of his chains.

He would never break free of him.

A cold fury settled in his chest. That man… The Mad Sovereign. The monster who destroyed his world, who enslaved him, who laughed as he tortured him to the brink of death… he was still out there.

He was out there, and he would come again.

If Kaden ran away now, then he would never be able to stand up to that man.

His body trembled, his instincts screaming at him to flee, but he clenched his jaw, forcing himself to stay rooted to the spot. He didn't know why he was given this second chance. He didn't know who had orchestrated this elaborate game. But if someone was watching him, then he would show them.

He would show them that he wasn't just some rat to be toyed with.

He would show them that he wasn't just a pawn to be moved around on a chessboard.

He would show them that he was more than the chains that bound him.

His eyes burned with defiance as he looked at the Bone Pit. This dragon. This dragon was the ticket to his power. This dragon was the reason why he was given a second chance. 

He had already stolen some power from it, but that was not enough. He needed more. He was not going to run away from it. He was going to take what he needed.

Taking another deep breath and shrugging away the exhaustion, Kaden started climbing down the Bone Pit. It was time he joined this fight.