Epiphany

Hibana woke up in his hutch, shifting his wings slightly as he stretched. The makeshift wooden structure creaked under his weight—a reminder of the goblins' limited resources. And yet, he was already outgrowing it.

His horns scraped the entrance as he stepped outside, his form nearly twice the size it had been when he first arrived. Wandering toward the river, he lowered his head for a drink, the cool water soothing his throat.

Then, he caught sight of his reflection.

It was still strange not seeing a Japanese man staring back at him. But that strangeness was fading.

In its place, a rust-colored face stared back at him—soft, rounded, unfamiliar. His dappled scales caught the light as the water rippled, shimmering like polished copper. His horns, though still mere nubs, had grown longer than the last time he'd seen them in his parents' cave.

Hibana smiled at his reflection. Then, without hesitation, he turned away.

Three days since I last saw Sudio... He exhaled through his nostrils, watching stray embers flicker into the air.

Let's see… what needs doing today?

He ran through the list in his mind. Help Gobo with the planting. Two new goblins were born—more mouths to feed. So I'll need to hunt again. And Grek should be back from his fishing trip soon.

His stomach churned. "All this growing is making me hungrier too."He flexed his claws, tracing their soft, curved tips against the dirt. "And this brain… it's incredible. I've never been able to think this clearly before."

As if on cue, Grek trudged into the village, nearly hidden beneath a bundle of fish strung together on thick twine. His tusked grin stretched wide as he hoisted his haul higher, clearly pleased with himself.

Hibana nodded in approval, warmth swelling in his chest. This is exactly what I knew they were capable of.

Turning his attention to the fields, he spotted Gobo, hunched over the soil, inspecting the crops. As Hibana approached, the goblin's ears perked up, and he scrambled to his feet.

"Hibana! Look!"

Gobo lifted something covered in dirt—a pale, knobby root, vaguely resembling a parsnip. The smile on his face told Hibana everything. The hard work was paying off.

Hibana tilted his head, then let out a small huff of amusement, he then smiled and nodded to Gobo. And then he saw an Arrow fly right through the side of Gobo's head. Hibana went wide eyed as the goblin stood there for a moment, the smile dropped form Gobo's face and he fell backward. Hibana turned his head and saw five humans approaching the camp.

"HUMANS! ATTACK!" Hibana heard Goroh scream as he charged straight at the adventurers.

Around him, the goblins dropped what they were doing, scrambling to grab their spears and clubs before rushing toward the attackers.

The adventurers closed the distance on the camp.

Hibana spotted Sudio at the back, his face twisted with devious glee.

"Like I told you! Have at 'em!" he shouted, a sickening smile spreading across his face.

Hibana watched as the goblins, led by Goroh, charged straight at the adventurers.

The party consisted of the classic four. A large, muscular warrior clad in plate armor, his sword already raised. A female mage draped in black robes, gripping a wooden staff. A male healer in white robes, clutching prayer beads as he chanted buff spells. And finally, a rogue in leather armor, loosing arrows into the charging goblins—the same man who had killed Gobo just moments before.

Hibana's vision stayed locked on the memory of Gobo's smile.

It played over and over and over in his head.

"This is what Goroh knew..." he realized. "He told me, and I didn't listen..."

A familiar heat crawled up his throat—the raw bile of a dragon.

Hibana roared, but it came out weak and shrill, his voice still that of a baby dragon.

Gouts of fire erupted from his maw, uncontrolled and desperate. He charged forward, claws digging into the dirt.

"I must stop them! All of them! This is madness!"

The warrior cleaved through another goblin, his massive sword cutting effortlessly through flesh and bone. As he spotted Hibana rushing toward him, he grinned.

"You were right, Sudio! An actual baby dragon! His hide will fetch a hefty sum!"

The mage scoffed, adjusting her grip on her staff.

"He's a runt, but worth at least five gold coins!"

Hibana couldn't process what he was hearing.

"Is that all this really is to them?! Loot? Gold?!"

Rage exploded inside him.

"I won't let you have them!"

With a furious scream, he leapt at the warrior.

The warrior was still engaged in battle, cutting down another goblin when the mage raised her staff and began chanting.

"Come forth in a dance of mighty power! Fireball!"

A searing sphere of flame erupted from her staff and shot straight for Hibana, slamming into him mid-air.

The explosion sent him flying.

He hit the ground hard, pain jolting through his entire body. His vision blurred for a moment. The fire wasn't as bad as he expected—perhaps his draconic heritage had weakened the spell's effect.

Then—his status screen flickered into view.

HP: 7/30

"Oh no! I'm way more hurt than I thought!" he realized, panic setting in.

He forced himself up, wincing as he looked ahead—Goroh was now locked in battle with the warrior.

The other three adventurers stood back, watching.

"They're letting him fight alone...?"

The ranger let out an impatient sigh. "Will you hurry up and stop playing with it?"

The warrior laughed, effortlessly parrying one of Goroh's strikes.

"No way… this old goblin's got some real spunk!" he mocked, grinning as if this were nothing more than entertainment.

Hibana sturggled to get back on his feet, and just as he managed to, th warrior swung and Goroh's head flew away from his shoulders.

"Noooooooo!" Hibana screamed as he charged toward the warrior.

The ranger nocked an arrow, loosed it without a second thought—

Thwack.

The arrow pierced Hibana's shoulder.

The impact stopped him cold.

Then—his status screen popped up.

HP: 0/30

Hibana froze.

"What?" he thought, staring at the display in bewilderment. "What does this mean?"

Then, the healer's voice cut through the battlefield.

"Uh… guys? That dragon isn't dead."

The other four immediately cast some kind of spell. Hibana could feel it pulse through the air, a distinct, sharp energy signature.

The warrior spoke first. "Yeah, my Appraisal says the same thing. What skill allows a dragon to do that?"

The mage scoffed. "There is no skill that allows a dragon to do that! That's impossible!"

Then Sudio, who had clearly been waiting for a chance to complain, threw up his hands.

"What do you mean it's impossible?! Can't you even kill something right?"

All four adventurers snapped their heads toward him.

The warrior was the first to bark back. "Hey, shut up, merchant. You're lucky we even let you tag along!"

The ranger shrugged. "Yeah? Well, without him, how would we have found the camp?"

The mage huffed. "He could have just… drawn us a map."

And just like that—they started arguing.

Hibana blinked.

They had completely forgotten about him.

He turned his head toward the trees. The woods were closer now—he had been knocked so far away from the fight, he had an opening.

His claws dug into the dirt.

"I will get justice for you, Goroh... Grek... Gobo... all of you..."

Then, without a second thought, he ran for the woods.

"H-Hey! It's getting away, you fools!" Sudio screamed, pointing frantically in Hibana's direction.

"Shit!" the ranger barked, reaching for another arrow—but his quiver was empty.

"Lara! Take him down!"

The mage raised her staff, but nothing happened.

She gritted her teeth—that last fireball had drained too much of her MP.

"I need a magic potion!" she snapped.

The warrior snarled and took off running.

"Get back here so we can kill you, stupid dragon!"

Hibana dashed into the woods, tears streaming from his eyes. The pain from his wounds was almost as bad as the pain in his heart. His thoughts kept spiraling, his mind refusing to stay quiet.

"What is this feeling? Why can't I control my tears?"

He looked back. The adventurers were gaining on him.

"It was all for nothing. I couldn't save them. I couldn't help them change. And even if I had, these sickening people would have just cut them down anyway!"

His chest burned. The arrow lodged inside him felt like a white-hot piece of metal, searing into his flesh with every step. The pain was immeasurable, but he couldn't stop. He had to keep running.

Then, his status screen flickered into view.

HP: 0/30

"Zero HP. And yet I'm still running. I'm still alive. How? How can I get away from these bastards?"

His eyes darted to the bottom of the screen. Polymorph.

"It's a hiding spell! It'll let me disappear… now if I can just figure out how to cast it."

Ducking through the trees, dodging spells and arrows, he tried everything.

"Polymorph!" He called out the word. Nothing.

"Polymorph, Polymorph, Polymorph!" He thought it over and over, forcing himself to will it into existence. Still nothing.

"Damn it! Maybe I'm thinking about this the wrong way!"

He gasped for breath, mind racing. "I was born with this spell… so I should be able to use it naturally, right? That means it's not something I have to command—it's something I have to feel. It's instinct!"

"That's it! I have to think about hiding. I have to disappear! I have to get away from these bastards—don't let them find me!"

He leapt into a small clearing, spotting a lone bush. It wasn't enough, but he had no choice. Skidding around it, he curled up behind the leaves, his body trembling. His wounds screamed, his chest burned, but none of it mattered. The adventurers were closing in.

"Hide, Hibana… don't let them find me… Hide… HIDE!"

Suddenly—

His entire body twisted.

A strange sensation ripped through him as his flesh warped, his bones compressed, his entire form shifting in ways that shouldn't be possible.

Then—nothing.

He couldn't breathe.

"I… can't breathe!"

Then, a terrifying realization struck him.

"I don't… have to breathe?"

His lungs were gone.

He tried to open his eyes. He had no eyes.

He tried to move. He had no limbs.

He was still. Silent. Formless.

Hibana was gone....or was he?

The ranger arrived first. Hibana couldn't see him, but he could sense him.

The others followed, one by one. The warrior. The mage. The healer. And finally, the merchant, wheezing from the effort of running.

"We lost him, Rutger!" the ranger spat, glancing around in frustration.

The warrior scowled. "No way, Zeke! I saw him come this way!"

The mage stepped into view, followed by the healer. The warrior turned immediately. "Good, you're here, William. We can't find him."

William knelt down, eyes scanning the ground. "This is his blood. It even leads this way. And there's the arrow Zeke got him with."

Rutger picked up the bloodied arrow and scratched his head. "Damn it! He has to be here somewhere!" He turned sharply. "Lara, can you detect anything?"

Lara closed her eyes, focusing. "No… nothing. Dragons usually panic and try to use Polymorph when they're hiding, but that leaves a faint magical trace. I'm not detecting anything."

She frowned. "And my Appraisal doesn't see any living beings here except us."

Zeke stepped forward, moving toward Hibana's branches. His hands pushed them aside, feeling for anything solid.

"He came through this bush. And the blood stops around here, but there's no sign of him. Maybe he flew off?"

"His wings aren't big enough, you idiot!" Sudio snapped.

"Hey, don't call me an idiot, you stinkin' D-tier merchant!"

"ENOUGH, all of you!" Rutger finally shouted, his patience breaking. "Let's split up! He can't have gone far! Shout if you find him!"

His voice lowered, annoyed. "That dragon is an F-tier and a baby. There's no way he could take any one of us alone."

Hibana felt their presence fading. Their energies and voices grew weaker as they scattered deeper into the forest.

Hibana wasn't feeling any pain from his wounds.

He wasn't feeling anything at all.

Except… something strange.

A faint warmth seeped into him—sunlight filtering through the canopy above. Nutrients slowly crept up through his roots.

"Wait… roots?"

His mind reeled.

"This isn't Polymorph… so what is it? And… I'm… a bush?!"

A sharp jolt of panic shot through him, but that only made the realization worse. He wasn't feeling his body—because he didn't have one.

Still, at least he was hidden.

"Okay. Okay. That's good. No sign of them anymore. I can probably just end this spell."

He focused, trying to release the magic.

Nothing happened.

He tried moving—flailing his nonexistent limbs.

Still nothing.

"Wait… I'm stuck?! How do I get out of this form?"

A slow, creeping horror crawled into his mind.

"Is… is there even a way to get out of this form?"

Then, a final, terrifying thought struck him—one that made his leaves tremble in the wind.

"Is this… permanent?!"