The Red Tomb

Inside the Red Tomb was huge and spacious, with tunnels leading in all directions, resembling an ant nest. The sharp obsidian pierced their feet, and the sheer heat was enough to make them faint.

As everyone began to grasp the situation, Sigurd tugged on Theon's sleeve, drawing his attention.

"I think we should split into our own groups, as before," he suggested.

"Huh?" Theon couldn't understand his reasoning. "Wouldn't it be safer to stay with the larger group?"

"As I said before, they are bait. The moment the dragons realize they are here, a whole swarm will be upon us. We can use the confusion to find dragons to tame."

Understanding Sigurd's logic, Theon nodded and signaled for Astrid and Arya to follow them. The four of them ventured off on their own. Varys watched them leave but said nothing. Instead, he cleverly followed behind, knowing exactly what Sigurd was trying to do.

GRAAAAR!!

The deafening roars continued, but one sounded especially close. It was coming from one of the giant tunnels in the ceiling, instantly drawing their attention.

Everyone came to a standstill as the roars grew louder, now echoing from all directions. They didn't know which way to go, and panic began to set in. One boy was visibly more agitated than the others. His eyes darted back and forth from tunnel to tunnel as he trembled in fear.

Klick…Klick…Klick…Klick!

An ominous clicking noise echoed, and that was when the boy reached his breaking point. A puddle of urine formed below his feet.

"I'm sorry!! I can't do this!!" he cried, turning toward the entrance and dashing away as if his life depended on it.

CRASH!!

A massive blue dragon appeared out of nowhere and crushed him instantly. The dragon was enormous, with glistening blue scales that resembled those of a deep-sea fish more than a reptile. It was the same dragon making the clicking noises.

Another boy turned to run, but the dragon's needle-like tail pierced through his chest like a spear.

Sigurd blinked.

The next thing he knew, a whole swarm of dragons was upon them, as if the blue dragon was leading the onslaught. While the other dragons began slaughtering the rest by ripping off limbs, the blue dragon merely used its needle-like tail to strike them down one by one.

Sigurd didn't need to draw his sword; he knew how it would end. He turned to Theon, who didn't utter a word either. They just ran, with Astrid and Arya following closely behind, leaving everyone else behind.

Varys was activating his shamanic bond in an attempt to tame one of the creatures, but it was to no avail. Instead, he drew his sword and tried to escape into one of the tunnels with as many people as he could.

He managed to escape with a few others into another tunnel, with several dragons hot on their tails.

The blue dragon observed as Sigurd and his group made their escape. It was drawn to them, particularly to one member of their group, and decided to follow behind.

Sigurd and his group dashed through the tunnels, activating their shamanic bond as they ran. However, none of them managed to connect with any of the dragons; instead, they felt the dragons' hostility even more. There wasn't even a glimmer of hope that they would form a bond with any of them.

Their heads throbbed as the pressure of using their abilities on such superior beings became overwhelming. They were gradually losing strength, and their vision blurred. Just when things seemed like they couldn't get any worse, a grey dragon appeared.

Sigurd hopelessly drew his sword, but as expected, it shattered against the scaled beast's skin. The dragon lunged at him, knocking him off his feet and preparing to rip him to shreds. Just then, Theon lunged at the dragon, trying to use his enhanced strength to battle the beast.

It felt like he was punching steel, it was a miracle he didn't shatter every bone in his hand.

Seizing the moment while the dragon was distracted, Sigurd managed to get to his feet. The dragon hissed at them, and its stomach began to swell. Both of them noticed this and knew what it meant.

"RUN!!"

An explosive breath of fire erupted from the dragon's mouth, engulfing the entire area in flames. All four of them narrowly escaped the attack, but in the chaos, they were separated.

Sigurd ended up in the same tunnel as Arya, while Theon and Astrid found themselves alone. Sigurd cradled Arya in his arms; during the attack, he had grabbed her because he saw she wasn't fast enough to escape. It felt more like instinct than rational thought.

"Are you okay?" Sigurd asked her.

She looked terrible, her face pale and sickly. Her cheeks flushed red. She also looked a little absent minded as she stared up at him.

"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, her voice weak and strained.

He gently placed her back on her feet, but the moment her feet touched the ground, she asked, "Where are the others?"

Sigurd shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.

"We should keep moving; that dragon could still be after us."

She nodded, and they continued to navigate through the Red Tomb, desperately activating their shamanic bond in search of a dragon to tame.

…

Meanwhile, Astrid curled up in a small corner, desperate and scared, hoping someone would find her. The screams of her friends and the snarls of beasts echoed all around her. One such snarl was getting closer and closer.

Her body trembled like a leaf, the obsidian walls slicing her skin as she desperately tried to hide within them.

"Brother Theon, please come for me," she whispered, her small wish escaping her lips as she heard the skittering footsteps drawing nearer.

It wasn't a human; she knew that for sure.

Her head pounded from the sheer exhaustion of using her shamanic bond.

It wasn't long before the creature found her. Its predatory yellow eyes locked onto her, and its crimson scales blended seamlessly with the obsidian surroundings.

She knew it wasn't a human.

It wasn't a dragon either.

Her heart sank into her stomach as she saw it. She held her breath, hoping it wouldn't notice her, even though it was staring right at her. She wanted to scream, but her voice felt stuck in her throat.

The strange creature edged closer, flashing its sharp, jagged teeth that were as menacing as its claws. It then rested its scaled head against hers. In that moment, she felt a strange connection to the creature as a clear image appeared in her mind:

[Activate Bond]

[Tamer: Human]

[Beast: Salamander]

[Species: Red Herring]

[Beast Rank: B]

[Cultivation Rank: D]

[Activate Bond By Giving the Beast a Name:]