Chapter 3: The Lonely Dragon

Listen While Reading Recommendation: BLOWIN’ (piano & strings ver.)

—–

After playing for a while with my mother, we all left the river and decided to have a picnic. The sun was so strong that my clothes dried in just a couple of minutes. While my mother prepared sandwiches, I ran around, feeling the growing strength in my body and getting more accustomed to my abilities.

Bugs sometimes buzzed nearby such as dragonflies or golden scarabs—and I would try to catch them in my mouth even though it was disgusting. I always ended up spitting them out. Ew. But some deep instinct urged me to snap at small moving things, and the urge was sometimes overwhelming, making my blood boil with excitement.

I guess this is what it truly means to be a dragon…

But what about magic? I had tried gathering Mana into my little claws and releasing it as attacks, and there were definite results.

“Gya!”

SLASH!

By leaping and swinging my tiny paw, I sliced through tall grass at least five meters away. It seemed this was my most basic attack as a baby dragon.

“Gather Mana into Claw and release it to cut the air and anything in its path… Got it. This’ll be Dragon Claw then,” I nodded to myself, slashing more grass and then, when I spotted more bugs, cutting them down too. “Heheh!”

I laughed for some reason, even though guilt hit me right afterward and I stopped. Gigantia came running toward me after I ignored my mother’s call. I could hear her heavy footsteps from a kilometer away.

“Young princess! Please, your mother is calling you. Come with me.”

I tried to dart away and keep playing, but she quickly scooped me up in her big hands. I struggled and smacked her with my tail, unable to break free.

“Hahaha! Calm down, you can play more later!”

“Hmph!”

I felt irritated even though she made perfect sense. This body was clearly influencing my behavior; my mind didn’t have full control over these new instincts yet.

It would take time to fully merge my conscious mind with these instincts, and I suspected most dragons struggled with the same thing during childhood.

Becoming a wise, non-reckless dragon is quite difficult. According to my father, they’re all very reckless in their youth, he certainly was.

“Here you go, dear. I cooked the fish you caught with herbs and spices and turned it into sandwiches,” my mother said. “You’ve got big fangs now, so try eating properly.”

“Ooohhh!” I grabbed the sandwich eagerly.

It looked delicious. This was technically my first solid meal after three years of only milk, fruit, and vegetable puree. I was thrilled.

And it was made from the fish I had caught myself!

“Nom!”

The flavors exploded in my little mouth. My eyes widened and my eyebrows shot up in surprise. It was a bit hot, but incredibly tasty.

The fish had been stir-fried with onion, garlic, and other spices my mother added after Gigantia told her dragons love spicy and savory flavors.

And she wasn’t wrong!

“Nam, nam, nam!”

I devoured the sandwich like my life depended on it.

“W-Wait, don’t eat so fast or you’ll choke!” My mother fussed, but after I finished, I let out a satisfied burp. “Oh? Did you like it?”

“Hm!” I nodded vigorously. “More!”

“More?” she asked, surprised. “But your belly is too small for another one, dear…”

“Don’t worry, dragons—even as babies—have huge stomachs!” Gigantia assured her. “Please don’t worry about it.”

“…Okay then,” my mother agreed, handing me another sandwich along with some cold fruit juice.

It was delicious, and the juice felt incredibly refreshing in the heat of the day.

After eating so much, sleepiness washed over me. I cuddled against my mother while she leaned back against a tree on a grassy hill overlooking the floating island.

Slowly, I drifted off while listening to their quiet conversation.

“Well, look at her—she’s already sleepy, hahah,” Gigantia chuckled.

“Hm, yes. I guess bringing her outside was a good idea. I haven’t seen her this happy before. She always looked so bored. I think this is exactly what she needed,” my mother said. “I just thought little babies needed more years before going out like this…”

“You worry too much, Your Majesty. Dragons—even newborns—are tough,” Gigantia replied. “And full of energy!”

“I see, then…”

Unable to stay awake any longer, I fell completely asleep, too tired to listen anymore.

♢♢♢♢

“Hm?”

When I slowly opened my eyes, I found myself being carried toward the castle in a pair of gentle arms. Large wings flapped steadily, flying us home.

I looked up at the starry night sky in wonder, then at the person holding me—a handsome young man with long white hair and golden eyes, smiling warmly down at me.

“Papa…?”

“Hello, Elizabeth. Did you have fun with your mother? Sorry I couldn’t be there today. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”

He kissed my forehead gently and landed inside the castle through the window. My mother stood right beside him.

“Is she awake?” she asked.

“Yeah, just now,” he answered.

“Hm…” I hugged my dad tightly, resting my head on his shoulder as I looked around.

“You want to stay awake? No, it’s far too late. Go back to sleep for now, dear,” he said, carefully placing me in my cradle.

“Wuh…” I protested weakly, but the blanket was so warm and cozy that I soon drifted back toward dreamland.

And as I did…

“Where do you plan to bring her tomorrow? I hope nowhere dangerous.”

“Arthur, Kaguya, and Ashur are coming to visit with their families and children. I want her to make friends with them.”

“Ah, the kids from the other kings. I see. But she’s only three. Is she even going to form proper connections yet?”

“Dragons age faster and mature quicker too, so don’t worry. She inherited her full dragon bloodline—unlike me, who had to struggle for years to awaken it—so she’ll grow steadily.”

“Okay then. But aren’t the other kids just humans?”

“Well, can you really call them ‘just humans’ when they’re the children of the strongest Sinners? Like our daughter, they’ve inherited their parents’ powers—and some extra. I believe there’s a Fate tying them together. It’s best they get to know each other early.”

“If you say so, dear. Now, come here. You’ve had a hard day, so let me pamper you.”

“Hahah, I am the luckiest man alive.”

♢♢♢♢

As I slept, I suddenly felt myself falling into an extremely cold place. The chill was so intense it snapped my eyes wide open in shock—only to find I was somewhere else entirely, far from home.

“Huh?”

I wasn’t in my castle, my room, or my bed. I was in another… world.

I looked up at the sky—big white clouds, almost no sunlight filtering through.

A fierce snowstorm raged around me. Snow piled up everywhere, and ice crystals quickly formed across my body.

“Brrr! S-So cold—Achoo!”

I sneezed violently, the blast blowing away a huge pile of snow. I stared in awe at the destruction my tiny sneeze had caused.

Where the hell am I?!

“Mom? Dad?!”

I called out, but no one answered. I was completely alone.

“Ugh…”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

I slowly stood up and scanned the horizon with my Dragon Eyes. Endless snow stretched in every direction, broken only by snow-capped mountains, pine forests, and strange structures made entirely of solid ice.

“Where am I?”

Confused, I sat in the snow and racked my brain, trying to recognize the place. Nothing came to mind. I had never heard of falling asleep and waking up in an entirely different location.

But something felt off about this place. Yes, it was freezing, but it wasn’t a normal cold. Above all, there was something… strange about it.

“Is this even Earth?”

I touched a nearby stone and pressed it. When I crushed it into dust with my tiny hand, the rock scattered into particles of light.

Realization hit me.

“I’m in some kind of spiritual realm!”

If objects here weren’t truly solid and turned into light or energy when destroyed, this had to be a spiritual realm, a pocket dimension made entirely of ethereal, elemental, and spiritual energy.

Solid material objects rarely existed here. It was a world built from the primordial supernatural energies of existence.

Highly concentrated pockets of this energy could mutate over time into spiritual realms.

I must have fallen here by accident somehow. Maybe I was still asleep in my bed, but my soul—or a fragment of it—had drifted away.

“Why did this happen though?”

I didn’t dwell on it. I stood up and started walking, pushing against the snowstorm and fighting the wind that tried to knock me over.

“Ugh… Nngh…”

The snow was heavy, the wind biting, and the farther I went, the more ice crystals coated my body. I shook them off constantly.

“Haaa… Haaa…”

Exhaustion crept in. I felt like I might pass out. For a moment I wondered if fainting would return me to my real body.

But there was also a risk my soul could be damaged, so I didn’t dare risk it.

…

How long had I been walking?

It felt like days, yet the storm never weakened. Snow continued falling relentlessly, but I drew steadily closer to something in the distance.

A massive castle made entirely of ice.

“Where… where am I?”

Gasping for air, I collapsed into the snow, coughing and sneezing.

“Haaa… someone help me…”

As I cried out weakly, trying to stand, I heard heavy footsteps approaching.

From within the ice castle emerged an enormous silhouette—a regal creature of breathtaking elegance and beauty. White crystal scales gleamed, long ice horns curved gracefully, and magnificent ice wings spread behind her.

The creature looked down at me with glowing blue eyes. As she drew closer, I realized who she was.

“An Ice Dragon…?”

“What is a little thing like you doing here? Have you fallen into the Realm of Ice Dragons by accident, little one? It’s far too soon for you to wander in this dangerous realm, my child.”

“Uuhh…”

I felt myself fading, unable to move. I watched her massive claws approach, gently scooping me up and cradling me.

“You’re so small, but I can sense it within you—you carry Ice Dragon Blood,” she said. “You should have awakened a Dragon Soul before entering here, yet your soul is as tiny as your body.”

“Hm…?”

A soothing azure light enveloped me. My body warmed, fatigue vanished, and energy returned. I gazed up at the giant ice dragon in wonder.

“Wow… an Ice Dragon…” I whispered. “Awesome…”

“Hahaha!” Her laugh was melodic and warm. “Don’t tell me this is the first time you’ve seen one of your own kind, little one? Who are you?”

“I… I’m Elizabeth…” I murmured. “I’m the daughter of Louis Drakeheart…”

“D-Drakeheart?!” She gasped. “Wait—so you are one of Drake’s descendants! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”