Kael turned, his eyes scanning every direction: left, right, behind, forward. There, a hollow pit opened up right before his feet.
A pit? A cave? Maybe, his mind sparked.
"Just come close," he whispered. He tilted his head back, watching the dragon dive, then exhaled and jumped.
Wind pushed against him—hard and cold. Then, he felt the iron hooks—three of them—raking across his back. Skin split, blood sprayed.
"Argh!" he screamed as he fell. The pit swallowed him whole.
Above, the giant dragon followed, too fast and too hungry. Half its body plunged inside, but the walls were tight and unforgiving. Its wings thrashed uselessly outside, trapped. Kael hit the bottom, knees buckling, coughing blood as his hands slapped the dirt. He stirred, chest heaving, lungs burning.
Above him, the dragon struggled, writhing. Kael rose—slow, unsteady—and turned around.
"You," his voice dropped low, a growl. "How dare you."
The voice sounded wrong—too old for him. His eyes blackened, not with darkness, but like oil, like the void.
"How dare you!" This time, the voice was that of a child.
For a moment, the dragon was silent. Something stirred in its chest. It saw something wrong—a smile. A dagger manifested in Kael’s grip, the blade gleaming and cold. He jumped, clenched the weapon, and drove the blade down. Once. Twice. Again, with every ounce of brute force he possessed.
Blood splattered across his face, hot and thick. He pierced harder, both hands clenched on the hilt, his weight pulling the blade down to carve through bone and sinew. The dragon screamed. Kael landed on the ground as the system prompted:
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[White Feathered Dragon Beast Killed.]
[Beast Soul Gained.]
[Eat beast meat to gain biogens. Rank: High Mythic Tier.]
What the—? Kael froze, his eyes flickering back to normal.
Above, the massive dragon glowed, came back to life, screamed, and broke free. It circled, then landed beside him, shaking the ground.
Memories flooded back. Stories. Whispers. Hunters who vanished into Mystical Eraland.
Am I in Mystical Eraland? No. No way. I was coming back from school. Just walking home. What is happening?
He raised his head, looked at the dead dragon, then at the beast mount. The mount wasted no time; it boosted up, spun in the air with violent force, and flew out of the hollow. Kael stood there, swallowing hard, too scared to summon it. He climbed out himself, fingers digging into the dirt, muscles screaming.
Finally, he stood at the top. He stared at the beast mount, suspicious and wary, then sighed and climbed on.
I think of ascending. Open my mouth to speak the command—
The dragon shot into the air.
Whoa! He gripped the feathers on its back, his knuckles white. My thoughts control it.
The dragon flew higher, then sighted it: a gigantic, rotating, bluish, hungry black hole.
Go there.
[Note: Mutated beast souls cannot be summoned outside Mystical Eraland.]
Then what's the use? he wondered.
The dragon flew through the blue portal. Everything faded. The world twisted. The wind turned cold, and the air smelled of rust and rot. There was complete silence. Kael stood on a bridge, blinked his eyes, and shook his head. His chip sparked—vibrating, glowing. He looked around, then up, and chuckled.
"I don't understand. Am I on the moon?"
The stars were too large, too bright, flickering like dying bulbs. No clouds. Just space—endless and black. He looked down and saw a dead world. Skyscrapers bent like broken fingers; blackout everywhere. No neon, no drones, no noise, no detonations, no laughter, no cries. Just silence.
And then, her voice: You don't even smile at me.
He saw her. Mara. The two gaps in her teeth. Her fluffy brown hair. Her light brown skin. The way she always slept with a warm smile on her face, even in the dark. He recalled the light. The blast. The day everything ended. He held his breath and tapped his chip. A cracked, holographic green screen appeared.
[Time: 5 p.m., Monday, Year: 3050. Last use: 3046.]
"Four years?" he whispered. "That explosion... is this the aftermath?" His voice broke. His knees hit the ground. So four years have passed. And the planet is dead silent.
Memories flashed: Mara giggling, holding his hand, both of them staring at a glowing neon sign. He had felt her warmth—the only warmth in his sadistic life.
Don't worry, big bro. We will one day glow. Just promise to learn how to smile. At least one day. Just one smile. I'll be watching.
Kael knelt as her voice faded. Tears slipped from his eyes—smooth, silent. He stared at the glowing stars.
And if this is the aftermath... silence... it means... Mara is silent.
He remained silent for a long time, his eyes searching the half-broken roads and buildings. The world seemed like an apocalypse.
Just because I never smiled. I didn't smile for her. I didn't laugh. I didn't... I didn't...
A giggle escaped him—low, wrong. His voice rose, laughing wildly and incorrectly.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha."
It echoed across the silence—hollow and broken. He laughed for a long time, until a voice laughed alongside him. The wind moved coldly, then froze.
Except a smile.
Not his. Something else. Something ancient. It unfurled across his face.