Leon stared at the oversized egg in Raymond's hands, then sighed. Deeply. He really should have said no. The sensible answer was no. The responsible answer was also no. Unfortunately, Raymond had spent the last two days hovering around him like an overprotective nurse—bringing food, checking on him, dragging servants into the room whenever Leon looked even slightly pale. The man had practically forgotten he was a Gold Rank warrior. So Leon found it difficult to crush his excitement outright.
Besides, thinking back to the conversation in Arthur's office, Leon had a suspicion. His father could have shut Raymond down completely. Instead Arthur had almost seemed to encourage it. Deliberately. As though he wanted Raymond to stop seeking approval for every idea and start acting on his own initiative—to stand on his own feet instead of constantly standing in Arthur's shadow. It felt exactly like something Arthur would do. Manipulate the situation while pretending not to.
Leon looked at the egg again. His crystal had reacted the moment his eyes landed on it, which meant one thing. His power would work. The only question was what it would become.
"Where did you even get this?" Leon asked.
Raymond looked pleased with himself. "From that cliff." He pointed toward the distant mountains beyond the city walls. Leon followed the direction. His eye twitched. The cliff Raymond was indicating was miles away—nearly vertical, dangerous even for experienced climbers. "There was an eagle nest at the top." Raymond grinned. "Only found one egg though."
Leon stared at him. "You climbed all the way up there?"
"Of course."
"You're a Gold Rank warrior."
"Exactly."
Leon rubbed his forehead. His brother had apparently spent half a day scaling a mountain solely because Arthur had told him cavalry was obsolete. The level of commitment was concerning.
"Fine." Leon held out his hand. "Let's see what you've risked your life for."
The moment his fingers touched the egg, the world vanished. Possibilities unfolded before him—countless futures, countless paths, far too many to examine. Leon ignored the distant possibilities, the impossible ones, and focused on the clearer paths. The reachable ones.
The first vision appeared and immediately stole his breath.
An eagle descended from the heavens. Massive. Monstrous. Its wings stretched wider than many houses, its body covered in dark bronze feathers that looked almost metallic beneath the sunlight. No—not almost. Metallic. The feathers gleamed like forged steel. The creature beat its wings once and the resulting gust uprooted trees.
The vision shifted. The eagle climbed higher and higher until it became a distant speck in the sky. Then it folded its wings and dove. The world exploded. A deafening boom echoed across the landscape as the creature broke the sound barrier, becoming a living meteor descending from the heavens. Its claws struck stone and the rock shattered. Its eyes scanned the earth below—Leon somehow knew the beast could see prey from unimaginable distances, its hearing equally terrifying, its talons capable of carving through stone. Its screech rolled across miles of land, the sound alone enough to disorient enemies.
The vision faded. Leon remained frozen. Even compared to the horse, even compared to the earth-shaping goat, this creature felt absurd. Not mythical. Not impossible. Just overwhelmingly powerful. A predator born to dominate the skies.
The second possibility appeared, and compared to the first it seemed almost ordinary. The eagle was still large—far larger than any natural bird—its eyes carrying clear intelligence. The creature perched upon a stone wall, watching, listening, learning. Then it opened its beak and spoke. Perfectly. Clearly. Like a human. The vision shifted and Leon watched it converse with soldiers, carry messages, gather information, scout distant locations. Its intelligence rivaled that of a person—perhaps not equal, but close enough to make the difference irrelevant. The vision ended.
Leon opened his eyes. Raymond was practically vibrating with anticipation. "Well?"
Leon described both visions—every detail, every ability, every possibility. The moment he finished, Raymond immediately pointed at the first one. "I want that one."
"Of course you do."
Raymond ignored him, his eyes practically sparkling. "I already have a name for it." The source of this chapter is g.com.
Leon groaned. "You named it before it even hatched?"
"Great commanders prepare ahead."
"That's not preparing."
"That's vision."
Leon sighed, then smiled slightly. For all his faults, Raymond's enthusiasm was infectious. "I'm feeling generous today."
Raymond blinked. "What?"
Leon shrugged. "Should I transform it now?" For a moment Raymond simply stared. Then his eyes widened. "Wait. You'd actually do it?" The excitement in his voice was obvious, but beneath it lingered concern. "Will you be alright?"
Leon looked at the egg dismissively. "It's an egg. How much energy could it possibly take?"
A short while later they arrived at Raymond's room. Leon settled himself carefully onto the bed, the memory of collapsing after transforming the mare still fresh in his mind—this time he intended to be cautious. The egg rested between his palms, feeling surprisingly ordinary. Small. Light. Fragile. Nothing about it suggested the enormous possibilities hidden within. Raymond hovered nearby, unable to sit still.
Leon closed his eyes. The crystal stirred and warmth spread through his forehead as the familiar sea of possibilities unfolded. He ignored the distant ones, the impossible ones, focusing only on the eagle he had chosen—the massive metallic predator, the ruler of the skies. The moment his decision solidified, something clicked.
The crystal erupted with blinding golden radiance. Light flooded the room and for an instant it looked as though a second sun had appeared inside Raymond's chamber. Golden patterns shimmered beneath Leon's skin before fading just as quickly. Power began to flow.
At first it felt easy, far easier than the mare. A thin stream of energy left his body and entered the egg as the shell began glowing faintly, golden patterns slowly emerging across its surface like veins of liquid sunlight. Raymond leaned closer. "That's new." Leon didn't answer, his concentration fixed upon the process. The flow continued—steady, controlled, safe. For nearly a minute he felt completely confident. Then the drain increased.
Leon frowned. The stream of energy thickened as more power began pouring from him. The golden patterns brightened and the shell itself seemed to pulse, almost like a heartbeat. A strange sensation spread through his palms—the egg was growing warmer, heavier, larger. Very slowly, but undeniably larger.
"Leon..." Raymond's voice carried uncertainty. The egg had visibly increased in size, not by much but enough to notice.
Leon swallowed. "Still fine." At least he thought so.
Another minute passed. The drain doubled, then doubled again. Sweat formed across Leon's forehead and his breathing grew heavier as the egg continued growing, the shell expanding smoothly as if the material itself were being rewritten. Golden light spilled through the room and the runic patterns swimming across the surface became increasingly complex—lines crossing lines, shapes forming within shapes, like a language neither brother could understand. The egg was now nearly twice its original size.
Raymond stared. "I don't think eggs are supposed to do that."
"No," Leon admitted through clenched teeth. "I don't think they are."
The drain intensified again and Leon immediately realized something was wrong. Not wrong—just far larger than expected. He had assumed an egg would require less energy than a nearly developed foal. Instead the process felt endless, like pouring water into a bottomless well. The transformation simply continued, and continued, and continued. The egg drank every drop he offered, as though something inside was desperately consuming everything it could get. The pressure behind Leon's eyes began building—a familiar pressure, one he had hoped not to experience again. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
"Oh, no..."
Raymond immediately heard the concern. "What?"
Leon shook his head, his hands tightening around the egg. "I underestimated it."
The egg grew larger again—nearly three times its original size now, the shell gleaming like polished gold, the room itself seeming dim beside it. Sweat soaked Leon's clothes. His heartbeat thundered in his ears and every pulse sent fresh pain through his skull. The crystal burned. His eyes burned. Both drawing from the same source, both straining under the burden. Yet the transformation refused to stop. The creature inside continued growing, developing, changing.
Then the vision struck. Without warning.
The world vanished. Leon found himself standing beneath a storm—dark clouds churning across the heavens, thunder rolling endlessly, lightning illuminating the sky in brilliant flashes. The entire world seemed trapped beneath the wrath of nature itself. Then something moved. Far above. Beyond the clouds. Beyond the storm. A shadow. Massive. Ancient. Terrifying.
The clouds exploded apart. An enormous eagle emerged from the darkness, its wings stretching wider than city streets. Metallic feathers reflected flashes of lightning, each feather looking forged rather than grown. Its golden eyes blazed like twin suns and the sheer pressure of its presence made Leon struggle to breathe. The creature released a screech that shook the heavens—clouds ruptured, thunder was drowned out—and for a single moment it felt as though the entire sky belonged to that one beast. Then it folded its wings and dived.
The air detonated. A shockwave erupted behind it as the eagle became a living meteor, a streak of silver and gold tearing through the storm. Lightning followed in its wake. The clouds split before it. The world itself seemed unable to resist its descent. Faster. Faster. Faster. Until even sound could no longer keep pace.
The vision shattered.
Leon returned to reality with a violent gasp. Pain exploded through his skull, his vision blurred, his stomach churned, and the room spun around him. For several moments he couldn't even tell where he was. The only thing grounding him was the massive object resting in his trembling hands.
The egg had become enormous—nearly four times its original size. Golden light still lingered beneath the shell, the intricate patterns remaining visible and fading slowly, like embers after a great fire. The transformation was complete. Finally. Leon released a shaky breath. Then his arms gave out.
"Take this thing." His voice sounded weak even to himself.
Raymond immediately caught it. "What happened?"
Leon collapsed backward onto the bed, every muscle drained. His head pounded, though not nearly as badly as after the mare. "That thing..." He pointed weakly toward the egg. "Almost drained me dry."
Raymond looked genuinely guilty. "If I'd known—"
"Don't." Leon interrupted. A weak laugh escaped him. "It was my idea." He closed his eyes briefly. The familiar warmth had already begun returning from the crystal—subtle, gentle, like before. The recovery had begun. And despite the pain, he could already tell the backlash wasn't quite as severe as last time. Maybe his theory was correct. Maybe he really was adapting. Growing stronger. Little by little.
Then both brothers heard it.
A faint sound. Crack. Raymond froze. Leon opened one eye. The room fell silent. Another sound followed. Crack. This time both of them heard it clearly. Slowly, very slowly, Raymond lowered his gaze. His eyes widened. A thin fracture had appeared across the shell, then another, and another. Golden light leaked through the cracks. Neither brother spoke. Neither moved. The shell split slightly, something inside shifted, a tiny piece of shell broke away—and a sharp metallic beak pushed through.
Leon and Raymond stared, then slowly turned toward one another, both wearing the exact same expression.
Complete disbelief.
Yet the cracks continued spreading.