The mouth of the lair opened before him, a ragged hole in the earth that bled light and promise. Emberis stood there, claws clutching the rock. The wind howled past, carrying the scent of distant forests and rivers, cold and clean.
He flexed his wings, feeling the pull of muscles he was still learning to trust. The sky was close, just beyond his outstretched claws. But for all the dragon's instinct to leap, something held him back.
In the darkness of his mind, a flicker of memory surfaced. Michael, standing on a grassy hilltop, arms spread wide as the wind whipped around him. A boy with laughter in his throat, a heart that ached for the sky.
He could almost hear that boy now, whispering:
This is what we always wanted.
But Emberis growled deep in his throat. That boy was soft, fragile—a remnant of a life that no longer fit this scale and claw.
The wind teased at the edge of his wings, urging him forward. The dragon's hunger burned bright, a fierce need to rise and claim the sky. Yet Michael's voice echoed in the spaces between breaths.
"What if you fall?"
Emberis snapped his jaws shut, teeth grinding. He would not fall. He was born for this. The memory of Michael was just that—a shadow of flesh and blood, no match for the fury that coiled in his chest.
Still, he remembered. Rain on his face, the thunder of a coming storm, the taste of freedom in the air. That boy had wanted to fly. Here, at the edge of the world, their wishes met—human and dragon, fear and fire.
The system pulsed in his mind, silent but watchful. He could feel it judging him, weighing his choice. If he failed here, he knew it wouldn't just be a missed chance—it would be a loss of something deeper. The sky was tied to the boy's dreams, and to lose that now would be to lose Michael entirely.
He lowered his head, nostrils flaring. The wind carried scents of life, distant prey moving through the underbrush. Opportunity, danger, and the promise of a new world.
His wings twitched, the membrane stretched tight. Emberis flexed them again, feeling the raw strength in every tendon. The dragon in him exulted in that power, muscles coiled and ready, built for the hunt. But Michael's fear clung to him, a stubborn shadow.
We're not meant for this, Michael's voice said softly. "We were just a man."
No, Emberis thought. We were always more. Even as a man, we longed for the sky.
Heat rose in his chest, the fire that was both gift and curse. The dragon's side of him wanted to leap, to roar, to own the sky. But Michael's side remembered soft skin and fragile bones, the knowledge that one mistake meant death.
A tremor ran through him. Stone cracked under his claws. He felt the weight of his choice—stay and suffocate in the lair's darkness, or leap into the unknown, risking everything.
The memory of the hilltop surged again. Michael, eyes bright with wonder as the wind swept past. Emberis let the memory fill him, let it blur the line between dragon and boy. For a moment, they were one, joined by a single, breathless desire.
We want this, he thought. We were born for this.
He spread his wings wide, smooth and deliberate. The wind caught them, tugging at the edges, testing his resolve. He could feel the air's promise—a song that whispered of flight and freedom.
A low growl built in his chest, rolling out over the edge of the cliff. The sound was a challenge and a prayer. The dragon roared for conquest, the boy for a dream that had never died.
He crouched, muscles bunching. The ledge was slick with moss and old stone, but he trusted the grip of his claws. His tail lashed once, a final check, and then he launched himself forward.
For an instant, gravity claimed him. He fell, the world a blur of color and wind. The ground waited below, dark and hungry.
Michael's fear rose, a scream that echoed in his mind.
"We're falling. We're going to die."
But Emberis felt something else, something deeper and older. The beat of wings. The breath of the wind. The dragon's birthright.
He snapped his wings down hard. Air caught in the membrane, lifting him in a surge that stole his breath. He rose, muscles burning, every part of him alive with power.
The ground fell away. The lair's darkness vanished, replaced by the sky's endless expanse. Sunlight struck his scales, turning them to molten gold and bronze.
He let out a roar that split the clouds. The dragon had claimed the sky.
But Michael was there too, a quiet memory in every gust of wind. The boy's laughter mixed with the dragon's roar, a single voice that was both past and present.
"We did it." Michael whispered. Wonder and relief echoed in the words.
We did it, Emberis agreed. For a moment, the dragon's hunger was sated.
He banked in the air, testing his control. Each movement grew easier, each beat of his wings made the sky feel more like home.
Below him, the forest spread like a living tapestry, rivers glinting silver through the green. Prey moved in the shadows, but he ignored them. The sky was his focus—the endless blue, the taste of clouds, the promise of freedom.
He climbed higher, pushing his wings to their limit. The strain burned in his shoulders, but he reveled in it. This was flight, this was what he had always dreamed of, even as Michael.
But the boy's fear still whispered. What if we fall?
Emberis let the question echo and settle. He didn't know the answer. He didn't care.
The wind was his, and the sky was open.
He circled back toward the lair, testing his control. The stone mouth of his home looked small, a dark mark against the cliff. But it was his—his lair, his birthright.
He landed hard, claws scraping stone. Dust billowed around him, but he didn't falter. He folded his wings and breathed deep, his body trembling with the thrill of flight.
The system pulsed in his mind.
System Notification:
Quest Complete. Flight Initiated. Core Skill Unlocked: Sky Sovereign (Level 1).
Memory Integration: Stable.
He let out a slow breath. Michael's name was still there, a quiet presence beneath the dragon's fury. A reminder that he was more than scale and fire.
He turned his gaze to the sky, feeling the pull of it in his chest. He had tasted freedom and would not let it go.
Emberis took a final glance at the sky, a promise in the tilt of his wings. The world was wide, full of danger and promise. He would face it all—dragon and man, fear and fire—together.