The crack shattered the silence.
A sharp snap—a brittle shell fracturing—and then a rush of cool, unfamiliar air.
He pushed through the thin barrier, sensation flowing in like a soft awakening. His limbs unfolded slowly, wings stretching with cautious curiosity. Darkness still clung to him, but beneath it, a faint pulse stirred—the quiet heartbeat of a void dragon hatchling.
He blinked—if a void dragon could blink—and looked around.
The nest.
It was not comfort that made the nest—it was purpose.
He lay curled in the center of a basin of scorched black earth, the ground beneath him cracked and hardened as if seared by celestial flame. The ash-gray soil held faint warmth, a gentle hum of sleeping power, but it bore the mark of something ancient and wrathful—creation through destruction.
Encircling the nest was a ring of jagged ice, stark and glistening under the pale shimmer of skyless light. Each spike stood tall, uneven, and sharp, as though shaped in defiance. The frost clung to them like breath on steel, whispering cold warnings to any who might dare approach.
This barrier wasn't natural—it pulsed with intention. A guardian circle, warding off all that might wish to cross it. Nothing could come in. Nothing could go out. Not without being seen. Not without consequence.
And beyond that frozen edge… nothing.
Or perhaps everything.
There was no forest. No sky. No stars. Just a blank horizon, veiled in a gray stillness too deep to be fog, too still to be wind. It was the beyond—not yet meant to be known. Waiting. Watching.
Whatever world he had been born into, it had yet to reveal its face.
But the nest… the nest was a message.
Here, dragons would rise.
Not nurtured in warmth and softness—but tempered by the fire and cold of power untamed.
And now, the first had awoken.
His instincts screamed at him to stay in the nest for the time being.
It was protection.
It was power.
It was home.
Around him, five more eggs rested in gentle hollows—each one unique, yet part of something greater.
The first, closest to his broken shell, drew his attention immediately.
It was a deep crimson hue, its surface flecked with molten gold and black marbling, like cooling magma over volcanic stone. The shell was slightly ridged, textured almost like scales, and it trembled—just once, a delicate shiver that left a faint warmth in the air. It pulsed like a heartbeat, alive and almost ready.
The second lay nestled deeper into the far side, its shell a deep iridescent blue, catching glimmers of silver and shifting like a calm ocean beneath moonlight. The surface of the egg appeared almost wet, as if wrapped in a membrane of dew, and it gave off a calming, chilled aura.
The third was pale and stark—bone-white etched with angular lines of amethyst, like crystalline veins forming a pattern only the stars might understand. It didn't move, but a faint hum vibrated around it, as though it were listening to the world in silence.
The fourth was darker than shadow—an egg of pure black with hints of starlight within, specks of light blooming and fading across its surface like galaxies being born and dying in seconds. Looking too long made something in his chest stir. Old. Watchful.
The fifth shimmered with radiant gold and deep green, like a forest bathed in eternal sunlight. The shell was smooth, almost glassy, and subtle flickers of movement passed across it as though the light inside was dancing in slow rhythm.
And then… there was his own shell.
Now split open, the inner lining glowed faintly with soft violet traces, already beginning to fade. Steam still curled from the cracks. His birth had started something—a sequence, perhaps, or a signal.
He was the first.
The eldest.
And soon, the others would follow.
He coiled his dark still-damp body around the closest curve of the nest and fixed his gaze on the red egg beside him. It trembled again, slightly more this time.
He felt it in his core—this moment mattered. Not just for him, but for all of them.
He waited—not out of fear or hesitation, but with quiet expectation.
The main event was about to begin.
The silence of the scorched black earth nest was broken by a subtle tremor. A soft glow radiated from the six eggs surrounding him—each pulse syncing with a heartbeat, the unformed souls within stirring gently. His own Soul Seed throbbed in response, though its full power was yet to awaken.
Suddenly, beside his discarded shell, the red-scaled egg shook violently, cracks spiderwebbing across its surface. The nest hummed with quiet energy, the ice ring faintly shimmering against the dark earth.
He remained still, his new senses taking in the world—a mixture of anticipation and calm.
[System Interface — Activated]
Name: Unnamed
Species: Void Dragon Hatchling
Level: 0 (0/100)
Age: 0
Talents:
Legion
System
One of the Void
Skills:
Eye of the Void lv1
Soul Sight lv1
Appraisal lv1
Affinities:
Mana Seed
Soul Seed
Void Seed
Stats:
Strength: 30
Agility: 40
Resilience: 30
Magic: 60
Awareness: 30
Legion Core: 0 Bound
Free Stats: N/A
As he gazed over the eggs of his brothers and sisters the first crack of the red egg echoed through the nest.
A sharp fracture ran along its glossy surface, glinting under the dim light that seeped through the ice ring. The egg trembled, pulsing with raw, untamed life. Beside it, the other eggs shifted slightly, as if stirred by the awakening.
He watched with growing awareness, his chest humming with a subtle warmth—an unfamiliar energy rising from deep within. The pulse in his soul seed quickened, a ripple spreading through his very being.
Suddenly, his vision sharpened.
A veil lifted.
Shapes, colors, and life forces previously invisible now bloomed around him—each egg radiating a distinct life energy, soft glows of unbound souls yearning to be born.
His own soul seed flared brightly, responding to the life energy around him.
He knew this was his Soul Sight.
He brought up the skill description for him to see through the system tied tonhis soul.
[System Screen]
Skill: Soul Sight (Active)
Level: 1
[Allows perception of life energy and unformed souls within the vicinity.]
The nest no longer felt empty or still. It thrummed with potential, a symphony of new beginnings.
His senses expanded, connecting him to the others yet to hatch—his siblings, waiting beyond their shells, bound by fate.
The nest lay waiting, fpr the second born to energe. The egg he deemed the Obsidian Flame Egg sturred. Its shell, dark as volcanic glass with glowing crimson veins now cracking throughout, began to tremble violently. With a sudden, explosive movement, the hatchling ripped the egg in to shards—shaking the shard from its scaled body scales burning with the fierce glow of molten lava, eyes bright with untamed fire. It roared, flames flickering from its nostrils, its spirit churning with wild and passionate, eager to dominate and test its raw, fiery strength to his soul Sight.
Red as he deemed him turned to look at him at the edge of the nest watching.
With slow smoke still pooling out of Reds nostrils he charged the him.
Thinking quickly he jumped aside trying to find out why his kin attacked.
Anilizeing him a system page intended itself in his mind.
[Name: Unnamed
Species: Flame Dragon Hatchling
Level: 0 (0/100)
Age: 0
Talents: UNKNOWN
Skills: UNKNOWN
Affinities: UNKNOWN
Stats:
Strength: 40
Agility: 30
Resilience: 40
Magic: 30
Awareness: 20]
Seeing his kin, no his brother challenge him something stured in him raged in his blood.
This second Challenging him the first born for dominance.