## Chapter 6: Recruiting the Neighborhood Dragon
sprawled on the throne, fingers dancing over his translucent blue interface. The vibrant chaos of Play Space Alpha shimmered before him, filled with blocky goblins, pixelated dragons and the satisfying shower of +XP notifications. He hadn't moved all night. Sleep? Utterly unnecessary with MAX VIT and infinite stamina. The thrill of creation was a far more potent fuel.
With a final, decisive tap on the interface, a pixelated firestorm engulfed his latest creation – a three-headed serpent boss made of awkwardly stacked cubes. It dissolved into a glorious cascade of rainbow pixels and a triumphant.
**BOSS DEFEATED!**
Leo leaned back, a grin splitting his face. "Alright. Solid beta run. Needs balancing. That fire breath was OP."
He dismissed the Play Space with a thought. The sudden return to the silent, dusty throne room was jarring. The euphoria of the game faded slightly, replaced by the persistent reality of his situation. Kingdom. Followers. Right.
"Can't run an empire solo," he muttered, stretching. "Even a lazy one. Time to staff up." He needed muscle. Not just muscle, but presences. Something that would make even the other Demon Lords think twice before messing with his "Obsidian Reach Retirement Plan." Azrael's fragmented memories offered a name, whispered with a mix of dread and awe: **Ignis, the Black Dragon King**.
Rumored to dwell deep within the Smoldering Peaks, Ignis wasn't one of the Nine. He predated them, an ancient elemental force of destruction who considered Demon Lords noisy, upstart children. His power was legendary, said to rival or even surpass some of the Demon Lords, Heroes and Holy knights. Perfect, Leo thought. A statement hire.
He stood up. No dramatic gestures this time. He simply willed the space in front of him to obey. The air didn't tear; it fractured . Jagged lines of pure darkness splintered reality, revealing a swirling vortex of heat-distorted colors beyond. Leo stepped through without hesitation.
************************
The transition was instantaneous. Oppressive silence was replaced by stifling heat and the sharp, mineral tang of sulfur. Leo found himself standing on a wide ledge within an impossibly vast cavern. The walls weren't rock; they were colossal, glittering geodes. Amethyst, citrine, obsidian, and pure crystal veins pulsed with an inner light, casting shifting rainbows across the cavern floor littered with mountains of gold, gems, and the colossal, bleached bones of creatures Leo didn't recognize. The air shimmered with raw, ancient power.
"Nice digs," Leo murmured, unimpressed by the treasure but appreciating the geothermal ambiance. He cleared his throat, his voice cutting through the cavern's deep, resonant hum like a knife. "Ignis! Front and center! I haven't got all day!"
Silence. Then, a low, subterranean rumble that vibrated up through Leo's boots. It grew, deepening into a roar that shook the very crystals in the walls, a sound of pure, unadulterated fury.
"WHO DARES DISTURB THE SLUMBER OF IGNIS?!"The voice was like continents grinding together, filled with millennia of arrogance.
From the deepest, darkest recess of the cavern, a shadow detached itself. It unfolded, impossibly vast. Scales the color of midnight, absorbing the cavern's light, rippled over mountains of muscle. Wings, furled like storm clouds, scraped against the crystal ceiling, sending shards raining down. A neck thicker than an ancient oak tree lifted, culminating in a head larger than Leo's entire throne room. Eyes the size of wagon wheels, burning with molten gold fury, fixed on the tiny human figure standing amidst the treasure hoard. Hot, sulfurous breath washed over Leo like a desert wind.
The Black Dragon King lowered his colossal head, bringing one of those terrifying eyes level with Leo. A sneer curled his lip, revealing fangs longer than spears.
"Ah. The runt."
The contempt in Ignis's voice was tangible, dripping like venom. "The ninth. The joke whispered amongst the stones. Azrael. What pitiful errand brings the weakest of the upstarts into my domain? Come to beg for scraps? Or merely to serve as an appetizer? Hahaha ..."
A low, rumbling chuckle shook the cavern. "Your aura is pathetic. A guttering candle next to my inferno."
Leo met the dragon's gaze, utterly unfazed. He didn't flinch at the heat, the stench, or the overwhelming physical presence. He simply raised an eyebrow. "Weakest? Huh." He activated a skill –
[Discern Level]
A translucent panel superimposed itself over the dragon's massive head.
**NAME:** Ignis, The Black Dragon King
**LEVEL:** 1,847
**TITLE:** Scourge of the Peaks, Ancient Wyrm
**(Additional stats omitted for brevity)**
*Level 1,847?* Leo thought, a flicker of annoyance replacing his calm. *That's it? And this overgrown lizard thinks he's hot stuff? Was the ninth really that pathetic?
Ignis misinterpreted the silence. "Struck dumb by your own insignificance? Good. Now, crawl away, little Lordling, before I lose my patience and—"
Leo looked at the dragon and said" I went you to become one of my follower".
Ignis show a shock expression on his face when he heard what Leo said" what.. what did you say " he asked
"I said I went you to become one of ....." Before he could finish speaking he was cut off by Ignis laughter.
"Hahaha.... hahaha! You?..the weakest of all the nine Demon Lord went me to follow you?.. hahaha.. hahaha.
"Am dieing of laughter"
Leo looked at Ignis with anger in his eyes, "really was the ninth demon lord that weak" he thought to himself.
Leo stopped listening. He didn't yell. He didn't gesture. He simply stopped holding back.
The air didn't move. It solidified. The oppressive heat vanished, replaced by an absolute, soul-crushing cold that had nothing to do with temperature. It was the void between stars given weight. The cavern lights dimmed, the vibrant crystals seeming to shrivel. The very space around Ignis screamed in protest.
The dragon's colossal head, lowered in contempt, was slammed down onto the cavern floor with a thunderous .
**CRUNCH**
Gold coins sprayed like water. His mocking chuckle died in a strangled gasp of pure agony. His molten eyes, wide with sudden, incomprehensible terror, rolled wildly. He tried to lift his head, his neck muscles straining like tectonic plates under impossible pressure. It didn't budge an inch. His mighty wings, pinned flat, trembled violently. A whimper, pathetic and high-pitched, escaped his throat. The "guttering candle" had become a supernova contained within human skin.
"Wha... what... are you...?" Ignis choked out, the words thick with terror and the crushing weight. The sheer, impossible magnitude of the power pinning him defied everything he knew. This wasn't the ninth Lord. This was... something else. Something primordial.
Leo's voice cut through the dragon's terror, calm and utterly devoid of anger, yet colder than the deepest abyss. "The offer stands, lizard. Become my follower. Serve me willingly." He took a single step forward, the sound unnervingly loud in the strained silence. "Or I kill you now. Turn your impressive carcass into an undead drake to guard my gate. Your choice."
He released a fraction more pressure. Ignis felt his scales creak, his ancient bones groan under the strain. Death wasn't just a threat; it was an imminent, crushing certainty. The arrogance, the millennia of supremacy, evaporated like dew in a furnace. Only primal fear remained.
"YES!"
The word was a ragged scream, torn from the dragon's core, echoing with desperate submission.
"I yield! I serve! Spare me!"
His massive body went utterly limp against the floor, not in defiance, but in total, abject surrender. He panted, great gusts of steam rising from his nostrils, his eyes tightly shut against the terror.
Leo instantly withdrew the crushing aura. The cavern seemed to gasp, light flooding back into the crystals. Ignis lay there, trembling violently, a pitiful mountain of scales, unable to comprehend what had just happened or the being standing before him.
"Good choice," Leo said, walking calmly up to the dragon's massive, prostrate head. He placed a single, ordinary-looking hand on the hot, scaled snout between the nostrils. "Your name was Ignis. Should I give you a new name, let just go with your original name
As the name left Leo's lips, a searing black light erupted from his hand, engulfing the dragon. Ignis – roared, not in pain, but in shock as power, pure and ancient, flooded his veins. His body stretched, scales groaning as they thickened, darkened, becoming a deeper, more lustrous black that seemed to drink the light. He grew, doubling his already colossal size, his wingspan now truly scraping the cavern's highest reaches. His form became sleeker, more majestic, radiating an aura of terrifying power far beyond his previous level. The light pulsed once, blindingly, then vanished.
Leo stepped back, blinking. "Whoa. Growth spurt." He glanced at his interface.
**NAME:** Ignis
**LEVEL:** 3,694 (Ascended!)
**TITLE:** Obsidian Scale, Ancient Wyrm Ascendant, First Follower of Azrael
**(Stats significantly increased)**
A smaller system notification popped up:
`<<< Naming Ritual Complete! Subject " Ignis " bound by True Name. Loyalty: Absolute. Designation: First Follower. Ascension granted. >>`
Ignis slowly lifted his gargantuan new head. His molten gold eyes, now burning with a fiercer, more intelligent light, gazed at Leo with awe, reverence, and lingering terror. He lowered his head again, not in defeat, but in profound respect.
"Master..."
the voice was deeper, resonant, devoid of its former arrogance.
Leo nodded, then waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah. Impressive scales. Now, shift down. Human form. Something practical. We've got things to do." He gestured vaguely at the cavern. "And pack light. We're leaving the tacky gold."
Ignis blinked his massive eyes. Human... form? With a thought .
The massive dragon's form shimmered like heat haze over desert sands. His obsidian scales flowed like liquid shadow, collapsing inward as his body reconfigured itself. Bones cracked and reshaped with audible pops, the sound echoing through the cavern.
Where the colossal wyrm had knelt moments before now stood a young man who appeared no older than twenty-five. His frame was lean but powerfully built, the kind of body that moved with dangerous grace. The remnants of his draconic nature lingered only in subtle ways - the unnatural gleam of gold in his eyes when the light caught them just so, the way shadows seemed to cling a bit too long to his form.
He wore simple black garments that seemed woven from darkness itself, the fabric shifting with his movements like smoke. His hair was the same absolute black as his scales had been, falling just past his shoulders in slight waves. A faint tracery of obsidian patterns - like delicate scales - peeked from beneath his collar and cuffs when he moved
He knelt smoothly on one knee before Leo, head bowed. " My lord".
Leo looked him up and down. "Huh. Not bad, Ignis. Alright, up. Time to go home. We've got a kingdom to... well, start. And maybe test a new dragon raid boss concept I had." He snapped his fingers, the black portal tearing open beside him. "Coming?"
Ignis rose, a flicker of confusion at the term "raid boss" warring with absolute obedience.
"Wherever you lead, Master."
He followed Leo through the portal, leaving the cavern of glittering crystals and meaningless gold behind.