The smell of baked bread and frosting thickened as Dexter steered his cart toward the bakery section. Trays of cookies glimmered behind glass displays, and an automated voice announced, "Fresh muffins, aisle seven!"
Dexter parked beside a rack of croissants, double-checking his list. "Last item… complete."
He leaned on the cart handle, waiting. A few minutes later, his mother appeared, her own cart stacked with bags and boxes like a perfectly executed equation in grocery form.
"All done?" she asked, brushing a stray hair from her cheek.
Dexter nodded.
They joined the checkout line. The conveyor belt filled quickly—milk, cereal, paper towels, the quiet rhythm of scanners beeping. His mother chatted lightly with the cashier, while Dexter watched the barcodes slide by, mindlessly tracking totals and pattern sequences in the scanner's tone.
Within minutes, the bags were packed, the receipt crumpled neatly in his mother's purse, and they wheeled the carts back into the sun-washed parking lot.
The air outside smelled faintly of asphalt and exhaust. Dexter helped load the trunk, methodically stacking each bag for maximum space efficiency. His mother smiled, locking the hatch.
"I'll bring the cart back," Dexter said, already turning away.
He pushed both carts back to the return rack near the store's entrance, the metal wheels squeaking across the pavement. Once nested into place, he dusted his hands and made his way back to the car.
His mother was already in the driver's seat, engine softly purring. He slipped into the passenger side, fastening his seatbelt.
The car rolled out of the lot, merging onto the main road. The cityscape shifted as they drove—the clean, corporate symmetry of downtown giving way to narrower streets lined with red lanterns, colorful banners, and clustered shops. The scent of roasted chestnuts, incense, and fresh noodles seeped faintly through the car vents.
Within minutes, the archway of Chinatown came into view—a sweeping red gate crowned with golden dragons, its beams gleaming under the noon sun.
Dexter's mother slowed, eyes bright with recognition. "Ahh, it's been ages since we came here."
The street beyond was alive. Vendors shouted over one another, their stalls overflowing with dumplings, jade jewelry, paper fans, and glowing trinkets. Red strings hung overhead, strung with lanterns that swayed gently in the breeze. The chatter of dozens of languages mixed with the rhythmic clang of a nearby wok and the jingle of temple bells.
His mother parked along the curb, shutting off the engine. "Alright, sweetie, this is our stop!"
Dexter peered through the window and spotted the long, snaking line in front of a small shop marked Grandma Meng's Authentic Pork Buns. Steam billowed from the doorway, and the delicious scent made even him pause.
His mother's eyes widened. "Oh no—look at that line!"
She hurriedly unbuckled. "Okay, sweetie, Mom needs to line up now before they run out of buns." She grabbed her purse, half-jogging toward the crowd. "You can go look around if you want—just be back by four o'clock, alright?"
Dexter made an OK sign, amused by her sudden burst of energy.
Dexter stepped out of the car, the air alive with warmth and sound. The street shimmered with life, children chasing each other with paper pinwheels, vendors calling out "Two for five, best dumplings in the district!" Tourists snapped photos beside lion statues while elderly men played mahjong under a striped canopy.
Color was everywhere, crimson banners, golden calligraphy, bright koi painted on shop signs. The rhythmic beat of a drum echoed faintly from somewhere down the block, mixing with the scent of herbs and sweet syrup from a nearby candy stall.
Dexter walked along the row of shops, his eyes scanning every storefront. There were herbal apothecaries lined with glass jars of dried roots, bookstores filled with scrolls and talismans, stands selling charms for luck and protection.
Then—something caught his eye.
A weathered wooden sign, its paint slightly faded but still legible, hung above a narrow doorway nestled between a tea shop and a fortune-telling booth.
"Uncle's Rare Finds & Antiques."
Dexter paused. The bell above the door jingled faintly as a gust of air passed through the crack. The windows were cluttered with old scrolls, ceramic statues, and jade amulets, their surfaces glinting under the afternoon sun.
Curiosity stirred in him like an itch he couldn't ignore.
He glanced once down the street, his mother still firmly in line, then pushed the door open.
A soft chime rang as he stepped inside.
The faint scent of incense and old paper filled Dexter's nose as he moved deeper into the shop. The shelves were uneven, stacked to the ceiling with relics and curiosities — masks with faded paint, jade pendants, cracked porcelain urns, even a few scrolls bound by crimson thread. Each object seemed to hum faintly, like static in the air, the quiet signature of age… and something else.
Magic.
Dexter adjusted his glasses, eyes narrowing slightly as he took it all in.
"Interesting…" he murmured.
Dexter trailed his fingers across a shelf until they brushed over a book half-buried under dust. The cover was bound in worn brown leather, corners frayed, its spine decorated with faint golden runes that had long lost their shine.
He lifted it carefully, blowing off a thin veil of dust. Letters etched across the surface glimmered faintly in the light.
"The Chronicles of Creation: Rise and Fall of Ages"
His brow furrowed. He glanced around, then set the book gently on a nearby table and opened it. The pages were yellowed, the text written in neat, slanted script accompanied by faded illustrations of dragons, warriors, and beasts.
He began to read.
_______
Long before human civilization, the world was ruled by Kur, the Prime Cryptid — a colossal being of pure chaos who saw all living things as subjects. Under Kur's will, the cryptids, elves, dwarves, dragons, and many supernatural races were bound in servitude. Kur's empire spanned continents, his influence warping nature and birthing countless magical species.
But among these races, humans began to evolve differently — curious, adaptive, and defiant. A few discovered ways to harness chi, spiritual energy, and dragonfire essence, the primal power of creation and destruction.
When Kur's tyranny grew unbearable, a rebellion ignited.
The first Dragon King rose, uniting dragons and humans to bring balance between life and chaos. The dragons turned against their former master, joined by early humans who had learned the secrets of chi, martial arts, and rune magic.
From the East came the Dragons — divine creatures who balanced elements and fate. Some merged their souls with chosen warriors, creating the first Dragon Warriors.
From the West came the Shamans — guided by spirits and celestial talismans, wielding elemental chi and sealing evil within sacred artifacts.
From the shadows moved the Ninjas of the Obsidian Veil — descendants of ancient guardians who wielded a relic known as the Ninth Artifact.
And from the distant isles came the Samurai — warriors bound by honor, carrying blades forged in divine flame to strike down darkness itself.
Together, these forces — Flame (Dragons), Spirit (Shamans), Shadow (Ninjas), and Light (Samurai) — waged The War of Beasts.
When the war reached its peak, a celestial light descended, a being of living gemstone who called herself Rose. Her radiance mended the land, healed dragons, and shielded the alliance from Kur's endless hordes.
Dragons clashed with corrupted titans. Shamans sealed cryptids into talismans. Ninjas struck from the shadows. Samurai cut through the corrupted.
And Rose stood at their heart, her gem a beacon of hope.
When Kur was finally destroyed, his body was sealed beneath the earth, buried under dragonfire and human sorcery. But victory came with great loss. Many dragons perished. Rose vanished.
Kur's fall shattered the unity of the world. Dragons and humans began to distrust each other, and the cryptids fled to hidden realms. To prevent another era of chaos, the surviving dragons and shamans formed the Dragon Council — an alliance sworn to maintain balance between magic and mortal realms.
Each dragon was appointed as the Guardian of a region:
The Chinese Dragon, the first being Shendu, Guardian of the East.
The Aztec Dragon, keeper of the flame of the South.
The European Dragon, master of air and lightning.
The Arctic Dragon, ruler of cold and knowledge.
And others across the world, each protecting their lands from awakening chaos.
Shendu, the Dragon of the East, was the mightiest of them until ambition devoured him. He sought to merge dragonfire with demonic chi, to reclaim the throne of Kur himself. His betrayal led to his fall, sealed away by an ancient shaman whose lineage would one day become the guardians of talismans and relics.
---
Dexter's eyes trailed across the last lines, his mind racing.
It read like a myth, like something written for bedtime stories but his instincts screamed otherwise. The more he read, the more the world he thought he knew began to tilt.
"Dragons, shamans, chi…" he whispered. "Could this all be connected?"
His thoughts flickered between the superhumans and the supergene. The War of Beasts, dragons manipulating chi, sealing monsters, and creating life — it sounded… biological. The overlap was uncanny.
Ding!
He was still flipping through pages when the shop bell rang, its chime cutting through the still air.
Dexter glanced up.
A girl stepped through the door.
She had short, dark hair with violet undertones that brushed her jawline, warm tan skin, and sharp amber eyes that radiated attitude. An orange hoodie hung loosely over a white long-sleeve shirt, the sleeves rolled halfway up her forearms. Her jeans were cuffed, sneakers scuffed from use.
"Uncle Jackie!" she called, her voice lively and impatient. "You here? I swear, if you're in the back meditating again—"
Dexter froze, his mind catching up to the sight before him.
The familiar face. The voice. The outfit.
His mouth opened slightly in disbelief.
"...Jade?" he muttered under his breath.
_______
A/N: I'm not sure if you're familiar with all the cartoon histories I mashed together in the book story, but if you are—great! I really racked my brain trying to merge all those different lores into one coherent universe, and lo and behold, I actually pulled it off! HAHAHA. Still, it was definitely mind-draining. Now that I've started researching even more cartoon lore, things are about to get even more complicated (and exciting), especially with Kids Next Door. Their world is so wild that I'm still figuring out how to integrate it here—but hey, a mind's a mind, and I've already got an idea to weave it in a slightly different way. Hehe.
Oh, and you can check out the pictures in the Auxiliary Chapter, I've already updated it!