---
The Flood Dragon's eyes glowed like two twin storms, swirling with light that seemed to drag the air itself toward their center. Water still hung suspended in the middle of the shop, orbiting in gravity-defying blobs above the now-shattered fish tank, and the last arcs of lightning flickered from the dragon's scales to the flickering neon sign.
The hamster, having survived the storm on a boogie-board of receipt paper, rolled onto its back and began chewing on what looked like an important business card. The inspector—her clipboard now reduced to charred pulp—muttered darkly about "catastrophic paperwork breaches" and "summoning backup."
At the counter, Charlie hugged his glass bowl tighter, peering wide-eyed at the chaos. His guppy spun frantic circles inside, scales flashing silver as if desperately signaling for air support.
The dragon hovered, halfway between water and air, its body elongating and contracting with every pulse of electricity. It loomed over the counter, tongue flicking out to taste the ozone and the growing dread on my face.
My phone buzzed with the kind of smugness only a Shop System could muster.
---
[FATED CUSTOMER DETECTED]
Name: Charlie Greaves (Mortal, Age 8)
Wallet: $4.70 in coins, one slightly chewed coupon for free ice cream
Request: "A goldfish."
Fate Thread: Unbreakable
Risk: Variable (mortal child + mythic dragon = chaos multiplier)
Side Task: "Match the fated with the legendary."
Reward: Shop Reputation +???
Penalty: Dragon tantrum.
---
Penalty: Dragon tantrum? That's the sort of thing you expect from Greek mythology, not Kyabram retail.
Charlie squinted up at me, clutching his guppy bowl like a sacred artifact. "Excuse me, mister, but is that goldfish for sale? My guppy's not feeling too good, and Mum said—well, I can swap if you have something nice."
I eyed the Flood Dragon, whose gaze had not left the tiny guppy. The dragon's long, stormy body tensed, blue sparks leaping from scale to scale. The air pressure dropped. If this had been a wildlife park, someone would've started narrating about "nature's most unlikely face-off."
The inspector, regaining some color in her cheeks, pointed a shaking pen at Charlie. "Minors are not authorized for mythic animal procurement! And certainly not in a premises displaying this level of... of violation!"
The cultivator, oblivious to municipal outrage, pressed his forehead to the ground and cried out, "Fate itself moves through this child! The dragon's gaze reveals a karmic tie! Shopkeeper, this is destiny—bear witness, lest the Heavens rebuke you!"
Destiny? No, this was going to be a health and safety report with a four-digit fine.
I put on my best "friendly neighborhood shopkeeper" voice and bent down to Charlie's height. "So, your guppy isn't feeling well, huh? What's his name?"
Charlie looked at the swirling dragon and the faintly glowing hamster with complete innocence. "Mum said not to name him until he survives a week. That's how you get attached. But I call him Guppy."
The hamster squeaked, waving the business card like a surrender flag. The dragon's tongue flickered, tasting the guppy's scent through the bowl.
My phone buzzed again, this time projecting a new notification directly into my vision:
---
[CONTRACT ALERT: COMPATIBILITY TEST INITIATED]
Dragon Interest: 97%
Guppy Resistance: 3%
Child's Wallet: Insufficient
System Action: Overdraft protection engaged.
---
I coughed. "Kid, did you bring enough for a goldfish? The, uh, storm-prone ones cost extra."
Charlie rummaged through his jacket, producing a handful of coins, a paperclip, and a coupon for a free single scoop of vanilla. He lined them up on the counter. "This is all I got. But Mum said if I'm polite you might help."
As soon as the coins touched the counter, they shimmered and burned with blue fire, forming a floating sigil above the register. The paperclip unbent itself and turned into a glowing rune.
The inspector's eyes bulged. "Currency transmogrification! That's a class-three metaphysical felony!"
The cultivator gasped. "Even mortal coin is accepted by the Dao! This is a store of miracles!" He flung a handful of incense into the air for dramatic effect; it fizzled and landed in the hamster's fur, which promptly sparked a static shock back at the cultivator.
"Shopkeeper, please," he intoned, "let the Flood Dragon choose!"
I peered down at the counter, which now shimmered with system text only I could see:
---
[CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS]
Beast: Juvenile Flood Dragon
Candidate: Charlie Greaves (Mortal, Guppy Owner)
Compatibility: HIGH (Fate Thread locked)
Containment: Required
Warning: Contract will not proceed unless Large Cage (Rune-Bound) is used.
---
The Large Cage at the back of the shop began to glow a sickly gold, runes pulsing and lighting up the walls like disco strobe. The hamster, recognizing opportunity, dashed for the cage, only to be zapped off and sent spinning into the catnip display.
The inspector, voice rising an octave, shrieked, "That's not an authorized display fixture! It's not even up to code! I'm calling the Animal Welfare Board. And the fire brigade!"
The cultivator knelt at the cage and whispered, "May the Heavens mark this altar holy."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Okay, everyone take a breath. The system says… we need the cage."
Charlie's eyes went saucer-wide. "Wow, is that for the fish?"
The Flood Dragon reared up, sending droplets of stormwater flying everywhere. The hamster grabbed a soggy dog biscuit, clinging to the edge of the hamster wheel with grim determination.
My phone vibrated violently, screen flickering through new instructions:
---
[INSTRUCTIONS: Place guppy bowl + Flood Dragon inside Large Cage. Contract will attempt automatic merge. Probability of chaos: 110%.]
---
I held up my hands, glancing between the dragon, the boy, and the not-so-innocent guppy. "Alright, kid. Just… hand me the bowl, nice and slow."
Charlie nodded with solemnity. "He's tough. He's lasted longer than my sister's snail."
The inspector advanced, waving a notepad like a weapon. "You cannot—cannot—just put a child's pet in a magical containment field with a mythic beast! I'll see this place demolished!"
The cultivator whispered, "I offer my sect's blessing."
The hamster, determined to be included, began pushing an empty hamster ball toward the cage. I would've worried, but the ball hit the cage's aura and disintegrated with a soft poof.
I reached for Charlie's bowl. The Flood Dragon coiled, body writhing through the air, and with a snap, it dove into the cage—shoving its entire snaking form through the rune-etched bars in a swirl of blue-gold lightning. The guppy, as if resigned to its fate, floated to the surface of the bowl and burped a tiny, defiant bubble.
I set the bowl inside, slid the cage door closed, and the runes blazed.
Lightning arced through the shop, sending the inspector's remaining forms up in smoke and causing the hamster to run laps at supersonic speed.
Charlie pressed his face to the bars. "Good luck, Guppy."
The cultivator whispered, "Let fate bind what mortals cannot."
The system text filled my vision, rolling line by line like an anxious auctioneer:
---
[CONTRACT FORGE INITIATED]
Subject: Juvenile Flood Dragon
Anchor: Guppy (common, mortal)
Owner: Charlie Greaves (Mortal, Age 8)
Merging…
[10%] Guppy is resisting.
[25%] Flood Dragon is offended.
[40%] Child is attempting to name merged beast "Bubbles."
[60%] Name locked.
[80%] Chaos level: rising.
[100%]
[CONTRACT COMPLETE]
Result: Flood Dragon Guppy (Bound) Traits: Storm Aura, Tiny Tank Compatibility, Bite-Sized Ferocity
Bond Quality: ???
Warning: Evolution path now absurd.
---
The cage door creaked open with a triumphant clong. Silence fell. Even the hamster stopped mid-spin, clutching the dog biscuit in its tiny paws.
Inside the cage, the fishbowl sparkled with a soft silver glow. Within, the guppy had changed. It looked mostly ordinary, if you ignored the miniature dragon whiskers, the scales flickering from storm blue to gold, and the faint, lightning-shaped scar along its fin.
Charlie gasped, eyes shining. "He's amazing!"
The Flood Dragon Guppy swam a perfect figure-eight, leaving trails of tiny static clouds that crackled like unwrapping hard candy. At one point, it glared up at the inspector and snapped its jaws—sparks shooting from its mouth, causing her to jump back and drop her phone into the dog treats.
The cultivator's eyes rolled back as he fainted, murmuring, "Heaven's will... achieved…"
My phone chirped one last time.
---
[CONTRACT SUCCESSFUL]
Beast: Flood Dragon Guppy (Fated)
Owner: Charlie Greaves (Mortal)
Shop Reputation: +50
Spirit Energy: +40
New Tag: "We Sell Destinies in Fishbowls."
Unlocked Feature: Mystery Egg Shelf (Do not shake.)
---
Charlie hugged his new bowl, whispering, "You're the best, Bubbles." The guppy flashed an approving thunderbolt.
I sank onto a pile of dog beds, my knees refusing to hold me upright. The hamster climbed onto my shoulder, patting me on the head with soft sympathy.
The inspector glared through her ruined notes, clearly torn between calling animal control or the ghostbusters.
The cultivator began composing a new epic in his sleep, snoring with dignity.
And, because my life wasn't difficult enough, the bell over the door chimed. Again.
A woman swept in, plastic shopping bags hanging from one wrist, sunglasses perched on her head. Her hair was in a mom-bun so fierce even the Flood Dragon Guppy paused to take notice. She scanned the shop with the weary expertise of someone who'd cleaned too many muddy shoes and survived multiple school fetes.
Her gaze fell on Charlie, then the hamster, then the still-smoking inspector, and finally on me. "I leave you alone for ten minutes and you buy—what is that?"
Charlie held up his bowl proudly. "His name's Bubbles! He's a goldfish. I did the contract thingy."
Her eyebrows climbed high enough to need a safety harness. "Why is your goldfish sparking?"
Bubbles spat a crackling ring of static that zapped a nearby bag of kibble into popcorn.
The woman—Charlie's mum, obviously—let out a sigh that sounded like the death of hope. "You didn't trade him for anything alive, did you?"
Charlie looked wounded. "No, Mum! I paid coins! And a coupon. And Mr. Shopkeeper said not to feed him after thunderstorms."
Her gaze narrowed on me. "And you are…?"
I wiped my hands on my apron and tried my best customer service smile, which, by this point, probably looked more like a grimace. "Just a humble shopkeeper, ma'am. Congratulations on your son's new… pet."
She eyed the hamster, who was busy stacking receipts like sandbags. "That hamster is plotting something."
I nodded. "He's forming a union."
She blinked. "Of course he is."
The system pinged with another notification:
---
[NEW QUEST: SURVIVE THE PARENT.]
Objective: Explain to Charlie's mum why her son is now raising a Flood Dragon Guppy.
Penalty: Shop lawsuit, negative reputation, council complaint, possibly hamster strike.
Timer: 00:14:59
---
Charlie beamed up at her. "Can I keep him, Mum? Please? Look, he likes thunder!"
Bubbles did a celebratory backflip, releasing a small ball of lightning that lit up the hamster's whiskers.
The inspector, regaining her footing, took in the scene and promptly dialed Animal Welfare, her voice trembling. "Yes, it's happened again. No, I don't know how. Bring backup. And lollipops. For the rodents."
Charlie's mum pinched the bridge of her nose, muttering, "At least it's not a rabbit this time. The council still sends me postcards about the last one."
I took a deep breath, readying my best sales pitch and my most honest eyes. "Ma'am, Bubbles is a very… unique specimen. Strictly speaking, he's mostly harmless. Unless provoked, or there's a thunderstorm, or you're a clipboard-wielding bureaucrat."
Her eyes narrowed, measuring me against every regretful adult she'd ever met at a parent-teacher interview. "Is he going to try and take over the house?"
Charlie answered before I could. "He just wants to swim. And sometimes zap the hamster."
At that moment, the hamster climbed onto the Mystery Egg Shelf, pointed to a glowing, pulsing egg, and performed what could only be described as an interpretive dance of labor rights.
The phone buzzed:
---
[MYSTERY EGG UNLOCKED: Potential New Companion]
Note: Hatching conditions unknown. Do not microwave.
---
I straightened, letting some real exhaustion into my voice. "Look, Ms. Greaves, your son is a good kid. He made a fair trade, he followed every step, and fate—fate's got a weird sense of humor today. But Bubbles is his, now. And he's not the most dangerous customer in the shop."
As if on cue, the Flood Dragon Guppy spat a bubble that spelled out "HI MUM" in flickering blue sparks.
Charlie's mum stared at the fish, then at me, then at her son. She sighed. "Fine. But if he floods the kitchen, you're coming over to mop."
The hamster did a victory lap.
The inspector, seeing that all was lost, finally began to weep, defeated by children, rodents, and mythic fish.
The cultivator, waking from his faint, raised a hand. "Shopkeeper, do you still have that immortal chicken?"
I buried my face in my hands. "Hamster, I'll give you a raise if you lock the door."
The hamster saluted with its biscuit. The Mystery Egg pulsed. Bubbles did another flip.
The shop, for one precious second, was quiet.
And then, somewhere outside, thunder rumbled, and the Flood Dragon Guppy smiled.
---