On the ice-cold stone floor of the dark cell sat a twelve-year-old boy. His white hair spilled over his shoulders, and his bloodshot red eyes, which reflected an endless agony, added a sinister harmony to the room's suffocating silence.
His gaze was fixed on an indistinct stain on the ceiling. He was not dreaming, nor was he thinking. These were the eyes of a child who had lost all hope.
Nearly his entire life had been spent within these four walls. He was tired. Today, he had been subjected to countless experiments, each one equivalent to torture, in preparation for the dragon heart that would be transplanted into his chest in a few days. Under normal circumstances, a person on the threshold of such a fate should have trembled with fear. But there was not a single shred of emotion on his face.
From the day he was born, he had been exposed to unimaginable experiments within the cold walls of this cursed laboratory. As if that weren't enough, Lilith's curse, coursing through his veins, inflicted unbearable pain upon him at every moment. Physical pain aside, with each experiment where his body was merged with the parts of a different creature, he was slowly losing his own sense of self. Every moment he lived was a relentless battle of will just to remain himself.
...
The mechanical sound of a lock from outside the door cut through the cell's deathly silence like a knife. As the heavy metal door creaked open, the corridor's white light seeped in, casting a long, distorted shadow into the corner where the boy sat. The boy did not react. His eyes were still locked on that stain on the ceiling. To him, light and darkness were merely different shades of the same void.
An old man entered, wearing a black robe, with a slightly graying beard and white hair. This was Dr. Aris, the person who had brought Cassian to this laboratory.
Every night, Dr. Aris would come to see his greatest experiment, his masterpiece, and have one-sided conversations with him. He would tell him memories of his past from the world he once lived in, explaining that this world was actually a popular video game in another dimension. Sometimes, he would even talk about events that were yet to happen. To Dr. Aris, Cassian was his future perfect creation, and these one-sided chats were part of a ritual to form a bond with him, to shape him. As he spoke, the boy would stare into the void with emotionless eyes. This had become their daily routine.
"Can you imagine?" Dr. Aris said, pacing the cell. "A common peasant boy who desires to be a hero is being absurdly supported by this world and its foolish gods. It makes my blood boil whenever I remember those ridiculous, powerful abilities he was given. And don't even get me started on him building a harem... I would love to kill him with my own hands, but the gods protecting him would vaporize me in an instant."
The old man sighed. "Ah, whatever... Tomorrow, we transplant the Chaos Dragon's heart into you. You're very excited, aren't you? So am I, ahaha! Actually, I've tried this experiment on a few other children before you, but unfortunately, none of them managed to survive."
Dr. Aris continued with a smile so genuine you could swear he meant it: "But don't worry, you are special. Your composition is different. I am certain you will survive this, just as you have survived all the other experiments."
"Oh, look at the time, it's gotten so late! We must sleep early tonight; after all, tomorrow is a very special day."
The metal door closed once more with a sinister noise, and the sound of the rusty lock was swallowed by the darkness. The cell was again left to the cold embrace of silence and pitch-black darkness.
After Dr. Aris left, Cassian, still staring blankly at the ceiling, slowly drifted off to sleep. Before long, he found himself in that same dream again.
Before him stood the woman with skin as pale as if woven from frost, and purple hair that glowed like a light rending the night. Her purple eyes pierced through the boy's soul. On her head was a broken, jet-black crown stained with blood, an emblem of decaying kingdoms and eternal suffering. But within all this darkness, a mysterious compassion gleamed in her gaze as she looked at Cassian.
He always encountered her in his dreams. Sometimes she would silently take Cassian into her arms, other times she would touch his ear with a cold but comforting whisper:
"Hold on, little Cassian… These chains cannot hold you forever. One day, you will rise from the darkness and transcend all this pain."
And in those moments, Cassian's wounded heart would beat with a faint glimmer of hope in the darkness.
...
The next day, it was time for the experiment.
A man with a black mask entered the room. There were dozens of these masked men in the laboratory; they were the empty puppets Dr. Aris had seized with his mental power, their cognitive abilities and sense of self stripped away.
They took Cassian to the experiment room. It resembled a stone dungeon, lit by mana stones that cast a cold light, with a single operating table in the center.
Dr. Aris saw Cassian and rubbed his hands together. "My masterpiece! I was waiting for you. The preparations are complete. Come, lie on the table so we can begin."
No pain-numbing spell was cast on Cassian for the surgery, nor was he given any anesthetic drug. The boy no longer reacted to pain. His body was in a state of absolute submission taught by countless tortures.
They laid him on the table and began the experiment.
A few hours later, the operation was complete. Cassian was now floating unconsciously inside a vertical capsule filled with a black liquid. The dragon's heart was now beating in the boy's chest cavity. A normal child could not physically bear the crushing weight of this heart; their body would have been horrifically torn apart in an instant. But thanks to previous experiments, Cassian carried the genes of mystical creatures like the White Serpent and the Phoenix, which granted him a unique regenerative ability.
The only problem for Cassian was winning the battle of wills against the dragon that was about to begin.
...
In the depths of the boy's consciousness...
He was in a colossal cavern lit by black flames. Further in, upon a throne of bones, sat a massive dragon. Its onyx scales reflected the light of the flames, and its sharp, colossal fangs were imposing enough to strike fear into even the bravest of warriors. Just looking at it was like an omen of death.
This was no ordinary dragon. He was Kaiser, the Lord of Chaos, a legend even among dragons for his power, the very embodiment of chaos.
But there was no trace of fear on the face of the boy standing before this mighty being. On the contrary, in this situation, it was the dragon who was afraid. Kaiser looked at the child before him with an expression of fear and astonishment.
With a tone mixed with curiosity and threat, he asked, "For such an aura to emanate from a human... Child, what are you? You look human, but at the same time, you are not. Your soul is blended with many creatures. It is weakened by a curse, and in your body, both darkness and light dance in a state of chaos. But the most curious thing is that your soul is host to a weakened god. Did you make a pact with a god or something?..."
The boy looked at the dragon with calm, empty eyes. After a few seconds, a single word, barely more than a whisper, escaped his lips:
"I don't know."
"You don't know? The power you carry in your soul surpasses even my own, but you don't know what it is, is that right?"
As much as Kaiser wanted to take over the boy's body, he knew he could not win against a god.
Cassian continued to stare at the dragon with empty eyes. Although this child contained unimaginable powers within his body, he carried a burden far heavier than his shoulders could bear.
With an unexpected move, the dragon sighed, and its body shrank, transforming into a human form. Now, a handsome man with red eyes, black hair, and jet-black wings on his back stood before Cassian. The boy's eyes widened ever so slightly at this sudden change, almost imperceptibly.
Kaiser smiled and approached the boy. "Surprised I'm this handsome, aren't you?" When Cassian didn't answer, Kaiser murmured, "What a soulless child you are. At this rate, you won't make a single friend."
Then his expression turned serious. "Let's speak plainly, child. If I were to fight that god in your soul, I would most likely lose. Therefore, I cannot take your body by force. Another issue is that although your soul has held up well so far, it will soon shatter, and you will lose your sense of self completely."
Kaiser paused and presented his offer. "So I have a proposal for you. I will give you my will and my powers. When you gain my powers, the curse in your body will weaken. You can use this opportunity to have the god you have a pact with completely destroy the curse. When the curse is lifted, the weight of our combined powers will be too much for your body, and your mana core will likely shatter. You will have ten minutes at most before your mana core shatters. In that time, you must get rid of the people who put you in this situation. As you can see, we are essentially playing a gamble. We will have only one chance. But in return, I want you to protect someone for me: my daughter, Auralis. You will find her and watch over her."
Having made his offer, Kaiser extended his hand to the boy. "So, what is your answer?"
Cassian didn't know what to do. Is there any good in living for me? Isn't death a salvation for me? Doesn't it mean all this torture will finally end? But on the other hand, the last embers of his tiny will to live still flickered.
A voice echoed in his head.
[Accept the offer, Cassian.]
It was the voice of the woman from his dreams, the only thing that consoled him in this cruel world, the only one who helped him preserve his sanity.
Cassian said nothing. He reached out and took Kaiser's hand.
"That's the answer I was waiting for."
The surroundings began to crack. The mindscape was collapsing, and it was time for Cassian to awaken.
"Ah, before I forget," Kaiser's voice said, fading away. "Let me give you one last piece of advice: Never trust a god one hundred percent."