Days turned into weeks. Since that day, Ragno's training never stopped.
Each sunrise greeted him with the rush of wind beneath his wings, each sunset ended with the crackle of flame echoing across the cave walls.
His fireballs, once weak and flickering, now burned hot enough to shatter stone. His wings moved gracefully — no longer wild or awkward, but strong and controlled. He learned how to glide through the air currents and focus his mana into his breath.
"This power…" Ragno muttered, watching a fireball explode against the cavern wall, "…is finally starting to feel real."
He smiled faintly, wiping the smoke from his snout.
But then—he felt it.
A warmth. A familiar presence.
His mother.
He turned, tail swishing in joy. "Mom! You're—"
The words froze on his tongue.
Standing before him wasn't the towering dragon he knew. It was a woman — tall, graceful, with long crimson hair streaked with sapphire blue. Two horns curved elegantly from her head, and her clothes, woven in the colors of fire and water, flowed with every step she took.
Her eyes — gentle and bright — reminded him of Ruby's gaze. But her scent, her mana, though familiar, was… strange.
Ragno instinctively spread his wings. "Who are you? Why are you here?"
The woman smiled softly. "Ragno, it's me."
He blinked, confused. "Me… who?"
"Your mother."
His tail stiffened. "Don't lie to me. My mother is a dragon. Not some—some human pretending to be her."
Ruby sighed, placing a hand on her chest. "You still don't believe your own mother, huh? I guess I can't blame you."
Ragno narrowed his eyes. "Then answer me this — how can you even understand the language of dragons? Only dragons can speak it."
Ruby chuckled lightly. "You still underestimate me, my son."
She reached toward her neck and removed a small necklace — silver, shaped like a dragon biting its tail. The moment she took it off, the air around her began to shimmer.
Light enveloped her body.
Ragno stepped back as her form grew larger and larger, magic surging from her like a wave. Her horns extended, scales bloomed from her skin, and enormous wings unfurled with a deep, echoing whoomph.
Before him now stood the dragon he knew — the majestic Ruby, her scales burning crimson and blue under the glowing crystals.
Ragno's eyes widened. "Mother…?"
Ruby smiled tenderly. "Now do you believe me?"
Ragno could barely speak. "But… how did you… become human?"
Ruby returned to her human form in a swirl of light, kneeling beside him. She held out the necklace. "This is no ordinary jewelry. It's a relic — a Relic of Shifting Souls."
Ragno tilted his head. "A relic?"
"Yes," Ruby said, her voice calm. "I found it in an ancient cave long ago. It allows dragons to take human form and blend among mortals. It's a creation of the gods — powerful, rare, and dangerous if used wrongly."
Ragno stared at the relic, the faint hum of magic echoing through his mind. "A relic… those are items made in the old world, right? Things with power from ancient history."
Ruby nodded, a proud smile crossing her face. "Exactly. You've been learning well."
He grinned faintly. "Guess I have. But… can that relic really turn you into a human?"
"It can. And it gives you something else as well," Ruby replied.
"What's that?" Ragno asked.
She chuckled, tapping the necklace playfully. "You'll have to find out for yourself."
Ragno blinked in surprise. "You're keeping secrets from me now?"
Ruby laughed softly, the sound echoing through the crystal cave. "Some truths are better discovered through experience." Then her tone softened. "But remember this, Ragno. If adventurers ever find this place again — if they come for us — and if you are not yet strong enough to fight them…"
She looked into his eyes, her expression suddenly heavy. "You must run. Take this relic and flee into the forest. Transform into a human and hide there until you're ready."
Ragno frowned. "Mother, why would I leave you?"
"Because sometimes," Ruby said quietly, "survival is the only way to protect what you love."
Her voice trembled faintly, but she smiled through it.
"Don't talk like that," Ragno said, looking away. "You're strong. You can beat anyone."
Ruby nodded gently, though her eyes were distant. "Maybe so."
That night, when Ragno fell asleep, Ruby stayed awake beside him.
The crystals around the cave shimmered faintly, their light soft and peaceful. Ragno's small breaths echoed rhythmically through the cavern — the innocent sound of someone who still believed the world was kind.
Ruby gazed at him quietly. "You've grown so fast," she whispered. "Stronger, smarter, braver… My little flame."
She lifted her eyes toward the cave's mouth. Beyond the mountains, far across the horizon, she felt it — faint sparks of mana signatures. Dozens of them. Some weak, some powerful.
Humans. Adventurers.
She could sense their direction, their movement, their intent.
"They're coming," she whispered to herself. "In a few days… they'll find this cave."
Her claws curled against the ground. "So soon… I thought we had more time."
She looked back at her sleeping son, her eyes soft with sorrow.
"Goodbye, my little one," she murmured. "If fate demands it… I'll face it. But I wish I could stay longer — to fly with you through the clouds again, to share our meals, to see your smile every morning."
Her voice cracked, barely a whisper now.
"The gods may take me away soon… but I will always be proud of you, my son."
The cave fell silent again, the only sound the faint dripping of water and Ragno's quiet breathing.
Ruby lowered her head beside him, curling her wings protectively around his small body.
In the stillness of that night, the great dragon closed her eyes — holding her child close, as if time itself could be stopped by love.
And far beyond the valley, beneath the light of the twin moons, faint torches flickered in the distance — growing closer with each passing day.