Chapter 3 – The First Roar
The corridor was a tomb.
Only the sound of Cael's footsteps broke the dead silence. Shattered armor littered the floor. Twisted shields. Swords split in half. But no bodies. Only the echo of something that had passed — and devoured.
He climbed the stairs slowly, alert.
"If this were a game, this would be the moment you start understanding the weight of the difficulty.
Oh, wait… you are in a game."
The air grew heavier. Hotter. A viscous heat, like the breath of a living furnace. And then, the roar.
A purple thunder ripping the world apart.
Cael froze, eyes wide.
"I know this sound…"
"Helkaiser. Purple dragon. Living legend. Death tutorial. In the game he only scares you. Here he chews you."
He reached the large, partially destroyed hall. Half the ceiling was gone, revealing a dead sky and a putrid fog. The stones on the ground were blackened by recent flames. And in the center…
Helkaiser.
The dragon stood tall — purple scales vibrating with cruel energy, wings half-open, claws buried deep into the stone. Acid dripped from its fangs. Before it, a figure in black armor fought with solemn fury.
A knight.
He moved like a specter of steel, dodging bites, counterattacking with precision. His black cape cut the air with each motion. Cael watched, breathless.
"It's him…"
"The Protagonist. The original. Fighting alone against a monster that, technically, no one should even think of facing yet. Amazing."
Helkaiser swung its tail.
The impact hurled the knight like a cannonball.
The armored figure smashed through a secondary wall and crashed heavily onto the floor, landing only a few meters from Cael. His sword spun through the air and embedded itself into the ground.
The knight was unconscious. His armor smoked. But he was still breathing.
"Wow. That was… brutal. Well, congratulations! You've just inherited the full attention of a dragon that just won a fight. And guess what? He's still hungry."
Helkaiser turned his head. Its reptilian eyes locked onto Cael.
A guttural growl vibrated through the stones. It began to walk toward him.
"Hey… before I forget! GREAT news! You're entitled to a free 10-spin round in the System Lottery!"
"Seriously!?"
"Completely slipped my mind, it happens, right? The button was bugged. Beta interface. But hey, maybe one of those spins will save your life. Or blow you up. Thrills guaranteed!"
The ground shook.
Helkaiser roared again.
And Cael, staring at the impossible, understood that the choice was no longer between fighting or fleeing.
It was between surviving…
or becoming a story.