Serika POV
I am falling through fire and memory at the same time. I cannot tell which one hurts more. My scream echoes, but it sounds far away, like it belongs to someone else. The temple vanishes. The floor is gone. I am dragged into Ignaroth's past without mercy.
The sky splits open above me. I am flying, but not as myself. My body is massive. My wings block out the sun. Every beat shakes the clouds. Below me stands a golden city built into a mountain. Dragons circle it like living stars. This place feels safe. Loved. Alive.
A roar shakes the air.
The Dragon King lands at the city's heart. His scales shine like molten gold. His eyes glow with wisdom and fire. All dragons bow. I feel their respect. Their loyalty. Their peace.
Then the sky turns black.
Magic tears through the clouds. Spears of light rain down. Dragons scream as shields fail. The city burns in seconds. Soldiers pour from portals, faces hidden behind glowing masks.
The Dragon King roars and rises. Fire floods the sky. Hundreds of soldiers vanish in flame. The mountain cracks. The world trembles.
A blade appears behind him.
It pierces his chest.
The Dragon King freezes. His roar dies in his throat. A crowned man stands on his back, smiling. The blade glows blue and hungry. It drinks dragon blood.
"No," I cry, but my voice does nothing.
The blade twists.
The Dragon King falls.
His body crashes into the city, crushing towers and lives. The ground shakes for miles. Dragons scream in grief and rage. The sky weeps fire.
The vision shatters.
I am dragged into another memory.
A cave glows warm and soft. Dragon eggs rest in nests of stone. Tiny flames flicker inside them. Baby dragons chirp, weak but alive. Hope fills the air.
Soldiers storm in.
They laugh.
Magic nets slam down. Spears strike. Eggs shatter on stone. Baby dragons scream as they are crushed, stabbed, burned. One tries to crawl away with broken wings.
A boot comes down.
I feel the crack in my bones. I feel the scream die.
I sob and thrash, but I am trapped inside the memory.
Fire surges through me. Rage burns hotter than pain.
Another vision takes me.
Dragons chained in the sky. Their wings ripped. Their scales carved for armor. Their bones stacked into thrones. Humans cheer as legends die.
Lies spread like poison. Dragons were monsters. Dragons destroyed the world. Dragons deserved extinction.
I feel Ignaroth watching. I feel his fury coil around my heart.
The memories keep coming.
Three thousand years of hate. Three thousand years of grief. Three thousand years of waiting.
I feel it all.
I feel mountains burn. Oceans boil. Skies fall. I feel every dragon death like it is my own. Each one leaves a wound that never heals.
I cannot breathe.
My chest feels too small to hold this much rage. My heart pounds like it wants to explode. Fire tears through my veins again, stronger than before.
I scream and my scream becomes a roar.
The world shakes.
I feel power rush into me, wild and endless. It begs to be used. It begs to destroy.
I remember Kai.
His face flickers in my mind like a fragile light. If I let this rage take me, I will lose him. I will lose myself.
I fight.
I clutch my name like a weapon. I repeat it again and again. I am Serika. I am not a dragon. I am not a god. I am a girl who wants to save her brother.
The rage fights back.
It shows me the Empire. It shows me nobles bathing in dragon blood for strength. It shows me kings crowned with dragon bone. It shows me the truth.
The Empire was built on dragon corpses.
My stomach twists.
The memories slow, then stop.
I slam back into my body.
I am in the temple again.
The floor is cracked. The altar glows like a beating heart. My wings of fire stretch wide, scraping stone. Golden flames drip from their edges.
My arms blaze with marks brighter than ever. My eyes burn like twin suns. I feel different. Heavier. Sharper. Less human.
I stagger forward and catch myself. The air trembles around me. Every breath releases heat.
Ignaroth's presence fills the chamber.
You have seen the truth, he says.
My voice shakes when I speak. "You let this happen."
His silence is loud.
I feel his pain. His guilt. His hate. It presses into me like a storm.
"I cannot carry this," I whisper. "It will destroy me."
It already has, he replies.
Fear claws up my spine.
"What do you mean?"
The altar pulses. The dragon eye flares.
The bond tightens.
I feel something snap into place inside me. A lock closing. A chain sealing.
Ignaroth's voice grows deeper, darker, absolute.
You asked for power. You accepted the blood. You opened yourself to me.
My heart slams.
"You said I would not be alone," I say. "You said you would guide me."
I will, he answers. From inside you.
Cold dread washes over the fire.
I try to pull away. I cannot. The bond grips my soul. His presence spreads through my thoughts, my memories, my rage.
I feel my humanity slipping, like sand through fingers.
"No," I whisper. "I am still human."
The chamber shakes.
Ignaroth's voice booms, filling every crack, every breath, every thought.
You crossed the line when you chose the flame.
Power floods me again, crushing and complete.
The truth slams into me like a final blow.
"You are no longer human," Ignaroth declares. "You are MINE."