Aka finished his experiments, then climbed to the top of the cube and sat down to rest and review his plans. The corpses here were more than enough to perform his Third Ritual—that much was certain. Still, if he could hunt Cerberan, the materials harvested from its body could be forged into truly magnificent equipment. On the other hand, he could simply perform the ritual now and spend the remaining twenty-seven days visiting nearby villages, selling the blades he had taken from these creatures to build some starting capital.
As he weighed the two options, Aka examined the knives more closely. Their quality really was high enough to become a solid source of funds, and yes, that made sense—but capital could always be acquired in other ways. What troubled him was the future. Would his next assignment grant him this same freedom? Would the place he was sent to again be near powerful creatures like these? Those questions gnawed at him. At last, he made his decision, climbed down, and began moving swiftly.
According to the forest map he had memorized, Aka should have been deep within the woods by now. From his elevated position, however, it had been impossible to tell. So he tore away thick layers of leaves and descended step by step, clinging to the tree trunk. The trees here were far taller than those near the entrance—well over twenty meters. Even so, thanks to the gloves he used like mountaineering picks, Aka managed the descent with ease. Out of habit, he quickly gathered branches, fashioned a crude ladder, leaned it against the tree, and left it there in case of an emergency.
The undergrowth here was nothing like the entrance—if anything, it seemed nonexistent. Looking down, Aka could clearly see the ground and his own feet. Unfortunately, he could also see countless small but long centipede-like creatures writhing across the forest floor. Thankfully, they showed no intent to harm him. That was a relief; there were far too many of them, and Aka had no idea how he would deal with such numbers without relying on fire.
He pressed on. After a while, he reached an area where nothing approached him at all—not the centipedes, not the birdlike creatures that flew beneath the leaves, their cries echoing everywhere. It was obvious: this was either the dwelling of the forest's king, or a place it visited often.
Despite his unease, greed and curiosity drove Aka forward. Soon, he began to notice mound-like heaps of earth scattered everywhere. Was Cerberan one of those burrowing creatures—the so-called mole-beasts that traveled underground? He didn't dwell on the theory. Instead, he advanced as slowly and subtly as possible, trying to remain unnoticed.
All his effort proved useless.
Something struck with a speed he couldn't perceive—a birdlike talon that seized his body completely and hurled him into a hollow at the center of one of the earthen mounds. Inside lay a single egg, roughly fifty centimeters tall. As Aka frantically tried to decide what to do, a cracking sound rang out. The egg split open, revealing a creature about thirty centimeters in size, eyeless, with fangs like a dog's—and unlike anything Aka had ever seen in the books he'd studied again and again.
The creature was pure white, with a pair of wings on its back. Yet it also had four legs. Aka was momentarily stunned, imagining how perfectly such a being could adapt not only to the air and land, but probably even to water. He had no time to linger on the thought. Since emerging from the egg, the creature hadn't moved at all. Two vivid green eyes—black pupils set within them—stared directly at Aka… no, it felt as though they were examining his very soul.
Paralyzed by shock, Aka didn't know what to do. Of course, ever since laying eyes on it, he had been thinking about how he might defeat it—yet the creature still hadn't attacked. In fact, he found it oddly cute.
The instant that thought crossed his mind, the creature moved faster than Aka could blink. It perched on his shoulder and gave him what could only be described as an affectionate hug to the face.
Though still stunned, Aka realized how lucky he was. The little creature wasn't hostile—it was friendly. Perhaps, with this adorable hatchling, he could even threaten its mother—
The hug ended abruptly.
The hatchling bared its teeth, clicking them back and forth, then raised one clawed foot as if in warning. Slowly, deliberately, it brought the claw closer… closer… and finally left a thin scratch across Aka's face.
There was no doubt about it.
This creature could read minds—no, more than that, it understood intent and reacted accordingly. Aka knew that humans could possess such abilities, but seeing it in a beast was something else entirely. He had never faced a threat like this before. Even if he wasn't sure how to handle it, what he should do was obvious.
He needed to think good thoughts. About this creature.
Aka gathered his thoughts as best he could, reached up with his free hand, and gently stroked the hatchling's head. He showed it affection. The creature responded with soft, pleased sounds, and this continued for some time. Then, filled with joy, it took flight, rising out of the hollow and disappearing into the sky, somewhere beyond Aka's sight—leaving him alone with the egg.
Since there was nothing else he could do, Aka approached and examined it more closely. The shell was yellow and looked extremely hard. Strangely, it was formed from tightly interlocking scales, and beneath them lay a flexible, yellowish membrane.
He didn't dare touch it.
Once his inspection was over, Aka sat down and began to meditate.
He had no idea how many days passed. Even as thirst gnawed at him until he felt on the verge of death, he never once felt the urge to touch the egg. He simply continued meditating. When he finally thought he couldn't endure any longer, a massive claw reached down into the hollow, seized him, and pulled him out.
Seeing that Aka had shown nothing but respect, the creature lifted him again and tossed him into a pool of water. Though shocked, Aka clung to the hope that it didn't intend to kill him—and that hope proved correct. He drank until he felt like he might burst, then hurried out of the water, stood before the creature, and once again bowed in respect.
The creature opened its mouth and, in a firm, unmistakable tone, spoke:
"Follow."
It said nothing more and began walking away on powerful legs.
Aka froze.
The meaning of this was enormous. In the vastness of the world, the only physical beings besides humans capable of speech were Dragons. Yes, they were rarely seen, but the world was large enough that such encounters did happen. Even so, their sheer extraordinariness meant that everyone knew one absolute rule: dragons were to be respected, no matter what.
Without realizing it, Aka had done exactly the right thing.
He followed the dragon to a clearing formed by layers of leaves piled atop the earth. There, the dragon settled itself. Aka stood before it and bowed once more as its eyes slowly scanned him.
After a long moment, the dragon began to speak—its words delivered like speech, but carrying the unmistakable weight of command.
"My name is Noema.You are the third human to survive my test. You have earned the right to live.Now turn around and leave. You do not know where this place is.If you ever learn it—and teach it to another—you will die.Go."
The moment the command ended, Aka turned and ran with all his strength. He didn't stop until he spotted the ladder he had left behind. He climbed, then continued onward until he reached his ruins once more. There, he finally sat down and began to plan.
He had no idea how much time had passed. Because of that, he needed to act quickly—perform his Third Ritual as soon as possible, and then move on to complete his assignment.
If you've read or taken a look, thank you so much. If you have any thoughts — good or bad — please leave a comment. I'll probably see and reply right away. Thanks again, and I wish you a great day.