The forest is gone. In its place, lava churns and volcanoes are born.
The black smoke is so dense in the sky that ash rains down without end. At the borders of the biome, creatures that appreciate this climate begin to gather around the area.
An ifrit with red skin and black eyes, with a pair of twisted horns at the top of his head, is the first monster to find that place. He is already about to step onto the volcanic ground.
The moment his foot crosses the boundary, magma golems emerge from the ground, forming a wall and preventing the ifrit from advancing. A heavy golem pushes him, forcing the monster to retreat.
The ifrit staggers back but manages to steady his footing. He does not like the affront and tries to advance against the golem that pushed him. As soon as he crosses the boundary again, a magma arrow pierces his head and, shortly after, a heavy punch crushes his body.
The ifrit did not even have time to react. He died instantly.
Since the body is still inside the volcanic territory, the same heavy golem picks it up and throws it outside the biome.
Over the following days, more and more monsters come to claim the new territory, but they are constantly prevented from advancing.
It does not matter whether they come by land or by sky: all who attempt to dominate the region are severely blocked by the golems.
If someone remains high in the trees, they can see a massive statue of a human at the center of the biome.
A massive green-scaled snake slithers through the surrounding trees. It comes driven by curiosity about the strange occurrences in the region. They say that a powerful monster makes a statue for himself and places his golem henchmen to guard the place.
As soon as the snake approaches the boundaries of the biome, it can see that, indeed, there is a massive statue honoring a strange monster. The figure represented is something it has never seen before. If it had more refined thoughts and a voice to speak, it might perhaps be interpreted like this: "What kind of monster is that?"
Driven by curiosity, the snake slowly approaches the volcanic biome. As it descends from the trees, it hides its body among the rocks, moving carefully. When it gets closer, it begins to notice the details of the statue more clearly.
But it does not dare to advance any further. With a swift movement, it dodges a magma arrow, which nearly pierces its head.
The snake wastes no time and immediately flees. Right behind it, it sees golems running in its direction, and arrows fly like birds in the sky. Even so, it manages to escape, leaving the volcanic biome and climbing up a tree once again, returning to its habitat, far from that place.
The golems stop advancing.
At the top of a nearby volcano, the archer golem that identified the intruder also ceases its attacks.
More cautious and experienced monsters, who witnessed the scene, do not even dare to approach too closely. They feel that the ancient strength of a dragon resides in those lands.
Even so, the curiosity is evident, almost as if they could form questions: "Who is the one in the statue?", "Is that one of a dragon's true forms?", "What kind of gigantic dragon is that? It's bigger than a troll!".
***
Near the center of the biome, an active volcano can be seen. However, it is damaged: a hole marks its flank, an apparent consequence of a battle.
Inside that hole, an arm hidden beneath a cloak slowly reconstructs itself. Little by little, a shoulder and part of a neck become visible.
Several weeks pass, perhaps months, and the body finally regenerates completely. Even so, it does not awaken.
On a certain night, Nagaro abruptly opens his eyes and jumps by impulse, but soon kneels trembling on the ground.
***
My smile freezes.
"Ah… ah… ah."
My body is still trembling, overwhelmed by fear from everything that happened. It all feels like a nightmare, and only now do I awaken.
When I finally calm down, I look around and realize it is night.
"Did it work?"
Even in this state, I cannot stop smiling. I am happy to have survived, but I still cannot believe it.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
"Calm down…"
I force myself to stop trembling. My body is much better, although it still shivers slightly.
My mind recalls what I did.
In that situation, there was only one way. I knew I would not leave that fight alive; even if I defeated all the golems, the dragon could still easily create more or kill me directly. There was practically no way out.
So I thought that maybe… just maybe, my regeneration could restore me if I managed to protect at least one of my limbs, similar to starfish.
It was risky, but it was the only opportunity. As soon as I managed to reach and destroy the archer golem, amid the dust, I cut off my own arm and hid it with my cloak in the place where I am now.
"Madness… so I can practically return from death?"
"..."
"I will avoid doing that."
It is just one more piece of information added to the list of facts about my abilities. I had never tested my regeneration to that extent, out of fear of dying and because it had never been necessary. But now, after this experience, I will do everything I can to avoid having to repeat such a risky move.
I look at the night sky and then at the battlefield, now unrecognizable. The old forest has given way to volcanoes, rivers of magma, and lava snaking across the ground.
In the distance, I see my colossal statue, intimidating and illuminated by the veins of magma running through it.
"Yeah… he fulfilled what he promised…"
"I wonder if he wrote my last words?"
"It would be interesting to see on the gravestone: Die, fat lizard."
I then realize that something is missing from me. My hair has not grown back yet.
"Ah, ah, ah."
"At least I still have my eyebrows."
I stand up, feeling better. My Source is restored. I can finally leave this place.
I'll stop by my statue. I want to see if he really wrote my last words.
As soon as I place my foot on the edge of the hole, a magma arrow nearly pierces my forehead; I barely duck in time.
"What?!"
I look down. There are several heavy golems, knights, and archers, trying to climb the volcano.
"Oh no!"
"Is the dragon still here?!"
I desperately look around, trying to find the red dragon, but I cannot see him. He is gone. My heart slows down, and I even let out a sigh of relief.
But I need to hastily dodge another arrow that grazes my face, this one comes from above.
I quickly look up, and there is an archer golem, ready to release another arrow.
But before the arrow leaves its hand, I unleash a water cannon and immediately freeze it on the spot.
I turn my attention back to the army advancing by land. I waste no time. Still with my hand raised, I release heavy waves of water against the golems, causing them to cool down and slow.
The opportunity arises. I leap in the opposite direction and, as soon as I touch the ground, I run with everything I have, putting as much distance between us as possible.
Along the way, golems emerge from lava and magma in front of me, but I do not stop.
I dodge them all. A heavy hand tries to grab me, I bend my knees and slide underneath it.
A knight golem swings. I leap, too slow. The blade cleaves through my left foot, yet I force myself past it.
An arrow pierces my spine, and I see the tip emerge from my chest. Another pierces my right leg. But I ignore the injury and keep moving forward.
I activate my fire Skill in my hands and propel myself. In an instant, I reach the edge of the biome. My body violently collides against the trees, but I manage to get out.
Crowds of golems come after me, but they stop as soon as they see me outside the territory.
Even fallen, I drag myself toward a tree.
"It seems they're restricted from leaving that area…"
Among the trees, they stare at me. I am not intimidated. I pull the arrows out of my body.
They remain there, motionless. Even the archers only observe. I lean my back against the tree, cross my arms, and laugh.
"Good."
"It looks like they have limitations, just like the white-scaled monsters."
"That's what you get for being nothing but a dragon's lackey!"
"Can't take a single step without the master's orders?"
I shout at them in mockery, after all, they are just formations of magma. But strangely, after I speak, I have the impression that the golems' facial expressions hardened. But that cannot be right; they are just walking rocks.
My mood quickly drops as I realize the persistent pain in my right leg, my left foot is not regenerating, and the hole that runs from my back to the right side of my chest is still bleeding.
"..."
"My Source is restored. But is the regeneration taking too long?"
With that in mind, my firm gaze demands that the wounds be healed and that my foot return.
Nothing happens. Not even a twitch.
"…"
My heart begins to race. The blood continues to flow. A cold sweat runs down my spine.
I maintain my optimism.
"My body must be playing tricks on me."
My persistent stare demands that the regeneration act. But it does not happen.
In haste, I stop the bleeding in my chest with a large leaf I pick up from the ground; on my left leg I do the same, covering the severed area with a leaf.
And now, with my hands applying pressure to my right leg.
"Ah! ah! ah!"
I remain with a smile.
"I'm sure I'll heal in a little while, just need to wait…"
***
Night falls, and the golems still watch me from afar. My body remains weak from blood loss and wounds that do not heal.
"Damn archer golem, it hit my spine, now I can't feel my legs."
From my body, I emit only the heat of my fire Skill to keep myself warm through the night. Without the regeneration that used to regulate my temperature, I am now forced to do this.
A strange sound comes from my stomach, and as it grows louder and the pain intensifies, I immediately understand what it is: hunger afflicting me.
The silence of the biome, and the constant gaze of the golems, makes my mouth turn bitter.
The moon reaches its highest point, and my eyes gradually close from exhaustion, but I jolt awake at once.
"What is this?"
My head sways, but I quickly regain awareness and stay alert. Yet I yawn, and the exhaustion nearly makes me collapse unconscious.
"S-sleep?"
Without the strength to resist, I fall asleep with my back against the tree.
***
The sun rises on this day, and my confident gaze that regeneration would return becomes vacant, with me merely staring at the volcanic biome. Trapped here, sitting and leaning against this tree.
The golems no longer even watch me; they must think I am vegetation.
My black hair now reaches down to my shoulders.
My breathing is weak, but I have to gather strength. I raise my arm and bring my hand to my mouth, water forms in my palm, allowing me to quench my thirst.
The taste is terrible, it almost does not go down my throat, and my thirst is not truly satisfied, but at least it helps deceive my body.
"What a damn forest, to this day I've never seen rain of water."
But weakness dominates my body. I look at my brown skin, which is now pale from anemia. My legs cannot move.
Hunger strikes again, but I know what I need to do. As I close my eyes, I take a deep breath and, in a short time, I feel the hunger being pushed away, though I know it will soon return.
When I open my eyes and see the golems wandering through the volcanic biome again, I cannot help but grind my teeth.
"Damn golems and dragon!"
"It's all your fault!"
"Give it back!"
"Give me back my regeneration!"
Because I shouted, I see the golems turn their attention toward me, standing still as they stare.
"…"
I frown.
"What are you looking at?!"
My vision seems blurred, but I can feel it. It seems to be. Their faces do not move, but I can feel it. They are laughing.
"Go ahead and laugh, I will destroy every single one of you."
After a few days, the golems return to wandering through the volcanic biome.
Calm takes over me. I focus on meditation, but this time with my eyes open. I calmly and fluidly circulate my Source to flow throughout my entire body. I can feel my strength improving slightly. The hunger and thirst that threatened to return are once again pushed away.
One thing has become certain now: the Source within my body can be used, in a way, to restore health and strength.
But I also feel that every time I use the Source for this purpose, it demands more and more energy.
I look at my leg and see it move slightly. My body is not fully restored, but it is much better than before.
"I guess if it weren't for this, I would already be dead."
My eyes watch the sunrise.
"How much time has passed since I've been here?"
"Did I really… lose my regeneration?"
"!!!"
My eyes widen. A sudden improvement makes my body fill with strength and vigor. Hunger, thirst, and sleep vanish into the air.
The wounds disappear, my severed left foot is restored, and my mobility returns.
With a leap, I stand up.
"It really did!"
My genuine smile makes my eyes water.
"Thank goodness…"
"My regeneration! I missed you!"
I kiss my shoulders, my arms, and especially my restored foot.
I stretch my body and realize my flexibility remains perfect as it should be. My mood is so good that I even feel lighter.
Soon, I look at my right arm, my expression more serious. Now, with a clearer mind, I can feel that making that move involves a cost I may not be able to explain.
"I'll avoid doing that"?
"Never again! I'll train hard so I won't need to resort to that!"
But I ease my mind.
I sigh as I turn my attention back to the forest where I am.
"What a nightmare. I'd rather spend days in the silver forest than go through that situation again."
"Well… I can continue my journey now…"
But then, I quickly shift my attention to my naked body.
"Wait!"
My eyes widen as I only now realize this fact.
"I forgot my cloak!"
I turn my face toward the volcano I escaped from, remembering I left my clothes there.
The army of golems. For some reason, the golems seem to express disgust. It is as if they do not like seeing me standing. Some heavy golems even massage their fists.
"One… five… ten… eighteen…"
The dozens of golems form an intimidating wall, but it is not an army beyond sight.
I take a deep breath and silently face all the magma faces.
With fists clenched, water flows from my body, forming a large puddle around me. Water coils around me like a living storm. My gaze hardens. I step forward.