High above the burning mountains, a gigantic shadow moved through the storm clouds.

Something enormous was still watching.

And somehow, the boy had known it was coming.

The travelers stared upward.

The soldiers gripped their weapons.

The dragon hatchling floated near the center of the lake, trembling as waves rippled around its small body.

The cliff where it had been standing moments earlier no longer existed.

Nothing remained except molten stone and fire.

The dragonfire blast had erased the entire mountainside.

Several soldiers swallowed nervously.

One finally whispered what everyone was thinking.

“What kind of dragon could do that?”

Nobody answered.

Because nobody wanted to know.

The ragged teenage boy stood quietly near the shoreline.

His torn clothes whipped in the storm winds.

His eyes never left the clouds.

The hatchling paddled desperately toward shore.

The moment it reached land, it immediately ran toward the boy.

Not away from him.

Toward him.

The crowd exchanged confused looks.

Moments ago they had accused him of betrayal.

Now the young dragon hid behind him.

Like a frightened child hiding behind an older brother.

The shadow above continued circling.

Larger.

Closer.

Every pass through the clouds revealed another glimpse.

A wing.

A claw.

A burning red eye.

Then lightning flashed.

And everyone finally saw it.

The creature was enormous.

Far larger than any dragon they had ever imagined.

Gasps erupted throughout the plateau.

Some soldiers stumbled backward.

One dropped his spear.

The dragon’s wings stretched across half the sky.

Its scales glowed like molten iron.

Its eyes burned with ancient fury.

The hatchling whimpered.

The giant dragon immediately turned its gaze downward.

Toward the lake.

Toward the hatchling.

Toward the boy.

Then it roared.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The mountains shook violently.

Snow cascaded down distant peaks.

Several travelers collapsed to the ground.

The roar felt less like a sound and more like a physical force.

The hatchling pressed itself against the boy’s leg.

Terrified.

The soldiers finally understood.

The giant dragon hadn’t attacked by accident.

It had been hunting.

Hunting the hatchling.

The realization spread through the crowd.

This wasn’t a rescue.

This was a chase.

And the predator had found its prey.

The dragon descended.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

Like a king approaching an execution.

Its colossal body landed atop a nearby ridge.

The impact shook the entire plateau.

Stone cracked beneath its claws.

Steam rose from its scales.

Its golden horns stretched backward like blades.

Ancient scars covered its body.

This dragon had survived countless battles.

And won them all.

The giant beast lowered its head.

Its gaze fixed on the hatchling.

Then it spoke.

Its voice echoed like thunder.

“Hand over the heir.”

Every person on the plateau froze.

The heir?

The hatchling peeked nervously around the boy.

The giant dragon growled.

“I know who it is.”

The boy narrowed his eyes.

The hatchling wasn’t an ordinary dragon.

He had suspected that for months.

Now he knew.

The giant dragon took one step forward.

The mountain groaned beneath its weight.

“Give me the heir.”

The hatchling trembled.

The boy stepped in front of it.

The dragon stopped.

Its massive eyes shifted toward him.

For a brief moment, silence covered the plateau.

Then the dragon laughed.

A terrible sound.

Deep.

Cold.

Ancient.

“You?”

The creature looked almost amused.

“You intend to stop me?”

The soldiers exchanged worried looks.

The dragon was right.

The comparison seemed absurd.

A boy.

Against a dragon.

Against THAT dragon.

The outcome seemed obvious.

The dragon opened its mouth.

Fire gathered between its teeth.

The air temperature instantly increased.

Rocks began melting.

Grass ignited.

Several soldiers ran.

Others dropped their weapons.

The hatchling cried out.

The giant dragon smiled.

Then unleashed its attack.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

A river of dragonfire erupted across the plateau.

The inferno swallowed everything in its path.

The crowd screamed.

Death rushed forward.

Then—

the boy raised one hand.

The world stopped.

The fire froze.

Not disappeared.

Not weakened.

Frozen.

The massive stream of dragonfire hung motionless in midair.

Like a burning river suspended above the earth.

Silence spread across the mountains.

The giant dragon’s eyes widened.

The soldiers stared.

The travelers stared.

Even the hatchling stared.

Nobody understood what they were seeing.

The boy slowly clenched his fist.

The frozen dragonfire twisted.

Turned.

Then shot upward.

Back toward the sky.

The redirected flames exploded harmlessly among the clouds.

The giant dragon took a step backward.

For the first time—

the ancient predator looked surprised.

The boy lowered his hand.

His expression never changed.

The dragon stared.

Then another emotion appeared.

Recognition.

The creature’s eyes narrowed.

It looked at the boy more carefully.

Studying him.

Searching his face.

Then suddenly—

its expression changed completely.

Not fear.

Not anger.

Shock.

Pure shock.

“Impossible.”

The dragon whispered.

The boy frowned.

“What?”

The dragon ignored the question.

Its eyes remained locked on him.

“No.”

Another step backward.

“No… you died.”

The plateau fell silent.

The giant dragon wasn’t looking at a boy anymore.

It was looking at a ghost.

The hatchling suddenly stepped forward.

The small dragon stared directly at the giant beast.

Then something impossible happened.

A glowing silver symbol appeared on the hatchling’s forehead.

The giant dragon immediately froze.

The symbol grew brighter.

Ancient.

Beautiful.

Powerful.

Several elderly travelers gasped.

One fell to his knees.

“The Royal Crest.”

The dragon hatchling wasn’t merely a dragon.

It was royalty.

The last heir of the Sky Dragon Dynasty.

A bloodline believed extinct for centuries.

The giant dragon closed its eyes.

Pain flashed across its face.

The crowd watched in confusion.

Then the giant dragon slowly lowered its head.

Not to attack.

Not to threaten.

To bow.

Every soldier froze.

The most terrifying dragon anyone had ever seen…

was bowing.

To the hatchling.

The giant dragon spoke quietly.

“Your Majesty.”

The hatchling blinked.

Confused.

The giant dragon’s voice trembled.

“I searched for you for fifteen years.”

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

The hatchling stepped closer.

The giant dragon lowered its head even further.

Then tears appeared in its eyes.

Actual tears.

The crowd stared in disbelief.

The giant dragon wasn’t a hunter.

It wasn’t an enemy.

It was a guardian.

The hatchling looked confused.

Then the giant dragon revealed the truth.

Fifteen years ago, the royal dragon kingdom had fallen.

An ancient enemy attacked.

The royal family was destroyed.

The hatchling had been hidden.

Smuggled away.

Protected.

Lost.

For fifteen years, guardians searched every mountain, every valley, every forgotten corner of the world.

And finally—

they had found the last heir.

The hatchling.

The dragon everyone thought was helpless.

The dragon everyone thought needed saving.

The giant guardian looked toward the boy.

Its golden eyes softened.

“You protected him.”

The boy remained silent.

The dragon nodded.

“Even when nobody understood.”

The travelers lowered their heads.

Shame spread through the crowd.

Only minutes earlier they had called him cruel.

Accused him of betrayal.

Yet he had saved the hatchling’s life.

The guardian dragon took a deep breath.

Then looked toward the horizon.

Its expression immediately darkened.

The boy noticed.

“What is it?”

The dragon’s eyes narrowed.

“The reason we hid him.”

Silence.

The wind stopped.

The storm seemed to hesitate.

Then—

something moved beyond the distant mountains.

Something larger than the guardian dragon.

Far larger.

The horizon itself appeared to rise.

Clouds split apart.

Lightning exploded across the sky.

The guardian dragon’s face turned grim.

The hatchling trembled.

The boy slowly looked toward the distant darkness.

And for the first time since arriving on the plateau—

he felt afraid.

Because whatever was approaching…

had once destroyed an entire dragon kingdom.

And now it knew exactly where the last heir had been found.