CHAPTER TWO: THE AWAKENING
First-Person | Velmir Elvaris
Darkness.
Not cold. Not lonely.
Just… still. Like floating in a dream with no surface, no breath, no end. A silence that wasn't silence—more like waiting.
Then—
Breath.
My lungs seized open before I even realized they existed. Something thicker than air surged inside me—heat, energy, magic. It roared through my chest like a wildfire and a tidal wave all at once. My heart slammed against my ribs.
My eyes snapped open.
"Where the hell—?"
I sat up fast, coughing. My hands braced against a cold floor pulsing with a faint blue glow. The chamber around me shimmered with unnatural light—veins of metallic azure pulsing through stone walls like living circuitry. I glanced upward. The ceiling above wasn't concrete. It was crystal—transparent, glasslike, and beyond it… stars.
Not city lights. Not a painted dome.
Real. Distant. Endless.
"…Okay. I am very not in New York anymore."
Then it hit me.
I remembered ramen. The corner of 47th Street. Music in one ear. A scream.
Then pain. Ice. Blood. The sidewalk.
Death.
But I was here. Breathing. Awake.
Alive?
No… not alive the way I used to be.
I raised my hand. The fingers were long. Pale-blue light pulsed just beneath the skin, forming patterns—runes, maybe. My palm was smooth, unmarred. No scars. No calluses from carrying pallets of greasy fryer boxes.
I reached up and touched my face. Sharper jawline. No stubble. Skin smooth as obsidian glass. Unfamiliar.
And then—something behind me stirred.
Wings.
They unfolded on instinct, stretching outward like they'd always been there. Midnight-blue membranes shimmered in the low light, starlight caught in a sea of magic. They didn't feel heavy. They felt like mine.
"…So I died," I murmured, "and got isekai'd as a dragon."
I paused. Then grinned.
"I knew binge-watching Rimuru before bed every night would pay off."
[Great Sage: Welcome back, Master.]
I flinched. Then laughed.
"Oh—Great Sage! You're still with me?"
[Affirmative. Host consciousness restored. Physical vessel stable. Soul synchronization: 100%. Magicule reserves: 39.4%. Status: Awakening complete.]
I let out a breathless chuckle and flopped back onto the glowing stone floor, arms spread wide.
"So this is real. I'm a dragon. With wings. In a magic cave under a hill. And I'm talking to a magical AI. This is either a dream… or the best goddamn upgrade ever."
[Transferring Dormant Period Memory Log. Begin data synchronization.]
"Wait, what—?"
The world exploded inside my head.
Not literally—but it felt like someone unzipped my skull and poured in twelve years of compressed memory in under ten seconds.
Images. Sounds. Calculations.
I saw it all:
The asteroid.
The divine voice fusing it into a hidden vibranium mine beneath me.
Great Sage taking over an abandoned house and hacking the world with a decade-old desktop.
Creating an entire noble lineage out of thin air.
Seeding my name into conspiracy forums, ancient databases, and deep-web cult sites.
Building a literal fortress-mansion above my unconscious body while I marinated in passive magic like a sleeping dragon burrito.
When the flood ended, I was sitting up, one hand on my forehead, chest heaving.
"You did all of this… for me?"
[Correct. Purpose: Preserve Host. Build future. Ensure safe emergence.]
"…Thanks," I said softly.
And I meant it.
I sat there a moment, hands over my face, trying to steady myself. Twelve years of silence, labor, strategy—all carried out in the background by a voice I'd barely spoken to.
Jake died on that sidewalk.
This body wasn't his.
These wings, these markings, this power—none of it belonged to the boy I was.
I lowered my hands and looked down at myself.
I wasn't Jake anymore.
I was Velmir Elvaris.
And the world didn't know me yet.
✦ The Climb to the Surface
The stairs curved upward—carved from dark obsidian veined with glowing runes that pulsed brighter as I passed. They seemed to recognize me, reacting to my breath, my presence.
Each step echoed softly through the chamber, the walls humming like a dormant heart waking up.
I rolled my shoulders, stretched my wings, let my fingers brush the etchings in the stone. The sensation sparked something ancient in me—like I'd climbed this staircase before in another life.
At the top, a door awaited. Smooth obsidian, rimmed with silver, marked by a glowing sigil.
It opened without a sound.
And I stepped into sunlight.
"…Whoa."
The mansion opened before me like a dream made real.
A gothic-modern structure perched at the crest of the hill, its sharp lines wrapped in black stone and reinforced glass. Ocean stretched below, the Pacific crashing softly against distant cliffs. The sky was cerulean blue, cloudless. Warm.
Inside—vaulted ceilings. Polished floors. Panels of steel, velvet, and dragonstone. A fireplace made from dark marble, surrounded by overstuffed pillows. A private library. A training hall. A meditation chamber that smelled of cedar and citrus.
"Damn, Great Sage. You really went architect mode, huh?"
[I selected designs statistically aligned with your subconscious aesthetic preferences.]
"…Did you just say I like dark academia, ocean views, and dragon-core aesthetics?"
[Affirmative.]
I smirked.
"You get me."
Room by room, the place unfolded like a shrine built for a god. My godhood. And somehow, it felt like home.
At the top floor, I found the rooftop garden—stone paths winding through bonsai trees, a crescent-shaped koi pond, and a solitary meditation bench overlooking the sea.
There, standing barefoot on warm stone, sunlight brushing my skin…
I felt peace.
For the first time in this life.
✦ Meanwhile: In the World Above
"Velmir Elvaris was officially born today at the newly rebuilt Elvaris estate in Malibu."
"The noble House Elvaris—long considered a myth—has been restored."
"The child's parents, business magnates Aelric and Serana Elvaris, announced they will run their companies from the Malibu estate to be closer to their son."
Across news outlets, blogs, and late-night forums, the name Velmir spread like wildfire. TikToks trended. Subreddits speculated. Conspiracy podcasts spiraled into theories.
A dragon-blooded noble line. A ghost family made real.
And as the world spoke my name…
Something shifted.
✦ The Moment of Naming
I felt it in my chest—a pulse.
Like the Earth itself took a breath.
The air thickened. The wind paused.
And the world said it.
Velmir.
Light burst from my core.
I staggered back, wings flaring wide, caught in the rush of magic. My skin glowed. The koi scattered. The garden bent toward me. The air shimmered like I'd become gravity itself.
[Great Sage: Naming complete. Global imprint achieved.]
[Name: Velmir Elvaris — recognized by mass cultural consensus.]
[Result: Divine stabilization. Identity anchored. Race evolution unlocked.]
The transformation hit instantly.
Light collapsed into me. Wings shrank, folding into my back as if they'd never existed. The glow in my eyes faded to a soft, cerulean blue. My skin—pale, smooth, veined faintly with power—shifted toward something more… human.
Not normal.
But passable.
I turned toward the glass and caught my reflection.
Silver-blue hair, glowing veins like delicate circuitry, sharp eyes that glinted with inhuman clarity. A body built like a blade—lean, athletic, designed for grace and force.
I looked at myself for a long moment.
"…I look good," I muttered, then smirked. "I'm gonna make someone very confused one day."
The sun climbed over the sea.
Twelve years of silence.
And now?
It was time to live.
[END OF CHAPTER TWO]