CHAPTER THREE: FIRST FLIGHT
First-Person | Velmir Elvaris
"When the sky calls, the soul answers."
The mansion slept.
No footsteps. No voices. Just the low hum of magic woven through stone and silence. Even the air held stillness—like it, too, was holding its breath.
I stood shirtless on the balcony outside my room, leaning against the cold black marble of the railing. Above me, the sky stretched wide and silver. The moon hung low and full, painting the Pacific in light. Stars blinked patiently overhead, watching.
It had been three days since I woke up.
Three days of walking quiet halls. Reading old texts I didn't remember downloading. Sitting in gardens that smelled like moonlight and cedar. Watching the sun move across the world like I was outside of time.
I couldn't do it anymore.
"I need to fly," I whispered.
The words weren't a command. Just a thought—barely formed.
But my wings heard me.
They slid from beneath my shoulder blades like silk from shadow. No pain. No hesitation. Just motion—seamless, right. Membranes of dark blue shimmered faintly in the moonlight, edged with soft silver like ink on water.
I stretched them wide—nearly double my height.
The pressure around me shifted. The night leaned closer, curious.
I climbed onto the railing, crouched low.
And jumped.
✦ Flight
Wind met me with open arms.
It rushed past my face, curled under my wings, lifted me like a lover I hadn't seen in years. My body moved before I could think—tilting, adjusting, catching the air in all the right ways. Instinct took over.
I wasn't just flying.
I was meant to fly.
Below, the ocean shimmered silver under moonlight, stretching forever. The coastline of Malibu sparkled faintly in the distance—distant, small, irrelevant. Above, the stars no longer looked far away. They felt… close. Like I could touch them.
The wind whispered to me—real things. Temperature, pressure, speed. I felt it all. Not just on my skin. In my bones.
[Skill Acquired: Extra Skill – Air Manipulation.]
I blinked. "Wait—what?"
I gave a thought—a gentle pulse of intent—and a rush of air surged beneath me. I soared upward like a spear of silver light, laughter ripping from my throat.
"I can control it?"
I tested it again, curling the wind around me like a cloak. It responded. Alive. Eager. Mine.
Then something below caught my attention. A pull—not physical. Elemental.
I dropped low, skimmed the ocean. My fingertips grazed the surface.
Water danced.
Not from speed. Not from physics.
It rose toward me.
[Skill Acquired: Extra Skill – Water Manipulation.]
I stared at the trail of silver waves that followed in my wake.
I let out a breathless laugh. "That's so cool."
Wind. Water. Power that wasn't borrowed or stolen. Power that belonged to me.
I rolled in the sky, flipped through mist-thin clouds, let the moisture kiss my skin. Everything above the world felt real in a way I hadn't known was possible. There was no weight here. No gravity.
Just freedom.
Just sky.
And me.
✦ Reality Check Incoming
[Great Sage: Flight pattern stabilized. Elemental adaptation progressing.]
[Reminder: Host is not permitted to leave estate grounds for another five years.]
I froze mid-roll.
"…Wait, five years?"
[Correct. Public records state you were born three days ago. Attending school as a teenager now would trigger multiple investigations.]
I angled downward and caught my reflection in the water.
Same face.
Same build.
Lean muscle. Sharp jaw. Silver-blue hair that caught the moonlight like glass. My eyes glinted with a quiet knowing—too old for seventeen, too powerful for public school.
I groaned.
"But I look seventeen!"
[Physical age locked to approximate adolescence for public appearance protocol. Request for full biological adulthood denied during current phase.]
"Seriously? You designed me this way."
[Statistical analysis indicated high success rate for chosen aesthetic. Subjective descriptors: 'cool,' 'elegant,' 'regal,' 'hot protagonist energy.']
I blinked, then grinned.
"…Okay, fair."
[Host stability requires limited public engagement. Suggestion: Train. Master elemental control. Adapt to current cultural systems.]
"Yeah, yeah… but five years? That's, like, twelve anime arcs. Minimum."
[You may simulate social interactions with Mansion AI "Viera" to maintain emotional cognition.]
I frowned.
"You made me a friend simulator?"
[Affirmative. Includes sarcasm detection, meme database access, and optional drama filters.]
I hovered silently for a moment.
Then smiled.
"…You really know me."
I rose again, higher, until the clouds were beneath my feet and the stars felt close enough to whisper secrets. The sky opened up around me—no walls, no chains.
Only freedom.
Only wind.
I wasn't just a dragon.
I wasn't just a reincarnated soul in a world that didn't yet believe in me.
I was Velmir Elvaris—hidden heir of the sky, myth wrapped in silence.
The world didn't know me yet.
But it would.
[END OF CHAPTER THREE]