Kaelen opened his eyes into a realm of seemingly unending darkness.
The dragon emerged in a cyclone of shadows and flames, towering high over Kaelen. Its scales shimmered in molten hues, wings vast as storm clouds. Eyes like burning suns locked onto his, and Kaelen felt his knees nearly buckle.
His dragon.
The living embodiment of the Crimson flame that burned within him.
It bared its teeth and roared up to the sky. It looked back down at the miniature creature before it and then it lunged.
Kaelen barely rolled aside as a blast of fire scorched the ground. He reached deep within, summoning his own flame, lashing out with a fiery arc that struck the dragon's chest. It barely flinched.
The beast was not meant to be defeated. It was meant to be understood.
But how do you understand rage incarnate?
***
The dragon circled him, wings kicking up burning winds. Its voice wasn't heard but felt, like a vibration in the bones, a scream of raw emotion.
"You are not worthy."
It sent a chill down the spine of the onlookers.
Kaelen clenched his fists, fire coiling around his arms.
"I am more than worthy," he shouted back. "I am the bearer of the Crimson Flame!"
The dragon roared again and charged.
It slammed into him, hurling him back through molten stone. Pain seared through his ribs. He coughed smoke, staggered to his feet.
Doubt surged.
What if he wasn't strong enough? What if this wasn't his flame?
But as the beast roared again, looking at him with rage and intent. Kaelen suddenly understood.
The dragon was not his enemy.
It was him, every untamed emotion, every rage unspoken. It wasn't testing his strength.
It was waiting for his acceptance.
***
The dragon roared and dove towards him.
Kaelen closed his eyes this time, and stepped forward with no defensive maneuver in place.
The impact never came.
He opened his eyes and found himself face to face with the beast, inches away, its claws poised, unmoving. Fire crackled in its throat.
Kael didn't raise his arms. He placed a hand on its snout.
The fire did not burn him.
"I see you," he whispered. "You are not my enemy. You are my truth."
A beat of stillness.
Then the dragon screamed not in fury, but in transformation. Flame burst outward, engulfing them both in a blinding inferno.
***
Among the spectators were shocked gasps as the center of the arena exploded in a pillar of red fire, scorching the air. The obsidian columns cracked, and the protective runes shimmered at their limit.
Out of the inferno, a shape began to form.
The flames cleared and the audience beheld a True dragon.
But not the beast Kaelen had faced nor the one he had previously transformed to in the previous stage of the trial.
This was something bigger, stronger. He stood tall, completely crimson red, majestic.
Fierce and intelligent eyes locked onto the stands. The presence radiated complete control and terrifying majesty.
The crowd didn't cheer.
They stood in stunned, reverent silence. They had been shocked one too many times in this particular trial.
The Trial Master stepped back, his eyes wide as saucers. Even he had not foreseen this.
Kael had not only bonded with his dragon. He had become it.
A True dragon
***
Slowly, the form began to flicker. The scales softened, melting like wax in the sun. Wings folded inward.
And Kaelen, back in his humanoid form collapsed straight to his knees.
His eyes heavy.
Then closed.
He fell forward, unconscious, body smoking with residual heat.
For a moment, the crowd stood frozen.
Then panic rippled through them.
The Trial Master was already in motion, rushing forward, his voice summoning healers. Kaelen's body was still alive but barely. The transformation had drained him to the edge of death.
Witnessing the might of a prodigy live in action, particularly for the younger ones was nothing short of a spectacle for all. It also seldom happened for a dragon to pass out after passing the trial.
Some gasped. Some cried out in disbelief.
How could such power come from one so young?
How could he shine so brightly and fall so quickly?
But as the healers knelt around him, one of them whispered in awe.
"His pulse… it burns."
The Trial Master stood over Kael's unconscious form and raised his staff high.
"The Trial is complete," he declared, his voice like thunder. "Kaelen of the Crimson Flame has claimed the soul within. He is reborn."