The egg pulses every time I dream about him.
And tonight, he screamed my name.
I woke up gasping.
Chest tight.
Ears ringing.
Like I got struck by lightning.
That dream again.
The guy with golden eyes.
Standing in the middle of an endless storm.
Sky cracking. Thunder booming.
And him—staring straight at me.
Like he actually sees me.
Like he knows I exist.
Then he yells:
"Kyla!"
I jolt awake and immediately look under the bed.
The egg is pulsing.
Hard.
Fast.
Panicked.
The air in the room suddenly feels hot.
I reach out and touch it.
It's warm.
And for a second—
I swear,
he feels me too.
Next morning, I go to class.
Pale face. Red eyes. Dark circles.
Renn spots me from the back of the line.
"You look like a walking corpse," he says.
I don't answer.
My head's still stuck on last night's dream.
The storm.
His eyes.
His voice.
I need to know who he is.
And I know one place that might have answers.
The Academy Library.
Basement level.
Ancient Archives.
Area's off-limits to cadets without official clearance.
But I've got a trick.
A forged access pass from a cadet who ran away last week.
I don't know where he went.
But I know his pass is still active.
I wait for the guard shift change.
Sneak in when the lights dim.
Move quietly.
Hold my breath for a few seconds.
The underground library is dark and silent.
Shelves tower over me, packed with documents sealed by magic.
Signs on the walls:
"Classification: Top Secret."
"Unauthorized Access = Death Penalty."
I don't care.
I've broken worse rules.
I go to the manual search terminal.
Small crystal screen on the wall.
I type:
"The Five"
Result: Not found.
"Storm Veil"
Not found.
"Morpher"
Not found. Keyword blocked by Academy Authority.
I curse under my breath.
But I'm not giving up.
I start scanning the shelves.
Section: Imperial History – Last Updated: 100 years ago.
Grab a thin book.
Title: "Rebellion and Suppression – Official Obrynd Records."
Inside, there's a picture of five figures.
Blacked out with ink.
But their silhouettes are still visible.
Wings.
Fire.
Human shapes… with light glowing from their backs.
I flip the page.
A small note scribbled in the margin:
"The Five – greatest threat to order. Declared extinct. No survivors."
I stare at the words.
Something in my gut.
Why do I feel like…
he's still alive?
I walk to the back wall.
The blind spot.
No guards watching.
There's a large painting.
Covered in black cloth.
Locked with a protection spell.
The guard's distracted—
checking other students signing out documents.
I wait.
Then yank the cloth off.
The painting is huge.
Black. Red. Gold.
Five people standing on a mountain peak.
Dragon wings fused to their backs.
Not fake.
Not costume.
Real.
Like they're part of their bodies.
They raise their hands to the sky.
Fire erupts in the center.
The sky splits open.
Storms swirl around them.
And in the middle—
him.
Golden eyes.
Black hair.
Sharp, piercing gaze.
Exactly like the man in my dreams.
I freeze.
Legs weak.
Hands shaking.
This isn't a dream.
This isn't some hallucination.
This is real.
I lean closer.
Small text under the painting:
"The Five Morpher – Leaders of the Dragon People. Imperial Traitors. Burned Alive at the Peak of Aetheris."
"Stop!"
Guard's here.
Fast footsteps.
Hand on weapon.
He yanks the cloth back over the painting.
Stares at me.
"That's a myth," he says coldly.
"They're extinct. Nothing to do with dragons today."
I look at him.
"Who were they?"
"The Five. Rebel leaders from a century ago. Tried to destroy the Empire. Used dark magic. They weren't human. Weren't dragons. They were… monsters."
"But why do they have wings?"
"Failed magic experiments. Brain damage. They believed they could shapeshift. It was delusion. They're dead. All of them."
I don't believe him.
"Then why is the painting still here?"
He glares.
"Forget what you saw.
If you don't, you'll be sent to the Erasure Facility.
And trust me—
no one walks out of there alive."
I step back.
Say nothing.
Show no expression.
But inside—
I know.
He's lying.
Back in my room.
I lock the door.
Pull out a piece of paper.
Draw his face.
From memory.
From dreams.
From feeling.
I stare at it.
And ask myself:
Am I going crazy?
Is this Academy magic?
Did they implant hallucinations in my head because I got too close to the dragons?
Or…
am I actually being called?
I touch the egg.
And—
the world stops.
Loneliness.
Pain in my chest—like being burned alive.
Then a voice:
"I'm waiting… don't take too long…"
I pull my hand back.
Heart pounding.
The egg pulses.
Three times.
Slow.
But definite.
Like it's confirming it.
I go back to the library that night.
Not looking for big files.
Looking for the small ones.
The hidden. The forgotten.
In the farthest corner, I find a weather report:
"Extreme Weather Report – The Eternal Storm Zone"
Contents:
"The Eternal Storm Zone at Aetheris Peak remains inaccessible. No human can survive there.
However, sensors detect high-level magic activity.
Source unknown.
Possibility: Remnants of The Culling."
I stare at that word.
The Culling.
The massacre.
A century ago.
When the Empire killed every dragon capable of shapeshifting.
All the Morpher. All of them.
But this report says:
Magic activity.
In the middle of the storm.
In a place no human can reach.
I copy down the location.
Aetheris Peak – Restricted Zone.
Entry forbidden.
Death penalty.
I look at the small map in the corner of the document.
Tallest mountain.
Wrapped in eternal storm.
Faint fire glowing at the summit.
And I know.
The eternal storm = the place in my dreams.
The golden-eyed man = real.
This egg… it's not from the Academy.
Not some lab experiment.
Not a Silent Wyrms project.
It's his.
And if he's real…
then The Five aren't extinct.
They're still alive.
Out there.
Beyond the storm.
And he's calling me.
That night, I dream again.
The golden-eyed man stands in the storm.
Sky splitting. Lightning flashing.
He doesn't scream.
He whispers.
His voice echoes in my head.
Soft. But clear.
"Kyla."
"I can feel you."
"Don't let them take the egg."
"I'm coming."
"And when I arrive…"
"…the world will burn."
I wake up.
Heart racing.
Cold sweat.
Air feels hot.
I look under the bed.
The egg…
is cracked.
I touch it.
Still warm.
But hotter than before.
And from inside the crack—
I feel it.
Like the egg is screaming.
"Father…"
"I'm scared…"
"Help me…"
I pull it close.
Hold it tight.
Like I'm afraid someone will rip it away.
"It's okay," I whisper.
"I'm here.
I won't let them hurt you.
I won't let them hurt you."
I look at the window.
And I know.
I can't stay here any longer.
The Academy will find the egg.
They'll destroy it.
They'll destroy me too.
I have to go.
To Aetheris Peak.
Into the storm.
But not yet.
Tomorrow…
Flight training.
I can escape.
I can take the egg.
I can—
Suddenly, someone knocks on my door.
Three hard knocks.
I freeze.
Renn's voice from outside:
"Kyla? You awake? Instructor Vex wants to interview all cadets. Someone reported strange lights in your room. They said… there was light coming from your place."
I look at the egg.
The crack is pulsing.
Faint purple light seeping out.
I cover it with cloth, shove it into a wooden box, lock it.
Hide it behind the wall.
"Nothing's wrong!" I shout.
"You're crazy! I was just reading a book!"
Renn stays quiet.
Then walks away.
And I know one thing:
If I wait too long, I'll get caught.
That night, I dream again.
The golden-eyed man in the storm.
Not yelling.
Whispering:
"Kyla. I can feel you. Don't let them take the egg. I'm coming.
And when I arrive… the world will burn."
I wake up.
The egg under my bed…
is cracked.