Chapter 54 – The Dragon with a Human Heart.
On the side of Dragonil;
The deep roar of lava filled the air, as if the ground itself were breathing. Every stone vibrated, every wall deformed, giving the labyrinth an almost human, organic pulse. The glowing walls moved like living entrails, exhaling suffocating heat.
Seth ran.
He didn't think anymore. Every step brought him closer to danger.
The ground opened beneath his heels only to close immediately behind him, like a mouth trying to snap him up. The walls shot out, then retracted, trapping him in corridors that reshaped every two seconds.
— Wha… what the hell is this! he shouted, out of breath.
A lava golem emerged from the wall to his right, its incandescent body still fused with the rock. Its eyes were two glowing embers, and each step resonated like a hammer on an anvil. Seth turned around, but another one was already in front of him.
The ground suddenly lifted beneath his feet, throwing him into a narrower corridor. Seth crashed heavily, rolled over the burning stone, and ran again without even feeling the pain. His hair lay across his forehead, soaked in sweat.
— What is this labyrinth?! Did it teleport us all to hell or what?
The corridor stretched before his eyes, then shrank abruptly, almost crushing him against a wall that appeared out of nowhere. He slid on his knees, skidded, and resumed running, his heart pounding in his chest.
Behind him, the golems roared in a guttural voice, a mineral lament. Each of their steps made the ground vibrate, as if the entire labyrinth wanted to collapse on Seth.
Elsewhere, Damian moved with determined steps. Unlike Seth, he did not flee. He observed.
Every time a wall formed, he stopped, gauged the direction. When the ground opened, he waited for the movement to stabilize before advancing. Yet, even he couldn't fully predict the whims of this stone-and-fire monster.
A section of wall suddenly began to bleed lava, dripping like an open wound. Damian dodged. The ground beneath his feet lifted, propelling him forward like a wave. He landed in a new corridor, where the heat was so intense he struggled to breathe.
— The Dragon isn't joking. This labyrinth is truly… alive, he murmured, frowning. It's like it's watching us and moving with us.
For a moment, he felt that the flames were forming a massive eye on the wall. But when he blinked, there was only a stream of magma.
Further along, Alma stumbled into a circular room. The floor began to spin beneath her like a gigantic wheel. The walls sprouted spikes, forcing her to run to avoid being impaled.
— Seriously… Vulcan… are you mocking us? We're here for a mission, I don't see the point of this, she grumbled.
She leapt forward, jumping from tile to tile, but every time she stepped, the stone disintegrated only to reappear elsewhere. She found herself leaping into the void, caught at the last moment by a platform that appeared beneath her as if cruelly.
The labyrinth breathed.
It laughed.
It played with them.
Alma lifted her head. Above, walls rose and fell like the beating of a heart. The rock was alive. Lava flowed through cracks like blood in veins. She realized then that it was not just a trap.
It was a trial meant to break them, mentally as well as physically.
Somewhere high above, sitting on a black stone throne, Vulcan laughed heartily. A smoked leg of meat in hand, he watched the lava screens reflecting the images of the labyrinth.
— Look at these faces! Ah, these brats aren't ready! he shouted, laughing, swallowing a huge bite.
His laughter echoed through the hall, thunderous, but his eyes remained fixed on a particular screen: the one where Noël struggled in the shifting depths of the labyrinth…
Inside the labyrinth;
The ground gave way beneath Alma. She didn't even have time to scream before she was hanging in the void, her fingers gripping a crumbly stone. The heat from the boiling lava far below already burned her skin.
Another scream rang out, just beside her. Noël.
He was falling, his body tossed by the scorching air currents. Alma, in a desperate reflex, reached out and managed to grab his wrist.
— Hold on!
The impact almost made them both fall. Noël trembled, his nails digging into Alma's skin, his fear immense. They pulled themselves up together onto an unstable ledge, exhausted, covered in dust and sweat.
A heavy silence surrounded them, broken only by the loud breath of the labyrinth reshaping in the distance.
Alma caught her breath and glanced at the boy, curled up against the wall.
— Are… you okay?
Noël nodded without looking. His eyes fixed on the ground, evasive. His cheeks were flushed, but not just from the heat.
— You're shy, huh, murmured Alma, giving a small smile.
He flinched.
— …It's not that. It's just… I hate this. I hate these games. Vulcan… annoys me. Always the same with him… always… idiot.
Alma frowned.
— What's your connection with him, exactly?
Noël bit his lip. His heart beat so hard it hurt. Yet something in Alma's eyes encouraged him to speak.
— I never trust people… generally. But with you, it's different. With you, I feel… at ease. It's weird, it's the first time this has happened to me.
Alma froze. Her breath caught, and her face flushed despite herself.
Noël looked away, but his words slipped out anyway:
— My father… was Vulcan's best friend. They were everything to each other.
A memory struck him.
He saw his father leaning toward him, a rough hand on his shoulder. His golden eyes glowed warmly.
"You know, Noël… a dragon isn't measured just by its size or strength, but by the size of its heart… A dragon must know how to love."
His lips trembled.
— But he died a long time ago… 20 years ago today. And Vulcan was the one who told me.
He inhaled shakily, his voice breaking.
— My mother… I don't know who she is. I think she's dead. You can imagine, orphaned of both parents at ten, I needed someone to take care of me.
His fists clenched.
— I hate everything… everyone. Especially at school. They mocked me because… I was the smallest. A dragon unable to control his powers… I couldn't even transform into a dragon… Everyone bullied me… I was alone. Always alone… yet I did nothing wrong. I just wanted to be left alone…
Another memory pierced his mind.
Noël still remembered.
He was just a small boy, out of breath, heart pounding with hope.
That day, he had run toward the other dragon children. They played in the courtyard of Dragonil's great school, aerial races, strength games where each showed off their blazing scales.
Noël timidly raised his hand.
— Can… can I play with you?
Silence, then laughter erupted.
— You? sneered a tall one with already solid horns. But you can't even fly!
— Show us your wings! Oh no, right, you don't have any!
— Maybe your mom broke them before she left! Ahhh!
The words cut sharper than claws. Noël tried to smile, but tears filled his eyes. He so badly wanted to prove he could be like them. He closed his eyes, clenched his fists, focused… but nothing. No wings, no scales. Just a trembling child, lost in his own dragon blood.
The laughter grew louder.
— Look, he's shaking! Be careful, or you'll die. You already look like a corpse!
— A dragon that doesn't transform… is just a failed human! You don't belong here!
Noël ended up running from the school. He ran, ran to his room, where he collapsed in tears. Every evening, the same pain: he looked in the mirror, pounded his chest, whispering:
— Why am I useless? Why is it always me who has a bad life?
It was Vulcan who came to him. One evening, he opened the door without knocking, a tray of food in his hands.
— Noël, he said in a strangely gentle voice.
The boy looked up, cheeks soaked in tears. Vulcan placed the tray, sat beside him. His usually mischievous, glowing eyes were serious.
— You know, I also felt alone once. Different. As if I didn't belong.
Noël sniffled.
— But you… you're strong. I'm… nothing. I'm useless and nobody loves me.
Vulcan chuckled softly, not mockingly, but reassuringly. He placed a heavy, warm hand on the boy's head.
— Listen carefully, Noël. Know that I love you deeply, immensely, as my own son. And it's not because your wings haven't come out today that they never will. Dragons are not all born roaring. Some are born in silence… and when they finally awaken, they become monsters of power.
Noël's eyes widened.
— You… you really think I can? Really? Me?
— I have no doubt at all, said Vulcan. And for that, you don't need anyone else. You only need yourself, and… your courage.
He smiled, tapping his chest.
— So from today on, we will train together. Not at school, not in front of those idiots. Here, at home. You will be my student. And one day… you'll make them regret mocking you.
Noël's tears fell again, but that night, they were no longer tears of despair. It was a promise.
A spark had ignited.
His throat tightened.
In the real world, Vulcan lowered his eyes to his full cup. His fingers trembled, and a spoon slipped from his hand, crashing onto the stone floor. He stared at the lava screen, where Noël's voice echoed, and
and for the first time, his smile vanished.
Alma watched him, moved.
— You love Vulcan a lot, don't you?
— Even if I tried, I couldn't hate him. Vulcan is everything to me today. And even if he were just my master, if I were offered the chance to see my father again but at the cost of never seeing Vulcan, I would choose Vulcan without hesitation…
Alma pressed her lips together, then lowered her gaze.
— I've lost a parent too…
Noël stared at her, surprised.
— My mother, she said softly. I was too young to understand… Actually, I don't think I even cried that day. But I understand other people's pain.
A veil passed over her eyes.
She remembered herself as a little girl, in an empty room, cold sheets, her father absent. Her hands touched toys she didn't understand, gifts given without love.
— Since I was ten, I traveled to all the realms, Alma continued. Even with my father, I have very few memories. And those I do… sometimes, I wish I could erase them.
A violent memory surged then.
She saw Agnor, her father, hand raised. The slap echoed, but it wasn't her he struck. It was Degel, her brother, a child at the time. The shock made the walls tremble. "You are not worthy of being a member of this family!" he had shouted.
Alma brought her hands to her head. Noël leapt toward her.
— Alma?! Are you okay?!
She breathed heavily, eyes misted.
— It's nothing, don't worry… just… memories I didn't want to revisit.
Before he could respond, the ground began to shake and collapsed beneath them. The game was only just beginning.
To be continued.. .