The hero opened his eyes.
The palace courtyard was gone.
He was lying inside his room.
His dragon stood beside the window, staring at the northern mountains.
"Again…"
The hero slowly sat up.
His hand was burning.
He looked down.
The black mark was still there.
But now…
It had changed.
A thin red line had appeared in its center.
"What are you?"
He touched it.
THUMP.
His heart suddenly stopped for a moment.
A strange image flashed through his mind.
A battlefield.
Thousands of dead warriors.
Dragons flying through a black sky.
And in the middle of it all…
A man holding a sword.
The man looked exactly like him.
The hero stepped backward.
"No…"
The vision disappeared.
His breathing became heavy.
His dragon immediately turned toward him.
"You saw it too?"
The dragon slowly lowered its head.
For the first time, the hero understood something.
His dragon wasn't just reacting to the mark.
It knew what it was.
He walked toward it.
"Tell me."
The dragon remained silent.
"Please."
The dragon suddenly looked toward the palace.
Then it walked outside.
The hero followed.
They reached the throne room.
The king was gone.
But the ancient stone floor remained.
Something caught the hero's attention.
A strange symbol had appeared beneath the throne.
The same symbol…
was on his hand.
His eyes widened.
"This was here all along?"
He knelt and touched the symbol.
CRACK!
The floor opened.
A staircase appeared beneath them.
Cold air rushed upward.
His dragon growled.
The hero drew his sword.
"Whatever is down there…"
He looked at his dragon.
"We're finding out."
They descended.
One step.
Then another.
The deeper they went, the quieter it became.
No birds.
No wind.
Nothing.
Finally, they reached a massive stone door.
Written across it were ancient words.
The hero couldn't understand them.
But the moment he touched the door
the mark on his hand glowed.
The ancient writing suddenly became clear.
His face turned pale.
He read the words aloud.
"When the Warrior awakens, the Dragon King shall return."
Silence.
His dragon suddenly roared.
ROOOAAAR!
The entire underground chamber shook.
Then
BOOM!
Something slammed against the other side of the stone door.
The hero froze.
Another impact.
BOOM!
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Something was trapped behind it.
Something enormous.
The hero tightened his grip on his sword.
"What did the king hide down here?"
The door began to crack.
A golden light appeared through the cracks.
His dragon stepped in front of him.
The hero raised his sword.
Then a deep voice echoed from behind the door.
"You finally came back…"
The hero's blood ran cold.
"Back?"
The door cracked open.
A massive golden eye appeared through the darkness.
The creature whispered
"Warrior."
The hero couldn't move.
Because the voice…
was coming from a dragon.
TO BE CONTINUED…