Morning came with the sound of thunder rolling across the mountains. The storm had passed, but the clouds still clung to the peaks like old ghosts.
I stood at the edge of a cliff, my clothes soaked and torn, watching the mist rise from the valley below. My Spirit—the Fragmented Dragon Soul—floated beside me, a faint shadow with silver eyes.
"We survived," I murmured.
It gave no answer, only flickered once, as if acknowledging my words. I could still feel it inside me, that faint pulse of shared existence. Every heartbeat carried a trace of something dark and powerful.
But the hunger was back.
My stomach growled. "Don't suppose you can eat normal food, huh?" I asked the shadow. It blinked at me—no reaction.
I sighed. "Figures."
I started walking down the mountain trail, my boots slipping on the wet stone. Somewhere below was Qingyang Forest, a place known for its spirit beasts and herbs. If I wanted to live, I needed food—and maybe something to test the strange hunger inside my Spirit.
The deeper I went, the darker the woods became. Mist wrapped around the trees like pale snakes. Every sound—the rustle of leaves, the creak of branches—felt alive. Spirit beasts roamed here, and even the weakest could tear apart a human without protection.
One wrong step and I'm meat.
Still, something inside me—curiosity, maybe madness—kept me going.
After an hour of careful walking, I found a small clearing. A dead wolf-like beast lay in the grass, its eyes glassy and cold. The scent of blood filled the air.
I froze. "Did something kill it recently?"
My Spirit stirred. A faint vibration rippled through the air, like a whisper tugging at my mind.
Devour it.
The voice came from within me—soft but undeniable. I swallowed hard. "You want… that thing?"
The shadow dragon shimmered. For a moment, its silver eyes flared brighter.
It wanted to feed.
I hesitated only a second before kneeling beside the corpse. "If this is how you survive… then let's try."
I placed my hand on the beast's body. A thread of cold light flowed from my palm, wrapping around the carcass. The Spirit's form brightened, and then—like smoke being inhaled—it began to absorb the beast's essence.
A surge of energy flooded through me. My vision blurred; my veins burned. But this time, it wasn't pain—it was strength.
I could feel it. The Spirit growing stronger, its shape becoming clearer.
When it was over, the wolf's body had turned to dust.
My Spirit floated silently before me—its shadowed form larger, the wings sharper, more defined.
A single glowing line appeared on the back of my hand—a faint Spirit Mark. Proof of evolution.
"I… did it," I whispered. "We're not weak anymore."
The dragon's voice echoed faintly in my head.
"Devour. Grow. Survive."
I spent the next few hours wandering deeper into the forest, testing my new strength. When I focused, a thin layer of gray energy formed around my fists—a fragment of the dragon's power. It wasn't much, but it was something.
I was practicing in silence when a soft cry echoed from ahead.
"Help! Somebody—please!"
I spun around. The voice came from the east, deeper in the woods. Without thinking, I ran toward it.
The trees parted into another clearing. There, surrounded by three Ironhide Boars, stood a girl—young, maybe my age, her long crimson hair tangled and her clothes torn. Her spirit shimmered faintly behind her—a flickering image of a fox with nine fiery tails.
A Spirit Beast Manifestation.
She was a spirit user… but her energy felt unstable, wounded.
One of the boars charged. She barely dodged, falling to her knees.
"Hey!" I shouted. "Over here!"
All three beasts turned toward me. Perfect. I didn't have time to think about how stupid this was.
I reached into my core, calling to the dragon.
"Let's see what you can do."
The gray Spirit flared into existence. My body filled with raw energy; I could feel the dragon's hunger mixing with my heartbeat. I dashed forward as one of the boars lunged. My fist met its head in a burst of gray light.
Boom!
The beast crashed to the ground, its skull cracking open. The dragon's essence pulled at it instinctively, drawing in the scattered spirit energy. The second boar bellowed, tusks gleaming, and charged. I rolled aside, grabbed a broken branch, and slammed it into its eye. It screamed, blood spraying.
By the time the third one moved, the dragon's eyes flared again. I raised my hand, and a gray aura shot forward—like a wave of mist.
The beast froze mid-charge, its body stiffening before collapsing. Its spirit dissolved into a faint light that drifted into my chest.
When the silence returned, the clearing smelled of blood and smoke. My heart hammered like a drum.
I turned toward the girl. She was sitting on the ground, her face pale but eyes wide with shock.
"You… killed them," she said, voice trembling.
I tried to smile. "They weren't very polite."
She blinked, then laughed weakly. "You're insane."
"Probably."
I helped her stand. Up close, she was beautiful in a wild way—eyes bright as amber, hair burning like fire under the gray sky. A faint scar ran across her cheek, but it only made her look fiercer.
"Thanks," she said, brushing off her clothes. "I could've handled them if my spirit wasn't half asleep."
"Right," I said dryly. "Looked like it."
She smirked. "Name's Yun Mei."
"Long Tian."
She tilted her head. "Long? As in the Long Clan?"
My smile faded. "Used to be."
Something in my tone must've told her not to push further, because she nodded quietly. "Well, former Long Tian, you saved me. I owe you."
I shrugged. "Just helping someone who screamed louder than thunder."
She laughed again, the sound bright and sharp. "You're not like most spirit users."
"I'm not like most anything."
Her gaze softened, curious now. "What's your Spirit? I didn't recognize it."
I hesitated. Should I tell her? My Spirit was supposed to be useless, forbidden even. But somehow, I wanted to trust her.
I summoned the Fragmented Dragon Soul. The shadowy dragon appeared above my shoulder, wings of smoke curling through the air.
Yun Mei's eyes widened. "That's… a dragon. But… it feels strange. Cold."
"It's broken," I said simply. "Like me."
She stared for a long moment, then smiled. "Broken things can still bite."
We made camp near a stream. I built a small fire while Yun Mei tended to a wound on her arm. She didn't seem afraid of me, even after seeing what my Spirit did. That alone was strange.
"You travel alone?" I asked.
"Yeah," she said, poking at the fire with a stick. "Used to live near the eastern border. My family… isn't around anymore."
I didn't ask how. Her eyes said enough.
"What about you?" she asked softly. "You don't look like a wanderer."
"I'm… starting over," I said. "Got thrown away by people I trusted."
She nodded slowly. "Then we're the same."
We sat in silence for a while, the crackle of fire the only sound. The forest outside was alive with distant howls.
Finally, Yun Mei leaned back and said, "So, what's your plan, Dragon Boy?"
"Find a way to get stronger," I said. "Strong enough that no one can call me useless again."
"Ambitious." She smirked. "I like it."
I smiled faintly. "And you?"
She looked into the flames. "I'm looking for something. The Nine-Tailed Flame Fox Spirit isn't mine originally. I inherited it from my mother. But I can't control it. If I don't find the Fox Flame Core soon… it'll devour me from inside."
Her voice was calm, but her hands trembled slightly.
I stared at her for a moment. "Then I'll help you find it."
She blinked. "Why?"
"Because I owe you for trusting me."
A slow smile spread across her face. "Careful, Long Tian. I might take that seriously."
"Do."
Her laughter danced in the firelight—soft, almost warm enough to melt the chill that had followed me since exile.
Later that night, when she slept beside the dying fire, I sat alone, watching the gray Spirit float above my hand. The dragon's eyes glowed faintly.
"You felt that too, didn't you?" I whispered.
The Spirit pulsed once in answer. I could feel its hunger, its curiosity. It had devoured beasts before—but the energy from those boars was different. It carried traces of spirit essence.
"Devour… grow…" The dragon's voice echoed in my mind again, faint and slow, like a heartbeat.
"I will," I murmured. "But not recklessly."
The dragon blinked, silent.
My gaze drifted to Yun Mei, sleeping peacefully. For the first time in days, I felt something other than bitterness—something like calm.
Maybe I wasn't completely alone anymore.
I lay back, letting the stars fill my vision. They looked clearer tonight, brighter somehow. The wind whispered through the trees, carrying the faint scent of foxfire.
Tomorrow, we would hunt for the Flame Core. Tomorrow, my path would continue.
And somewhere deep within my soul, the dragon stirred again—stronger, hungrier, waiting for the world to test its roar.
To be continued...