Arin Rao didn't expect anything unusual when he walked past the construction site that morning. It was the same half-finished mall project that had been stalled for months, surrounded by metal sheets, warning signs, and dust. He took the shortcut through the back road every day to reach college.
But today, something was different.
A section of the ground had collapsed. A huge crater—maybe twenty meters wide—had opened overnight. Construction workers stood around it, confused, blocking the entrance. Their voices carried across the road.
"Sinkhole?"
"No… the scanners didn't pick up anything hollow."
"Then what caused it?"
Arin slowed down. He wasn't the type to get involved, but curiosity pulled at him. He waited until the workers moved to talk to a supervisor, then slipped past the fence through a loose panel. He'd used this gap many times to save five minutes of walking.
He didn't expect the ground to tremble the moment he stepped inside.
A dull vibration spread under his feet—like something huge shifting far below.
He stopped.
"…What the hell was that?"
The air smelled like burnt metal. A faint bluish mist floated near the crater's edge, only visible when sunlight hit it at an angle. He climbed down the slope carefully, sliding a bit on the broken concrete.
Deep inside the crater, something glowed.
At first, he thought it was a buried light fixture or some machinery. But as he moved closer, he noticed the glow pulsed—slow, rhythmic, almost like breathing.
A giant, black-scaled shape lay partially exposed under collapsed earth.
Arin's brain froze.
The object wasn't metal.
It wasn't rock.
It was a scale—the size of a dinner plate, shimmering with faint blue cracks running through it.
He whispered to himself, "No way… is this real?"
He brushed more dirt away. Under the debris was a large surface, curved and warm. His hand flinched.
Warm.
Not cold like stone.
Not dead.
He swallowed. Stupid ideas ran through his mind—movie monsters, giant lizards, some prehistoric fossil. Anything except what it truly resembled: a massive creature curled underground.
He hesitated.
Then he touched the glowing crack with one finger.
The world snapped.
A surge of energy shot up his arm and slammed into his chest. His vision went blank white. His ears rang, drowning out his own shout. He staggered backward but couldn't move—his body locked in place.
A voice echoed inside his skull.
"—At last… awake."
Arin's breath caught.
He tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn't open.
The voice continued, deeper and clearer now.
Calm, ancient, and annoyed.
"Who dares touch my heartstone?"
The glowing cracks widened. Dust poured down as the buried creature shifted. A massive eyelid—bigger than Arin's entire body—opened slowly beneath the rubble.
A slit pupil of bright, electric blue stared directly at him.
Arin's legs gave out. He hit the ground, unable to even scream.
The creature moved again. A wing or limb forced its way through debris, sending chunks of concrete flying. The ground shook with every motion.
The eye narrowed.
"Human…? Strange choice for a bond…"
Arin finally forced words out. "W-what are you?"
The voice answered before the creature's mouth even moved.
"Kairon. Dragon of the Deep Sky. Sealed… for too long."
Arin's mind rejected it immediately.
A dragon?
An actual dragon?
This had to be a hallucination. Or gas. Or something poisonous leaking from the construction site.
But the voice wasn't done.
"Your touch woke the heartstone. A bond has formed. You cannot escape it now."
Arin's heartbeat doubled.
"Wait—bond? What bond?!"
The dragon exhaled sharply, sending a blast of hot air that blew Arin's hair back.
"Do not shout. I am injured, and your noise irritates me."
Arin just stared, shaking.
This massive creature spoke like someone waking up from a nap they didn't want.
The dragon shifted again. More rubble broke off, revealing a long, obsidian snout glowing faintly. As the creature moved, the bond inside Arin pulsed—like a second heartbeat syncing with his.
Kairon growled softly.
"I must get above ground."
Arin stepped back instinctively. "No, no, wait! People are right outside! They'll freak out—there are cameras, drones, everything!"
Kairon paused.
"…Then hide me."
Arin blinked. "…What?"
"Hide me. Move this debris. Clear a path. You woke me, so you will assist me."
Arin looked at the mountains of concrete lying over a fifty-meter dragon and let out a dry laugh.
"Yeah, sure. Let me just lift a hundred tons with my bare hands."
Kairon stared at him silently.
Then the dragon's massive body shrank.
The glow intensified, wrapping the creature in spiraling blue light. The huge form compacted rapidly—wings folding, limbs contracting—until the light faded.
A smaller shape stood on the ground where the huge dragon had been.
A boy.
Maybe fourteen years old, barefoot, wearing nothing but dark scales along his forearms and neck. His hair was black with streaks of electric blue. His eyes were the same glowing dragon eyes from before.
He crossed his arms and looked up at Arin.
"Better?"
Arin's jaw dropped. "You… turned human?!"
"Temporary," Kairon said, brushing dust off himself. "Now take me somewhere safe. I need to recover."
Arin stared at the strange kid, the glowing scales, the crater, everything.
His life had officially gone off the rails.
Kairon frowned.
"Human? Why are you standing there? Move."
Arin finally snapped out of it.
"Fine! Just—just don't blast me or something!"
Kairon nodded once, annoyed.
"Good. You learn quickly."
And just like that, Arin found himself dragging a half-injured dragon—in boy form—out of a collapsed construction site before the world noticed.
He had no idea that this moment would change everything.