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I didn't die like a hero.
There was no truck, no dramatic sacrifice, no final words that would be remembered by anyone. One moment, I was just another exhausted human trying to survive an ordinary day, and the next—everything went dark.
No pain. No light.
Just silence.
Then agony ripped me apart.
I sucked in air that burned my lungs, my body convulsing as if I had been thrown into freezing water. My thoughts scattered, unable to grasp what was happening. I tried to scream—but no sound came out. Instead, a hoarse, animal-like cry escaped my throat.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
My vision blurred before slowly sharpening, revealing a world drenched in dull crimson light. Jagged rocks surrounded me, their surfaces stained with dried blood and claw marks. The air was thick with the stench of rot and damp earth.
I tried to move my arms.
They didn't exist.
Panic surged through me as I looked down at myself.
A small, scaly body lay where my human form should have been. Blackened scales, cracked and uneven, covered my limbs. My hands were gone—replaced by clawed forelimbs no bigger than a child's. I tried to move my legs and felt a pair of weak hind limbs tremble beneath me.
A tail twitched behind my body.
"No… this has to be a dream."
The words never reached my ears. My mouth opened, but all that came out was a rough, shrill sound—something closer to a screech than speech.
That was when I saw it.
A reflection.
In a shallow pool of murky water beside me, a creature stared back. Its eyes were vertical slits glowing faintly gold, filled with fear and confusion. Small, broken horns protruded from its skull. Torn wings—too small, too damaged to ever lift its body—hung limply against its sides.
A dragon.
A weak one.
My breath hitched as the realization crushed me.
I wasn't human anymore.
I had been reborn as a dragon.
Before I could process that nightmare, a deep growl echoed through the cavern.
My instincts screamed.
Danger.
The ground trembled as something large moved through the shadows. From behind a jagged rock emerged a beast twice my size—its body a mass of muscle and matted fur, its eyes burning with hunger. Saliva dripped from its fangs as it sniffed the air.
A predator.
And I was prey.
My heart pounded violently. Every part of me wanted to run, but my legs shook so badly I nearly collapsed. I tried to spread my wings, desperate to escape, only to feel sharp pain tear through my back.
The wings were useless.
The beast lunged.
I barely rolled aside in time, claws scraping against stone as its jaws snapped shut where my head had been moments before. The impact sent shockwaves through my fragile body, pain exploding through my ribs.
So this was it.
Reborn… just to die again.
But something inside me snapped.
A primal instinct surged forward, drowning out panic and reason. My body moved before my mind could catch up. I bit down with everything I had, my fangs sinking into the beast's leg.
Blood filled my mouth.
The beast roared in pain, thrashing wildly. I was thrown against the cavern wall, my vision spinning as my body crashed hard against stone. Something cracked.
I screamed.
The beast charged again.
I knew I couldn't win.
But I also knew one thing with terrifying clarity.
No one was coming to save me.
If I wanted to live, I had to fight—not as a human, not as a hero…
…but as a monster.
As the beast leapt toward me once more, I lowered my head, golden eyes burning with desperation.
"Then I'll survive," I thought, my consciousness clinging to that single resolve.
Even if it means becoming something this world fears.