I couldn''t move.
I couldn''t breathe.
The sheer presence of the dragon bore down on me, pressing against my chest like an invisible weight, making my every instinct scream at me to run, to flee, to survive—
But then, the impossible happened.
It laughed.
A low, rumbling chuckle that shook the cavern walls, deep and resonant, like the sound of mountains grinding against one another. It wasn''t a cruel laugh, nor was it mocking—it was something… amused.
"Hah… It has been centuries since a mere mortal has dared to look upon me without immediately breaking."
The dragon’s voice was unlike anything I had ever heard.
Deep. Ancient. Each word carried weight, like the very fabric of reality bent around its presence. It didn’t just speak—it commanded attention.
I swallowed, my throat dry as sand.
The dragon''s massive golden eyes, burning with wisdom far beyond human comprehension, regarded me with something between curiosity and amusement.
"I suppose you must be wondering who… or what I am, child."
It lifted its massive head, scales gleaming like molten obsidian, and spread its wings slightly, a simple movement that caused the very air around me to tremble.
"I am Ignis Aureum—the Eternal Calamity, the Black Sun that once scorched the skies, the being whom gods feared and mortals worshiped."
I blinked.
I knew I should be terrified, but… how do you even process something like that? A dragon—**not just any dragon, but a being that once rivaled gods—**was right in front of me, speaking to me.
Ignis let out a slow, almost weary exhale, his golden eyes flickering like embers.
"Long ago, I ruled the heavens, my flames unchallenged, my power unmatched. Kings, emperors, and even deities sought my wisdom… or my destruction."
His voice turned darker, laced with something that sounded like deep-seated resentment.
"And yet, in the end, it was not my enemies who brought my fall—but those who once revered me. The very beings who basked in my flames, who worshiped my existence, betrayed me. Fearing my power, they sealed me within this accursed dungeon, binding me in chains forged from the very laws of the world."
A heavy silence hung between us.
I could only stare, my mind racing to keep up.
A being once revered as a god… sealed away for centuries in this underground labyrinth?
That wasn’t just tragic—it was insane.
Ignis turned his gaze back to me, his eyes narrowing slightly as if peering through my very soul.
"And yet… you."
I felt my skin prickle, a strange sensation washing over me as if something unseen was shifting within me.
"You are no ordinary human."
I flinched. "Huh?"
Ignis let out a thoughtful hum.
"I can sense it. Something… elusive, something beyond fate itself surrounds you. Your very existence trembles with unseen potential."
My heart skipped a beat.
Was it my titles? My hidden luck stat?
Ignis narrowed his golden eyes.
"Tell me, mortal… What are you?"
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The cavern remained silent, save for the faint crackling of heat radiating from the dragon’s molten veins.
I swallowed hard.
What am I?
Hell if I knew. I wasn’t even sure if I belonged here, let alone what the hell was happening to me. But before I could even attempt to answer, Ignis Aureum spoke again—his voice carrying something that hadn’t been there before.
Resignation.
"But in the end… it does not matter."
I tensed as the dragon’s massive golden eyes slowly drifted away from me, staring toward the cavern ceiling like he was gazing beyond it—beyond this prison of stone and fire.
"I have slumbered here for countless years, my power slowly fading, my body eroding into little more than a husk. Once, I ruled the skies. My flames burned through empires, my name alone could make gods tremble. And now… I am nothing but a shadow of what I was."
His voice, though still deep and commanding, carried an undeniable weight of bitterness. Of sorrow.
I didn’t dare move.
"The chains that bind me are no longer necessary. My own body is a cage now. I no longer seek vengeance. I no longer dream of reclaiming what was taken from me."
Then, his burning gaze locked onto me again.
"I only wish for one thing, outsider."
A shiver ran down my spine as his next words rumbled through the cavern, final and absolute—
"I wish to die."
I froze.
"Wait—what?!"
Ignis lowered his head, bringing his massive, ancient face mere meters away from me. His searing breath washed over me like a wave of heat, but I barely registered it.
"I do not wish to rot in this prison, forgotten and powerless. I ask you, outsider… grant me my release."
My heart pounded violently in my chest.
"Are you—are you serious?!" I stammered. "You—you’re literally the biggest thing I’ve ever seen! You could turn me into ash just by blinking! I’m Level 1! How the hell am I supposed to—?"
Ignis chuckled—not in mockery, but something almost… amused.
"You are correct. As you are now, you would not even scratch me. But I would not make such a request without reason."
I swallowed hard. "Meaning…?"
The dragon slowly lifted one massive claw, tapping the ground beneath him. The impact alone sent small tremors rippling through the cavern.
"I will not ask you to slay me as you are. Instead, I will give you the means to grow. To become strong enough to grant me what I seek."
My mind was racing.
This was insane. All of this was insane.
A legendary, god-tier dragon was asking me, a total weakling, to kill it?!
And yet…
Something deep in my gut told me this wasn’t just some random encounter.
My hidden luck stat. The unknown titles.
None of this was a coincidence.
Ignis let out a slow exhale.
"I offer you the legacy of my flames, my power, my knowledge. You will walk a path no other has walked before."
His golden eyes gleamed with something dangerous… but certain.
"So tell me, mortal."
A heavy silence filled the cavern.
"Will you accept?"