Jania’s head throbbed, a pressure, unlike anything she had ever felt pushing against her mind. She gritted her teeth, instinctively trying to push back, to shield herself from the invasion, but it was pointless. Whatever defences she had were nothing in front of the sheer presence of the dragon’s will.


    Her thoughts, memories, and emotions were laid bare in an instant.


    A deep, resonant voice filled her mind, smooth yet impossibly vast.


    "Ah, so you are the anomaly. Interesting."


    Jania staggered slightly but held her ground, glaring up at the enormous silver beast before her.


    The dragon’s massive form shifted, the movement slow and deliberate. Its glowing eyes studied her with something bordering on amusement.


    "I had expected more," the voice rumbled, as if speaking to itself. "You slipped through the barrier surrounding this world, and I wondered if you were something special. But it seems it was merely coincidence."


    Jania clenched her fists. Barrier? That was news to her. Did that mean Null and the others couldn''t get to her?


    The dragon’s presence pressed heavier against her mind, but this time, it wasn’t forcing its way in. The dragon was probing her.


    "What do you want?"


    The simple question sent a wave of frustration through Jania. There were so many things she wanted from answers to a way back to her team, to finish this damn mission.


    “To return to my ship,” she said firmly.


    The dragon let out a low, rumbling chuckle, the sound vibrating through the cavern.


    "And then what?"


    Jania hesitated. She didn’t like being questioned like this, but something about the way it asked made her pause.


    "Do you even know who you are working with?"


    Jania met the dragon’s eyes, her jaw tightening. “They’re my friends.”


    A silence stretched between them before the dragon exhaled, releasing a plume of silver mist.


    "Then allow me to enlighten you, little soldier."


    The dragon shifted, coiling its enormous body into a more relaxed position.


    "The universe is vast—millions upon millions of galaxies. And within this endless expanse, there are a few ancient races that have taken hold of entire galactic clusters. One of them is the Alterra Empire."


    Jania’s brows furrowed. She didn’t understand why that was important.


    "The Alterrians do not conquer in the way you might think. Their influence spreads not through war, but through seeding. They have scattered life across countless worlds, each one a carefully cultivated experiment. You, human, are just one of their seeds."


    Jania felt a cold chill run through her. “What do you mean seed?”


    "The humanoid species you are familiar with, the ones that appear in your books. Elves, dwarves, even your kind—are deviations of the same original seed. A genetic template, if you will. Alterrians manipulate evolution itself, crafting their legacy across the stars."


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Jania swallowed hard, processing the weight of that statement. “So you’re saying that humans, elves, all of us, come from the same place?”


    "Correct."


    Her heart pounded. “And… what does that mean?”


    The dragon’s eyes darkened, its voice deepening with something that almost sounded like a warning.


    "It means that sometimes a seed sprouts—one of the seedlings develops Alterran magic. When such a seedling emerges, it follows the same path, a trajectory that inevitably leads back to the Alterra Empire. They do not resist it. They do not fight it. They become it."


    Jania’s breath hitched. “You’re saying… Null and Infy”


    "Are one of those sprouts"


    The words echoed in her mind, heavy with implication.


    She had read a lot of fantasy books growing up to escape her reality, stories of chosen ones and powerful magic users. But this wasn’t a story.


    This was real.


    And Null…


    Null could use the fields without Zallium. I didn’t understand why that was important.


    Her hands curled into fists.


    "Every seed that sprouts reaches for power, and every time, they try to claim a galaxy in the name of the Alterra Empire. It is not just a possibility, Jania. It is a certainty."


    Jania shook her head, refusing to believe it. Null wasn’t some puppet. He wasn’t destined to become some conqueror.


    But the dragon’s voice was calm.


    Jania forced herself to meet the dragon’s gaze, her heart pounding in her chest like a war drum. She clenched her fists, resisting the urge to step back from the sheer weight of the creature’s presence.


    “That’s easy,” she said, voice steady despite the tension knotting her shoulders. “I’ll support my friend. I don’t know how you know all this or where you’re getting your information, but Null and Infy aren’t like that.”


    The dragon exhaled a slow, deliberate breath that sent ripples through the cavern’s stale air. “You are young. You do not see the pattern because you lack the perspective.” The great silver beast shifted its massive wings before continuing. “There have been six others before this one. Six sprouts. And I helped eliminate them all.”


    Jania’s breath caught. “You what?”


    The dragon tilted its head slightly, studying her reaction. “This is the earliest we have ever detected one. That is why we will eliminate this one as well.”


    Jania’s mind raced. Null? A sprout? Destined to become one of these so-called Alterran conquerors? No. It didn’t make sense. Null wasn’t like that. He was different. She knew him.


    Her jaw tightened. “Then why even bother talking to me? If your decision is already made, why not just kill me now?”


    The dragon sighed, the sound reverberating through Jania’s bones like a distant earthquake. “Because I am a pacifist by nature. It is I who prevents violence on this planet. It is why the elves sought refuge here. It is why they use me as their shield. I do not wish to kill, not if there is another way.” Its massive eyes narrowed slightly. “That is why I read your mind, little soldier. I wanted to see if you held the truth I sought.”


    The dragon’s face turned sorrowful, and for the first time, Jania thought she saw something beyond power and wisdom in its eyes. Regret.


    “But it seems,” the dragon continued, “that the sprout has already begun its evolution into a ruler.”


    Jania grounded her teeth, fury burning hotter than the dragon’s fire. How dare it? How dare it decide Null and Infy’s fate as if they were nothing more than pests to be exterminated? They weren’t monsters. They weren’t some ticking time bomb of destruction. They were her friends. And she would be damned if she let anyone take them away from her.


    Something shifted inside her, like a lock snapping open. A heat unfurled in her chest, different from the raw physical strength she had always relied on. It wasn’t just anger, No, it was defiance, a refusal to accept someone else''s judgment.


    The dragon stirred, its lazy amusement evaporating as it focused fully on her now. It had sensed it too.


    Jania wasn’t sure what she had done, but she reached out instinctively, pushing against something unseen, something that wasn’t quite physical. And then—contact.


    Null. Infy.


    She sent a single message. “Help”


    The barrier keeping them apart had been absolute, held firm by the dragon’s power, but now there was a crack, a small tunnel carved through her sheer force of will. That was all the boys needed.


    They arrived in an instant, materialising in the cavern as if they had simply stepped through an open door. Null’s silver eyes blazed as he took a defensive stance, Infy’s energy crackling around him like a living storm.


    The shift was enough to snap Kikei out of her trance. She stumbled backward, eyes wide as she realized what was happening.


    The dragon exhaled, a sound like distant thunder. And then its jaws parted.


    Fire roared toward them.