Ryuji was just an ordinary 14-year-old boy with brown eyes and brown hair.


    One day he was wandering through the woods near his home, when he stubbed his toe on something hard. He held his foot jumping up and down holding back tears of pain as he cursed into the empty forest. After the pain subsided, he looked down and saw a small, key half-buried in the dirt.


    It was an old key, its surface covered in dirt and rust. Despite its outer appearance at first glance, the key gave off a special vibe. When he picked it up, a mysterious voice echoed inside his head.


    "Do you wish to become a dragon?"


    Ryuji thought that it was just some kind of silly question. He laughed and said, "Sure, why not?”


    He never would have thought in a million years that those three words would change his life forever.


    Nothing happened at first so Ryuji just shrugged it off and continued walking. Suddenly, a sharp searing hot pain shook his entire body and he collapsed and started writhing on the ground uncontrollably for what felt like ages but was only a few minutes.


    As the pain slowly faded, Ryuji gasped for air to steady his pounding heartbeat. After a few minutes of laying down on the ground, he stood up, his legs still shaky from the ordeal, and looked around to see three glowing balls of light buzzing around him, their soft light pulsing rhythmically.


    He couldn’t understand them, yet something deep inside told him they were connected to the cause of the terrible pain he just went through. Maybe if he followed them, they would lead him to the answers of his growing whirlwind unanswered questions.


    Curious to see if any of this was real or some dream he made up, he followed the floating balls of light until he arrived at the loading dock of a grocery store. There was a back entrance for employees only which was kept locked at all times. Instincts told him to insert the key into the door if he so chooses to precede.


    Hesitant at first, Ryuji almost turns back around but pauses and lets his curiosity get the best of him as he quickly inserts the key into the lock and it turns. Filled with nervous excitement he opened the door to reveal a dark cave lit up with luminescent moss.


    As he stepped inside, the entrance shut behind him, leaving only a dim glow from the moss growing on the cave walls to light his way. The only way forward was an ominous looking tunnel filled with dark murky looking water at the opposite end of where he stood.


    His guts told him that if he wanted to get out, he had to swim down that water filled tunnel all the way to the exit. If he failed, he would die.


    Ryuji’s stomach twisted and he gulped, feeling a little nervous. There was no way forward except through the underwater tunnel. This left only two choices for Ryuji: Stay in the cave and slowly starve to death, or have a chance to survive by swimming until he reaches the end of the underwater tunnel.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Ryuji took off his shirt and shoes, looked at the dark entrance of the tunnel and gulped. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, closed his eyes and dived into the freezing dark water and started swimming.


    The first tunnel was long, but he kept swimming on until he arrived at another cave. He broke through the surface, desperately gulping in air, his chest heaving. His vision blurred, and his lungs burned from the desperate lack of oxygen. He had barely made it. He swam to the bank and lay down to rest for a bit, breathing hard.


    After catching his breath, Ryuji looked around. The little glowing balls were still flying around him. With the dim light they gave off, he could tell that the bank he was on was only a few feet wide and the cave ceiling was just barely high enough for him to stand. The ceiling sloped down until it hit the floor.


    As he was studying the area he was in, he noticed something on the wall. He stepped close to the spot and the floating lights flickered closer to the wall, as if they could read his mind. They illuminated the spot, revealing a map carved into the wall.


    It showed the cave and tunnel that he just came from as well as the chamber he was in right now. It also revealed that the tunnel he swam through was sloping down; there was another tunnel heading even deeper into the earth.


    He wondered what he got himself into. Would he be able to get out alive? Maybe he shouldn''t have let his urge to satisfy his curiosity get the best of him.


    As his expression grew darker with each thought, the glowing orbs around him bounced around emitting a soft hum. It almost felt like they were trying to cheer him up and give him some encouragement.


    He slapped his face with one hand and then shook himself out of the gloomy thoughts that were creeping into his mind and decided that there was only one thing he could do if he wanted to survive and make it out alive.


    He looked around for the next tunnel and found it with the help of the luminescent orbs. He jumped into the cold water and swam forward, not looking back in fear that he might give up.


    The next tunnel was longer, but this time he kept his eyes open. The lights flew alongside him as he swam, lighting up the dark water as he swam, keeping him company along his journey.


    Just as he felt his chest aching, almost about to pass out, he came to another chamber and broke through the surface and swam to shore panting once more. He pulled himself onto the solid ground and fell asleep completely drained of energy.


    After a while he woke up and the glowing balls danced around him and the wall. He took a look at the wall and noticed another map, just like the last one but with an additional tunnel, the one he just swam through and another entrance hinting to another waterway he had to travers.


    Ryuji sighed in dejection and tiredness. His body was aching all over. He hadn''t had so much exercise since the school year ended. His stomach growled, indicating how long he had gone without food. He wondered if he would ever make it out alive, or if he would end up starving to death.


    The orb then shifted towards a pile of moss growing on the floor. Ryuji blinked at them, confused. He crawled over to the moss pile, too weak to stand up and walk. The lights bounced in the air excited as he came closer.


    Suddenly, Ryuji had a feeling that they were trying to tell him to eat the moss that was in front of him. He gagged, repulsed by the idea of eating moss which he didn''t recognize, but the hunger gnawed at his stomach forcing him to take a handful and shakily stuff it in his mouth.


    To his surprise, the moss wasn''t as gross as he thought it would be, slightly slimy and very chewy. As long as he ignored the texture and pretended to be eating a salad, it wasn''t all that bad.


    After the first bite of moss entered his mouth, he quickly grabbed more and more handfuls and stuffed his face with the moss. The texture was off, but he was too hungry to care.


    After satisfying his hunger, he succumbed to his exhaustion once more and fell into a deep sleep.