《DRAKONTOS》


 Prologue: Im not from here and Im not from there

    I had always seen myself as an ordinary person, someone who fit in well in times of peace and stability. I had never regarded war as anything more than a chapter in the history books or a distant reality in distant lands like the Middle East. Today, however, I can safely say that pacifism is no longer an option in a world that is slowly being swept up in conflict, and in which I am actively involved, albeit against my wishes. Contexts change and, with them, people.


    "Nix, we have to go," she patted my neck gently.


    I wasn''t sleeping, I hadn''t been able to fall asleep after that mission in which I almost ended up holed like an Emmental cheese. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps, despite having scales instead of skin.


    "I know you must be exhausted, but how can I make it up to you?" I really need you. "You are my faithful companion, and without you, I would not be here today," she said as he stroked neck. ¡°I thank you more than I can put into words.¡±


    I stood up and pushed her small hand away from my huge nose, emitting a faint bellow of disgust, but not of disapproval.


    "Thank you very much, I''ll be in your care once again."


    I can''t say no, no to her. After all, she''s the first person I''ve met who isn''t afraid of me and who didn''t try to kill me, in fact, she even helped me when all seemed lost. Besides, I can''t complain, flying is the best and only good thing that has happened to me since I got here, as long as I don''t have to dodge bullets or explosions, of course. On the other hand, standing here feeling sorry for myself is going to do nothing but depress me; Maybe this flight will be good for me to clear my mind a bit.


    "Let me open the door and put the saddle on you."


    Gently, she placed the frame on my back, a dark shade that matched my scales, and it secured itself in place as if it had a life of its own; Truly magical. The experience was somewhat uncomfortable at first, but over time, I got used to it. Wasting no time, Elora began to load the panniers with the items needed for the journey.


    Apparently, my lizard face wasn''t that expressionless, after all, it seems that it can convey a certain moodiness, as she usually performs tasks unannounced. However, on this occasion, she even notified me of her intention to place the saddle on me.


    "I''m ready," she said after climbing on my back. Open the doors!


    The doors of the barn opened, allowing the moonlight to gradually seep in. Night was closing in on us, and at this moment, I could only think about the lives we would surely take.


    The vast majority of elimination missions were at night. In fact, it was something I never quite got used to, maybe never will; Killing is never and will never be okay. On the other hand, knowing didn''t make it any better, but it gave me enough time to mentalize myself, as I could enjoy my thoughts and justifications in the cool night breeze.


    "Lieutenant Elora, wait a minute, I''m Criner, your new companion.


    A pointy-eared woman like Elora, but leaf-green and a little smaller, stopped us as we left the barn. As I looked at her more closely, I could see sweat dripping from her forehead, and she was panting a little between words.


    "I don''t have any companions," she replied in a threatening tone.


    "It''s Mibreg''s orders," he handed Elora a document. He told me to tell him ¡°You owe me."


    Elora grabbed the document and you could hear her flipping the sheets of paper one after the other as if she was looking at more than reading. Did they write her a will? From the number of leaves, at least about fifty, this was quite unusual for me. Typically, elimination missions used to include a maximum of ten sheets, and a minimum of two, all sealed. However, this time, I didn''t even hear the characteristic sound of the seal breaking. This left only two possibilities. The first was that we had to eliminate a hundred "enemies", or the second, that it was not an elimination mission, but an exploration mission, and that the extensive number of sheets contained descriptions of the flora and fauna of the place. In the case of the second option, Elora would take her time to carefully review the sheets and to prepare for several days before taking flight.


    I didn''t know what to think about all this, should I be glad I didn''t have to participate in any violence? Should I feel sad about involvement in a larger-scale slaughter? Or maybe angered by the secrecy surrounding it all? On the other hand, apparently, I wasn''t the only one surprised by this unexpected "change of plans."


    "Tch, come up quickly, we don''t have much time," she finally said after putting the large number of leaves in the saddlebag on the right.


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    "Shall we really mount it?" She pointed at me, trembling with fear.


    "Any problems with Nixebus?"


    "No, none...


    "Then hurry up, we have to make the most of the night."


    "All right," replied the dejected green dwarf.


    I lay down on the floor to ease her through the process of riding, remembering that even Elora had struggled the first time we met, though she managed surprisingly well, given her circumstances. The grass-colored woman began to climb over me, clinging to my scales determinedly. Finally, after several seconds that surely seemed eternal to Elora, she managed to settle as well as she could in the saddle, which was quite large; At least two other people could fit if they were squeezed tightly together.


    "Keep the essentials of your backpack in my left saddlebag." That backpack could prove fatal in mid-flight," she said, finally accepting his new companion.


    "It''s all right.


    She took out a pair of binoculars, a radio, some food supplies, a notebook with a pencil and a canteen, and put them in the saddlebag. Then Criner handed his backpack to one of the soldiers who had opened the doors earlier and said goodbye to the ground, or so it seemed to me, as I kept staring at her.


    "We''re retiring!" Elora shouted.


    "Yes, my lieutenant! They said goodbye with their fists raised.


    With a light pat on the neck as a signal, I began to rise from the earth flapping my long, night-black wings. When only geometrical figures could be seen from the sky, I stopped rising and headed where Elora indicated.


    "And the reins!?" Criner asked, shouting because of the noise of the wind.


    "I don''t need them, not with him!" She replied as he stroked my long neck. He''s smart, he doesn''t like to be treated like a mere animal!


    Understanding what she meant by the caresses, I began to slow down the speed at which I was flying after we got quite far away from the base.


    "What''s going on, why did we stop?"


    "We didn''t, we''re flying slower now.


    "It''s a good thing this mount isn''t just leather, otherwise it would have kissed the ground a while ago..." As if suddenly remembering something, she continued. But you said we were going to make the most of the night?


    Ignoring her subordinate, Elora began to rummage through the saddlebag and withdrew a few papers. This body is incredible, I can feel everything that happens around me as if I were a third eye, or as if I were in the third person in some flight simulator video game; I still can''t get used to that spatial vision, because I keep noticing nonsense like that. Elora patted me gently, something she usually does a lot when I lose my way, and I turned my eyes straight ahead.


    "As I feared, this mission isn''t the elimination of any target, it''s far worse, it''s a socialization mission," Criner turned to look at Elora. That''s our situation.


    Thank goodness, you don''t have to kill anyone, but a long night of flying is coming; it doesn''t seem like it''s good for Criner.


    "If we''re going to work together as a team, it''s important that you learn how to deal with Nixebus. First, I''ll tell you how I met him. Maybe you can get a feel for us as a team, and maybe you can use it to form a bond with him. The journey is long. We can take it easy. Oh, I forgot. Take this; You''re going to need it.


    "Thank you, I needed them, now I can travel with my eyes open, don''t you use them?"


    "I''ve got a ring for that, see?" Not only does it blow the wind away, it also serves to see at night, to hold your breath longer and to sharpen your eyes over great distances. It''s part of an elite sniper kit; They are unique and quite difficult to build by stone craftsmen.


    "Wow, I''d like to have one of those," she whispered dejectedly.


    "As an observer, you''ll need one. In fact, they should have provided you with one if you''re going to work with me. But, judging by your basic equipment, it looks like the war is not progressing well on our side," she remarked sadly.


    "Don''t worry, this equipment is more than enough for me. Plus, I''m half Khama¨ª and half Oregate, and I''m proud to have the best of both races," he proudly declared her roots.


    In this world, according to what I have witnessed and heard in other people''s conversations, there is an impressive diversity of races. Most of them have established their presence in kingdoms, empires, dynasties, and various systems of government. Even so, there are cities where several of these species or races coexist harmoniously, defying racial barriers. Sadly, however, vestiges of segregation, prejudice, and racial priority persist, depending on the realm visited. Fortunately, the empire in which I reside allows for interspecies relations, and everyone is equal before the law. However, there are "Terrakyrios" (a noble title meaning "owner of the land") who oppose the laws of the empire and enslave those who are not "Oregate", the race to which Elora, Mibreg, the empress, and the vast majority of the empire''s inhabitants belong. They frequently resort to usurious loans that lead to default and eventually slavery. These actions are punishable by death, but are difficult to prove, especially because of the corruption that prevails.


    "That means you can change colors, right?" And what about the Khama¨ª''s poor night vision? Won''t it affect your performance on night missions? She inquired sternly.


    "As I mentioned, I have the best of both races," she tones became more serious as his skin transformed into dark blue. ¡°I don''t have vision problems, only the cold temperatures affect me, but I wear magic tights under my uniform to keep warm.¡±


    Elora stroked me again to stay the course. I can''t deny it, I was quite curious about our new comrade. We were a trio now, and that changed a lot of things, especially how we would relate to each other from now on.


    "N¨ªxebus seems to be interested in you, he keeps listening carefully to our conversation," she said happily as she caressed me affectionately and not to point me in the right direction. Since we have your attention, I think it''s time for her to know our story, if that''s okay with you.


    I bellowed in approval, and she began to tell him how we met. As she spoke, I couldn''t help but remember everything we had done up to this point. It felt nostalgic and scary, especially because it brought back memories of how I died and transformed into a dragon.

 Chapter 1: Second Chance

    I distinctly remember the day I was on my way to classroom 3 for the final exam of Theory of Method at the Faculty of Humanities at my university. Suddenly, everything became chaotic as the earth began to shake violently. The floor opened up beneath my feet, the walls shook, and the students around me burst into panicked screams. In the midst of the confusion, I froze, not knowing what to do.


    It happened at one point, after the shaking the walls of the second floor gave way to the force of the earthquake and collapsed on us. Suddenly, the screams died out, and I was plunged into darkness, buried under the rubble.


    My body was completely destroyed, I had never felt so much pain in my life as I did at that moment. My lungs were perforated, and I couldn''t help but cough up blood constantly. My left arm was completely gone, as were my legs. I knew my time was numbered, only a few minutes separated my life from its inevitable end.


    The tremor had shattered all my dreams in one fell swoop, and now I was on the verge of death, like most of the students present in this place, if they did not perish at once. However, somehow, luck was on the side of some, as there were not so many of us present due to the fact that we were in the middle of final exams. How I regret not having passed that damned subject several months ago; My tendency to procrastinate had led me to this fateful denouement.


    Little by little, I felt life fading away in me, and fear took over my thoughts. With a trembling hand, I looked up for something I knew I wouldn''t find, a way out. Instead, my fingers found what had prolonged my suffering. It was a meteorite that had crashed into Earth millions of years ago, but had been discovered only fifty years ago. Paradoxically, this meteorite, which was on display at the entrance to the Faculty of Humanities, had acted as a protective shield by stopping most of the debris that threatened to crush my skull. This fragment of space rock, which now stood as a mute witness to my agony, offered me a brief respite for reflection before facing the fateful fate that awaited me, death.


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    My hand swept over the rough, jagged surface of the meteorite. The texture of the rock was so cold that it made me wonder what mineral it was made of, although in reality, I had never cared about it. During my first few years in college, I had always used it as a sort of reference point to locate the classrooms I was supposed to attend. However, over time, I lost interest in it, and stopped paying attention to it.


    As I ran my hand over the rocky figure, tears began to run down my cheeks causing a pain sharper than any broken bone or damaged organ. In fact, by that time, my ability to feel any other part of my body had completely disappeared, leaving only the perception of my soggy cheeks. I was struck by the thought that I should have perished long ago in the midst of that chaos. The longing for a miracle or a rescue clung to me, like a small glimmer of hope in the midst of overwhelming darkness.


    Inside me, a silent plea was that if I didn''t survive this situation, I wanted at least my loved ones to be able to hear me one last time. I wanted to apologize to my father for our fight in the morning, to my mother for the incident with her glasses when i was a child, and to my brother for flushing his toys down the toilet as children.


    However, I was always someone who never believed in deities or miraculous events, but at that moment, it seemed as if I was being presented with a last chance to hold on to the belief in something beyond the tangible, and I was wasting it by getting entangled in thoughts of the past and unattainable desires. Yet, despite my skepticism, I fervently longed for the possibility of a second chance.


    The meteorite began to radiate such an intensity of light that it brought me back to the reality I was in. In fact, if it weren''t for the blood covering my eyes, I would have been blinded. I could barely catch a glimpse of its glow through my closed eyelids.


    There was no doubt that it was the meteorite; There was nothing around me but rubble. The angels weren''t real, heaven was just an illusion, and the rescuers couldn''t be that fast. Was I on the threshold of death?


    (No, you''re not dead yet.)


    A voice echoed in my mind.


    (I''ll grant you what you crave most.)


    The same deep voice filled my thoughts again.


    (Your wish will come true)


    The meteorite vanished and the entire structure collapsed.


    .¡­

 PART 1 – THE REBIRTH

    Time and space are loyal companions to those who believe they control them, but they become enemies to those who feel alienated by them. At this moment, they were old acquaintances to me. Despite the darkness, I could move my limbs, and the place I was in didn''t seem like the same dilapidated site as before. Instead, it felt like I was inside some sort of bubble that responded to my abrupt movements. I started flailing around with my seven limbs, and suddenly, something didn''t add up. Wait a moment! Seven limbs? If I count my two legs and my two hands, it should be four limbs, but it seemed like I could control three additional limbs. I was surprised; did I have four legs and three arms?"


    "Mmm, grrr, ufff, aahgr," I tried to speak, but the words turned into strange guttural growls.


    I couldn''t articulate any words. Maybe the collapse had damaged my vocal cords, but physically I felt fine; my body was in perfect shape and responded excellently. The difficulty seemed to reside somewhere else¡ªwas it mental? Like a trauma of some kind caused by the debris.


    "ahrg, egear, ararr."


    I tried again, but the sounds remained incomprehensible. All I could do was focus on getting out of the oval sphere that imprisoned me. I headbutted the structure with all the force I could muster, without worrying about the possible consequences. The structure gave way, and a reddish light from outside began to invade my vision, as if I had spent years in darkness. The intensity forced me to shut my eyes. Nevertheless, the fresh air that flooded my lungs, which remained intact, felt like the greatest gift I had received in a long time.


    I stretched my long neck through the widening crack, though I was surprised to notice that my neck was unusually long. I used the four legs to further widen the hole, although I was puzzled to discover that I had four legs instead of the usual ones. Finally, I managed to free myself from what had entrapped me.


    With closed eyes, fearing the pain the light could provoke, I began to take my first steps out of what seemed to be a shell. Although the idea of leaving that place unsettled me, I couldn''t continue postponing the strange sensation rising from the depths of my mind. I questioned if I was truly human. Instead of finding answers, my fear grew upon hearing voices approaching in my direction.


    "Look, it''s been born. Finally, we can advance to the next phase of the plan. The king will be proud of our work," remarked a male voice.


    "It''s incredible to see it walk and stumble after so many years, a hundred years of our lives invested in its upbringing, it feels like it''s part of the family..." murmured a female voice with sorrow.


    "Please, let''s not start again. We have a lot at stake, our heads, the family, and everyone we know depend on this. Besides, look at it, it''s enormous and we haven''t finished making it grow," said the man as he approached me.


    I trembled with fear and didn''t want to open my eyes. Shouldn''t I have felt happy seeing other people? However, I remained paralyzed by fear.


    "You''re scaring it," the woman replied. "Come, come closer, your sister will protect you," she whispered tenderly.


    "I''ll let the expert do her job," the man''s steps moved away.


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    The woman began to approach me, but her pace was infinitely slower than the man''s. She spoke with endearing words, as if addressing a newborn, using terms like "my heart," "sweetie," and "little creature." I couldn''t be afraid of someone who expressed themselves in that manner. In fact, I was feeling secondhand embarrassment.


    I slowly opened my eyes, allowing them to gradually adjust to the light, and I could observe the two strangers. Both wore dark red coveralls and caps of the same tone. The caps had a long back and a visor in the front, resembling the plumbing brothers from video games.


    "Go get food," she whispered into his ear.


    Strangely enough, I could hear them perfectly, even when they spoke softly.


    "What should I bring?"


    "A big piece of meat."


    "It seems like it''s staring at us, isn''t it thinking of eating us?" the man asked fearfully.


    "Not if you hurry," the woman muttered.


    "Alive or dead?"


    "Whatever, just make it quick," she replied impatiently.


    The man began to slowly move away, maintaining eye contact with me as he rummaged through the front pocket of his coverall.


    "I hope you know what you''re doing, we don''t know how it might react," he said, pulling out what looked like a key.


    "I can take care of myself, just go already."


    Without wasting any more time, he started moving away with the key. He glanced at me once more and then didn''t stop until he opened a steel door and closed it behind him.


    The woman, who was alone in the room, bravely approached me. As she got closer, she seemed to shrink. Then, I realized that I was bigger than her and that all this time, I had been observing them from a distance. What was happening?


    When the woman was close enough to touch me, she spoke directly, "Brother, you''ve finally awakened. We don''t have much time to talk, at any moment, Veld will return with an army to subdue you. You might be confused, but I need you to listen carefully, as we won''t see each other again for a long time."


    The petite woman seemed on the verge of tears. I stretched my neck to survey the panorama in which I found myself. Except for those two torches next to the wall, they were the only source of light in this immense metal box. Was I seeing in the dark from afar, as if I had night vision binoculars?


    "Brother, I always knew I would find you, sooner or later, but you need to promise me you''ll go and not look back," tears started streaming down her face. "Please, I need you to come with me." She turned and began walking towards the only door in that complex.


    Comparing her stature, I could make a rather unlikely simile, considering my own size. I could say I had a size similar to an elephant, maybe even larger. Though I was lying on the ground, standing upright, I would surely be the size of a fully grown mammoth. I looked down at the source of my confinement and realized that indeed, the structure containing me was a gigantic black egg.


    "Hurry."


    The woman inserted the key into the door and turned it.


    "Quick."


    I hoisted myself up from the floor as best as I could and began to walk on all fours, staggering and on the verge of stumbling at any moment. The woman looked impatient and seemed like she wanted to say something as I drew near, but instead, she remained silent until I was beside her. Standing as she was now; she was even smaller than before.


    She opened the huge door of thick metal as wide as she was and a fresh breeze hit my nose. The air outside smelled terrible, there was a scent of burning and gunpowder as if there had been a recent fireworks show. The woman delicately ran her hand over my long arm that I was dragging on the ground. Then, she pulled out a huge knife from the back of her coverall and began to shout.


    "Help, help! It''s escaped! Help me!"


    Terrified, I thought she''d stab me in the back, so I started running. However, I stumbled on the huge iron door, which hadn''t fully opened yet, and significantly dented it. This was enough to escape from that steel prison.


    "Go," she whispered, tears falling like cascades.


    As I distanced myself, I could see her stabbing her own arm while watching me escape, scared like a headless chicken.


    "Don''t forget me."


    It was the last thing I heard from her tiny lips. That woman with pointed ears, a beautiful and friendly face, and eyes as green as a meadow, I won''t be able to erase her from my mind. I wish I knew what she was talking about and what she tried to tell me on that moonless dark night.


    ...

 PART 2 – THE SNIPER

    Not even five minutes had passed since I sped away from the stable when I began hearing the sound of numerous footsteps approaching in the distance. My mind filled with uncertainty as I couldn''t grasp what was happening. Despite the confusion, I sprinted with my new legs, exerting myself to the fullest to escape that place.


    While fleeing at full speed, several thoughts crossed my mind. The first idea that emerged, though absurd, was that I had turned into a giraffe due to the long neck. However, inspecting my feet revealed a different reality: they were dark and scaly. Thanks to my unusually long neck, I could observe myself a bit better from behind, and my amazement grew upon discovering a long back that ended in a large tail. Initially, I mistakenly considered it to be a third arm, failing to realize that the two extra arms unfolding on my back were two broad wings, as black as the rest of my scaly body. My next conjecture pointed toward a giant lizard with the ability to fly, which strangely wasn''t far from the truth.


    Desperate, I tried to use my two arms, or rather, wings. I flapped them up and down and leaped in an effort to gain altitude, but nothing seemed to work. In the distance, I could already make out the pursuers, who turned out to be soldiers on horseback approaching rapidly; the situation was becoming increasingly distressing. I couldn''t see a clear escape route, and my only desire was to return home to reassure my parents. How had I found myself in this situation, transformed into a lizard?


    Although constant reflection and questioning are fundamental parts of my philosophical upbringing, this wasn''t the time or place to delve into deep thoughts. While my identity and purpose here remained shrouded in mystery, the only certainty I truly had was my desire to leave the place unharmed and safe. That was enough for now.


    Apparently, they didn''t intend to harm me; they were only trying to capture me, as despite riding with weapons in hand, not a single shot was fired in my direction. I kept galloping, hoping for the best and relying on the hope that I would soon reach a forest if I continued in the same direction. I was grateful for my keen vision, which allowed me to see beyond the horizon, quite literally speaking.


    In a twist of events, a deep voice shouted, "Fire!" and everyone began aiming their strange rifles at me, their tips soon lighting up, filling the silent valley with noisy explosions. Although the distance between us was still quite considerable, the bullets were closing that gap. The shots were aimed at my legs and wings, clearly attempting to immobilize me, suggesting they only wanted to capture me.


    The scales covering my body cushioned the shots. The bullets ricocheted with a sharp sound upon impact and flew off in all directions; some hit the horses, while others disappeared into the valley. Realizing that the shots were ineffective and, instead, causing casualties among their own ranks, the mustached man with the deep voice shouted, "Cease fire! Magic snipers, prepare! Fire!"


    Magic? Truth be told, at this point, nothing surprised me anymore. The cannons, previously illuminated by fire colors, now danced in RGB scales, where dark purple predominated. The shots in green were the most potent, causing explosions upon hitting a surface. Luckily, there were no more than five with that color. In comparison to the hundred horseback soldiers, they were few, as most of the shots were purple and blue, colors that barely tickled when they hit my jet-black scale armor.


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    However, something astonishing was about to happen, something that would take us all by surprise, including me. Finally, I was managing to lift off the ground, as if the long journey was a takeoff runway; I hovered a few inches from the ground. Though it was an exciting moment, I couldn''t afford to relax as I still had to leave the pursuers behind. Besides, now that I was in the air, I had lost the speed I had before, and the cavalry was getting closer. It shouldn''t be overlooked that in the air, I was a perfect target, a black mass like a cloud.


    "They''re shooting at us!"


    In a third twist of events, someone had started shooting at the cavalry. Thanks to the confusion, I managed to elevate myself enough to distance myself, not only in distance but also in height. My wings were on autopilot, as if blinking or breathing; thanks to nature, they knew exactly what to do, and I just had to set the direction I wanted to fly.


    "grmg grrrr mmm," I roared in happiness.


    The cavalry began to disperse by orders of their officer, trying to avoid the shooter who lurked on the plain, where they lacked cover. For my good luck, someone was shooting at them, giving me the chance to learn to fly. Until that moment, my progress was slow, barely staying airborne, but gradually gaining skill, letting nature and its evolution do their work for me. Though chaos reigned, more than one didn''t miss the opportunity to shoot at my large body, but fortunately, the majority of shots went into the sky or bounced off.


    The soldiers dropped like flies, and those who didn''t fled in terror. Below, the situation became deafening due to screams of desperation. The moon, at its zenith, observed the bloody scene unfolding unperturbed.


    The horses galloped in fear, throwing off their riders, who unfortunately were hit by the shots of the unknown sniper. Whatever was happening was already a thing of the past for me as I headed towards small mountains near the forest, barely able to discern their misfortunes.


    The mountain became increasingly imposing as I approached, and I was uneasy about the idea that at some point, my wings might fail and make me fall. Nevertheless, I kept calm and continued forward, pushing away negative thoughts.


    The temperature dropped sharply, evident though my body didn''t feel it, except for my large nose, which protested when the icy wind struck it violently; it was quite bothersome.


    Finally, I reached the summit and saw the sniper who had perpetrated that massacre. I called her "sniper" because she was a woman sitting on the snow, watching me approach, as impassive as the moon but undoubtedly more beautiful than it.


    I landed as best I could and stood, watching her, but she didn''t seem to have the intention to harm me, as she hadn''t reached for her rifle resting on the ground, smoke emanating from its barrel.


    "Grrr..."


    I tried to communicate with her, but I forgot I couldn''t speak and emitted a strange sound resembling a roar. Fortunately, she didn''t seem frightened by my attempt at communication. I approached her slowly until I noticed a smell I had already perceived on the battlefield: blood.


    The woman was wounded in a leg, and the bandage preventing the bleeding was completely red. She was condemned to die on the summit. However, the trail of blood on her back suggested that the wound had accompanied her when she reached the top.


    "I''ve never failed a mission," she finally spoke, "even if it means death for me."


    I approached her even closer, noticing her evident suffering due to the low temperatures. Carefully, I nestled next to her, and she settled beside me in search of warmth.


    "Mission accomplished..." The woman fell unconscious.


    That was the first time I met her.

 PART 3 – THE PURSUIT

    The small woman lay sleeping, a pained expression on her face, but there wasn''t much I could do for her. Observing our difference in size, my mind filled with questions. What was I doing here? The last thing I remembered was being under the rubble. Had that meteor fulfilled my wish? Was this the reality I truly desired? I had always heard people making wishes on shooting stars in movies, but that was related to comets, not meteorites. Nevertheless, I felt grateful to be unharmed after that collapse and the gunfire. However, I couldn''t stop thinking about those who suffered the same fate as me. Had they been reborn as different animals like me?


    Yet, we hadn''t completely escaped danger. We were still in enemy territory, and they could appear at any moment and capture us. With caution, I rose and peeked over the summit to check if they were following us. The soldiers, previously scattered, had now grouped together and were advancing in our direction. On the horizon, I could even see the arrival of numerous war vehicles.


    I approached the unconscious woman again and woke her with a gentle touch of my nose. The woman reacted instantly and gripped her rifle, but upon seeing me, she lowered it. I tilted my head towards the summit, and she followed my gaze, peering out to observe.


    "Thanks for waking me, but I don''t think I can do much more. I''m out of magical energy, and I''m too injured to escape from here."


    I crouched down and gestured with my head that she could climb onto my back. The woman nodded and began to climb using my wings, which I had stretched out like a ladder to make it easier for her. I couldn''t leave her, not after everything she had done for me.


    "Can I suggest a place?" the woman asked from my back.


    I nodded, and she seemed to understand.


    "There''s an allied forward camp, but we have to cross the forest. It''s our only contact with the operations center."


    I didn''t understand anything she said, but apparently, it''s our only escape route, so I didn''t care much to know what she meant. I just had to fly over the enormous forest, and freedom would be ours.


    I gained altitude, which was much easier now, and started to approach the forest. A whistle sounded, and gunfire began. The stealth factor had been broken, and now I had to hurry. The biggest problem was the green shooters who were now many more, and this time they were aiming to kill me. I could see some kind of tank pointing in my direction across the plains. Things got ugly in the blink of an eye.


    I picked up the pace, or the wings did, and began to fly over the trees. They couldn''t follow us here, as the trees would hinder horses and vehicles, so the pursuit would have to be on foot, and I was faster than them.


    "We still have to fly over an enemy base!"


    Unfortunately, I understood her. If it was our only way, I''d have to ascend enough to make it more difficult for them to hit us with any projectiles. But I had two problems. First, I didn''t fly very well. Second, the woman would die from lack of oxygen or freezing, and I wasn''t sure if I could endure it better than her.


    "The only thing left is to ascend enough to hinder the aerial artillery and, if we''re lucky, the enemy planes!"


    She really said that. My fears were escalating. The forest was almost over, and ahead, there was another plain where a huge fortress lay.


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    "I wish we could go around it, but it''s the shortest path, and we might have the element of surprise!"


    She didn''t need to shout for me to hear her well; I had good hearing. But how do I tell her that without roaring at her? Besides, she was right. If we didn''t hurry, she might die from that wound. However, having to fly over enemy territory... could kill us both.


    The fortress was getting closer and there was nothing suspicious; it seemed abandoned. Suddenly, a few missiles were fired at us. We had also lost the element of surprise.


    "Ascend, they won''t reach you, I''ll hold my breath!"


    I hope we don''t pass out or freeze up there. I soared as high as I could, and the missiles started falling to the ground. I turned my head to see the young woman, and thankfully, she was still clinging to my neck.


    The base was gigantic but not longer than the forest, so we would have flown over it soon. Please hold on a little longer. The situation got worse now that a few planes had joined the chase. Besides, the bullets from below kept hitting my scale armor. And to make matters worse, the shots from the planes were green.


    When we distanced ourselves from the base, I descended as quickly as I could. The woman was fine, for now, as she had held her breath well, but there was an even bigger problem. The planes continued to chase us.


    "Now you have to do the opposite!"


    She''s right. At that speed, dodging natural structures like trees and mountains must be impossible. I started descending closer to the mountain range. Many pilots had abandoned the chase, except for one who still persisted.


    "We have to lose sight of it! It can''t know where we''re hiding!"


    The plane started shooting again, and the young woman almost fell off my back due to the evasive maneuvers. That pilot was very skilled, as he kept doing acrobatics and risky maneuvers to dodge everything in his path. The only thing I could think of was to stop abruptly and descend to the small forest below, but if I did, the woman might be shot off; she was flying so fast that she would be propelled. Slowing down wasn''t an option; we''d be the perfect target for the enemy plane, and considering how good he was at piloting, I didn''t want to imagine what he would be like shooting.


    "You have to get close to the plane! It''s our only option!"


    Turning into the hunters might serve us at this moment. Not only would we complicate his aim, but we''d also... he''s slowing down.


    "Is he giving up!?"


    The plane stopped chasing us and just watched us go. Maybe he just wants to follow us from a distance to see where we hide and report it to the base. I can''t allow that.


    "He plans to follow us! We have to lose sight of him!"


    I descended enough to feel the trees against my dark grayish belly. I had a plan.


    "What you''re doing is risky!"


    As I flew over the trees, I began to set fire to each one as if I had a flamethrower. Soon, the forest was engulfed in flames, and the smoke rose towards the emerging sun. Did I breathe fire? However, it was no time to be surprised; I had to act quickly before the situation worsened.


    "We just have to stay inside until he loses sight of us."


    Until that happened, she would be dead just like me due to lack of oxygen. I had to act, and I had to do it now. And I knew what I had to do next. Taking advantage of the good vision I had, I located the plane and flew towards it as fast as I could. The element of surprise had worked, but the pilot had good reflexes and managed to dodge me. Not entirely, as with my huge tail, I had hit one of the wings, and it was only a matter of time before it went into a nosedive.


    I worried about the pilot''s safety. This isn''t a game; there''s a person inside, and I had killed a person... wait a minute!


    "Well done!" shouted the woman in the parachute. "You''ve beaten me!"


    The woman pilot had survived. I wasn''t a killer, but soon I would be if I didn''t help her, as she would fall into the burning forest and die charred. I flew towards her and grabbed her parachute with my teeth.


    "You''re not thinking of saving her!" the woman shouted on my back.


    "Are you planning to eat me?" the woman pilot yelled.


    With the parachute in my teeth, I moved away from that burning forest and descended to a safe plain, where I left the woman pilot on solid ground. Then, I flew away.


    "I guess what they said about them being evil creatures is a lie," murmured the woman on my back. There was a brief silence before she continued, "Today, you saved two people, and I killed a few. Am I the evil one?"


    With a lot of luck and a bit of ingenuity, the pursuit came to an end without any casualties, at least from my side. Although my suspicious vein couldn''t help but question whether the destiny, we were heading towards was better or worse than the one we had escaped from.


    ...

 PART 4 – LOGISTICS OPERATIONS CENTER

    Finally, I could enjoy the flight without the disturbance of whistling projectiles or planes buzzing around me like pesky mosquitoes. It was a gratifying and unique experience I had never encountered before. Despite the pleasurable sensation, I still felt unease. I remained in an unknown place, unaware of the potential dangers that might lurk.


    Before all this madness, I was an ordinary person following a predictable routine. My path was quite basic: from my parents'' house to university and then back home. I didn''t usually go out partying on weekends, and my friendships were limited, which might have seemed uncommon for a college student. In that sense, I was a somewhat boring individual. But now, I soared the skies with a beautiful woman in tow, dodging bullets as if we were in a sci-fi movie. However, the excitement I expected to feel wasn''t what I had imagined. Had I completely transformed into something not quite human? The rationality and memories that make me human are my only solace.


    "You''re amazing," whispered the young woman, then added aloud, "We''re close, start descending!"


    As we approached our destination, I sensed the scent of several people and heard voices discussing our presence. Apparently, they had detected us for some time. It was challenging to go unnoticed with the enormous torch I had ignited in that forest. The smoke spread so much that it began to move with the wind and was visible from afar.


    The voices debated fleeing, hiding, or fighting, but they couldn''t reach an agreement. They didn''t seem to have noticed their friend on my back. Furthermore, with the sun almost at its highest point, spotting a black dragon like a cloud in the sky wasn''t difficult.


    I decided to descend near a lake, by the trees. Elora said nothing. The location was at an intermediate distance from the camp, so as not to startle them with my imposing presence. I decided I would wait here. The woman got off my back and lay down on the grass. I approached the lake, using its surface as a mirror to examine myself.


    My face and body were no longer human, which had been obvious for some time, but seeing it up close was striking. My scales gleamed in the dim light, and my eyes, deep and black as night, seemed to contain centuries of wisdom and power. My wings spread out, with dark membranes and a majestic span, projecting authority and magnificence.


    The woman broke my reverie with her words:


    "Thank you very much, you''re incredible and very clever. You located the outpost camp without any trouble, and you defeated that aviator with great ingenuity."


    I wasn''t paying attention; I was too focused on the lake''s reflection. Was this what I would be until the end of my days? My stomach began to ache, my head spun, and my reflection had multiplied by four. I couldn''t suppress the thoughts, questions, memories, and feelings that came one after another.


    "What''s wrong with you?"


    I started vomiting into that reflection, the liquid expelled from my mouth was yellowish and flowed like water from an open tap. At that moment, I didn''t know it, but I was under a kind of emotion-suppressing spell during stressful episodes. It''s part of a dragon''s ability given by evolution for the survival of the species. That''s why I learned to fly fast and came up with good ideas to escape not only from the cavalry but also from that plane.


    I passed out and fell into the lake. If it hadn''t been for the girl and her companions, I would have drowned, as apparently the water was deep enough to completely cover me.


    When I woke up, I was chained to a moving vehicle, unable to move; the chains were more secure than the debris that had fallen on me. But I wasn''t alone; someone was gently patting my head, and by the touch, I knew whose right hand it was.


    "Grrrr," I growled in disgust.


    The woman stopped caressing me and spoke:


    "Sorry, but it was the only way to transport you. My mission was to capture the Drakontos egg from that secret facility. Your awakening wasn''t part of the plan."


    There was a brief silence as she thought about what to say next:


    "However, thank you very much for saving me. I promise nothing bad will happen to you."


    That was the last thing she said during the vehicle journey; she just kept stroking my head and neck until she fell asleep. Finally, as the sun was setting again, the truck stopped, and the doors opened.


    The way I was restrained, I could only see forward, so the journey was really uncomfortable, and I wished I could stretch my legs every now and then. When a couple of people got on the truck, I thought another wish had come true, but it didn''t turn out that way.


    The woman woke up from the noise of the doors and approached the two men who boarded; she whispered something in their ears, and I could hear it perfectly well.


    "Don''t hurt him."


    Everyone I met either wanted me alive or dead. It seems like I''m part of some plan that I''ll eventually understand, or maybe never. The woman left the truck. The two men were dressed in dark blue, as if they were police, and they were about to take me out of the huge van. One went to the end where my tail was, and the other stayed where my head was. The man''s hand began to burn with green fire, and he brought it close to my face.


    "Ready over there?" asked the man with the flaming hand.


    "Yes, and you?"


    "I''m finishing sealing his mouth; I don''t want to lose my hand."


    "But it''s unnecessary," he started laughing, "These are grade three magic ropes," he finally said.


    "But you should never trust these creatures, especially not with ropes designed to tie up people, not, well, this," he gestured at me with both hands.


    The man threw the green fire at me, and I closed my eyes reflexively. The fire stuck to my huge mouth, and if before I could only growl, now I couldn''t even breathe.


    "Hey, I think you''re suffocating him."


    "Sorry, that was my mistake," he stretched his right hand and removed the fire covering my nose, "There, it''s time to get him out."


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    The man ignited his hands again and grabbed the chains that restrained me, starting to lift me.


    "He''s really heavy, don''t we need more people for this load?" commented the man holding me from behind.


    "I don''t think so, or are you just a weakling? What would Sar¨¢n think if he saw you complaining?"


    As if that comment bothered him a lot, the man from the back lifted me even higher than before. Both men got me off the truck as best they could and left me on the grass.


    Once on the ground, several people approached the area. I heard them talking, and I recognized two voices. The first was the woman I had carried on my back. On the other hand, I only knew her voice from the outpost camp; she was the one who said we needed to remain hidden.


    "It''s a historic moment, don''t you think? Not just because we captured a mythical creature of value and incalculable powers, but also because we stole from the human kingdom right under their noses."


    Everyone presents began cheering. The woman seemed to hold a high position, so if I wanted to improve my situation, I would have to communicate with her. The woman revealed herself to me, reached out, and removed the fire covering my mouth.


    "Please, what a lack of respect towards me as a mage," the woman shouted angrily. "Do you doubt me? Well, forget it, it''s not time to fight; it''s time to celebrate. We have a guest today."


    But no one said anything, as the woman had freed me, and now everyone began discreetly stepping backward. Some remained in their place, but the majority were ready to run at any moment.


    I stood up on all fours and stretched each limb to relax my muscles.


    "Lieutenant General! Have you gone mad?" yelled an older man.


    "What''s going on? Don''t you trust our military power? Weren''t we chosen as the best for this mission? Or were you referring to our guest?"


    The man was visibly affected by that woman''s words, but he stayed in place, clenching his fists. The egocentric woman began walking in my direction. Everyone reached for their rifles and guns.


    "Relax, our guest is someone reasonable. If he wanted to, he would have killed us all a long time ago. Elora told me how you saved that pilot; you''re not going to harm us, am I wrong?"


    I extended a claw from my foot and began writing on the ground. Soon, the ground was filled with words, unfortunately, only I could understand them.


    "He''s trying to communicate," said a soldier.


    "Maybe he''s sharpening his claws to tear us all apart," commented the one who sealed my mouth.


    The message on the ground said in English: "I am human, I am not evil, and I do not intend to harm you." The woman approached to read the message.


    "By the patterns, it could be a message, but I can''t decipher its meaning. Could it be an ancient language?" the woman commented while stroking her chin.


    Everyone present had pointed ears, like the first people I saw when I hatched, but only the horseback soldiers had normal ears, like the ones I had before I became this scaled creature. It wouldn''t be possible that the present ones are the so-called "elves" from popular culture; they could also be "goblins," but they weren''t green. Additionally, they all had green, blue, or red eyes, matching their hair colors.


    She called someone and whispered in his ear: "Take note." The man grabbed a notebook from his back pocket and, with a pencil he had behind his ear, began writing what I had inscribed on the ground.


    I was as still as I had ever been in my life by my own will. I was afraid that any action of mine would be seen as aggressive, and everyone would launch an attack. The tension in the air was palpable. My only option was to patiently wait for a resolution, whatever it might be, as long as they didn''t attempt to harm me physically.


    Since everyone spoke English, or at least that''s what I heard, I thought they might have been able to read my message and were considering what to do next. Also, as everyone was dressed as military personnel, I believed it was a hierarchical bureaucratic matter, typical of the army, given the slowness of such resolution. After all, it''s not every day a dragon appears right in front of your own eyes.


    The wait felt eternal, not only because everyone was staring at me with their hands on the gun trigger, but also because I could hear some whispering about either fleeing or killing me. A woman appeared with a very strange-looking phone and handed it to the lieutenant general. She took it with both hands, as it was quite large, and the woman whispered in her ear ¡ª"It''s our empress." Then she silently departed, just as she had appeared.


    The conversation between them was quite monotonous; I could hear both of them with an unprecedented clarity. I felt like a voyeur every time I heard others'' conversations; a most curious sensation.


    "Yes! I''m Lieutenant General Mibreg, it''s an honor to have you here and hear your voice."


    "Stop wasting time with so many compliments. I''ve heard from the State Council that you have a Drakontos in your possession," she spoke excitedly through the phone about my discovery.


    "For now, yes."


    "What do you mean? Be clear, Lieutenant," she responded firmly.


    "I mean that for now, it hasn''t escaped us and remains submissive to us."


    "If it''s tied up, I want you to release it. It could be our ultimate weapon to end this war; we need it on our side, and if not... well," the woman on the other end seemed to harbor many doubts and didn''t finish what she was about to say.


    "Don''t worry, I''ve released it. I judged that it''s someone intelligent and aware of its situation. Also, it''s trying to communicate with us, only we don''t understand those strange letters or what they mean entirely."


    "If it''s true that it''s someone intelligent..." she took a few seconds to speak and then continued, "I trust your ability to make decisions, and I''ll believe in you once again. I want to speak with him."


    "Alright."


    Without hesitation, she began approaching me with the phone in hand. Since I knew what she was going to do, having heard the whole conversation, I remained still, waiting for her. Everyone around me seemed scared by Mibreg''s actions and seemed to want to say something, but they remained silent, either because they knew who the person on the phone was or because they owed respect to their officer. No one spoke, although, just in case, they gripped their weapons tighter.


    "Mr. Drakontos, I wanted to apologize for all the mistreatment we''ve given you. If you feel you must do so to quench your anger, you can have my body, but I have one last favor to ask," she brought the phone toward me with both hands. "I want you to listen to what my sister has to say."


    Who does she think I am, a cannibal, a murderer, the evil on earth? Even if I were angry about the mistreatment, I would never harm anyone. We can always discuss things and reach an agreement, as long as the other party is willing, as it is now. Besides, for sisters, they don''t seem to drop formalities when communicating, although I don''t care much; I just need to gain the favor of that so-called empress, who seems to be the one in charge of this matter.


    I snorted in approval and lowered my head toward the small phone, small from my perspective. I growled to make myself heard by the woman, and she began speaking.


    "It''s an honor for me to be here and now to be heard by you, oh, great Drakonte. I am Empress Kor¨®n Ba Sasa, and I would like to apologize to you on behalf of the entire empire for the mistreatment you had to endure because of us," she paused briefly.


    I imagined her bowing on the other end of the phone during that strange pause.


    "This isn''t how I should say things, it''s not proper for an empress to communicate so improperly in front of someone as important as you, oh, great Drakonte. However, I can''t trust you, as you know I have an empire to protect, and I cannot allow someone who has the capacity to destroy it to enter.


    I think she''s giving me too much credit; the truth is, I''m not so big that I could destroy buildings, maybe to eat people and burn small forests like in the past, but it''s something that would never even cross my mind to do.


    "On the other hand, if you could give me your word of non-aggression, we could meet in person to handle these matters more efficiently. Because I''ve been told you can''t communicate in our language, but you can understand it, and it''s my responsibility to propose what I want."


    What does she want to propose to me? Why doesn''t she want to tell me over the phone? Is it a way to check if I was someone they could reason with? Is she afraid of me and wants to verify that I''m not so dangerous? There was no way to find out, so all I could do was keep doing what I had been doing since they untied me, listening.


    "I want to talk to the lieutenant general. I need to discuss something with her."


    I moved the phone with my nose and remained waiting. However, I found it strange that she referred to her sister by her military rank and Mibreg didn''t do the same; a rather suspicious attitude on the lieutenant''s part.


    "I want to see him in person," she finally spoke to her sister.


    "As you command."


    And that''s how an ordinary person like me, at least before the scales, would meet someone from royalty in person for the first time in his life, not through photos or videos on the internet or history books.

 PART 5 – TIME TO LEAVE

    There was quite a stir when Mibreg ordered them to treat me with the utmost respect, as someone of nobility. Many disagreed and remained tense whenever I was in sight.


    "The Empress wishes to see you, so I ask that you accompany us, please," his attitude had completely shifted, leaving the ego behind.


    Then, he began to explain why it was necessary for me to get back on the truck. As I understood it, we were in a theater of operations, a region with an ongoing armed conflict or high risk of confrontations. He explained while guiding me to the truck that all the camps set up around were for a top-secret mission.


    "Our mission was to support Lieutenant Elora in her infiltration and extraction for it to be successful," he opened the truck''s door, got in, settled into the large seat on the right, and continued, "We had to steal a drakonte egg. However, it was a surprise when the egg hatched and even more surprising when it came towards us of its own volition, along with our lieutenant."


    The general picked up a matchbox and a cigarette from their breast pocket, a habitual smoker.


    "You don''t mind if I smoke, do you?"


    I shook my head from side to side.


    "No? But I''ll leave the door open."


    I nodded again to allow her to smoke; the smell of cigarettes probably won''t give me cancer; I must have enormous lungs.


    "Alright, as you wish," she tucked the match and cigarette back into her pocket, a bit irritated for not being able to smoke.


    "Is shaking my head from side to side a ''no''? So nodding up and down is a ''yes''? Things like this make me realize how far I am from home; I''ll remember that for next time. When I was inside the huge truck, the doors closed behind me.


    "I don''t want to bore you with military jargon, but this is the last thing I need to tell you. The world has advanced a lot technologically since you were in that egg, although it might not seem so different because wars still persist. However, if you had realized what I''m telling you, you would have never approached our outpost, as there was a powerful magical barrier constructed by me. As you felt when you fainted, that barrier could affect you, and there are several points we must pass through protected by a barrier lesser than mine, but it would reveal our position and we don''t know how it would act on you. After all, we are in a secret place built to contain you."


    She ended the conversation by bringing the two fingers of her left hand to her mouth, a clear compulsive smoker''s habit; it was a pity I couldn''t tell her to smoke without care. The truck started moving, and I could hear other trucks following suit from outside.


    "Finally leaving behind this cursed place filled with humans. They couldn''t have sunk any lower, consorting with the undead. Just thinking about what awaits us if we were to lose the war makes me sick," she commented aloud.


    I wished I could speak, wished I could ask many things right now. If there were a way to communicate with them beyond nodding or grunting, my stay in this world would be much more bearable; I had never felt so lonely with so many people around. I was already envisioning a boring journey of several hours in complete silence, similar to the previous one with Elora, if that was her name. I wonder if she''s okay; I hope they don''t have to amputate her leg; that wound seemed quite severe.


    As if Mibreg knew what I was thinking, he looked at me with his large eyes and said, "Elora is fine, thank you for bringing her back safe and sound. She''s like a daughter to me. Don''t worry about anything; the earlier act was for the troops. Someone who saves two strangers from death can''t be all that bad, especially if one of them was chasing you for several kilometers. However, the conversation you''ll have with my sister will seal the fate for many people."


    I was just another weapon in a war I had been forced to participate in. I collapsed onto the cold, metallic floor of the truck and closed my eyes, hoping for the best, wishing to wake up from this nightmare. A rough hand on my neck was the last thing I felt before falling asleep.


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    The vehicle came to a sudden stop, making me think we had reached our destination. I opened my eyes and found the truck''s door open, and Mibreg was nowhere in sight. Without wasting more time, I left that claustrophobic place. We arrived at an open space with many soldiers, and as I peeked out, everyone turned to look at me, frightened. Whispering started.


    "So, it''s true..."


    "Is he not coming with us, or is he?"


    "There''s nowhere to run here if he decides to attack."


    "Let him try; he''ll see what the soldiers of the empire are made of."


    Two familiar figures came out to greet me. General Mibreg, with a cigarette in hand, and Elora, the mountain sniper, looking perfectly fine and in new clothes.


    "You''re awake, I didn''t want to disturb your sleep; you seemed quite tired. Can''t blame you, really. I even nodded off a bit while we were traveling."


    I''m pretty sure she had only one thing on her mind: to smoke so much that she forgot about me completely. On the other hand, what struck me the most was Elora''s perfect health, which could only be explained by the word "magic." Otherwise, on a battlefield, that right leg would have either ended up amputated at best or dead at worst.


    The soldiers acted as usual, despite Mibreg''s order to treat me with the utmost respect. I don''t blame them; truth be told, I would have done the same. However, Mibreg and Elora seemed unconcerned about my presence, which was nice, to a certain extent, because as long as I couldn''t communicate with them, everything would continue to feel abnormal.


    "Thank you so much for rescuing me," she said, placing her hands on her knee and performing a slight bow, "If it wasn''t for you, I wouldn''t even be able to perform this courtesy bow."


    Was that a courtesy bow? I thought she was just assessing the results of her operation. Anyway, I would''ve been glad to say I''m happy you''re okay. Silence was something I tried to maintain; I didn''t want to further frighten those present with growls. It was difficult to stay quiet since I used to be quite talkative and often unconsciously mimicked what girls said. Hence, more than one might have been startled.


    A huge plane landed in the clearing, followed by another. Both landed smoothly. The faces of those present lit up with joy, and for a moment, it seemed like they weren''t concerned about my presence. The massive door opened, and several soldiers began boarding them. At least a hundred soldiers boarded, and soon the doors closed behind them. Only a few of us were left in the clearing. Five trucks remained idle. Mine was the largest of them all; the others could easily hold between 20 and 30 soldiers inside, but where I traveled could easily accommodate 50 or 60 soldiers.


    "This is the worst part of being an officer; we always have to leave the area last," the general said, taking a deep drag from her third cigarette.


    If what she said was true, in the clearing, the remaining ten people were all officers or non-commissioned officers. However, only one of them seemed quite discontent with the situation, a man with a walrus mustache and dark gray hair who couldn''t stop casting hateful glances at me.


    When the five trucks were loaded, they all started transforming. Suddenly, the vehicles turned into large boxes, infinitely smaller than a truck. The most voluminous box corresponded to that of my truck. Was this how they transported things in this world? At the previous operations center, the structures were well-built and seemed to form a solid and striking base despite being erected near the enemy. This combination of technology and magic could provide practical results. Could it be possible that each soldier carried a part of the base in the boxes they wore on their backs like backpacks?


    Inside the plane, a man secured the boxes with cables and then gave us the green light to board. When our eyes met, he immediately looked away and visibly disturbed, moved away.


    "Rookies. Are we boarding or what?" Mibreg finally said.


    We started walking towards the massive metal bird. It was ironic to be taken on a plane when I could fly. However, I didn''t complain and walked up the huge metal ramp, always keeping my distance from the others. Nevertheless, I wasn''t the last one to board.


    "As I said before, the highest-ranking officers are the last ones to leave the battlefield. In fact, I should demote them for getting on before you," she joked from below while waving.


    When I was finally inside the quite empty plane, except for some cables and other non-truck boxes, Mibreg climbed up the ramp and joined the other officers. I watched as the door I had entered through slowly closed, feeling quite scared about the uncertain future that awaited me.


    The plane began to lift off the ground, and for the first time, I wasn''t afraid to fly. Since I was a child, and not so much a child, the mere idea of picturing myself aboard one of these iron giants terrified me. However, now, I could only feel quite disappointed with the experience; I started to fantasize about flying myself behind the plane.


    Elora came over to me and placed her hand on my back to get my attention, as if I were her best depressed friend, and began to gently stroke my back.


    "Don''t worry," she said and continued, "I know you want to go out and fly, but these prototype planes were made for this mission; they''re invisible, remember, we''re still in enemy territory."


    I glanced at Elora, and she gave me a warm smile.


    "Elora, Mr. Drakonte, please come here for a moment. I need to discuss many things with you, especially with you," she pointed at me, "Before we meet with the Empress."

 Chapter 2: The Empires New Ally

    On the way to the empire''s border, Mibreg took the necessary time to explain how I should behave in front of the empress. Despite many formalities being impractical due to my gigantic body, I thought there must have been a reason behind his explanation. Mibreg provided details on how to address the empress and how to move around her. However, after all that was mentioned, he assured that she herself would handle everything, and I wouldn''t have to do anything.


    The officers listened to Mibreg in silence, and although some seemed to want to say something, they remained quiet. Perhaps it was out of respect for their superior officer or out of fear, but none uttered a word, not even Elora, who was by my side. Once the conversation about the empress ended, Mibreg shifted his focus to me, this time in a more probing manner.


    "I need your word, or at least a promise that you won''t do anything to harm our empress. Do you promise?" He observed my reaction keenly, awaiting my response.


    My previous experience with her and the cigarette had taught me that nodding up and down didn''t mean a yes, but a no. So, this time, I chose not to shake my head from side to side, as I didn''t want to leave room for misunderstandings. Besides, who knows what nodding from left to right could signify in this world.


    Impatience began to show among the officers and non-commissioned officers due to my lack of response. However, both Elora and Mibreg remained unruffled, with inscrutable expressions. Yet, it was evident I couldn''t keep them waiting any longer, especially if this question aimed to ensure their monarch''s safety.


    "The question is straightforward; we need your answer to be affirmative. We won''t accept a no for an answer," the walrus-mustached man with dark gray hair almost shouted at me.


    I was grateful to him for providing the key I needed: the gesture of nodding from left to right to indicate a yes¡ªthank goodness. If I had a mirror, I''d probably be smiling at the discovery. Mibreg, who seemed on the verge of reprimanding the mustached man, paused before addressing me again.


    "I appreciate your cooperation," she said with a smile as she pulled out a cigarette and brought it to her lips. "Oops, sorry, I forgot you don''t like it."


    When she was about to put it away, I shook my head. Her face lit up when she saw an opportunity to smoke and asked, "May I smoke?"


    I replied affirmatively, nodding from right to left. She thanked me and proceeded to light it, expressing her happiness, "I needed this, really needed it."


    She took a deep drag and seemed to have smoked half of the cigarette in one breath, despite having smoked on land. It seemed as if she hadn''t smoked in years.


    The subsequent conversation turned rather mundane. It seemed like everyone had grown accustomed to my presence and only occasionally glanced at me to remind themselves not to let their guard down. I, however, remained on the sidelines, looking out of the small window at the sky and the clouds, remembering that not long ago, I had been there.


    The conversation revolved around rewards, reception, and family. Although my stay in the empire was mentioned more than once, Mibreg hushed them, arguing that the decision should rest with the empress. In contrast, Elora remained silent, gazing thoughtfully out of the window.


    The lieutenant general approached from behind and spoke to Elora in a low voice, as if she thought I couldn''t hear them. For the first time, I decided not to pay attention to their conversation and turned to listen to the officers. Perhaps I could learn more about this world, considering they had access to privileged information.


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    "The lieutenant general always pays attention to Elora, but she''s nothing more than a mere lieutenant," commented the mustached man, clearly displeased. "She may have accumulated several impressive achievements, but reaching an officer rank is sheer luck. She shouldn''t even be part of the army; she''s just a mix of blood. It disgusts me to think about it."


    "Major Bigud, you shouldn''t say that; you know this mission couldn''t have been carried out without Lieutenant Elora," said a young man with glasses and black hair like my scales.


    "You''re not going to bed her, Nauter," responded a forty-year-old woman with a penetrating gaze, short dark hair exuding confidence and self-assuredness.


    Everyone began laughing at the young man, who turned red and seemed to shrink. A rather burly man with a fatherly attitude placed a hand on the bespectacled man''s shoulder and said, "Don''t worry, remember that in this world, there are as many women as stars in the night sky." He squeezed his shoulder and gave a mischievous smile.


    "You''re not referring to brothels, are you?" asked the smallest of them all, resembling a bookish teenager. With two large eye bags and two marks from glasses on the bridge of his nose, his face gave the impression of someone devoted to reading.


    "Why, you want to come along?" the muscular man burst into laughter, his long shiny hair swaying with his laughter. The way he seemed to care for his hair indicated he cared a lot about what others thought of him.


    "Can you stop being so noisy? You''re drawing Mr. Drakontos''s attention," commented a tall, young woman who hadn''t parted with her rifle since we boarded. In fact, she was caressing it as if it were a pet. Her rather unkempt appearance, along with her unusual behavior, was the antithesis of the muscular man; she seemed unconcerned about others'' opinions.


    The officers turned to me, and the atmosphere of laughter and fun that had prevailed earlier transformed into a deathly silence. Their expressions reflected fear and submission, and some even apologized for the previous noise. In contrast, the mustached man clicked his tongue disdainfully and distanced himself from the group, showing his clear displeasure. The rest of the officers grouped into small conversations according to the members'' ages. This left the tall woman, rifle enthusiast, who continued to watch me, and the angry man alone. Meanwhile, the forty-year-old woman began to flirt with the muscular man with long hair, who lost interest in both. On the other hand, the group of adolescents speculated about the reception they would receive upon arrival, which didn''t catch my attention much.


    From all they discussed, I could only gather with certainty the names of two of them and Bigud''s evident aversion towards Elora and her origins. However, what caught my attention the most was the pair of officers who shared similar facial features. One had long red hair, makeup, and a feminine figure, while the other sported short blue hair and a more muscular build. Both seemed absorbed in their own world, focused on reading the same book. The woman held the book while the man flipped through the pages, giving the impression of perfect synchronization. I was mesmerized watching how they laughed and marveled together. Although only the young woman laughed out loud, the young man remained silent.


    At some point, Mibreg also concluded her conversation with Elora and left her there, lost in thought by the window. She approached the pair of twins, and immediately, I turned my attention to their conversation, eager to learn more about these strange siblings. Both rose in unison and raised their left hand in a closed fist. Could this be the typical military salute in this world or at least in the Empire?


    "At ease," Mibreg said to them.


    Both lowered their arms, and the young woman spoke, "At your command, Lieutenant General Mibreg."


    "No need to be so formal. Sometimes, I wish you were as quiet as your other half. I just want to ask you a favor."


    "I don''t understand. What do you mean? Are these orders?"


    "Forget it," she replied, giving up on the matter, and continued, "I would like that..." She lowered her voice. "If something were to go wrong and the empress were to be in danger, I want you to gather and do what you have to do."


    "Wouldn''t that be dangerous?" asked the young woman.


    "Everything is allowed for the good of the empire," she responded with an aggressive tone.


    "I understand," said the young man solemnly.


    Then, Mibreg walked away from the group, lit a cigarette, and stood in a corner, watching it slowly burn away. "I just want to be..."


    The words I had just heard only heightened my unease. Was I being led into a deadly trap? I felt an increasing sense of being manipulated and suspected that nothing good would come of all this. I longed to have the ability to speak, as when I had been human, to ask for help.

 PART 1 – INTRODUCTIONS

    The journey passed without major issues. Occasionally, murmurs of concern about what might happen once we reached our destination could be heard. The only ones not engaging in conversation were the twins, who spent the entire trip sitting together, sharing the reading of the same book.


    Since the flight turned out to be more boring than entertaining, I couldn''t help repeatedly yawning, showing my sharp teeth. This startled the tall woman several times, which I found entertaining. Seeing her jump provided me some distraction amidst the monotony.


    Despite the spaciousness of the place, I stayed close to the ramp to respect others'' personal space and avoid exacerbating what was already a tense situation. The ever-present threat of conflict made me fear that any misunderstanding could trigger violence at any moment.


    Mibreg headed towards the cockpit and was out of our sight for what seemed like hours, although it was only minutes. Finally, they returned and summoned us all, including me and two other people who hadn''t been with the main group. These two people were dressed alike and seemed to be in charge of loading the plane, namely, loaders. The woman looked visibly frightened, and since I hadn''t seen her when the plane landed, I assumed she had kept herself hidden from me. Therefore, I averted my gaze not to make her feel uncomfortable, as she seemed on the verge of tears. Her companion, noticing her nervousness, nudged her lightly, which startled her even more, causing her to emit a sharp scream that didn''t go unnoticed by anyone.


    Everyone turned to look at her, confused and wondering what had happened. However, they soon realized her fear was directed towards me. They were probably experiencing similar feelings, although some were better at hiding it than others, but they avoided it since they wore insignias on their uniforms they didn''t want to dishonor. This was especially important because, in my opinion, I hadn''t shown any aggressive attitude, and they had no reason to be fearful.


    After social cohesion calmed the poor frightened girl, Mibreg began the meeting with determination: "The pilots informed me we''ll soon reach the borders of the empire," they said loudly and clearly. They paused, waiting for the murmuring to cease, then continued, "That''s why I need you all now more than ever. We must make a good impression on the empress and show that all our work hasn''t been in vain."


    The officers and non-commissioned officers nodded at Mibreg''s words, although from my perspective, it seemed they did so in disagreement, as they shook their heads from side to side, which I found quite curious and entertaining. Mibreg gave orders to the mustached man and also to the twins, but only to one of them, specifically to the young woman referred to as Division General Peronia. She and her brother saluted with raised fists, accepting their superior''s order, which was nothing but taking charge of the soldiers on the first departing plane. In contrast, the other officers and non-commissioned officers were assigned the task of serving as my escort to present me to the empress, as if I needed some form of security, even though with just one of my four horns, I could pierce any attacker and had the ability to fly if things got complicated. However, I was aware it was merely a formality, and besides, I had no reason to refuse.


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    The introduction continued with each of those present following Mibreg''s orders. Mayra, the sergeant major, was the tall woman; Nauter, the senior non-commissioned officer with glasses; Elora, the lieutenant; Campora, the sergeant with noticeable dark circles; Juamingo, the young muscular captain; Odolina, the forty-year-old woman holding the rank of Brigadier General, responsible for handling the prototype planes; Major Big¨²d, the grumpy mustached man; the twins presented themselves as one, with Ceache, the woman, speaking and referring to herself as "the division general"; then the two loaders who were supposed to transport the egg; and finally, Mibreg, the lieutenant general and superior in charge. Mibreg claimed to have selected the best from the armed forces to ensure the capture of the target.


    The team introduction left me with more doubts than I already had. Mibreg explained they had organized an elite force from the military to capture me when I was still an egg because once I hatched, I would become unpredictable. In that case, they might be forced to use force to subdue me, as they had done before. However, as I was cooperative, they hadn''t resorted to brute force again, aside from the empress''s own request. Nevertheless, there was a possibility that if I refused to help the empire, they might decide to eliminate me to prevent me from joining the enemy''s side. The situation didn''t look promising and filled me with unease and fear. Once I landed at the border, anything bad could happen.


    A sense of confusion and frustration overtook me as I remained aboard. I was asking myself questions for which I had no answers. Why wasn''t I escaping? Why was I allowing myself to be manipulated like this, even knowing how it would all end? Had the meeting been organized just for me to meet them? Were they trying to impress or intimidate me to prevent potential violent action on my part? I was spiraling in a loop of negative thoughts.


    A sharp pain twisted my stomach. My head started spinning, and an acidic liquid climbed up my throat before spilling over the officers. I collapsed heavily onto the floor.


    "We''re arriving! The barriers are working!" shouted Mibreg.


    The plane filled with screams, and I blacked out, losing consciousness.


    ...

 PART 2 – THE DECEPTION

    Upon opening my eyes, I didn¡¯t find an elegant monarch parading in a grand reception, gracefully moving towards me to the synchronized sound of trumpets, nor soldiers aiming their rifles in my direction. Instead, darkness enveloped me. How many times had darkness become my faithful companion since I woke up in this world?


    Something circular was coiled around my neck, and a piece of fabric covered my poor eyes. The situation was desperate. I had no idea where I was, but the rattling made me sense I was in another truck, although this one was considerably larger than the previous ones. In the previous trucks, I was forced to lie down, my tail coiled due to their narrowness.


    Finally, my worst fears had come true. I had been deceived, and I felt naive for having trusted them. Deep down, I knew they had always considered me a war tool. Despite that, something in me had been swayed by their words. After all, I had never experienced conflict before. War in my birthplace was anecdotal and academic, dating back over forty years, when I wasn''t even an idea in my parents'' minds.


    I rose from the floor and stretched my sore neck until my four horns collided with the metal ceiling. The sharp, metallic sound made me aware of my situation. I knew what awaited me was nothing good. Having betrayed my trust twice already, I decided I wouldn¡¯t turn the other cheek this time.


    I started banging my body against the cold steel walls, and as if planned, my body received an electric shock so painful that it didn¡¯t even give me time to scream before I collapsed once again. The collar around my neck had caused the torture. At that moment, I felt like an animal, like a dog whose wicked owner couldn''t communicate without cruelty.


    Tears of helplessness began flowing from my large eyes, sounding like raindrops hitting a tin roof. I wanted to scream. I wanted to ask for help. I wanted to get out of here and return home. I wanted a bit of light.


    I remembered how I had set that forest ablaze and tried to replicate what I had done. However, no fire came out of my mouth; I didn''t even feel that heat rising from my stomach, traveling through my long throat to my huge toothy mouth. At that moment, I didn¡¯t know how I had done it before, but I had, and now, I couldn''t replicate it.


    Despondent, I stood up and pressed my huge head against the cold wall to listen to the outside, but I couldn''t hear anything. I could only feel the truck''s movement, and though it wasn''t jerky, I understood we were on a paved road. This made me think we must be somewhere inhabited by hundreds of people.


    With no alternative but to wait, I attempted to sit, but due to my body''s shape, I could only lean. I began to reflect on myself and my past. Thinking about free moments was something I enjoyed; that was what I knew about myself, but something important, something that shaped my identity, telling me I had parents, I couldn''t remember. What was my real name?


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    Forgetting your own name wasn¡¯t common, like forgetting important things such as someone''s birthday or your own phone number; it was more akin to head injuries or illnesses affecting the mind. Yet, I could recall my parents and brother, their faces, things they liked and disliked, what made them unique and different from others, but I couldn''t remember their names.


    I was aware that unknown matters required contemplation, so I posed a series of questions to myself: Had my memories been stolen? Was I truly the person I remembered being? Was what I believed I didn''t know something I was unaware of before becoming conscious of it? However, despite my attempt to explore what I didn''t know, I couldn¡¯t find answers to those questions. Nevertheless, I understood that acknowledging my lack of knowledge was a fundamental step in reclaiming my identity. If I came from another world, I needed to find others in a similar situation to confirm this hypothesis and thus discover who I truly was.


    If I was here, it meant other people might have experienced something similar. The only universal certainty for all human beings was death, so it didn''t seem entirely unreasonable to think I might find other Earthlings in this reality. The possibility of encountering my fellow countrymen filled me with hope. My goal from now on would be to learn to write and leave a message with my Western common sense, hoping someone would recognize it. It could take years, even decades, before anyone found it, but at least I wouldn''t be alone in this unknown world.


    However, these matters sounded rather idyllic and were raised and resolved in the long term. The reality was that I was imprisoned and likely enslaved to participate in a war where many people would lose their lives. The only thing I could do was not to die in the conflict. Saying it was easy, but doing so depended on luck and the experience of whoever wanted me dead.


    Reflecting on life and death was something I used to detest, and now it terrified me even more, despite being given a second chance. The idea of the existence of heaven and hell filled me with unease because if I participated in the war and died, would we end up in hell? Even though I had never believed in such biblical matters as "heaven and hell," the possibility didn''t seem entirely void. What if the Bible and other religions were written by people who had reincarnated into our world?


    Before I could engage in a philosophical confrontation with my own mind, the truck stopped, and the doors swung wide open. The reddish light of the sunset sun filtered into the dark steel prison. The delightful scent of roasted food began to fill my nostrils, awakening my appetite. I wondered how long it had been since I had eaten. When the soldiers opened the doors, they took several steps back upon hearing the growl of my stomach, clearly frightened.


    Without waiting to be dragged like a leashed dog, I stood up and exited the truck. I was greeted by the curious gazes of several armed individuals. Apparently, they had taken me to a different, much more solid and fortified base than the camp where Mibreg first received me.

 PART 3 – THE PRISON

    "Never trust strangers," my parents used to say when I was a child, and they were absolutely right. Trust is hard to earn, yet I had chosen to trust complete strangers. Perhaps because they were the first not trying to kill me or because they seemed cooperative and diplomatic, I decided to put my trust in them. A grave mistake.


    The collar clinging to my neck was a constant reminder of my errors. The pressure on my neck made me feel foolish and anxious, fearing I might never see my parents again. Yet, I couldn''t afford tears; instead, I needed to appear strong and hold onto hope that tomorrow might smile upon me again. I had to be cooperative and submissive, maybe¡ªjust maybe¡ªearn the trust of my captors.


    The prison they brought me to, at that moment unbeknownst to me, would become my room for a long while. The place was surprisingly spacious and empty. Walls, floor, and ceiling were of a monotonous gray. The room was dimly lit by various white bulbs in every corner, along with another four at the center. The only inlet for fresh air was through the keyhole in the double doors.


    The place was poorly furnished, with a huge mattress in the far corner. Adjacent to the wall, there was a large watering trough, similar to what a cow would drink from. In the other corner, next to the bed, there was a hole in the ground, presumably my personal toilet. No windows or any way to see outside. The keyhole led to a gray wall, making me think there was another room before mine. Double security, maybe?


    I approached the watering trough filled with water and scrutinized my reflection once again, but more intently. This moment differed from the first when I was dizzy from Mibreg''s magical barrier; I wasn''t wearing the collar for protection and couldn''t see myself clearly.


    The non-human face was the first thing that met me. Fifteen sharp, wide teeth on the lower jaw perfectly interlocked with fourteen on the upper. Additionally, four long horns protruded from my head like a reindeer''s, the two front ones shorter than the two rear. The gaze in my eyes was terrifying, seeming to scornfully observe the world. No wonder the terror I instilled in others, as they say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and mine seemed to reflect hell, entirely yellow like fire burning into eternity. My two nostrils were deep, emitting smoke every time I exhaled.


    Terrified by my appearance, I stepped away from the trough. However, the fear didn''t last long, almost instantly vanishing as if by magic. I wasn''t human and couldn''t afford moments of fear, sadness, and despair typical of humans in these situations. I was incapable of feeling despair in this situation. Any fear that arose disappeared instantly. I had lost the ability to feel those negative emotions. Yet, I worried this lack of emotions might also affect my ability to love and appreciate life. During Elora''s rescue, I felt pity and empathy, making me think maybe only negative thoughts had been blocked. There was still hope for me, I repeated to myself over and over in my head; but even that feeling vanished.


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    The sharp sound of metal opening next to the watering trough snapped me out of my reverie. The wall slid open, revealing a rectangle. However, it was quite small to escape through. From that opening, I could appreciate the thickness of the walls, thicker than my tail, which was already quite wide. This made me think I couldn''t break them down with my body as I had done with the barn door I escaped from, which was thinner than these walls.


    A large tray came in with something that had a scent that stirred my appetite. The wall closed again, and I approached the tray to see it better, barely visible because the view was blocked by the trough. What I saw made me rush to the hole to vomit from disgust.


    "Grrr," I growled in disgust.


    On the tray lay a skinned, dead animal. It provoked a nausea in me like I had never experienced before, but after vomiting, I began to desire those pieces with all my being. Still, I didn''t dare approach them. The animal was something I''d never seen in my world. It had the appearance of a bull but was different, possessing six legs, two more than a common cow. It was evident that it had been prepared meticulously, as they had removed everything inedible, like the presumably furry skin, hooves, and the head with its tough skull. The sight before me was that of a dismembered corpse.


    Yet, I had never desired to eat something as intensely as I did that animal. My stomach growled in anticipation of what was about to happen. I didn''t want to, but my body wouldn''t obey; it began to move toward the tray. My head approached it, and my mouth opened unannounced. Saliva dripped like tears; my stomach was crying with happiness.


    What happened next was something I never thought I''d do: eat raw meat. The animal was perfectly prepared; there was no blood inside, ready to be cooked. Despite being unseasoned, it tasted like the best food I had ever tried in my life. The bones crunched when I chewed, but I didn''t mind and continued devouring the poor animal. I couldn''t stop; I only finished when the tray was completely clean, licking it clean, even the tongue not leaving a single piece behind. Despite eating so much, it felt too little.


    When I finished eating, I approached the trough to drink water. The water had a different taste from tap water, earthy, but I didn''t mind and continued drinking until it was empty. After drinking and eating, I realized what I had done and felt bad about myself. However, that feeling lasted shorter than the animal I devoured.


    Satiated by the food, tiredness took over. I lay on the huge mattress, closed my eyes, and fell asleep, hoping that the next day would be better than this one. What were the Drakontos really? That was my final reflection before sinking into a deep slumber.


    ...

 PART 4 – BETWEEN DECISION AND DESPERATION

    When I woke up, I vividly remembered how I had devoured that animal. The taste of blood and the texture of raw meat churned my stomach. I approached the hole to vomit again. My body hadn''t obeyed me at that moment; instinct had acted on its own will. The vomit brought with it bone fragments and undigested pieces of meat, which disgusted me even more.


    The huge watering trough was filled with water again; the mechanism must have been refilled from the outside, so no one had to come in here to fill it. They had thought of everything.


    Approaching the trough, I filled my mouth with water, swirled it around, and spat it back into the well. The taste of meat still lingered in my mouth; water wouldn''t be enough to rid the flavor, but at least its earthy taste would considerably dull it. I repeated the process several times.


    After rinsing my mouth, loneliness began to envelop me. Not having the mind engaged in some activity often leads to reflection. However, the place didn''t help either, as solitary as one would expect from a cell and, furthermore, so claustrophobic that, if I were human, I''m pretty sure I''d already be completely desperate and terrified. Yet, I wasn''t entirely alone, as I had the only company that would never abandon me: my thoughts.


    I paced in circles, seeking any clue that might have gone unnoticed until that moment. After my rounds, I noticed several things. Firstly, the cell showed signs of being soundproofed, as I couldn''t hear any sounds from outside; it was an isolation cell. Secondly, although lacking conclusive evidence, I had the firm impression that others could hear me from those steel-protected lights. Thirdly, and concluding, I realized that escaping from this place would be impossible, even without the collar around my neck. My attempts to charge the walls were futile; the place remained undisturbed against any impact.


    I stopped, dejected, and slumped onto the mattress. At that moment, I sorely missed my cell phone or some book to pass the time. Although, if I were human, with these dim lights, I wouldn''t be able to read easily.


    Bored with everything, I had tired of pacing in circles and counting the eight ceiling lights over and over again. Loneliness and boredom are two great enemies of humans, although they affected me too, despite not being human. With nothing else better to do, I decided I''d sleep a little more. I closed my eyes and drifted back into the world of dreams.


    Shortly after, I woke up to the sound of the hatch opening, accompanied by the sound of another tray being slid inside. Finally, the hatch closed as swiftly as it had opened.


    Startled by the noise, I got up to check the content. The tray held a small live animal that wriggled relentlessly against the bindings that imprisoned it. The creature was of the same species as the one I had eaten, with black fur speckled with yellow spots, a head resembling that of a rabbit, but with six legs and a long, dog-like tail.


    The animal seemed more terrified than I was, as it kept squealing. It was clear its destiny was to be devoured by me, but this was beyond me. I couldn''t do it, at least not with a living being. Although the animal I had devoured had also been alive at some point, I had never eaten something that was still alive. Usually, all the meat I consumed was acquired from supermarkets, presented in trays and ready to be cooked.


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    Suddenly, the bindings restraining it released, and the animal stood up on its six legs. Far from trying to defend itself, it moved away from me while still squealing and observed me. It settled in the left corner, near the double doors. At some point, it stopped squealing and just watched my every move, just like me.


    I was sure of one thing, no matter how hungry I was, I would never eat it. However, my body had already demonstrated it wouldn''t obey me when hunger knocked. The animal was quite harmless and infinitely smaller than me, so it wouldn''t be able to defend itself if I decided to eat it.


    Ignoring it, I lay back on the mattress and closed my eyes, hoping that when I opened them, the animal would have disappeared as if by magic. Although I knew such a scenario was unlikely even in this world, I clung to that hope as I closed my eyes and drifted back into sleep.


    Another noise I hadn''t perceived woke me again. The double doors opened, and three people appeared, two of them strangers to me. The third person was someone I recognized: Mibreg. Immediately, she issued an order.


    "Grab the cuniojo."


    The soldiers approached the frightened animal and subdued it without much difficulty; the poor thing was no match for the strength of those soldiers. They stood still in the corner, holding it by the legs, awaiting their superior''s next orders.


    Mibreg didn''t utter more words; instead, she approached where I still lay, quite bewildered by the turn of events.


    "Don''t you want to eat? I don''t understand what game you''re playing," she inquired, finally, with a look of fury on her face. "If you''re thinking of letting yourself die in this cell, you should know there are fates worse than death." She extended her hand toward me.


    The collar began emitting an electric shock so strong it set the black mattress I was lying on on fire. The fire didn''t hurt me, but the shock that had caused it did.


    Mibreg lowered her hand, and the shocks ceased, but the fire continued burning for several more seconds. The woman with hair redder than fire flashed a diabolical smile that I''ll never forget, anticipating what she would force me to do next.


    "I want you to eat it, I want you to leave not a single hair, I want you to lick it until not a drop of blood remains."


    The men approached with the animal and tossed it in my direction. The hexapod fell like a sack of potatoes in front of me and tried to stand up, but the steel floor made it difficult since it didn''t have claws like me to walk on metal.


    Mibreg raised her hand, and I knew what would happen if I didn''t obey. I don''t want to describe what happened at that moment; I would prefer to forget it, I would prefer to say that I let myself be electrocuted until I passed out, but that wasn''t the case. The animal ended up in my stomach.


    "From now on, you will be called Nixebus, the darkest flying creature in a storm cloud in the night sky."


    She gave me a name with a maternal smile, as if I were her newborn son. Then, she ordered her men to leave first. They headed to the small foyer, where another double door was being opened from the outside. The woman followed them after, not before giving me another smile, closing the immense steel doors behind her on her own. She locked them and said to me, "If you obey, you won''t have to suffer. You''re intelligent; you know what I mean, don''t you?"


    She walked away, and for a moment, I saw sunlight; at that moment, I didn''t know it would be the last time I''d see it for a long time. Finally, the doors closed, and I was completely alone again, with the memory of what I had done, crying and growling with anger, fear, helplessness, and more anger.


    ...

 PART 5 – FREEDOM HAS A PRICE

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    The number of trays coming in and out of the room became my only time indicator. For me, a day equaled two trays of food. That''s how I determined I had been confined for over a month. I started stacking them on the side, and the pile reached over sixty, precisely sixty-eight trays, equivalent to a month and four days.


    Every tray that arrived with food ended up in my stomach. After the tenth, I stopped caring whether the animal was alive or dead; I just ate it. After all, it was a matter of survival: them or me.


    The smell of blood permeated the cell. I didn''t know how much longer I''d have to endure being locked up, but I was sure that if it continued, I would eventually lose my sanity. Despite everything, I held onto hope; I was certain they needed me for something, as it wouldn''t make sense for them to expend so many animals on me.


    Finally, a day after ninety-six trays, the doors opened. Mibreg returned accompanied by the twin brothers, those who always acted in perfect synchronization. Both remained still by the door while the lieutenant general was the only one to enter the room.


    "What a bad smell around here, but it seems it doesn''t bother you much, does it?" she commented as she approached the empty trays piled near the entrance. "Are you collecting them?" She counted all the trays from top to bottom and continued, "Ninety-six trays. Ninety-six animals. Ninety-six suns and moons. How do you feel?" she asked, not expecting an answer. Ninety-six days. I thought two trays equaled a day, but I was wrong. I had been locked up for much longer than I imagined. Somehow, in a hundred days, I had managed quite well not to lose my mind.


    "You''ve demonstrated exemplary behavior, and since the Senate has reached a response in record time, it''s time to get out of here."


    At that moment, the ceiling began to split like a window. It opened slowly, letting in the sunlight, the scent of gunpowder, and a gentle breeze. My excitement grew, and I stretched my neck to better appreciate the sky.


    However, a problem presented itself: how would I manage to get out? With the confined space of the cell, my long and wide wings didn''t have the necessary space to spread. Moreover, the ceiling rose too high for me to jump out. I had always been intrigued by how they had locked me in here, as the door was too small for me; in the end, the answer was always the ceiling.


    "I want you to lift it, Ceache," Mibreg ordered.


    The twins approached me without hesitation and showed no fear towards me. That filled me with fear, but I could do nothing but wait patiently; I still wore the electric collar.


    The woman, with a jump, reached the ceiling and stood on the edge, waiting. On the other hand, the man stood in front of me and, without warning, grabbed the lower part of my neck, lifting me with his hand enveloped in green flames.


    I rose a few centimeters from the ground, and fear began to invade me for what was happening. Mibreg remained motionless, watching me with a smile as she lit a cigarette that would soon touch her lips.


    The man threw me upwards, and as fast as Mibreg lighting a cigarette, the young woman waiting on the roof caught me in the air, throwing me even higher. This time, I had the chance to spread my wings and float, finally freed from the cell.


    The first thing I saw were numerous soldiers aiming their rifles at me, each showing a terrified face. Moreover, some tank-like vehicles had their cannons directed at me.


    The place where I was seemed to be an airport. An imposing tower rose on the horizon, and a very long road crossed it. Several gigantic hangars presumably housed artificial dragons, warplanes.


    I remained watching, analyzing, and enjoying the sights after so many days of confinement. Anything I looked at could excite me. The wind hitting my huge body, the smell of grass and gunpowder danced in my nose.


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    I looked back, although it was unnecessary. After several days locked up, I discovered I had some kind of spatial vision, like a third eye, able to perceive everything around me in a smaller distance than my own eyes. I realized that more soldiers and vehicles were aiming at me, closing a circle around me. However, I didn''t care. My attention focused on a huge rectangular building in the distance, capturing my greatest interest.


    I remained like this for several minutes, simply enjoying the feeling of the hot sun on my black scales. However, time around me continued its course. Mibreg emerged from the large metal box that once contained me and ordered:


    "Lower your weapons!"


    All the soldiers lowered their strange rifles, letting them rest on the grass, except for the vehicles that remained alert, like guardians.


    "Descend," she ordered.


    Without wasting time, I obeyed. I began to descend outside the circle, near the vehicles. Everyone turned in fear as I passed over their heads.


    I saw the woman on the roof jump several meters above the edge and land on the ground without any problem, as if the distance were insignificant to her. Meanwhile, her brother exited through the same small door they had entered.


    And, as if she wanted to prove that there was no danger, the lieutenant general approached me. She was so close that she could touch me. She raised her hand, and I knew what was coming. I closed my eyes, expecting a painful electric shock. However, none of that happened.


    "See? It''s completely at my will. It won''t do anything I don''t want it to do," I heard her mocking tone as she placed her hand on my scaly body.


    Did my reaction intend to show them that I feared them and that I was tamed? They treated me as if I were a simple animal, assigned me a name and a collar as if I were a pet. The only thing escaping their control were my thoughts, and I feared that at some point, they would try to take them away from me.


    To reinforce her control over me, Mibreg ordered one of the soldiers to bring a saddle. A soldier, with a face covered in sweat and visibly terrified, approached with a saddle similar to the ones horses use, but larger and heavier. This one was held by green flames in his hands; he used magic to lift it.


    "Lie down," she ordered.


    I did what she said and dropped onto the grass. Mibreg approached close enough and then said:


    "Put the saddle on it."


    The soldier, with a trembling hand, not because of the weight of the saddle, which was as dark as my scales, but because of the fear towards my presence, approached slowly. Finally, he placed the saddle on my body, and it began to adjust itself. Leather straps slid over my skin and tightened. One secured around my neck, while two others traveled to my stomach, tightening firmly. The feeling was horrible; the friction was uncomfortable, and the saddle was adjusted very uncomfortably.


    As if Mibreg were extremely cruel, she ordered the fearful soldier who had brought and placed the saddle to get on it. The soldier obeyed, but he was shaking so much that he looked like jelly. He put both hands on the saddle and tried to lift his weight to reach my back, but he failed. He tried to climb using my scales, but he was unsuccessful. Then, he tried to take a run and jump, but he only ended up hitting me.


    "Ceache, please, help him get up," Mibreg ordered impatiently.


    The woman approached, making her way through the soldiers, grabbed the man by the collar of his grayish-blue shirt, and lifted him without the need to use the green fire in her hands. Then she threw him in the air, and he landed on the saddle face down.


    "At last," Mibreg commented disgusted and continued. "I want you to take him to that building and then land and allow him to descend. But I want you to remember something, as long as I live, that collar will accompany you, and if you don''t obey me." She raised her hand in my direction and said, "Now go."


    Without wasting time, I began to rise. The man on my back began to make sounds of panic, clinging tightly to my neck. I set my course for the large rectangular building that was quite far away.


    The flight didn''t last long, in fact, just a couple of minutes. I approached close enough to the now imposing building and descended until I touched the ground with my four paws. I crouched low enough for the man to be able to descend. Without words, he jumped long before I crouched, hurting himself when he fell to the ground.


    I rose again in the air and moved away from the building. In the distance, I could see several people coming out of the building to help the injured soldier. Several minutes later, I flew back to where Mibreg was waiting for me. I landed in the same place where I had taken off and waited for orders.


    "With our new vehicle and weapon of destruction, the empire will rise to victory!" Mibreg shouted.


    All the soldiers began to cheer with joy, completely forgetting the fear they once felt in my presence.

 Chapter 3: First Flaps

    My inability to express myself verbally greatly complicated my communication with others; my interaction was limited to listening and obeying orders. The difficulty was further exacerbated as they didn''t even understand my written language. This left me with no way of knowing the time of day since I lacked access to a clock or similar device to measure time. However, I discovered that the military personnel divided time into three parts: morning, noon, and night.


    It reassured me to find out that they used the same expressions to measure time, but I noticed a small difference. Noon didn''t coincide with the sun being at its highest point; instead, it was when the sky took on reddish hues. They never spoke of sunset, but rather mentioned dusk directly. At this very moment, I was soaring through the skies at noon, although for Earth''s inhabitants, it would be considered as sunset.


    My back bore the weight of various boxes carefully secured on my saddle. I was completely unaware of the contents of these boxes, but I was always instructed to treat the cargo as if it were "fragile." However, on more than one occasion, upon landing, the soldiers unloaded the boxes by throwing their contents without any care, allowing me to discern which ones were truly fragile and which were not.


    Furthermore, another key to identifying fragility, or lack thereof, was to observe how they unloaded the cargo from the planes in the hangar and how they loaded it directly onto my back. This led me to be quite diligent during the trips, accelerating only when I was sure the load wasn''t fragile.


    Fortunately for me, this would be the last cargo of the day that I had to carry to the large rectangular building. In the end, that building was nothing more than an extensive warehouse that stored weapons, ammunition, provisions, and vehicle parts for spares. It had nothing special; quite the opposite, in fact. In truth, I nicknamed it the "shoebox" because that''s exactly what it looked like from the skies.


    As I began my descent, I heard the metallic tinkling coming from inside the large wooden boxes. This sound reminded me of the numerous occasions when I had transported canned food. Nevertheless, my diet always consisted of the same thing, which was understandable since these provisions barely satisfied my voracious appetite, can and all.


    However, the constant activity of carrying things back and forth always ended up generating more hunger than the rations could satisfy. It was an established routine: one animal at noon and another at night, whether alive or dead.


    I landed slowly to avoid breaking anything "fragile," as one could never be a hundred percent sure of the contents of the boxes. The soldiers smoking outside the large warehouse approached with hands illuminated by green fire, ready to do their job.


    After more than a month "working" with me, most of the base had grown accustomed to the constant back and forth from the hangar to the warehouse, and many had stopped fearing me, or at least they disguised it better. However, the pilots and the plane crew remained the only ones who showed an obvious fear upon seeing me. It was understandable, after all; the first thing they saw was a "drakontos," as they called dragons in that world, waiting to be loaded with boxes like a truck.


    Usually, the officer in charge of me ordered to load five boxes, a number determined after various endurance tests against the air, regardless of their content. However, if the boxes were large, possibly vehicle parts, they only loaded two.


    The method to secure the load always involved the use of magical chains, similar to the ones they used to capture me. However, these were easily removable, as any soldier could release them without any issues. Nevertheless, my work wasn''t limited to just carrying boxes from the hangar to the warehouse; many times, I also had to do it in the opposite direction, transporting cargo from the warehouse to the hangar.


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    If I completed the tasks quickly, whether at sunset or at night, I was rewarded with a live animal, as if that were a positive thing. However, not having a way to measure time often resulted in me receiving the reward, much to my dismay. This created quite a spectacle when I had to hunt the six-legged animal, which they released and expected me to go after it, as if I were a circus animal.


    "Ready!" shouted a soldier, followed by a pat on my large belly, which remained lying down to facilitate the unloading of the boxes. "You can go."


    I began a rapid ascent and distanced myself from the warehouse. My next destination was to visit Lieutenant Frey, who would be in charge of freeing me from the uncomfortable saddle and also providing me with food; I wished with all my might not to be rewarded.


    As I was so hungry, it didn''t take long to reach my destination. I landed near the huge cell that served as my home and met Lieutenant Frey, who was waiting for me as usual. I started a slow walk in his direction. Walking slowly had always been the only way to show that I had no intentions of harming anyone.


    "Good job, Nixebus," said the man shorter than the other soldiers, his face covered in sweat from the heat. He continued, "I''ve received new orders; we have to head to a base located northwest of here, near the kingdom''s border."


    This took both the soldiers and me by surprise, as we all found out at the same time. This situation made me feel respected for the first time since I arrived in this world.


    If I weren''t an enormous fantasy animal, I would be jumping for joy, but since that would only cause fear and probably earn me an electric shock.


    However, this was the first opportunity to leave the base, and to say that I was terrified would be an understatement. On the one hand, I was glad at the idea of exploring new horizons, but on the other, every quasi-freedom flap brought me inevitably closer to the battlefield; at some point, I would have to face the terrible reality of killing people.


    "I-I have something else to tell you before," Frey stammered and trembled. His behavior reminded me of the first time we met, when Mibreg ordered him to ride me after putting on the saddle; the poor guy looked like jelly, but in the end, he turned out to be the bravest of them all. He let out a long sigh and continued, "I have to ride you!"


    All present began to murmur, some scared and others excited because, for better or worse, they were about to witness something not seen every day. However, many felt compassion for Frey, remembering him trembling the first time he was ordered to do the same thing some time ago.


    With a determination that silenced everyone, Frey spoke frankly, "I''m just an apprentice pilot; the empire wasn''t going to assign you an expert. After all, you could have rebelled and eliminated him, either by throwing him in the air or devouring him on land, leaving the empire without an expert. That''s why they assigned me," he said with some bitterness and self-disgust in his words. While speaking, he pulled an aviator cap from his pants and put it on along with some goggles. "However, I''ve been studying you for a long time; those were my orders. After several days observing you, I designed a way to pilot you, no offense," he apologized while taking out a small notebook with several illegible writings from a back pocket of his pants.


    Were those back-and-forth trips just a test? Were they watching me like an animal in a documentary? Were they evaluating my response to orders? Why share all this information with me instead of just getting on and telling me what to do? Why this sudden need to communicate? I had been at his orders for days, and we barely exchanged a few sentences a day. Now, it seemed like we had advanced a week''s worth of conversation. Interrupting my questions, Frey continued, "You know," he said, approaching me and placing a hand on my scales, "I always wanted to pilot planes; that was my dream since I was little." He clung to my scales and began to climb effortlessly onto the saddle, settled into it, and continued, "But I never thought that if I joined the air force, I would have to pilot a legendary drakontos. If I die today, you can be sure it wasn''t in vain. Take off!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.


    Everyone formed a wide circle, watching with strangeness and awe Lieutenant Frey''s words and actions, not knowing quite how to react. Meanwhile, I wasted no time and started flapping my wings, raising dust around me like a helicopter about to take off. Suddenly, below me echoed applause, then another, and another, and another, and one more. Everyone was applauding the lieutenant''s courage in a harmonious chant. Frey leaned out from the saddle, observed the scene unfolding below, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "See you, says goodbye the pilot of the most powerful plane of all!"

 PART 1 – TOWARDS AN UNCERTAIN DESTINATION

    This was the second time flying at night, but the first without the constant threat of someone trying to kill me. Still, I couldn''t help but feel uneasy, as if this were some sort of personal trial I had to overcome. If it weren''t for the damned collar, I would have likely fled long ago. But the memory of pain kept me under control.


    "You''re doing great, Nixebus!" Frey shouted without lifting his hands from my neck.


    Lieutenant Frey had developed an excellent way to handle me in the air, and without anything painful, just with caresses and light taps on my large neck. However, I hated being yelled at like that; I could perfectly hear whispers with my keen ear. But sometimes I think people shout simply because they can''t hear themselves.


    Suddenly, snapping me out of my reverie, I received two pats, an unmistakable signal that I needed to slow down. I obeyed and continued flying in the same direction, guided by his previous caresses, but a bit slower.


    "I think we''re heading in the right direction," the lieutenant said as he took out his notebook and examined it alongside a peculiar compass. "Planes have tools to help pilots navigate, but with you, I have to rely on my intellect and creativity to carry out this mission," he muttered to himself.


    It''s true, the sky doesn''t have marked paths or directional signs, so it''s crucial to rely on technological tools like GPS or radio communication from a base of operations to navigate. However, in my case, I didn''t have any such devices; just a fitted saddle and two large saddlebags. On the other hand, I noticed he had some sort of compass.


    During my time at the airport, I discovered that I had the ability to observe everything around me as if I had a third eye. It was a useful skill that allowed me to be alert, as I could see from both flanks. However, it had one drawback: when using this "third eye," I couldn''t see beyond what my real eyes could. For that reason, I dubbed this ability "spatial glimpse," as it encompassed a specific space around my large body.


    "According to my compass, we''re a couple of hours from the kingdom''s border," he said as he stroked me, indicating that I should increase speed, but not too much, as he gave me a gentle tap at the end.


    If we''re heading towards the kingdom''s border, it indicates we''re not approaching another state or country, as I''ve had conversations with an "empress" rather than a "queen." Therefore, following this line of thought, it''s likely that the base I was at and heading towards is part of the empire.


    At this moment, I feel a lot of fear. Although I had avoided facing the obvious, it now seems clear to me that I''m being led to the battlefield. If they were allies, they wouldn''t establish a base near the border of their own country, as there are usually non-aggression agreements between friendly nations.


    However, the strategic location of a base near the border could have three possible meanings: it could be a resource-rich point, indicate political tensions with the neighboring country, or worse yet, that they had already invaded and were at war. In that case, the base would be crucial for supplying their troops. However, it would also be vulnerable to bombings due to its proximity to the enemy kingdom. Although, being this a magical world, perhaps they have protective spells or alternative forms of transportation that differ from anything I know.


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    Frey stroked me, indicating that I should approach some nearby mountains. Between their peaks, a path opened up that wound its way into the mountain range and disappeared from view kilometers ahead into an extensive forest. I was convinced that this was the way to the base.


    "We''re close to the small border town of Misiones, the perfect military base for the empire!" he announced loudly as he closed the compass and put it away, aware that he wouldn''t need it anymore.


    A city as a base? Is the empire using a civilian settlement as a facade to conceal a military base? That implies that the invaders are actually from the empire to the kingdom.


    The lieutenant gently tapped my neck, and I accelerated, noticing that we were getting closer and closer to our destination. If I weren''t this huge and magnificent creature, I''m sure I would be trembling and dry-mouthed with fear.


    I maintained a steady speed for several minutes, flying over vast forests cut by a narrow dirt path that only I could spot from this great height.


    Suddenly, something appeared in the distance, and I could already see it. The huge border town rose imposingly, guarded by a large wall that surrounded it, as if it were a medieval city, but of even greater and more imposing dimensions. Several minutes after I noticed it, Frey spoke, and what he said left me frozen.


    "We''re close. However, there''s something I didn''t tell you because I wasn''t entirely sure how you''d take it," he patted me twice to slow down, and continued, "Our real mission is to attack and secure that city for the empire."


    He deceived me from the beginning! I had assumed that the base was from the empire when he mentioned it was the perfect base of the empire, but in reality, he meant it was a good place to establish an empire base. We''re invading the kingdom in a surprise attack! The idea of how many civilians are going to die... just thinking about it turns my stomach.


    "It''s orders from Mibreg, it bothers me too, but there''s nothing to be done, after all, we''re at war. Besides, they signed a pact with the undead and are the only allies of the demon kingdom, and they''re also out of the coalition. Long live the empire!"


    It seemed like he was talking to me, but I was one hundred percent sure he was trying to convince himself of the slaughter he was about to participate in. With one hand on his heart and adjusting his glasses with the other, he shouted again:


    "Long live the empire!"


    Then he proceeded to pat me to speed up. If I was going to do something, it had to be now. Was I in a position to stop the killing? I had to escape! However, a terrible vision presented itself to me. Hidden among some trees away from the wall, with a cigarette between her fingers, was Mibreg. As if we had locked eyes, she returned a smile. Then, she turned and pointed her finger, as if giving an order, and several soldiers appeared.


    I couldn''t escape. Everything had been planned for a long time. That''s why we left at night, that''s why I spent months working at that airport/warehouse, that''s why I was locked up for several days, that''s why that night they were after the egg in which I woke up.


    Tears began to fall from my face as I watched a girl walking with her father down the street illuminated by a small lantern. Gradually, the other houses and shops came into view, but none were a military base. They were all civilians.


    "Our mission is to distract them from the skies and make sure they open the gates for our army to enter!"


    Suddenly, an idea formed in my mind. There was still hope. It depended on me to carry out the mission without causing any casualties! I just needed to offer the best terror show ever seen. I can do it, I know I can do it!


    The girl pointed upwards, and her father turned his head to see where she was pointing. The show had begun.