The sky was wrapped in thick, heavy clouds like a leaden shroud. A damp chill hung in the air, seeping into the bones with every breath. Occasionally, a gust of wind blew through, but instead of bringing freshness, it only deepened the gloom.
The wind lifted fallen leaves and dust from the ground, sending them swirling helplessly through the air before they dropped back down with a heavy thud, this was the ancient castle belonging to the witch Morgan.
In the distance, thunder rumbled faintly, like a giant beast growling from the far reaches of the sky, as if time itself was imprisoned beneath a suffocating grey curtain.
A massive, ancient Dragon lay sprawled across the ground, majestic and imposing like a mountain range. It had been dozing off, but the moment it sensed the castle's master returning, it jerked awake with a shiver.
"Oh! Lady Morgan, you've finally returned! That was the thirty-fourth minute and forty-second second of me missing you!"\ It spokethe human language, its tone, and expression filled with exaggerated flattery.
Ian found it hard to believe that a mighty Dragon could actually make such a humble and submissive face. Clearly, this ancient creature had been "disciplined" by Professor Morgan, probably more than once.
Hmm.
Maybe "trained" would be a more appropriate word.
It even stuck out its tongue.
"Good evening, Deathwing," Ian took the initiative to greet the ancient dragon. He and the creature shared a relatively friendly contract linking their souls.
Of course,
That wasn't nearly enough for the ancient Dragon to treat Ian the same way it treated Morgan.
"I'm not called Deathwing. I have my own name," The dragon grumbled, pulling back the tongue it had just stuck out at Morgan.
The double standard was glaringly obvious.
"Oh? Then what's your name?"
Ian didn't take offense and asked cheerfully. He didn't have Morgan's ability to keep dragons in line, so the fact that this ancient beast wasn't breathing fire at him was already a sign of pretty good dragon karma.
"I forgot." The dragon answered bluntly.
It didn't seem to care much, either. Its massive head lowered, eyes half-closed, exhaling light smoke that mingled with the surrounding mist, giving it an air of majesty and laziness all at once.
"Then I'll just keep calling you Deathwing, sounds way cooler." Ian patted the dragon's claw. He still had to stand on tiptoe to even reach that far.
The dragon looked like it wanted to protest, but Morgan wasn't having any of it.
"You've been granted a name, so accept it. You don't even know how good you have it," She gave the dragon just a casual glance, and the mountain-like behemoth immediately began to tremble.
"Alright, starting today, my name is Deathwing." It gave in instantly, showing its signature cowardly side. It was almost absurd to think that an ancient Dragon could look so pitiful.
"I brought you a gift," Ian pulled out a pile of stone figurines, each the size of Hagrid, and a giant chessboard. These were cobbled together from the shattered pieces of wizard's chess he had collected before the great battle with Tom.
Basically, it was upcycled garbage. Ian had long been working to earn this dragon's favor; he'd prepared this gift as far back as last term.
"What are these things?" The dragon reached out a claw that was larger than a cottage, yet the Hagrid-sized chess pieces still looked tiny in its grasp.
"It's a statue-based version of wizard's chess, with an auto-repair function. Plus, I've added a cross-generational invention of my own, it has the ability to play against you by itself."
"You don't need an opponent to complete a game of wizard's chess. Right now, it's running the first version of my Mecha-Soul 1.0, but I think it should be strong enough to give you a worthy match."
Ian didn't know whether the dragon would come to love this wizarding sport, but his real aim was to let the bored, idle dragon help train and upgrade his Mecha-Soul 1.0 through use.
Ian was already thinking of applying this invention to other fields.
"Interesting toy." The ancient dragon must've really been bored stiff, because it took to Ian's gift right away. It didn't even bother asking about the rules, just swiped a paw at the pieces, ready to play.
"Ka-cha~"
The chess piece shattered into pieces on the ground.
But soon enough, the fragments began repairing themselves automatically.
"That's not how you play wizard's chess…" Ian wanted to give the ancient Dragon a quick tutorial on the rules of the game. But to his surprise, the dragon simply shook its head and gave an unexpected reply.
"I know what wizard's chess is. Slytherin loved playing it. I'm just trying to remember my past!" The ancient Dragon blinked its eyes, looking somewhat wistful.
"It's just… doing the same thing now feels different." Its voice was heavy with melancholy, filled with a sigh that echoed the cruelty of time.
"Memories are always irreplaceable." Ian offered a thoughtful summary, and the ancient dragon immediately nodded solemnly.
"Yes. Exactly that."
It clearly wanted to go on reflecting, but Morgan raised her eyebrow.
"I think what you really need is a good beating." She raised a single finger.
No light or spell was visibly cast, but in the very next moment, the ancient Dragon looked as though it had been slapped across the face. Not only was it sent crashing to the ground, but half of its dragon head swelled up instantly.
"Oh… now that feels right."
As the earth rumbled, the overturned ancient dragon kicked its four legs weakly in the air. Yet strangely, it looked like it had rediscovered something, some forgotten piece of itself.
"…"
Ian watched the whole scene, utterly stunned. His mouth opened and closed several times, unsure what to say. In that moment, he realized, not only should you never judge a person by their appearance, but perhaps you shouldn't judge a dragon by theirs either.
What a mighty, awe-inspiring ancient Dragon…
Who knew it had such unique preferences?
"Would you like to try a slap like that too?" Morgan suddenly turned to him, smiling sweetly. At that moment, Ian swore the air in the castle garden grew noticeably colder.
"Absolutely not!" Ian's head shook like a rattle drum.
Morgan's smile remained.
"Then where's my gift?"
She was always that direct, smiling with hidden daggers, her kindness always hiding danger. Ian suddenly felt a chill in his heart… though oddly enough, part of him also felt like this was how things should be.
"Right here!"
He didn't dare overthink it.
He immediately pulled out the gift he'd prepared for Morgan, a large assortment of sweets and snacks, along with the most popular entertainment books from the modern world.
"Now that's more like it." Morgan finally nodded in satisfaction. The temperature in the air returned to normal, and Ian's pounding heart finally began to relax a little.
(To Be Continued…)
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