Who could have known?
Who would have even thought?
I! The most powerful and feared being, dying so pathetically in my lair, with no one to witness my last moments or mourn me after my death.
I sighed, looking at the only things around me — piles of gold, magic diamonds, and magical treasures of the highest class.
I suddenly began to lose myself in thoughts while my consciousness was slowly fading.
I wonder what got into me to have gathered all these riches and valuables of different lands, different cultures, different beings — and of course, of different worlds — just to bring them here for me to stare at? Well, looks like it'll all amount to nothing, as we will all fade away.
I smiled, fully knowing I'd be the only one to end up in that deteriorated state.
My thoughts went on as my consciousness continued to fade away.
On the bright side, I did outlive all my peers, who I'm sure are long gone by now. They were either killed fighting one another, slain by a creature stronger than themselves, or simply perished along the way. I guess it's not just anyone that gets to live as long as I did.
Being the peak of existence for millennia wasn't all too bad, 'cause I literally did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, wherever I wanted it — with no one daring to oppose the great me. But despite being so powerful, some part of me never wished to have lived this life of solitude.
It was not all like this from the start, but as I grew older and more powerful, I began to demand as much respect. Before I knew it, I was feared even among my own kind. Since I couldn't get the respect I wanted without making the lesser beings — or even my own kind — fear me, I completely stopped involving myself with the outside world and started my life of solitude in my perfect and glorious lair.
Well, maybe it wasn't all that perfect with how lonely it was in here. I had always hoped that one day, things would eventually change for the better.
But to think I would meet my end like this...
A truly pitiful ending for a being who commanded worlds.
I let out my last breath, and my consciousness finally faded.
"Huh... So this is how it feels to be dead," I thought, floating in an endless abyss with no concept of time.
I wondered how many seconds, minutes, hours, days, or years had passed since I died.
Not like anyone would care or take notice.
At least, this feeling of loneliness in the abyss isn't anything new.
Something had been bothering me lately. I could strangely sight a tiny bright light from far away. I'm certain it wasn't there when I found myself in the abyss. I wouldn't have paid any heed to the strange light, since I couldn't move or feel any of my four limbs, wings, or tail. Strangely enough, I kept being pulled closer to the light, which explained why it grew larger — until I was finally in front of it.
There I was, in front of the only glowing light in the endless darkness of the abyss.
The light seemed to be bigger than my full-grown dragon body, and it continued to pull me in until I was fully engulfed in it.
After getting pulled into the light, I started to feel my whole body again — except for my wings and tail. My senses also started to return. I could breathe fresh air again — which was very pleasant, by the way. I also started to hear some strange noises that were quite painful to listen to. My eyelids felt unusually heavy to open, but I still managed to muster up the strength to open them, and I finally did — only to be met with blurry images.
As the images began to clear up, I was able to make out a female giant's smiling face staring intently at me, like she was going to swallow me whole.
I started to wonder what was going on.
How the hell did a mighty dragon such as myself get into a stinking giant's cave, and what made them this freakishly big?
The images finally cleared up, and I could see the female's face much more clearly. It occurred to me how I was very familiar with the giants since they lived close to my nest. If my memory serves me right, I'm very sure they aren't this pretty and clean. Despite the face looking a bit too happy, above all else, they lived in a damn stinking cave — not a nice, clean, and luxurious-looking interior such as this.
I thought to myself while looking beyond the smiling human's face.
A sudden realization struck me. As I lifted my arms up, I noticed that I was actually the one moving these tiny little human arms… which almost made me start to panic. But of course, as an ultimate dragon, I didn't do so. Instead, I took a deep breath of fresh air and let it out, so I could assess the situation in a calmer and dignified manner, worthy of an ultimate dragon.
The painful noises began to subside as I started to make out some words out of it.
My assumption of being in a human body was right on spot with how she seemed to be unable to stop talking in the human language. Luckily for me, I learned to speak the simple language for my own convenience.
The smiling female human had a blonde bob cut. She appeared to be a maid due to her black and white gown. The same smiling maid lifted me up carefully in her arms, and handed me over to another female human sitting upright on a bed, while saying,
"Our little prince is anxious to meet his mother."
Wait!
Mother?
The one that birthed me?
And what was that about being their little prince?
The human female embraced me in her arms, which felt entirely different from the smiling-looking maid's. It was much more comfortable and softer. It had just the right amount of warmth to it, with a pleasant and sweet scent.
Is this perhaps what the humans call motherly love?
It's nice.
I could stay like this forever.
She stopped for a moment to have a proper look at me, and I also looked directly back at her.
My human mother, even though she looked a bit rough on the edge, appeared to be quite a glamorous beauty for a human, especially if I say so myself. She had long silver hair, deep violet eyes with an absolutely gorgeous face — almost like an elf's. From her heavy breathing and the dark circles around her eyes, I could tell she was utterly exhausted — must be due to childbirth.
Pathetic!
She looks like she's about to die just from mere childbirth. I'd almost forgotten how feeble these humans are.
My human mother started conversing with the human maids beside the bed and out of my line of view, asking them with a worried face,
"Isn't he supposed to be in tears, since he was just given birth to?"
What kind of mother wants to see her child cry after giving birth? For goodness' sake, I seem to have forgotten how these feeble humans even think.
A voice replied among the maids,
"Well... In some rare cases, they don't cry, my Queen."
Queen?
So, my human mother is a queen, huh? That explains why the smiling maid called me their prince.
My human mother continued the conversation.
"My mother once spoke to me about babies that don't cry after being born. She said it was a very, very bad omen to the family."
So I'm a bad omen just because I don't cry?
A serious-looking human maid with jet-black hair appeared in my sight, bowed her head down, and talked to my human mother politely to calm her down.
"We can just solve the issue of him not crying by slightly hitting his buttocks — but of course, only with your permission, my Queen."
My human mother nodded her head as she granted her the permission, while handing me over to the serious-looking maid.
The serious-looking maid carried me away from my human mother's arms and placed me on top of her left shoulder.
Do these humans really think I! The almighty peak of existence, the most powerful and feared being, the ultimate and millennia-years-old dragon, whose long life was a testament to what true power is, will actually cry due to some slight slap on my little human ass cheeks? These humans truly have no idea how wrong they can be.
She then slightly tapped me on my buttocks.
The slight tap was shocking at first.
As the sensation subsided, an overwhelming pain — unlike anything I had ever felt — surged through me. In my whole lifetime as a dragon, never had I felt such pain.
As if all that wasn't humiliating enough, I couldn't muster up any of my magic to completely vaporize the blasted maid.
The only way I could react to the extreme pain... was to instinctively start crying my eyeballs out.