The Dark Fire Dragon was dead.
The world should have felt lighter. The skies clearer. The river freer.
But inside, the koi knew the truth: he hadn't killed it.
It was Ian's sword. It was Rakkel's sacrifice. It was blood, fire, and loss that had ended the dragon — not him.
Mari's death had not been avenged by his fins, his teeth, his will. The vow he had clung to, the reason he had survived endless deaths, had not been fulfilled by him at all.
A hollow ache pressed into his chest.
I was there. But I wasn't enough. I'm never enough.
—
The koi drifted downstream, body sluggish. He did not dive for food. He did not practice his skills. He let the current drag him wherever it pleased, thoughts spinning in jagged circles.
He saw Mari's face. The way she had smiled when she tied a ribbon to his bowl. The way she had shielded him in her arms even as flames closed in. The way she had died, while he had lived.
He saw Ian's scars. His missing arm. The bent back of an old man who had carried too much, for too long.
And every time, the same sentence stabbed into his skull.
I didn't avenge her. I didn't protect him. I failed.
The koi flicked his tail weakly, trying to push the thoughts away. But they only pressed harder.
Weak. Useless. Burden.
—
Suddenly, another memory tore through him.
Not of dragons. Not of rivers.
But of his first life — when he had still been human.
He saw the classroom floor. His hand stretched out, palm down. A heavy shoe slammed down on it, grinding his fingers into the tiles.
"Trash."
He couldn't breathe.
The scene shifted. His mouth was pried open, and something foul spilled inside. Junk food mashed into a paste. Rotting scraps shoved down his throat.
"Eat it. That's all you're worth."
He gagged, but they forced more down. The stink of grease, sour milk, and mold filled his nose.
Then came the worst. A bucket tipped, and rancid wastewater burned down his throat. His body convulsed, stomach heaving. He clawed at the floor, desperate to escape, but every time he moved, boots rained down.
"Drink. Drink it, weakling."
The humiliation, the pain, the choking despair — it all returned in one rush.
—
The koi's body spasmed in the river. His fins went limp. He stopped fighting the current.
He sank.
Down past reeds and drifting silt. Down into the shadowed bed of the river, where the light barely reached. His thoughts were knives, stabbing from every direction.
Mari's smile. Ian's scars. Rakkel's sacrifice. His own uselessness. His own past, broken and trampled.
The weight was unbearable.
I can't swim anymore.
He sank deeper. His body trembled, breath shallow. Even water — his only refuge — now felt like chains dragging him down.
—
[System Notice]
The koi's mind twitched. The voice broke through the fog.
[Host mental stability critical]
[Adaptive response triggered]
[New skill unlocked: Harden]
His thoughts froze.
[Skill: Harden]
Type: Passive/Active
Description: Reinforces body with condensed spiritual force. Increases defense, resists damage, prevents collapse.
Effect: Enables survival under extreme physical or mental strain.
The koi's fins shivered. For a moment, light returned to his eyes. His scales tingled, stiffening as though a thin armor layered over them. His body no longer felt like dead weight.
Harden…
The name echoed inside him. A skill born not from glory, not from triumph, but from pain, humiliation, and despair. From every stomp on his hand, every forced swallow of filth, every memory of weakness.
It was ugly. But it was his.
Slowly, he moved again. His body no longer sank freely. His fins spread, rigid, cutting through the current.
He was still weak. But now he had one more way to endure.
—
The riverbed was dark. The world above had not changed. Mari was still gone. Ian was still scarred. The Dark Fire Dragon was still slain by hands other than his own.
But the koi no longer let himself drift helplessly. He flicked his tail, steady this time. His scales gleamed faintly, tougher, heavier.
He whispered to himself, though no one could hear.
I'm not done yet.
The vow was broken once. He would not let it stay that way.
Harden was only the beginning.