Riko was twenty-two when the world ended.
One moment there was the screech of metal, the violent spin of his bike, the cold slam of concrete. The next, he was lying on the platform, unable to move. Pain pulsed through him—sharp, blinding, blood, everywhere at once. He couldn't even tell where it hurt the most. It just did.
Voices floated above him.he can hear ambulance siren and can feel someone lift him,Urgent.
"Shit… he's losing blood pressure! Check the pulse!"
"Hang in there, mate! Stay with us!"
"No—come on! We're losing him!"
Riko tried to breathe. Tried to speak. Nothing worked. His body felt distant, like it no longer belonged to him. The sounds blurred together. Sirens wailed. He felt himself being lifted, the jolt of movement, the cold interior of an ambulance.
The voices grew frantic.
And then—
White.....
A blinding white light swallowed his vision.
The pain vanished.
Darkness followed.
Silence.
…
"Omg! It's hatching!"
"Come on, come on!"
Riko's consciousness stirred.
Hatching?
He felt cramped. Tight. Pressed in from all sides. Something hard surrounded him. He tried to move, but his limbs felt wrong—small, weak, uncoordinated.
Instinct took over. He pushed.
Crack.
Light seeped in.
He shoved again, wriggling, twisting. The shell around him split open, and suddenly he tumbled forward, landing on something soft and warm.
He gasped—
—or tried to.
His eyes wouldn't open properly. His body felt tiny. Fragile.
Something gently wiped across his face. A cloth? A hand?
Slowly, his vision cleared.
Three enormous figures loomed above him, dressed in medieval clothing—thick tunics, leather belts, rough boots. Their faces were human. Very human.
But they were far too big.
Riko looked down at his hands—
They weren't hands.
They were small, clawed limbs covered in black scales.
His breath hitched.
He twisted his body, catching sight of his reflection in a dented iron bucket nearby.
A tiny reptilian creature stared back at him.
Black scales. Blue eyes. Small horns protruding from his head. Fins along his cheeks. Folded wings at his back. A thin tail curled beside him.
A dragon.
He tried to scream.
"MIIIII—!"
The sound that left him was high-pitched and squeaky.
The men chuckled.
"Aww. Look at him. Cute little thing."
"Yep. Lord Vinson's gonna love it. He was so hyped for this."
"Alright, where's the collar?"
Riko's thoughts froze.
Collar?
"—MII!"
A strip of leather snapped tight around his neck before he could react. He clawed at it, but his tiny talons slipped uselessly against the buckle.
"Feisty one, huh?" one man laughed.
They lifted him easily—far too easily—and carried him across the room. Metal clanged. A cage door creaked open.
He was placed inside.
A bowl of raw meat and a dish of water sat in the corner.
The door slammed shut.
Footsteps faded.
Silence returned.
Riko sat there, heart racing.
What is happening? Where am I?
"Mii… mii…"
The only sound he could make echoed weakly through the bars.
His stomach growled.
He stared at the raw meat with disgust.
No way he eating that..
Minutes passed. Maybe longer. Hunger gnawed at him harder than his pride.
Slowly… hesitantly… he took a bite.
The taste exploded across his senses—rich, warm, satisfying.
His eyes widened.
It was good.
Very good.
Before he knew it, he was tearing into it eagerly.
When he finally lifted his head, he caught his reflection in the water bowl.
A small black dragon with bright blue eyes stared back.
Cheek fins twitching.
Tiny horns glinting.
Tail swishing faintly.
Riko swallowed.
"…What the hell happened to me…"
He lunged for the collar, trying to unhook it with his claws. Too small. Too clumsy. The buckle wouldn't budge.
He turned to the cage bars instead. Maybe he could squeeze through.
He shoved his head between two metal rods.
For a second—hope, his head passed but his body doesn't, he pull back..
Then—
His cheek fins snagged.
He tried to pull back.
They caught harder.
"Miii—!"
He wriggled, squirmed, twisted, His wings fluttered uselessly.
Nothing worked.
After a few exhausted attempts, he stopped struggling.
Now he was stuck—head wedged between iron bars, body trapped inside the cage.
His tail thumped weakly against the floor.
Riko closed his eyes.
Twenty-two years old.
Hit by a car...
Woke up as a baby dragon.
Collared.
Caged.
And apparently owned by someone named Lord Vion.
"Miii…"
The tiny sound echoed into the empty room.
And for the first time since waking up, fear truly settled in....,.....