The last thing I remembered was the screech of tires and the sterile, suffocating scent of a hospital ICU. Then, silence. A silence so heavy it felt like being buried under a mountain.
But dead men aren't supposed to feel itchy.
My entire body was screaming. Not with the sharp pain of the accident, but with a strange, claustrophobic heat. I tried to stretch my arms, but they hit something hard and curved. I tried to kick my legs, but my knees felt wrong—they bent at angles that should have been impossible.
And then, a sound echoed inside my skull. It wasn't a voice; it was the chime of a bell made of glass.
[Initialization Complete.]
[Soul Integration: 100%]
[Host Identity Confirmed: Arthur Leywin (Deceased)]
[New Race Assigned: Primordial Chaos Dragon (Hatchling)]
[Current Status: Gestation Finished. Please Break the Shell.]
Dragon?
The thought hit me like a physical blow. I didn't have time to process the absurdity of it because the heat inside the "room" began to rise. I wasn't just itchy anymore; I was burning. A primal, reptilian instinct surged from the base of my spine, overriding my human logic.
I didn't think. I acted.
I slammed my head against the ceiling of my prison. Crack. A thin sliver of light pierced the darkness. It was a blinding, beautiful white. I lunged toward it, my mouth opening to let out a cry, but instead of a human scream, a raspy, guttural hiss tore through the air.
With one final, desperate heave of my shoulders, the world shattered.
Fragments of a thick, obsidian-colored shell fell away, and I tumbled onto a cold, stone floor. I tried to stand, but I tripped over something long and heavy trailing behind me. I looked back and froze. It was a tail. Thick, covered in matte-black scales that seemed to swallow the light of the cavern, ending in a spade-like tip.
I looked at my "hands." They were three-toed claws, sharp as obsidian razors.
"What... what is this?" I tried to say, but it came out as a low, rumbling growl.
[Ding! Quest Completed: The First Breath.]
[Reward: 100 Essence Points, Skill Unlocked: 'Chaos Sight'.]
The blue interface flickered in my vision. It was transparent, hovering just at the edge of my sight. I focused on it, and suddenly, the dark cavern transformed. What had been pitch-black was now glowing with faint veins of purple and gold running through the rocks.
I was in a massive underground chamber. High above, a small crack in the ceiling let in a pillar of moonlight. But more importantly, I wasn't alone.
Scattered around me were the remains of dozens of other eggs. But they weren't obsidian like mine. they were gray, dull, and cracked open from the outside. Skeletons of small, dragon-like creatures lay picked clean nearby.
A massacre, I realized. My blood ran cold. Whatever had laid these eggs was gone, and whatever had eaten my "siblings" might still be around.
[Warning: Low Energy Levels detected.]
[Suggestion: Consume the Eggshell of Origin to stabilize your mana heart.]
I looked at the black shards of my egg. My stomach gave a violent, painful cramp. The smell of the shell, which should have been like dry rock, suddenly smelled like the finest steak I'd ever imagined.
I didn't hesitate. I lunged at the shards, my new jaws crunching through the magically-reinforced material like it was crackers. As I swallowed, a surge of warmth flowed through my chest.
[Consuming Chaos-Grade Shell...]
[Strength +5]
[Vitality +5]
[Mana +10]
[Hidden Lineage Progress: 0.1%]
"I'm really a dragon," I whispered to myself, the reality finally sinking in. I wasn't Arthur the office clerk anymore. I was a monster. A predator.
But I was a small predator. And the shadows at the edge of the cavern were starting to move.
A pair of glowing red eyes appeared from behind a stalagmite. Then another. And another. They were cave wolves—starving, mangy, and twice the size of a normal dog. To a human, they were dangerous. To a dragon hatchling that could barely walk, they were lethal.
The lead wolf growled, its saliva dripping onto the stone. It saw a meal. It saw a weak, soft-scaled lizard.
I felt the fear, but then I felt something else. Deep within my chest, a spark of violet fire ignited. The "Chaos" the system mentioned wasn't just a name. It was a hunger.
I bared my teeth, a low vibration shaking my ribcage. If I wanted to survive this new world, I couldn't act like a human. I had to be the monster they feared.
[Combat Mode Initiated.]
[Skill: 'Intimidating Roar' is available. Use?]
Hell yes, I thought.
I inhaled, feeling the very air in the cavern distort around my maw. I didn't just roar; I let out the sound of a dying star. The wolves froze, their instincts warring with their hunger.
This was just the beginning. I was at the bottom of the food chain today, but I wouldn't stay there. I would eat, I would evolve, and I would reclaim the skies.