The Dragon before Don laid as still as the dead. With its all-red scales, Don was beginning to suspect it was either dead or the beast was sleeping without noticing anything.
A thrumming came from the dragon's jaws and nostrils, and wisps of smoke, but its fires were low in slumber. Beneath him, under all its limbs and his huge coiled tail, and about the dragon on all sides stretching away across the unseen floors, lay countless piles of precious things,
Gold items, gems and jewels, and many precious things.
However, the most attractive thing to Don among all the wealth was the golden spherical object near the Dragon.
This was the first time Don seeing a Dragon this close, in the Divine Continent there were many stories about the mysterious powerful Dragon race but none of them seen one in centuries yet a real mighty Dragon before him lay before him.
Don slowly but carefully stepped forward, at that moment the Dragon opened its eyes as Don halted his moments and stood there without moving.
The Dragon glared at Don, behind those eyes of dragonish glare, in a language carved before the age of ice, is the mind of the serpent king, the beast of the darkened cave. The wisps of hot smoke from the Dragon's nostrils reached Don as the Dragon slowly uncoiled its tail and stood up.
Don was wondering how dwarves could be hunted by humans with this mighty beast as their guardian, this dragon seemed like it could easily topple a three-story building in this world, it could easily kill a powerful mage with its pinky as far as Don concerned.
However, when the Dragon stood up Don was able to see its bones were visible to him like it was starved, behind those eyes of the Dragon was tiredness and exhaustion.
"Finally you are here the successor of Dhorfir Thunderbolt"
Hearing the Dragon speak Don was taken back by surprise and shock not because it could talk but the mightiness of the voice he just heard, Don had always imagined the Dragon's voice would be like a growl or something different from the human's but the voice he heard was a sweet feminine voice yet its echoed through the caves because of the power contained in the voice.
"do you know the Dragon King?" Don asked the Dragon as another wisp of hot smoke touched and passed through him.
"My ancestors know him and I have their memories, now tell me successor, why are you here?"
The dragon glanced down and asked him.
Don stared at the Dragon for a moment before he answers the Dragon.
"I am going to bring the dwarves their home, the land of the Dragon King"
Don said looking directly at the Dragon's eyes, he didn't show any fear or emotion on his face.
When the Dragon heard Don it shook his head and sent another wisp of hot smoke towards him,
"Don't lie to me successor, I can see the anger and pain within you behind the calm face of yours"
Don was startled to hear the Dragon,
"You don't do anything that doesn't get you closer to your revenge successor, you are here because you want the dwarves and their knowledge"
Don couldn't disagree with the Dragon because of first what the Dragon said was all true and second he could get crushed or burnt if he argued with the Dragon so he chose to tell the truth
"You are right I need the dwarves" Don paused for a moment and stared at the Dragon
"But you also knew they need me and I guess you are not well, are you?"
Don asked the dragon as the dragon sighed and looked at the golden spherical beside it.
The dragon seemed surprised at Don's question but after a few seconds it sighed and said
"I'm not successor I'm not, I don't have much longer"
Don could see the sadness on the Dragon's eyes, the Dragon looked at the exit of the cave like it wanted to go out one last time.
"And you are right successor the dwarves need you, with I'm gone the dwarves don't have anyone to protect them"
Don was unable to understand why the Dragon is dying because he couldn't see any battle marks or wounds on the Dragon's body and after a moment he chose to ask the Dragon
"What happened to you, a dragon-like yourself could easily destroy an army of mages"
The dragon looked like it was sadly smiling when Don asked it
"I could have successor " the dragon looked the spherical object beside it for a moment and said
"I could have before I gave birth to my child " Don looked at the spherical object with surprise. He couldn't believe the object before him is a real egg of a Dragon but still, he didn't get the answer why the Dragon saying its dying. He was thinking, if the Dragon just gave birth to its child the dragon could not have been too old, it must be in its prime.
"I can see you cant believe me successor, the birth-giving process is not life threatening to a dragon-like myself in normal circumstances but"
The dragon was looking at the egg but Don could guess the dragon was heartbroken at something
"The dragons are vulnerable when giving birth and require abundant amount of magical energy to successfully giving birth, the humans somehow knew this and cut off all the magical energy around the mountain"
Don's anger within himself started to skyrocket when he heard the Dragon,this is like killing a mother and her child at the moment of her child's birth. It's the most despicable thing a person could do, he and Knight did some terrible things in the divine continent but they never killed a pregnant woman or a beast especially during the birth.
"Without much magical energy, I burnt my own life energy to give birth that's why I'm at my last moments those stubborn dwarves trying to save me by giving their meals poor bastards"
The dragon giggled when it talked about the dwarves but Don could see the sadness behind her giggle.
"I couldn't protect them and failed my ancestors, successor since you are the heir of Dhorfir, you are the only person I could trust leaving the dwarves and my child"
The Dragon slowly moved its claws towards the egg and lifted it gently
"Promise me you'll protect my child and my people successor "
Don was looking at the Egg and the Dragon up and down and after a moment of thinking he shook his head
"Do you expect me to beg you successor?" the motherly voice of Dragon reached Don's ear as he still shook his head and looked at the Dragon's worried face
"You can't just give your child and yourself so easily " the Dragon was surprised and confused at the same time hearing what Don said
"Didn't you hear me successor, my life essence is gone in a few days I will be dead"
The Dragon couldn't even imagine leaving her child and the people she swore to protect knowing the danger they would face without her. The only hope she had now was the human before her but he was refusing her last wish.
"What do you want to help me successor? I don't have anything to give you"
The dragon's voice was breaking in sadness and helplessness, the only thing she could do now is, beg the human before her to help her.
Don stared at the egg in the Dragon's hands and the Dragon's teary eyes, it was love for her child and the dwarves, the pure motherly love he never felt.
"Will you still give your child to me if I say i can save you?"
As he said Don injected his battle energy into his space ring and fist-sized white crystal appeared in his hands.
The Dragon's eyes went wide in surprise when she glanced at the Crystal, the dark cave turned into like a day due to the light the crystal emanating
"A soul stone" the Dragon murmured.