The large lizard-like footprints stomped on the wooden floor of the spacious library room. The Great Dragon Trixon squirmed once as the light enveloped him and transformed him into an adult human with silvery blue hair. Han Zhong, who was watching his Grandfather transform into form, immediately knelt down in salute.
"Grandpa, you called me?"
A strong gust of wind crossed the dark castle passage. As the library doors moved shut, Han Zhong rose to his feet following the 6th Trixon Grandpa who walked into the library. Not much explanation here. There were only torches hanging on every meter. The wooden floors creaked against the castle walls made of black stone, the library looked dim.
"Han Zhong, you are already seven years old, right?" asked the old man in his trademark baritone voice. The 6th Grandpa Trixon brushed off his dangling sleeves.
"Literally, I'll be eight next week."
Grandpa Trixon smirks a bit. That expression gave Han Zhong a good feeling that maybe his grandfather wanted to celebrate his birthday just like the normal creatures out there. Birthday celebrations are an honor. But for Han Zhong who was born as the most glorious descendant in this Newtra land, the respect for him was Grandpa Trixon himself. Nothing more, and nothing special than a birthday celebration.
"Would you like to celebrate a birthday for me?" asked Han Zhong playfully.
"If only Grandpa could. But there is something more important than that," Grandpa said seriously. His hands are sturdy and if turned into dragon hands it will be as strong as tens of tons of iron, Grandpa grabbed a book from a row of cabinet shelves. He put it down and handed it to Han Zhong.
"You didn't forget this, did you?"
The cover of the book was made of tree bark from the Barewoods Forest. Its surface felt alive when it touched Han Zhong's smooth palm. In front of the cover is written "The Bible of Darkness" which means the Book of Darkness. As a descendant of the Supreme Being, from birth Han Zhong knew why he was created. There is a fate line that has been passed down by the God of Light who is outside the universe.
"Remember, that this country will see the greatest darkness every two hundred years? And ten years from now is the time," whispered the grandfather.
Han Zhong then stuttered. He was a bit shocked and at the same time dead style. "But grandpa, it's still ten years away. Do I have to study this now? What… will something happen to… you? Grandpa, are you all right?"
Dragon extinction occurs when the health and light possessed by each Dragon weaken. The light on each dragon could weaken if they gave all their strength to neutralize all forms of darkness in this land. As a counterweight to the land of Newtra, the land of life bestowed by the God of Light, the Dragons should carry out this task. But for Han Zhong who was only seven years old, he was sometimes still not ready to one day lose his grandfather.
"No. Grandpa is fine. Merely, grandpa was worried that the darkness that was invading this land wasn't from the Abyss. But from the human race."
"You mean grandpa, there is a human child born from the Darkness?" Abyss is a dark group believed to be the destroyer of Newtra's land. They dug holes in the ground and then cleared the forests that used to be the habitat of other living things.
Grandpa Trixon turned around until his shirt was dangling on the floor, "Yeah."
"But, isn't that very natural to happen? Like a rich family, Gutson. A human born from darkness."
Grandpa nodded. "Of course. But there is something that makes grandfather feel his arrival this time is quite big."
"Shouldn't we be able to build a Light Shield on the border of Monarchs and Emperors? Everything will be fine like a hundred years before, won't it?"
The old man answered Han Zhong's question in silence. Those blue eyes that sparkled like marbles stared at him deeply.
"Two hundred years ago it was the 5th Dragon Trixon who sacrificed his life to counter attack darkness from this land. Han Zhong, humans are the weakest of every living being here. Magical power for them is a gift. The Gutsons were able to master that because their great-grandfather was a mage who stole pure orbs from the elves. They were able to get used to it because they had passed the lineage for nearly a hundred years. But the humans who are born later…"
Han Zhong waited for the old man to continue.
"Could be the leader of that darkness."
"Abyss Leader you mean?"
The old man turned and looked at Han Zhong with conviction. "Yes."
Han Zhong had never been afraid of the Abyss but about the humans leading the darkness later, wasn't there something special about it? Moreover, Han Zhong's attraction to innocent and hardworking humans was a new impetus for him to be eager to live the day as the son of the greatest Dragon in this land. Observing a human child who could live as one of the abysses later, would Han Zhong be able to? What great power will he face in the future?
The sound of flapping wings sounded faintly from outside the castle window. A night sky with a bright blue full moon ruling the horizon. Han Zhong looked outside, a black feathered woodpecker with a red beak perched on the edge of the window.
"Poppet!" shouted Han Zhong, "what are you doing here?"
Poppet glanced his eyes at Grandpa Trixon, then before Han Zhong realized what was happening, the man was already sprinting towards the window. Jumping out and right at the same time, a bright light enveloped Trixon's grandfather and his form turned back into a large blue dragon. With silver scales and large wings, sharp eyes, and a loud beat from his wings, the grandfather had already floated along with Poppet.
"Make sure you start studying that, Han Zhong. And stop playing under the mountain again."
After saying that, the grandfather threw his huge wings into the sky. Followed by Poppet who looked at Han Zhong a little bitterly.
Grandpa's efforts may seem wise. But for the seven-year-old Han Zhong, what could be better than playing around? Maybe the land of Newtra will be attacked by darkness later. And the curse of darkness may again annihilate another dragon. If the balance of the world is lost, even the leaders in the Monarchy will not be able to withstand the power of nature.
Forgetting his grandfather's orders, Han Zhong placed the Bible of Darkness on the wooden table by the window. Without knowing that a black creature was watching him from the trees outside, Han Zhong walked out of the room. Go to a house where he used to play. Without knowing what the intentions of the black creature outside the castle were.
***