Kai stared at the being before him with panic, it was a sight he would never forget. What stood before him was a beast bigger than anything he had seen so far.
It was a 50 meters in height and had a length that matched. It had 4 legs and was covered in dark red scales, and the most glaring feature that entered Kai's eyes was its wings. A huge pair of bat-like wings.
"A d-dragon." Kai exclaimed as his body was trembling in fear.
As legends would speak of for centuries, the phantasmal creature known as a Dragon is to be the embodiment of ultimate power- and as such, they are revered and feared by all who know of their existence.
More than 600 years ago, Dragons were the rulers of the land and humans were considered to be merely a food source for them. Although it was not stated what happened to them but it was believed that they went extinct.
Yet here he was, in his full glory, his head resting on his hands nonchalantly as it stared at Kai.
"We finally meet." The dragon said with a half smile that revealed his sharp teeth.
Kai tried to stand up but only made it halfway before falling back on his butt. His face was still slack with fear at what he was seeing.
"Are you afraid I'm going to eat you? haha don't worry about that, plus you won't taste delicious if I did." The dragon said with a playful voice.
"Well, at least he has a sense of humor." Kai thought.
"Anyways, it will take some time for me to open a dimensional gate to transport you to your home." he sighed. "Until then, just be patient and wait here. There are special roots that grow here. You will be able to live off those until I finish."
That's right, the appearance of the dragon made Kai completely forget his goal to return back. Kai managed to regain a bit of his composure and walked closer to the dragon.
"Thank you for anything you've done for me. If there is any way I can repay you, I will do it for you whatever is in my power." Kai stated
"Don't worry, I am expecting neither a favor nor your gratitude. I'm simply doing this for my own amusement. Come! sit closer to me and keep me company. I haven't talked to anyone in ages." The dragon said with a laugh and patted an area for Kai to sit on.
Kai walked and sat awkwardly close to the dragon.
"Excuse me, but how do I address you? Calling you dragon will be rude." Kai said while making eye contact.
"You're right. My name is Igneal, I'm known as the Fire Dragon."
"Igneal, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Not at all, but I may not be able to answer everything." Hearing so, Kai began rattling off questions. "Where is this place, are there other dragons, why are you here alone and why did you save me" were the questions Kai asked.
"You must have had a lot on your mind. Your first question is easy to answer. This place is in a narrow zone between the beast glade and the forest of Hulda." Igneal explained "No one have discovered this place because I've been warding off anyone who came close, but which instances are rare to begin with. You, child, are the first one to enter this domain."
"Please, call me Kai, My name is Kai Emmett."
Kai said out of excitement.
"Very well, child, I will call you Kai." Igneal yellow eyes glazed over, gazing into the distance while answering Kai's next question.
"As for your next question, Yes, a few dragons still lives in this Era." As if reading Kai's mind, he continued " But I can't say much about that topic."
"I see." Kai mumbled with a look of disappointment. He wanted to know what happened to the dragons and why they were little in their numbers.
"For your third question, I'm here alone simply because I have no left to be with" Igneal paused a bit before continuing. This his eyes looked straight at Kai as if studying him.
"Why I saved you, even I don't fully know the answer to that question. Perhaps I have simply been alone for too long and wished to have someone to talk with. I first noticed you when your party were attacked by bandits. When you fell off the cliff to save your companions, I felt compelled to save you. It'll be a waste for such a good lad like yourself to die. You are very brave despite your own circumstances, most people rarely show such presence of mind under pressure.
Kai shook his head and said "No, my body just reacted on its own in that moment. I don't think am brave enough to sacrifice myself for others."
"Normally that will be the case, but those people weren't strangers to you, were they?"
"I guess you are right." Kai replied while lowering his gaze.
As if reading his mind, Igneal continued
"But rest assured, your friends escaped unscathed. As for where they have gone, my sight cannot reach far enough to tell anymore.
A wave of relief took over Kai as he heard those words
"Thank God, th-they are alive." Kai revealed a slight smile as he said so. Igneal's giant hand reached down and he softly patted Kai's head with a claw.
They spent the entire day conversing with each other. Toward afternoon, Igneal directed Kai to some edible roots, which looked tasty and very similar to potatoes. They talked about all sort of things to pass the time as Igneal prepared to open a portal.
At one point, Igneal suddenly asked "Why haven't you fixed your Origin(Mana Core)."
"I will need a mage who uses healing magic to fix it but I can't afford his services." Kai replied
Igneal tilted his head confused and said "A cracked core like yours, isn't difficult to fix. You, yourself, should be able to fix it."
"I CAN?." Kai shouted out dumbfounded. Kai spent his whole life, not being able to progress with his magic but now Igneal is telling him that his problem was easy to fix to begin with. Of course, he will be shocked.
"How?" Kai asked
"All you have do is absorb the mana in the surrounding and use to repair the outer layer of your Core." Igneal replied to Kai's question
"I'm surprised that you didn't know this." Igneal added but Kai was too dumbfounded to answer him.
"Please teach me how to do it." Kai requested
"Very well, Sit on the ground and enter a mediative stance, then feel out the mana and absorb it into your body, afterwards use the absorbed mana to fix the outer layer of your origin." Igneal instructed.
Kai sat down on the ground and did as Igneal instructed, absorbing the mana wasn't a problem because of the abundance of mana in the atmosphere but the problem was the core itself. Fixing the core seemed to be a little difficult as he expected, even so he continued.
After several try and error, he had succeeded in fixing his core. He could feel his core greedy absorbing the mana in the surroundings.
"Just like that, huh." Kai mumbled in disbelief. His many years of suffering was fixed this easily before his eyes. Needless to say, he was quite happy about this revelation.
As his Mana continued to absorb mana, a slight smile appeared on Kai's face.