Deep in the forest of another world, the air is shaken by the sound of cracking.
-Spike-
I can breathe again, finally. Am I alive? Where am I? The world is green, more green than I have seen in a long time. A forest? How did I end up here?
The green takes me back to a camping trip I took as a child. The only time I had seen green in this quantity before. I have spent so much time in the concrete forest that a real forest seems fictional. But I'm here.
This is no time to be remembering my childhood, though. I need to be in the moment and a moment ago I was suffocating and burning. I should still be panicking, but for whatever reason I'm not.
Maybe I'm so panicked I cannot tell. Can that happen? I should do some breathing exercises to see if I calm myself into a panic.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Whoa, fire!
Upon a heavy exhale I breathed fire. I hope I didn't start a forest fire. I look around and see nothing but the bright green foliage. No forest fire. Since when can I breath fire? It looked like some sort of flame thrower.
Looking at the tree I notice something. Am I short? I'm not standing, am I? I'm on all fours. I'd better stand up and walk around. So I stand up and suddenly I'm tall. I can look directly over the tree. Is this tree small? No, it's fully grown. I'm just large.
Standing is uncomfortable. I'd better get back on my hands and feet. Hands and feet? I look down to see something shocking. My hands appear to be talons. And so do my feet, though my back talons are larger.
Are those my talons? I rub my talons on the earth and feel the soft blades of grass. Those are definitely mine. Why do they feel so natural? Why does this feel so obvious? I keep thinking that of course I have talons.
I've become some kind of monster. I reflect and realize the obvious: not just any monster is scaly and breathes fire. I'm a dragon.
Ironic. I died by breathing in fire and now that I'm a dragon I'll live breathing out fire. I feel the desire to use my power. There is so much to burn.
-Voice-
Spike steps forward and steps on an eggshell that he realizes he has just been hatched from. But he doesn't think of his draconic parents; he has only two parents and they are not in this world with him. He is alone for now.
He thinks of something he has always wanted to do. He looks back at his scaly wings and gets an idea he abandoned long ago. He spreads his wings and begins to flap them. Air is trapped by his massive second pair of webbed hands and he has lift. He may be fresh out of the egg but he is prepared to fly and knows how through some magic.
He is above the trees looking down to see anything of worth that he might swoop down and attack or discover. He sees a massive lake and flies low to see his full form. He is large but not too much larger than a human. He has wings, scales, and sharp serrated teeth. He is black and looks as though he is made from interlocking obsidian arrowheads.
"I'll call myself an obsidian dragon," he says to no one in particular.
He will grow to be massive and powerful, powerful enough to destroy kingdoms, large enough to stop the flow of rivers. And either merciful enough to protect the weak or cruel enough to destroy them.
He does what seems to be a small dance. A dragon dance, like a video game he once loved and will never play again. Does he dance for power? Maybe. For fun? definitely. He doesn't think about anything but how happy he is to be gone from his world and into a new one where he has the power to make a difference. But what difference will he make?
All of that could come to an end at this moment if he doesn't notice the beast that is stalking him hidden behind some foliage. The beast is hungry, hungry enough to do something stupid. Dragons are powerful even as infants and the beast is willing to risk it all rather than be killed by lack of trying.
-Spike-
I end my dance and see a beast with horns. It seems to have the body of a lion but not quite and the tail of a rat but not exactly. What is it? It is not of my earth. I do not know but it looks tasty. And I'm as hungry as someone who has never eaten in their entire life.
Does it know I can see it? Does it want to attack me like I'm some prey animal? It doesn't know what it is dealing with. I am a dragon, the ultimate being of this earth.
-Voice-
The fact that a creature wants to attack him hurts his pride. That the beast believes he can kill a dragon damages Spike's pride. He will make it understand its foolishness.
Spike unleashes a fireball and the beast, knowing that it has been spotted, runs towards him. And claw and paw clash.
-Spike-
I'll rip and tear and bite and claw my way beyond its flesh. I'll sever its spinal cord and watch it be unable to move as I devour it. It, with all its insolence, will regret facing me, the ultimate being.
I go straight for the throat and rip.
The beast is a bloody wreck by the time I am done with it. I look down to see my glorious mess. I was a vegan a moment ago; now look at me, ripping the flesh out of an animal. But I won't stop now. Now I devour it.
I claw though it's flesh and begin to eat and as I do I sit down and laugh. I was afraid I was overthinking this, but now I have won. But I'm not safe. There could be others.
Who am I kidding? Who could stop me? I'm all powerful. I'll eat this beast and love it.
So that is what I do. I eat until I'm satisfied.
"You may now evolve."
High on power as I am, I am not afraid of the voice that comes from nowhere.
Wait, evolve? In a Darwinian sense or a video game sense? I'm guessing the latter considering what site I'm on. What can I evolve into, though?
"You may become one of four types of obsidian dragon. You may become a rock dragon, a magic dragon, a black dragon, or a night dragon."
Night dragon sounds cool!
"Evolution to 'adolescent night dragon' will begin with one more kill."
"Oh, I see," I say as I continue to eat.
New powers to be acquired: transformation, night breath, night vision, intimidation +4 others.