Chapter Two : The dragon-girl tribulation (1)
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In the depths of a dark dungeon, a young red-haired girl lay confined in a narrow cell. The surrounding black stones shimmered faintly, reflecting the sparse light that seeped through the cracks above. She stirred from her deep slumber, the metallic rattle of heavy chains breaking the stillness of the air.
"Ah... this hurts," she muttered weakly.
Her confusion was palpable, as though she were submerged in a dense fog, her senses dulled and her vision obscured.
"What? Who am I? What is this place?"
The questions echoed relentlessly in her mind, void of answers. Colors swirled and shifted in her sight, but she couldn't make sense of any of them. Her heart thudded erratically, the sound akin to drums pounding in the depths of her thoughts. All she could hear was her own ragged breathing, the oppressive silence amplifying her isolation.
It felt like awakening in a void, surrounded by intangible shadows.
Her mind raced with fragments of thought, an unrelenting storm of worry and fear. But the sharp, radiating pain coursing through her body pulled her back to reality. She needed no mirror to realize her dire state—the weight of her injuries spoke volumes.
"How... how did this happen?"
Her fragile frame bore the evidence of countless ordeals: bruises etched into her skin, claw marks raking her arms, raw burns from shackles, and gashes still weeping crimson.
Then, like a spark igniting a fire, fragments of memory began to surface. One after another, they returned, vivid and overwhelming. The flood of recollection came all at once, striking her mind like a lightning storm.
With a choked scream, she clutched her head as the weight of her memories pressed down on her.
She remembered—each moment of fear, each cry of pain. She was no ordinary child; she was half-dragon, half-human. A hybrid born from two worlds yet belonging to neither.
This world, as her memories revealed, was encased within an unseen dome, vast and unyielding. Only the immortal could escape its bounds. Humans with spiritual roots cultivated to ascend the path of immortality, while spirit beasts strove to achieve the same, with dragons reigning supreme. Mortal humans, weak and bound by their inability to cultivate, endured lives of hardship and servitude.
Her dragon heritage had marked her as a target. Not as a threat, but as an experiment. Mortal men sought the secret of immortality, and while capturing a true dragon was an impossible feat, she—a young, defenseless half-dragon—served as a cruel substitute.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. The faint echoes grew louder, each step reverberating through the stone corridors. A group of men entered her cell, their faces a mix of irritation and contempt.
The girl barely had time to react before they began scolding her.
"Making noise again, are we?" one of them snapped, his voice sharp as a whip.
"You're nothing but trouble," another growled. "No food for you this week!"
She opened her mouth to protest, but a sharp gesture silenced her.
"Save your breath, girl. You should be grateful we even keep you alive," the leader sneered, his tone laced with mockery.
As they turned to leave, their laughter echoed cruelly down the corridor.
Left alone, the girl curled into herself, hugging her knees tightly. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks as she sat in the suffocating darkness, her quiet sobs blending with the distant murmurs of the dungeon.