Oculus did come back to visit the dragon again. He did it over and over and over until Moerchknel warmed up to the kid. There was just something about Oculus that he couldn’t overlook, no matter how annoying the kid could be at times. It didn’t take long until the kid started playing on his broken wings, which for the first time since the disaster happened, he was glad his wings were numb. He couldn’t imagine how awful it would feel to have a kid swinging on his injured wings.

Soon, it became something of an unspoken agreement between them that they were indeed friends. Or, at least, it was unspoken on one end. Oculus would constantly talk about how great it was to be friends with a dragon, but the dragon never repeated the sentiment, even though he silently agreed they shared an extensive bond.

One day, Oculus came running into the cave with tears running down his cheeks. Moerchknel’s heart tugged at him, even though he didn’t want to admit he was emotionally invested with the kid.

What is wrong, Oculus?

Oculus sniveled and wiped his tears away, only to be replaced by new ones streaming from his eyes.

“I told my father that dragons were real, and he said that I was wrong and that dragons were a myth. Then when I told him I saw a dragon, he laughed at me, saying I was making stuff up. But I wasn’t making anything up.”

Moerchknel sighed and asked Oculus to come over. This was something Moerchknel didn’t want to bring up, especially with someone as young as this kid. But if it dried up those tears, he’ll relinquish the details and explain to him why his father thought the way he thinks.

Oculus, we live in a world where beasts like the Kinx can shred a man just by the man touching them. We live in a world where men and women develop magic powers at birth, and then use them for either good or evil. But just because we live in such a fantastical world, that does not mean that everything vaguely smelling of legend or myth exists.

I am a dragon, but I am the last of my kind.

Oculus looked up at Moerchknel, confused. “The last of your kind? So you’re the last dragon?”

Moerchknel nodded, and looked up at the sky, reminiscing about days of old that were still fresh in his mind.

I remember it quite clearly. Back when humanity was still in its infancy, dragons would roam the Exxen mountains freely. Nearing the top of the Exxen Mountain sat a large village made of stone that we dragons carved to suit our needs. We lived there for so long, looking down on the world, that we believed it would exist till the end of civilization itself.

The sight is still unforgettable, even to this day. I would walk outside of my barrow and sit on a hanging cliff edge, and from there, I could see almost the entire continent of Hiphon.

Almost as if he were transported to the scene itself, Moerchknel looked at a random cave wall, and he imagined the wall wasn’t there. Snow fell from the sky above, but the heat radiating inside his body would forego any type of coldness wishing to pierce through his armor plated scales.

The sun cast its rays on the world, and he saw the world for what it truly was. Before the time of country wide disputes and secret organizations, the entire world was nothing but a jungle, decorated with mountains that were jealous of the scale of the Exxen Mountain Range, and trees for all the eye could see. It was truly paradise.

Then the sky darkened. Out of nowhere, a beam of light cascaded down from the heavens, and Moerchknel fainted upon impact. By the time he woke up, he discovered he fell all the way toward the Exxen Rings, and that his wings were completely useless. He tried to communicate with the other dragons using his telepathy, but nothing came of it. There was no sign of any dragon life left alive. The skeleton of a used to be dragon sitting right beside him didn’t help matters much.

Then, one day, I was the last one left. Humans knew of our existence back in the day, cause we would occasionally fly over the continents, but when we stopped soaring, they began doubting themselves if what they really saw was a dragon. And that is why your father thinks my species is nothing but myth.

It’s been such a long time since that beam came down from the sky and nearly killed him. However, it wasn’t easy to kill a Dragon God, and it sure as hell isn’t easy to kill him still. Just because his wings are destroyed doesn’t mean he won’t give up the fight.

Some time ago, I received a transmission from what I presumed was another dragon. The voice sounded so familiar too, so it just might be one.

“So you’re not the last dragon.” Oculus said, tilting his head in confusion.

Maybe not, but I do not know if that is the truth. In order for me to find out, I would need to leave this cave. However, how much has this world changed? If I leave right now, will something else come to finish the job they started? I do not know, and I am afraid.

Oculus smiled, looking up at Moerchknel with happy-go-lucky eyes. “Then I’ll do it for you.” Oculus said.

Moerchknel laughed, not taking Oculus’ request seriously. Instead of taking it as a sign of help from one friend to another, he just saw it as a kid saying that they’d do something they’ll give up on in due time.

You are not a Gifted person. For you to find proof of my species being alive, one of the many requirements you’d need to pursue would be to climb to the top of the Exxen Mountains. No human could do that.

Oculus pouted, but suddenly an idea sprouted in his head. To this day, Moerchknel had no clue where it came from, but the suggestion just popped out of nowhere.

“You’re a Dragon God. Can you give me some of your power?”

Moerchknel didn’t know what to think. He found it funny that the kid was so gung-ho from taking power of a Dragon God, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but be unnerved by the lack of hesitation the kid had when suggesting it. People who lack any sort of hesitation show great potential for power, but that power may not be used in the best of ways when they don’t give time to think.

In this world, ambition, willpower, and drive are the ones who will grow powerful and lead the world into a new era. Not just because they will train their powers more often than one without those essential qualities, but also because those emotions have a direct influence on the magic humanity possesses. Whether good or evil, the one with high ambition will be the one to lead an era.

He could see it in the kid. That ditsy smile and attitude which would never grow old would someday be the carver for the incoming era. But as he is now, that just wouldn’t be possible, so he’d have to wait.

***

Oculus opened his eyes, only to find himself in a room bathed in the color white. The sky was white, the ground was white, even the table he laid upon was white. For a second, he thought he died and his spirit made it to the afterlife, but with the lift of his head, he saw something strange. Even stranger than the pure white room he found himself in.

Carrying a sharp-looking blade, a woman stood beside him, looking down at him. Her face was hidden behind a pitch-black mask with golden vines painted on the face and a hood that covered her in shadows. The hood was attached to a maroon robe, which fell to her ankles. The flap that connected both sides of the robe together remained shut, but there was no sign of them being buttoned together. In fact, he didn’t even know why she was a woman. His brain just told him she was.

Oculus tried communicating with her, but for some reason, he couldn’t open his mouth. It felt almost like it was sewn shut. He tried to move his hands and legs, but they were in the same predicament as his mouth.

The woman held the blade right below Oculus’ ribcage, and even though he should be freaking out over this, he felt absolutely nothing. He was as calm as he could have been in a situation like this. It felt like no matter what happens at this moment, he could accept any outcome.

The woman dug the blade deep into Oculus’ chest, and no blood seeped out. As she dragged the blade down his stomach, his gut opened, but instead of seeing his insides, what he saw was an infinite amount of space. He meant that in the most literal way possible. Inside his stomach, a range of galaxies and stars and planets made themselves known to him.

The woman stuck her hand inside her robe and moved her wrist as if she were rummaging through multiple different objects hidden behind the cloth. When she brought her hand back out, she held a ball of smoke in her palm. A mixture of red and white smoke emitted from the sphere in such severe amounts that if a man died from sniffing it, Oculus wouldn’t show even a hint of confusion. The smoke would light up now and again, as if a dance of lightning would spark within the smoke, but there was no sign of lightning to speak of outside the small glimpses of light.

She brought her hand closer to Oculus’ open stomach, and the light coming from the smoke only seemed to brighten more. With nothing blocking its way anymore, it sank into the space of Oculus’ stomach. A burst of light spouted from Oculus, blinding him for a brief second, before dissipating into nothing.

The woman dug through her robe again, and this time she took out a ball of yarn and a sewing needle. She stuck a thread of yarn through the hoop of the needle and began working, sewing his stomach shut. Oculus felt no pain as the needle stabbed into his flesh and the thread moved through it. As soon as the string fell into place, the color of it changed from a scarlet red to the color of his skin.

She worked on sewing him with a hand that performed as if this wasn’t the first, second, or even hundredth time doing this. The way her hands skillfully stitched his stomach together showed that she had been doing this for years upon years, with different people laying down where Oculus was at the moment.

Oculus didn’t know if the reason he couldn’t feel any pain was because she was just so good at doing her job, or if he was finally experiencing something he’s never had. Oculus wondered if this was the elusive dream that avoided him for his entire life, and if it was, why was this the thing he was dreaming about?

It didn’t take long for her work to finish. His stomach closed up for good, the pocket space disappearing inside his gluttonous gut. She turned and walked away, but Oculus had so many questions for her. Once she was decently far away, his hands could finally move and his mouth could open and close like normal. Oculus jumped off the table he was in and shouted his question.

“Who are you!”

The woman froze and turned around. Instead of the mask being where her face was, a blinding aura of white light erupted from the robe, completely robbing him of all his senses. The room went dark as he closed his eyes once more.

***

Oculus opened his eyes again. He found himself in the cave, his leg wound completely healed, and his mind keeping a blazing fire from dying inside him. Something was different about the cave, something that anyone who saw the cave before and after his dream could point out.

Moerchknel had disappeared.