Chapter 26: If I Am a Dragon, So Be It

Long, long ago, there was an age unknown to all.

In those times, the ancient gods briefly fell into slumber beneath the earth.

The gods of faith had yet to be born.

At that rare and precious moment, a powerful race seized this golden opportunity.

In a single stroke, they became the masters of the heavens and of this world!

Countless enormous figures occupied the skies.

Blazing fire scorched the barren plains.

Lava covered the earth.

In those times, all living beings bowed beneath their supreme might, lowering their heads in submission.

They poured this terror deep into the bloodlines of every race, making their descendants tremble and prostrate at the sight of them.

Though later the Chaos Tide swept through once more, and new races rose up to overthrow them and claim the throne, the skies no longer belonged to them.

But no one could deny that there had once been an era that belonged to them.

That was the Age of Dragons!

……

Fire.

Fire, fire, fire.

All that met the eye was blazing flame.

Looking out in every direction, whether sky or earth, all was covered by fire.

Nothing but fire.

Beyond that, nothing else existed.

It seemed as though this world had only one theme: flame.

But strangely, Herbert, standing amid the blaze, did not feel it hot at all — he even felt a certain comfort.

Warm and cozy, very soothing.

At the sight of those flames, a faint hunger stirred within him.

Gurgle!

When his belly let out a deafening roar, Herbert could not suppress the instinct deep within him, and involuntarily drew a breath of the fire before him.

Inhale—

Along with a sweeping gale, the fan-shaped flames before him surged into his mouth, leaving an empty void that revealed the parched, cracked, charred earth beneath.

As the fire entered his mouth and seared his throat like strong liquor, Herbert suddenly realized something was wrong.

Hmm?

Is this fire thing something you're supposed to eat?

He hesitated for a moment, but still followed his instinct and swallowed it down in great gulps.

Gulp!

Hiss— it's not hot.

Not only is it not hot, the taste is actually quite good.

Absolutely delicious!

And with that, it was as if Pandora had opened the box, as if a house-raised dog had tasted grain for the first time, as if the first repeated message in a chat group…

It was all too late.

Once enlightened, Herbert could no longer think of so many reasons — his mind held only one thought: I need to suck in a few more mouthfuls of fire.

He raced wildly across the land of flames, devouring with abandon.

Inhale—

Suck—

A mouthful on the left, a mouthful on the right — what utter bliss.

He did not know how long it had been, but only when the flames within dozens of kilometers around had been devoured clean, as though licked by a mad dog, did he slowly halt his gluttonous steps.

When he stopped, his body had grown dozens of times larger than before; every movement of his could stir up wind and waves, shaking the earth.

He sprawled lazily on the gradually cooling earth, and a thunderous belch rose from his throat.

Burp!

At the same time, as the belch burst forth, a dazzling pillar of fire shot from his mouth, illuminating the surroundings.

By this point, Herbert had long since realized his current identity — he was no longer human!

Mom, I'm done being human!

Though he did not know what had happened, he seemed to have become a giant dragon.

If I am a dragon, so be it.

Besides, there was another, more important matter — he could not recall his own origins.

His mind, clean as new, was a blank — not a single trace of memory remained.

Deep within, all that lingered was a single name, and a faint subconsciousness of having once been human.

"What on earth is going on? I'm currently in… hmm?"

Herbert was thinking when he suddenly felt the world before him begin to sway.

Ugh… drunk on carbon?

Oh, I ate fire, the calories really are high — no.

That's not right.

The earth was trembling!

Crack-crack-crack…

Accompanied by the roar of the earth, the scorched ground split, shattered, and bulged… a mountain so vast it blotted out the sky burst forth from underground.

"ROAR!!!"

When the roar sounded, Herbert finally realized that it was not actually a mountain, but a head.

A dragon's head!

Whoa—

Herbert had thought his own body was already enormous at this moment, but he hadn't expected that he wasn't even as big as one of its pupils — tiny as a toy.

The one-eyed Long Wang lowered its head, stared at Herbert, who was dazedly sprawled before it, and let out a low growl: 【"How dare you wake the great Long Wang! Speak your name!"】

"Me? I'm Herbert."

Herbert answered honestly. Though shaken by the other's enormity, for some reason he felt no fear in his heart, and even dared to ask back:

"And who are you? What kind of Long Wang are you?"

Are you the East Sea Long Wang? Or the West Sea… wait, what sea is the East Sea?

Xia Donghai?

No, what even is a Crooked-Mouth Long Wang?

What on earth is stuffed inside my head?!

The Long Wang seemed to be stumped by this question as well, and for a moment did not answer.

Stare—

It just silently stared at Herbert for quite a while, then asked in a strange tone:

【"You ask who I am? Your bloodline is so dense that you qualify to enter the Inheritance Ground, yet you don't know who I am?"】

"I don't, so who exactly are you?"

The one-eyed giant dragon fell silent once more, and finally let out a hearty, booming laugh.

【"…Pfft! Hahahaha! Interesting, how interesting!"】

Under Herbert's bewildered gaze, with a thunderous boom it burst forth from underground, flapped its scarred, tattered wings, and soared into the sky.

That colossal body — so vast that any movement warped the space around it — was covered in countless wounds: a single eye, a broken wing, severed limbs…

Old wounds unhealed, new ones added, again and again, countless injuries piling up into its present form.

At this moment, even Herbert, who had forgotten everything, could understand with his very soul — its very existence embodied destruction.

【"Remember my name—"】

【"In the call of the abyss and the whisper of chaos, my name is softly chanted in forbidden tongue — I, the End of Dragonkind, the Undying Flame of Ages, the Eternal Dark before the Dawn!"】

【"THE DESTROYER!!!"】

The Long Wang roared, and then that terrifying figure suddenly dove down from the sky — charging straight at Herbert.

Herbert:?

Before he even had time to react, the terrifying beast had already stomped on Herbert's head.

BOOM!

【"Remember the fury of this moment."】

【"Little one, we shall meet again!"】

"What kind of palm-strike-from-the-sky technique is this?!"

"Wait, how did I become a paper person again?!"

"Hold on, why did I say 'again'?"

Herbert's eyes snapped open. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he raised a hand to feel his head, still there.

Thank goodness.

This time he hadn't turned into Herbert paste again — the character wasn't flat and thin in the slightest.

Shaking his head, Herbert suddenly noticed the candle flame on the table. A thought stirred, and he reached out to touch the outer edge of the flame.

Hiss… not hot.

After a moment's hesitation, Herbert leaned his head over and took a sudden, sharp suck at the flame.

Hiss!

"Cough cough cough…"

Ugh, he sucked wax into his mouth!

(End of this chapter)