Chapter 28: I Am a Dragon, and That

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

At that time, the Ancient Gods briefly fell into slumber beneath the earth.

The worship of the gods had not yet been born.

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

They swiftly became masters of the heavens and this very world!

Countless colossal forms filled the sky.

Flames burned the wastelands to ash.

Lava covered the earth.

At that time, all life bowed beneath their supreme pressure, lowering their heads.

They infused this fear into the blood of every race, causing their descendants to tremble and prostrate themselves upon seeing them.

Later, the Chaos Tide swept again, and new races overthrew them, seizing the throne—the sky no longer belonged to them.

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

It was the Age of the Dragons!

…

Fire.

Fire fire fire.

Everywhere he looked, flames filled his vision.

As far as he could see, both sky and earth were covered in fire.

Only fire remained.

Nothing else existed.

It seemed this world had only fire as its sole theme.

Yet strangely, Herbert, immersed in the flames, felt no heat—even found it comforting.

Warm, cozy.

When he saw those flames, a faint hunger stirred in his heart.

Grrrrl!

As his stomach let out a deafening roar, Herbert could not suppress his instinct—he involuntarily inhaled toward the flames before him.

Inhale—

With a gale sweeping forth, the fan-shaped flames surged into his mouth, leaving a void that revealed the dry, cracked, blackened earth beneath.

As the fire entered his throat, burning like fiery liquor, Herbert suddenly realized something was wrong.

Hm?

Is fire something you eat?

He hesitated, but still followed his instinct and swallowed it down in large gulps.

Gulp!

Hiss— not hot.

Not only was it not hot, the taste was quite good.

Delicious!

And this single act was like Pandora opening the box, a domestic dog tasting feces for the first time, the first repeat in a chat group…

It was too late.

The awakened Herbert could no longer think of reasons—he could only think: I must suck down more fire.

He ran wildly across the land of flame, devouring with open mouth.

Inhale—

Suck—

Suck from the left, suck from the right—utterly exhilarating.

After an unknown length of time, when the flames within dozens of kilometers had been devoured by Herbert like a rabid dog licking the ground, he finally slowed his gluttony.

When he stopped, his body had grown dozens of times larger than before; every movement stirred winds and shook the earth.

He lazily lay upon the cooling earth and let out a thunderous, earth-shaking belch.

Burp!

Simultaneously, as the belch escaped, a brilliant pillar of fire erupted from his mouth, illuminating the surroundings.

At this moment, Herbert had already realized his true identity—he was no longer human!

Mom, I’m not a person anymore!

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

If I am a dragon, then so be it.

But there was something even more important—he could not recall his origins.

His mind, pristine and new, was utterly blank, with not a single memory remaining.

The only thing left in his heart was a name, and a faint subconscious awareness of having once been human.

“What exactly is going on? Where am I… hmm?”

As Herbert pondered, he suddenly felt the ground before him shaking.

Uh… drunk on heat?

Oh, I ate fire—heat is indeed high—but no.

No.

The earth itself is trembling!

Creak… creak… creak…

Amidst the earth’s roar, the blackened ground cracked, shattered, and rose—out burst a mountain so vast it blocked out the sky.

“Roar!!!”

Only when the roar sounded did Herbert realize it was not a mountain—it was a head.

A dragon’s head!

Wow—

Herbert had thought his own body was already enormous, yet it was smaller than the creature’s single eyeball—a mere toy.

The one-eyed Dragon King lowered his head, staring at Herbert, who lay stunned before him, and growled: 【“How dare you awaken the Great Dragon King! State your name!”】

“Me? I’m Herbert.”

Herbert answered honestly. Though awed by the other’s size, he felt no fear—instead, he dared to ask back:

“Who are you? What kind of Dragon King are you?”

Are you the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea? Or the Western Sea… wait, what is the Eastern Sea?

Xia Donghai?

No—what even is the Crooked-Mouth Dragon King?

What nonsense is stuffed inside my head?!

The Dragon King seemed equally baffled by the question and remained silent for a moment.

Stare—

He simply stared at Herbert for a long while before asking strangely:

【“You ask who I am? Your bloodline is so potent you qualify for the Legacy Ground—and yet you don’t know who I am?”】

“I don’t know. So who exactly are you?”

The one-eyed dragon fell silent again, then let out a loud, hearty laugh.

【“…Pfft! Hahaha! Funny, very funny!”】

Under Herbert’s confused gaze, He erupted from the earth with a thunderous crash, spreading his scarred, tattered wings and soaring into the sky.

His colossal body, capable of warping space with every motion, was covered in countless wounds—single eye, broken wings, severed limbs…

Old wounds unhealed, new ones added, again and again, countless injuries piled into this form.

At this moment, even Herbert, who had forgotten everything, understood by soul alone—His very existence embodied destruction.

【“Remember my name—”】

【“In the call of the Abyss and the whisper of Chaos, my name is softly spoken in forbidden tongues—I, the Dragonkin’s End, the Eternal Flame unextinguished, the Everlasting Night before Dawn!”】

【“The Destroyer!!!”】

The Dragon King roared, then his terrifying form plunged from the heavens—straight toward Herbert.

Herbert: ?

Before he could react, the monstrous beast stomped down upon Herbert’s head.

Boom!

【“Remember this moment’s rage.”】

【“Little one, we shall meet again!”】

“What kind of heavenly palm technique is this?!”

“Wait, why am I a paper doll again?!”

“Wait, why did I say ‘again’?”

Herbert snapped open his eyes, his mouth twitching as he reached up to touch his still-intact head.

Fortunately.

This time, I didn’t turn into Herbert-jun again; the character isn’t flat or thin at all.

He shook his head, and Herbert suddenly noticed the candle flame on the table; with a thought, he raised his hand and reached straight for the outer edge of the flame.

Hss… not hot.

After hesitating, Herbert leaned forward and sucked hard on the flame.

Hss!

“Cough cough cough…”

Ugh, I sucked wax into my mouth!

(End of Chapter)