-Unknown POV-
-Tomb of the Last Dragon-
Did he just say “My Queen”? And what’s his tail doing?
I realise that I have control over my body again and I feabily push his long and thick tail off of my hips. He doesn’t do anything about it and just watches and waits with a slightly amused expression on his face, like he thinks it’s cute.
That makes me slightly annoyed, but that’s the least of emotions I feel right now. I am...confused. Very confused.These memories, his actions, what just happened to me? Everything I saw and heard was extremely vague and blurry, except for one word.
Isten.
Just thinking about it makes my heart ache, this is my first time I’ve heard of such a name but for some reason it seems so familiar, like I’ve known it my entire life. Saying it made me feel like I was going to be torn apart from the inside..
I feel weak, incredibly weak, like I haven’t eaten in days….but also safe, like I know everything will be ok now, to think that one word could make me feel this way, it seems like a curse or a spell but I know it isn’t.
Not based on logic, but just a feeling, as sure as the pain in my heart and the sense of security in my mind. I want to say something, but I can’t even open my mouth anymore to try.
We just...stare at eachother...I’m sure I look like a ghost, and he’s now put on a faint grin like he’s enjoying all of this. Even though we just met, I feel like I know him, maybe even more than just knowing him, there’s something about him that just makes me feel strange...
His eyes just draw me to them, I focus on them so much without even thinking about it. I commit myself to looking into his eyes so much that I didn’t even realise when I started to fall, didn’t even realise that my vision was fading. Or maybe I realised, but didn’t care anymore.
The only thing that I could think about was my King..
Isten.
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-Isten POV-
-Tomb of the Last Dragon-
“I finally wake up and this is how you treat me? How rude.”
I chuckle at the fact that I know she can’t hear me, and imagining what she would say if she were awake is fun too.
“I wonder how many times it’s been like this now...oh well. This is a new life, a new time. If only there was another way for us to stay together...”
As I cast a spell to put on some clothes I ponder a bit.
It’s true that I can’t remember how many cycles it has been now, I figured that if I stopped counting it would make it easier. I guess it helps, but I doubt I will ever get used to this.
She dies, she gets reborn somewhere, we find each other and go from there. Ever since the first Ayana and I bound our souls together all those years ago there hasn’t been a lifetime where she wasn’t with me.
“If I’m not with her then she’s in danger, and if she’s in danger she can be killed like the last time.”
I grit my teeth at the thought, imagining the most recent life...when our time was cut short, very short. I think back on the long battle that eventually caused me to go into hibernation.
I playfully tap her jaw with my fist, admiring how cute she looks in her sleep.
“I would have destroyed the country if it weren’t for you, missy.” It’s true, with her death comes many problems for me, emotionally and physically. I can’t go into any of my dragon forms when she’s gone, and I always run at less that 50% strength and a tenth of my mana pool is usable.
Not to mention the headaches, and the grief, and the terrible decision making. They are hardly a problem though, I managed to kill almost 200,000 soldiers, 50,000 of which were dragoons. And now that there are no other dragons trying to kill me for the throne, everything should be a cake walk for the rest of my life.
The biggest problem should just be this one right here, if she was reborn and came to this tomb then she must be in some kind of trouble considering she’s 5 years early for fate to start bringing us together, I’ll have to ask her when she wakes up.
“You always look the same, always act the same. The only thing missing really is your memories, but we can always make new ones like we have before. It’s kind of a pain, but I’m looking forward to it.”
If it weren’t for my magic I doubt I’d have even noticed she’s only 16, she looks plenty old enough already. It’s nothing new, she is as beautiful as she was when we first met, it doesn’t matter her age.
As much as I’d love to just stare at her while she sleeps, I haven’t eaten in Dreki knows how many years and the thought of food sends my head whirling….Deer? Bear? Dwarves? Hmm...the last one seems a little unethical, I think I would be scolded for that. *Sigh*
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Oh well, I guess I’ll let those gold thieves live a little bit longer, deer it is.
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It doesn’t take me long at all to reach the exit of the tunnel network I prepared for myself, I allowed some of my bloodlust to leak in order to keep any pests away and I have memorized the layout of my maze.I would have just gone straight up through the ground but I have no idea what is on the surface anymore, I could have been underneath a city and senselessly killing civilians doesn’t seem fun at the moment.
As long as Aya is alive I think logically, what happens when she’s not is up to my future self to decide, although I don’t make the best choices when my literal other half dies. It’s whatever I guess, I have nothing against killing them per-say and I have no reason to kill them, perfectly logical.
I step out of the hole in the ground as my eyes adjust quickly to the sunlight and notice that my concerns were for nothing, everywhere around me as far as I can see is thick, green trees soaking up the warm summertime rays of the closest star.
Seeing that there aren’t any life forms nearby, I feel like it’s time for some fun.
“Ancient dragon or not, hunting is fun and having fun is truly living, so let’s live for a little bit!”
With a thought I transform into one of my smaller and more agile dragon forms like I have thousands of times before. As my entire body changes structure I hunch over because of my spine being an entirely different shape.
In this form I represent a raptor from the southern lands, only slightly larger and with much harder scales. My wings have shrunk to a size that they can only be considered an accessory piece, sitting uselessly on my back.
Everything is enhanced in this body, my already superhuman like senses have been buffed incredibly and this isn’t even close to the ability of my original body.
Although it is definitely closer and I love the feel of the ground with my claws. Every time I shift I’m reminded of how boring being human really is, that’s probably due to the fact that my brain changes slightly depending on the form I’m in.
This one makes me far more hyper and alert, my brain’s thought process accelerates to match my speed.
I can think and move the same way if I put in the effort in my human form, but I don’t have to subconsciously enhance myself if I’m in a body like this one.
I’m getting a little bit antsy at this point, I’ve been resting for far too long and my body needs some activity.
I start with a trot into the forest, I need to get in range to smell something before I can hunt it. I can use magic to detect any life forms in tens of miles, but then there’s no fun, just a massacre. Just like how I could run through the forest at the speed of sound, there is no enjoyment, no time to take it all in.
Countless times I have gone hunting, and countless times I have done it this way, I doubt it will get old. It’s just who I am, possibly what I am that makes me think this way.
I’m a milleniums year old dragon, they’re wild animals. It may not be fair, but who cares?
‘Ah, there’s one. Buck, fully grown. Doe and a fawn over there, fawn is less than a year, no meat on that.’
There are a lot of smaller animals too, but this area has no other predators or game other than deer and bears. Bears aren’t very fun to hunt, they’re too slow and lazy, deer sometimes put up a challenge.
I get close enough to start the stalk and I slow down to a gentle jog, not letting myself make any noise I get within 100 feet of the grazing animal.
The thick brush and the lack of dragons as a natural predator have completely made the deer unaware of what I am, to the deer as long as I’m not a bear or one of the civilized races it has no need to be worried.
I start to walk, creeping and following slowly until I cut the distance in half and reach a small clearing where the Buck grazes on some tall grass.
‘This is more than enough space’ I nod to myself before hurling myself at the deer’s throat in one powerful leap, flying right past it and slitting its throat at the same time. It had no time to react, a perfect kill.
The fatally wounded animal makes a desperate attempt at escaping, but his legs move too fast for his body to keep up and he just slips and falls, slamming onto the ground.
With all of its strength gone all he can do is twitch and watch as I walk over to him and crush his neck, ending his suffering.
I would have toyed with it a bit, but Aya should be waking up soon and I need to get back and cook. No need to be slow now, I pick up the deer carcass into my large jaws and run off back to the cave. ‘Much to do, much to do.’
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