Kneeling down to look through the hole I can see that the other side is small at first but quickly opens up. Even with my superior eyes I cannot see far enough to see the far wall. I also can't see the creature from where I am, looks like I will have to go in to see it.

Ducking down I move through the hole sideways, being very careful as I put my foot down not to make a sound. Once I am through the hole I can smell something, it smells reptilian but also burnt at the same time. The closest smell I can compare it to would be the drake when it was breathing fire.

Looking around I realize I am in a cubby of a very large cavern, to the left is only darkness but to the right there is a slight glow. I slowly move to the right, being very careful not to make a single sound. The further I go the brighter the glow gets, as it gets brighter I can tell there is an orange cast to the light.

It looks like torchlight but it doesn't flicker, it is a steady glow that just gets brighter as I move. Finally I reach a point where I can see down the length of the cavern and see the source of the light. The light is coming from a large pool of magma and lying in the pool is the creature I came here to see.

At first my mind has trouble accepting what I am seeing, it is just too huge to be real. I recognize it from descriptions in books and movies, it is a dragon. What I can't believe is it is easily the size of a jumbo jet, my mind simply can't accept something that large being alive.

It would make a t-rex look small and pathetic, it could probably eat it in a bite or two. I wouldn't even be a snack to something like this, it surely has teeth that are bigger than I am. As I stand there completely frozen all I can think is that I am really glad the thing is sleeping.

It is absolutely terrifying and yet at the same time it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I can easily see how this dragon could have destroyed an entire empire all on its own. If I could move right now I would be backing away slowly, but my body won't obey me.

Even asleep the dragon gives off an aura of power and destruction, it feels like it could burn the world to ashes. I now understand why the goddesses said that even they wouldn't be a match for a dragon. For the first time I feel small and powerless, and I realize I am standing before a being that is so far above me I can't even hurt its toe.

The dragon is asleep and as long as it stays that way everything will be fine. After repeating that to myself dozens of times I finally manage to make myself move. Just as I take my first step backward my worst fear comes true.

An eye that is bigger than I am opens up and looks right at me. Once again my body freezes but this time it is because the dragon's aura is pinning me in place. Now I understand just how insignificant I am to the dragon, it could kill me with a thought.

As I stare at that massive eye everything around me fades away until all I can see is the eye. It feels like it is staring into my soul and reading everything there is to know about me. Then even the eye fades away and I am unable to see anything at all.

Next thing I know I am blinded by sunlight, it takes a minute for my eyes to adjust. When they do I find myself atop a mountain, as I look around I see nothing but mountains as far as the eye can see. I quickly realize I am in a soulscape, but it's not my soulscape.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

As I am looking around I catch a flash of red, when I turn to look I see a bright red dragon flying towards me. As it gets closer I am shocked to see that it is small, it is not much bigger than a horse. Even though it is smaller it is still terrifying and beautiful as it flies towards me.

It is the same dragon, this is its soulscape, and it is just choosing to be smaller than it really is. As it lands in the snow a few feet away from me I can't help but marvel at it. Even the drake wasn't this magnificent, it is easy to see why a drake is counted as a lesser cousin to a dragon.

Dragon says "You are quite the interesting little mortal."

"Um, thanks?"

Dragon says "My apologies for bringing you here without your permission but it isn't possible for me to speak with you out there."

"I was surprised but I don't mind, but why can't we speak out there?"

Dragon says "The magic of the world is currently too weak for me to wake up on the outside."

"I'm sorry if I disturbed your slumber, that wasn't my intention."

Dragon says "It is of no concern, I would have ignored you except I smelled my kin on you."

"Ah, I hope you won't be upset but I did kill a drake."

Dragon says "Yes, I saw the fight in your memories, and I saw what happened after. Worry not, I bear no grudge against you."

"That's a relief, I wish I hadn't had to kill him."

Dragon says "Yes, and that is just one of the many things that makes you so interesting."

"Thank you, I guess. So is that why we are chatting?"

Dragon says "Pretty much, I've been asleep for a long time and I was bored. So when you came near enough for me to sense I was curious."

"Well, I can understand that, my curiosity is what brought me here."

Dragon says "Even though the saying from your old world is 'Curiosity killed the cat'?"

"Well, to be honest until I saw you I was fairly confident I could handle anything I found."

Dragon says "That overconfidence will get you killed, there are any number of powerful creatures in this world. Keep in mind this peninsula is just a small part of this world. Humans are thriving here only because this land was practically uninhabited."

"I will take your warning to heart, I was already planning on getting stronger."

Dragon says "Are you aware that there are other planes of existence?"

"Yes, if you mean hell, the various heavens, and the elemental planes."

Dragon says "Those and many many more. Did you know that the soulscape exists in the spaces between the planes?"

"No, I thought the soulscape only existed inside the casters mind."

Dragon says "If that were true, would your mind really survive being visited by two goddesses?"

"I guess I didn't think of it that way. So the soulscape is an actual place?"

Dragon says "Sort of, as I said it exists between the planes. Think of it as the glue that keeps them in place and separate from each other. What we perceive as the soulscape is only the edge closest to our plane, and the environment we create is just an illusion."

"So when we enter a soulscape we are actually traveling to this space between the planes?"

Dragon says "Our physical bodies do not move, your soul does travel though. In the terms of your old world it would be called astral projection."

"Okay, I sort of understand what you mean. But is there a point to this knowledge?"

Dragon says "There is always a point to knowledge!"

"Sorry, that isn't what I meant. I mean, is there a point to you sharing this knowledge now?"

Dragon says "Yes, of course there is, I don't just talk to hear myself talk. The point is that the soulscape can be used for far more than you think."

"Well, I admit I don't know much about it. Wait, you said it is between all the planes, are you saying it connects them?"

Dragon says "Yes, exactly! A true master of the soulscape can use it to travel between the planes."

"But if we enter the soulscape using our souls how can we enter another plane?"

Dragon says "Good question! Of all the planes this one is the lowest in energy and therefore is the most bound to the physical. The other planes are much higher in energy so when our souls enter them they use that energy to form a body."

"So you are saying someone can use the soulscape to move to another plane, and once they are there they can explore using a physical body?"