We cannot weigh time, nor measure or touch it. Keeping track of time in a lightless world such as this, without the sun, or the moon or the stars was... utterly impossible. And even if such things existed here, I wouldn't have even known where to begin. I'm far more used to the modern technology to rely on than learning such archaic means. Now, here I was, regretting the times I neglected to go camping with my dad. He would know what to do, here. He always knew what to do.

I couldn't tell anyone how long I've been stuck here, in this body of a baby lizard. What I did know, was that I required sleep like any other biologically functioning animal. My educated best guess? Eight, maybe nine hours of sleep every day was required. With time to hunt for the next five, maybe six or seven hours within the tunnels of the undead and the roaming bands of chupacabras, I then come back home to rest. Rinse and repeat the following day.

I must have been here for four days since my... hmm, displacement? Whatever it was.

As a male at the prime of my life, I would have done plenty of things to kill time. I had a proper Wi-Fi, an amazingly built desktop my boy helped set up, and a flat-screen television I hooked up to. My boys come around the weekend, bringing two-fours and a 40 pounder, while I order up some pizzas and sodas to complete the night. Even better, should the video games and the conversations get a little stale, we enjoy a nightly stroll at the city's downtown Square for a bar-hopping weekend.

Every now and then I'm in this place, of safety and security. The faces of my friends and family appeared in my mind's eye, laughing and drinking at the local bar as they enjoyed themselves. And I was there, among them. I mingled and flirted or got utterly smashed. Or, all of the above if I was feeling rightly special.

These days? It was all I dreamt about, as I stood looking down upon them.

I was alone and pitiful.

Point was, I was never bored living in the city. Here, however, all I've ever done was eat, hunt, and expel waste. All day. Every day. It was a boring, depressing affair, despite the activity that had been constantly pushing my body to its limits. The exhaustion of mind-numbingly killing things was getting to me, despite my draconic nature telling me otherwise.

I needed a change of venue. I needed to get out of my comfort zone. There was no way in hell I was going to become complacent in my surreal situation. Things had to change, but how? I was stuck here, with no way out, and the farther I go, the more dangerous the monsters become. I was alone here, and afraid. My strength was simply insufficient.

I sighed, then grunted in pain when I felt a swell of discomfort on my shoulders. The bloody monster had done me in quite good, and despite my rare skill, it was still strong enough to penetrate my scales. It had been two days since my last bout against those three monsters. It was no surprise I ended up being severely wounded, and I was afraid I might actually die of infection or by some disease. It wasn't as if I could just stitch up my wound and bandage it.

Thankfully, all I needed was a few days of rest to fully recover. And meat. Lots and lots of meat. What could I say? I healed fast. Guess there was an advantage to this whole dragon thing, after all.

The good news was, I've gotten better at ambushing the lone chupacabras that either lost its way or was expelled from its band. Subsequently, it had also gotten much less difficult to kill them. My skills have been going up, though steadily. And sure, I still wouldn't go head-to-head against these things without some way of cheating. And I certainly wasn't stupid enough to risk getting hurt like before. But, hey! Meat!

Also, my invulnerability skill just went up. Awesome.

> Invulnerability lvl. 4 Acquired!

Honestly, I would rather just have this little skill leveled up to its maximum potential, then nothing could hurt me. The only downside was that, other than this, it was unlikely to get me another level for a long time. Not unless I kept sticking with the chupacabras and the undead.

My theory was sketchy at best, but maybe I could be wrong. It wasn't as if anyone was here to correct me. But, it was the only thing I got. Perhaps the idea of accumulating more levels was to combat monsters stronger than myself? The chupacabras were stronger than I, yes, but they weren't much of a challenge if tricks and ambushes get them killed rather handily. Was I supposed to go after the bigger, smarter monsters that inhabit this place?

I sighed.

This place was getting to me, and I have not even been here for long. Still, the challenge was there, so there was that. It would be nice if had something to keep me company. Heck, I'd even let someone capture just to talk to someone. Even if my conversations end up with growls and gruffs. Frankly, this sucked.

Stumbling over to the carcass of my latest kill, I took a few bites of the fleshy meat inside its stomach. The skin was tender and quite nice. Maybe if I added some seasoning here and there, it would have some flavor to this whole thing. The brain was kinda... ugh. But I absolutely love the phallus and the testicles. They tasted like sausages and meatballs- and, I'm just going to go over there to throw up. What was I doing?!

When I spat out the meat, I licked the ground to aggressively rid me of the taste. Now, I'm in a worse mood than I was before. The indignation and outrage flowed out of me like a flood, and I yelled and screamed until my throat turned hoarse and I was left panting.

I needed out. I needed out, now!

I escaped from my own home and ran. And ran, and ran, as I recklessly stumbled off against my own better judgment. I was being an idiot, but I didn't care. Half my mind was in a rage, while the other was still cautious of my surroundings. I wasn't stupid enough to throw my life to monsters so recklessly, so I took my usual route toward the undead. And that's where I went.

The need to smash and break was too strong to ignore. Resistance was never an issue, not this time. My skill would protect me from the worst of the damage, and my flames were just good enough to satiate my hunger for setting things on fire. I had no idea I was a pyromaniac until now. Go figure.

Either way, I wholeheartedly embraced that part of my violent temperament.

It felt damn good when I crushed the first undead I happened upon. Another, and another, until numbers became meaningless and intangible. I was in my element, as I turned bones to dust, and put my enemies to the flames. And, as my rage simmered and boiled within my heart, I hadn't quite realized I went further than I should have.

My anger dissipated completely when I found my first fresh undead. It was as pale as a corpse and filled with rotting flesh. It walked toward me with a smoother gait, less inclined to stumble about and groan. It was just a quiet, silent thing. I detected some semblance of intelligence hidden beneath those bleeding pair of azure eyes. It took a second to realize it had eyes, and another when I realized it was watching me.

I stepped back.

And another.

I was cautious, but curious.

The minutiae of mana I've gathered shaped into a ball of fire within my chest, rather than a lance or a beam. There was less magical energy for me to waste, but what mattered was the kinetic force and the instantaneous explosion upon impact. It was a difficult process to make, but one that I thought was worth every bit of my time and energy I've given it. Well, what could I say? I had plenty of downtime during my recovery to explore and experiment with my mana.

Especially when I was rewarded with a notification.

> Mana Control Lvl.3 Acquired!

The very naked, and the very bloated undead stepped closer.

When I released my modified skill, the ball of flames sped across the distance in an instant. It ignited instantly upon impact. The undead's head snapped back from the explosive force. Its flesh was eaten away to the blackened and shattered bones, and it didn't take time at all for the fires to spread to the rest of its body.

I thought it was over.

I blinked in surprise when the abomination didn't stop its momentum. Now, it was on fire, and still on its feet. Wonderful.

Then, it ran toward me.

It was only thanks to my superior reflexes that allowed me to evade its sword strike at the last moment. I dodged easily enough, and though surprised, my head snaked its way toward its left leg. My jaws snapped around its ankle in a vice grip. The sheer power of my bite broke its flesh and snapped the bone in two. It wasn't a surprise to me when the color of its blood was a thick black, congealed and fetid sludge as it poured from its opened wounds.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I could taste the poison on my tongue, but I held on.

The fact of the matter was, I was just as vicious in my rebuttal. And with a Herculean pull, I tossed it away from me.

The undead flipped end over end dozens of feet away. Its broken bones snapped and its flesh sundered, and then it came to a final stop.

Another undead of its kind stepped over its fallen kin, filled with old meat and rotten blood. Before I knew it, the entire hallway was filled with hundreds of undead with glowing pools of fey eyes. They all stared right back at me.

Oh shit.

This would have been a bad situation, and indeed, I would have high tailed it out of there quick as a mouse. Except, then I felt the earth rumble underneath my feet. And just like that, the walls behind me smashed apart as a truly monstrous, twenty-foot giant stepped forward. Its beady, blue glowing lanterns sought me out immediately.

When my eyes fell to the weapon it carried, it glowed with an inner, molten red-hot light. A magical weapon. A giant, bearded undead carried a magical weapon that could chop me up like so much as tender raw meat. I had every confidence my invulnerability skill would last barely a second before my flesh was rendered apart and my bones smashed to bits.

Startled, I nearly stepped back in fear.

I forced myself to stop, to stay in place, as my shoulders tensed and my tail stiffened up. I shall not turn away like a mewling pup! I have faced bigger things than this. Well... no, I haven't. But, that's beside the point! I will not give my life away for anything! What can this foolish rotten flesh bag do against me? Nothing! I shall bring about annihilation! My very flames shall cleanse it to ashes! I am the dragon! Hear me roar!

Also, I seriously needed to have my head examined. This whole new confidence boost thing, even in the face of utter defeat was turning my ego into a supermassive black hole.

Damn it all, I'm so dead.

I glanced behind me and toward walking corpses. I would never survive the small army of undead, no matter how many times I put them on fire. Eventually, I would run out of mana and tire myself out. It was inevitable. But the giant? It was large, yes, and could stomp me out like an insect. But there was an escape route. Sure, I could escape the way I came from once I pass him, but no doubt more undead were waiting for me.

My hope that this was all merely a chance sounded far less likely. This had all the designs of an intelligent creature. If that were the case, that if this was a trap, then I am so fucked.

And then, my body bounded forward, quick as lightning. toward the waiting giant. Its monstrous waraxe cleaved toward me, the air parting its sharp hot blade in a sizzling woosh.

I ducked, and pulled a Matrix straight out of the movie. If I was sharing an out of body experience, I would have ooh'd an awe'd, and also captured it on video. But, that wasn't the case. As it was, I skidded underneath the blade inches from having my snout severed. It was so close, I could feel the heat on my skin, which should have been impossible. I was immune to fire... wasn't I?

The weapon may have missed me, but not the wall behind me. Unfortunately, the thick stone didn't win. It was caved in completely, as thick rocks scattered like shrapnel as if a high-yield explosive device detonated.

Fuuuuck!

The giant lashed out with a kick. 

My bones shook from the impact, and my sharp teeth clattered. Just as the impact of its foot could toss me toward the waiting army of undead, which, by-the-way, still hadn't moved, I would be ripped apart. Quite literally. Instead, at the point of contact, I dug my claws deep into the flesh. Then, before it could do anything, I clambered up its feet and up I went. Before the dead giant could even react, I was suddenly right in front of its face.

All of my mana, every single little bit I could scoop up from within me, condensed it to a tightly controlled pinpoint of light. I had no more than this, but it was enough. It had to be enough.

The color of my flames was a deep orange, almost golden blaze of lance. My flames must burn as hot as 1,200 °C. That was more than enough to render whatever flesh it met to cinders. Especially when I aimed it right into its mouth. 

I jumped to the top of its flaming head, only to use it as a springboard, as I flipped over its head. Its massive gigantic body fell back with a groan. 

A glance back at the masses of undead corpses, I took off through the makeshift hole the giant made. The corpses followed after me like a tidal wave, crushing and clawing its own allies in the process.

As I sped through the tunnel, my muscles pumped like a machine, what with the undead giving me the motivation to stay ahead. With their growls and smacking meat, I didn't have to be a genius or have a special ability tell that they were furious at my escape.

A notification sound pinged in the corner of my mind, but I ignored it easily enough. Right now, surviving was more important than checking my stats. There was plenty of time to do that once I've found a safe haven. But the thought of finding a safe place to hide seemed like a distant dream, and with the undead so close behind me.

Something blinded me. When I focused ahead, I found the light! A light, at the end of the tunnel! Laughter bubbled within my throat, as my legs pumped all the harder. I finally found it! I found an escape to all this madness! I laughed, even as the monsters tailed behind me. I laughed, hysterical and joyous bubbled within me like a cancerous tumor.

So close! Closer and closer I came. And then, I reached out to touch the light.

I veered to a stop, confused. There was indeed light, but the light of the moon and the sky. Where was the golden brilliance of the sun? Where was the wind in my face? There was no life here, only a barren land and a... chair. A chair and a nude woman sitting upon it.

A woman of pale ivory sat upon a simple stone chair, bereft of any company. She was the color of moonlight, and eyes as black as the darkest night. Her white hair cascaded down past her slender shoulders like a waterfall, and her beautiful, sharp features were sharp enough to cut. 

I froze.

She was the darkest fantasy come to life, a personified dream made truth. Her cold, dark, depthless orbs seeped into my very bones. They chilled my soul. Harken! Harken to her majesty!

"Who... are you?" I asked, but I trembled. The fact that I spoke for the very first time, was beyond impressive. I didn't realize I could speak. Believe me, I tried. But, apparently, I could. And when I spoke, I now got Her attention.

Its primogenitor eyes, for surely this was no woman, slowly turned its way toward me. I quivered as the fear coiled around my heart. 

The Screams of wind deafened my ears, but they were not a part of this world. They were not souls, either. They were like spiritual images of Her servants of the court. He was in a bloody throne room! Their disembodied voices shrieked as they announced Her Majesty.

> "The King Shall Awaken; Light Shall Ascend,

> Harken To Them, For All Children born be Condemned.

> Darkness Consumed, The Thirsty Ones Come,

> And I shall Devour The Golden Plum.

> I am Depthless Wind In This Soulless Universe, For I Am The Dissolution of All.

> Know My Name, For I Am The Divided Divine, The Endless Yid 'N'yothl 'Gnesh!"

Her finger twitched, and I felt a pull from the very depths of my soul being pushed. I was lifted up into the air, even as I flapped my wings to get away. Fruitlessly, might I add. Not that I could fly, anyway. Some dragon I was...

Against my own power, I was guided toward the monster in a woman's form.

"You Are No Dragon." He mouth didn't move, but her eyes watched me closely, as her voice thundered in my mind.

"I... yes. I mean. No, I'm not a dragon. I think. I..." I stopped talking. Aside from the fact that I'm talking to a probable goddess, or one who thinks she's a goddess, she might have a fragile ego I didn't want to disappoint.

"The Light Of Mortals Are Brief." She drew her lips into a thin line, as if I had somehow disappointed an adult. Wonderful. She can read minds. The woman tilted her head slightly, as if to imitate a human. The Goddess looked... curious, and drew her face closer to mine. Well, I drew closer toward her, but I digress. "A Child Of The Black Beast, The King Of Dreams, The Endless Horror, He Who Devoured The Forgotten God, The Heart of The Abyss. You Are A Dragon. And Not. A Shared Duality of Twined Souls. A Begotten Child."

"What...," I licked my teeth in discomfort, nervousness pervading my every action. I had no idea what any of that meant, but somehow, she seemed to be leading me somewhere with this. And, I would have even asked what she meant. But who cared? I wanted to go back home, back to my life before all this mess started. "Can you send me back? Back to my old life as a human?"

"You Are A Child Of Both Worlds."

"I... what does that mean?" I demanded. Well, I very softly asked. No demands here. Nope. I'm just a good little mortal. Please pat me on the head. Or rub my belly. I'll even bark. Please don't turn my existence into atoms. Pretty please, with a cherry on top?

For a moment, the goddess just stared at him, as if bewildered.

"You Are Weak, And You Shall Break," Yid 'N'yothl 'Gnesh lifted her hand and touched my forehead with her forefinger. "I Shall Gift You What You So Find Precious.

Suddenly, the floor broke apart and swallowed me whole. I screamed. It was as if gravity gained sentience and pulled me down into the blackness. And as I fell, I heard her voice one last time, "Your Impatience Is That Of A Mewling Newborn. Find Strength Elsewhere."

When I woke up, I was in a jungle. Also, I was human again.

I turned to my side and promptly threw up, even as I broke down in tears and laughed. 

> Baby Dragon

> Level 5! 

> Level 4 > 5 

> Strength - 18 - 19 

> Endurance - 23 - 26

> Intelligence - 19 - 21

> Willpower - 32 - 35

> Vitality - 21 - 24

> Mana Control Lvl.4 Acquired!

> Fire Breath Lvl.4 Acquired!

> Congratulations!

> You have reached your evolutionary tree! Your true journey begins now. 

"My true journey begins now, my arse! Fuuuck You!"