A voice echoed in my head. 'Are you my champion?'

'I must be dreaming. I should catch up on my sleep,' I thought to myself.

Focusing on training my mana was pretty draining, considering I exceeded my core's capacity.

The same voice resounded in my head, 'Maverick, you are not dreaming, little one.'

After hearing the name, Maverick, I immediately opened my eyes, willed mana into my pupils, and conjured the best wind spears I could, staying on guard. To think the name Maverick would come up in this world, addressed towards me at that, caught me on high alert.

The sky turned gray. Time appeared to slow down at a frightening speed until the carriage stood still. I willed more mana into my eyes, thinking it was due to my depleted mana core. The mana core was sending bursts of pain throughout my body to retaliate against the cracking of my core, but I had to endure, or I would lose my life and core.

I looked towards my parents. No movement, not even the soft breathing of my mother, could be heard. Panicked, I swiftly surveyed my surroundings in a counter-clockwise motion. The leaves falling off trees floated in the air, the birds stationary, the fabric lined around us still warped from time stopping.

'To your left, little boy.'

Without even have the time to physically react, I sent my spears of wind straight to my left, my head swinging slowly after. The lances of wind dissipated after flying a few through the air, but I could tell they had marked the enemy.

'Is this the best you can do? You have long ways to go, child,' the foreign enemy said in response to my attack.

'What do you expect of me? I had just recently awakened my mana core,' I said in disbelief. I could feel my eyes widen to my ears, and my jaw dropped more notably than it had even done before.

In front of me is what the books call a 'dragon.' Yet this being had a divine aura around it, a terrifying atmosphere. Its very presence kept me at bay, questioning my choices to attack it. The 'dragon' had taken the whole field of view in my eyes, yet it was covered in black and had red eyes gazing daggers into me. It was covered in an aura that was there but not there; you could sense it but not see it. My body was telling me to escape for my life, yet my mind was betraying my body.

'Is this your first time seeing a dragon?'

Its voice was calm and relaxing, but I understood it could obliterate me at any moment it wanted to. This is a dragon? I couldn't even see it. It was clad in black cloak-like cloth with tears in certain areas.

'Ah, am I still in my cloak?' It said while removing its shadowy cloak.

My jaw dropped incomparably further than it had before. What unraveled in front of my eyes was a true god, or at least a true dragon compared to the books. The dragon had luxurious scarlet-red scales; each scale could indeed be worth millions, every plating the size of a small tree, encasing its entire body. Its aura was infinitely more menacing than what had previously occurred to be an 'aura.' This eminence of a being would curb stop anything that would come in its path.

'It's rude to stare. Did you not learn basic manners, child? Or should I call you Maverick?' It said with a soft chuckle.

'Call me whatever you prefer. I just want to get out of this alive,' I said, trying to remain calm, but my whole body was already shivering noticeably.

'Calm down, little one. I am your friend, not foe.' It said.

'Your aura says otherwise.' I responded, still unable to move.

'Ahahaha, what poor manners of me. After eight hundred years, I still have not yet mastered the skill to hide my aura.'

Flabbergasted by the words '800 years,' I should've expected it at this point. '800 years? And you're talking to a boy with just under five years to his name? Am I even allowed to look at you?'

The dragon let out another chuckle, 'ahahaha, you have a fine sense of humor, little one. You say you are hardly four, yet you have lived another life? Don't worry, Maverick, I know all your secrets. And to answer your second question, I may be of draconic royalty, but I need you more than you would ever need me given the current situation.'

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Being as confusing as it is, this godlike dragon needs me? I'm seemingly an insignificant ant in his eyes, yet he needs me. What am I worth to him? Sure, I have lived another life, but this creature is also terrifying than any other monster I had slain in my previous life. How could I even compare?

Interrupting my train of thought, the dragon said, "I think we should communicate verbally rather than mentally."

Stunned at what I just heard, I didn't even come to realize he was communicating through my mind the whole time. Just how powerful is he? To what extent had his powers have been used?

Interjecting my train of thought again, he said, "Quit asking so many questions. Time is not of the essence."

"Oh, sure it's not. It's almost as if time is not even in motion right now." I said, annoyed by the dragon's choice of words.

"Please do not be irritated. If we continue to meddle with such idle ponderings, I may not have the time to inform you before they arrive." The dragon said with a weaker voice.

"They?" I asked. Who could be after him?

"As I said before, time is not of the essence. Push those thoughts away for what I am about to tell you."

"What? You can keep on leaving me with half the puzzle. I need answers. Now." I said. 'This is getting frustrating. I'm not getting reasons why I should do what he says, yet something tells me that I have to. I need to.'

"Yes, child. I need you to do what I never could do, you-"

A roar traveled throughout the sky, heavy enough that it could essentially damage my eardrums in two, rang into my ears, "Kaizer! You can't run forever!"

"It's them!" The dragon said with impatience in his voice

"Who's them?! You can't expect me to comply with such limited information!" I shouted back.

"I'm sorry, little one, if I were to tell you, you would spend all your life looking for revenge. Time flows faster than I thought."

"Time is stopped right now? How can time flow right now?"

If they break through my ethereal arts and let time flow again, we will be doomed. If I wasn't so injured right now, we would have more time to spare." The dragon said.

"Injured? How can such a mighty dragon like you be scratched?" I responded. Scrambling to come up with pieces to fit the situation was singeing my brain. I couldn't keep working with half the problem. It's near impossible to come up with a solution.

The dragon then started to move, raising his head so he was standing tall rather than hunched over to talk to me. He showed me his enormous pearl-white belly filled with lines of deep gashes and blood slowly pouring out.

'Damn it! Even with learning how to be affectionate and understanding with others' problems, I still haven't done a damn thing.'

"This is not your fault, little one. Nothing could even stop this from happening. Only if those damn minions working under Kerios' tyranny weren't so pesky."

"Kreios?' I asked. So many things happening at once, and I can't even find a way to face it, let alone understand it.

"Sorry, little one, but as of now, you stand to no avail. You wouldn't even be worth his time."

"Bu-" My sentence got cut off before it could start.

"Listen to me, little one. I will tell you what you need to know and teach you what you will need to know at a different time. I am-"

Before the dragon could finish speaking, a titan-like creature holding a gigantic broadsword made out of some kind of stone, even more, giant than the dragon, descended between us.

"There you are, Kaizer. Nice to see you again. Now hand over the boy or pay with your life." The titan said with a hoarse voice.

'Are they fighting over me?' I thought to myself.

'Maverick, please take care of my boy. I will leave everything in your hands.' The dragon responded in my head, with sorrow filled in his words.

The shock from the titans' arrival broke through the frozen time. The colors of the green trees and the rays of the sun suddenly came back. With the swipe of his broadsword, he destroyed everything within my sight, ranging from the mountains to the trees, all the way to the birds frozen in the sky.

Before I could notice, I flew in the air while spectating the encounter between the titan and the dragon but stopped when an invisible force hit my back, almost knocking me out cold.

"Damn it," I muttered. "I'm not going to die the same way twice!" I said as I started coughing up blood. I reinforced my body with mana and slow limped my way back to where the encounter was.

"Maverick!" The dragon roared. "Do not come any closer! You will die! Take on my legacy and accomplish my dreams! Save this world!"

I fell to my knees, barely keeping my conscience as my body felt like it was being ripped apart, and my core felt like it was about to shatter. I kept my bursts of focus on the titan as he was mumbling to the dragon.

The titan lifted his sword, yet this time the sword seemed longer, much longer. It was extended by a while force of what appeared to be pure, white mana. The blade must've at least ripped through the clouds before the titan swung down.

"NO!" I screamed. I could see the dragon looking at me with tears rolling down his eyes and a gentle smile on his face. The dragon's mouth had started moving, but I couldn't make out what he was saying.

I tried to speak, but my mouth didn't have the strength to move. I could feel the stiff, watery tears rolling down my cheeks as my vision began to disappear until all I can see was black.

'Farewell, Maverick. You must grow, become strong, save this world. You are the only one I consider my successor. Look for my wife, Maeve. She will unravel everything for you; just show her my stigmata. Until we meet again, my champion.'