A pool of shadows formed before me, and from those shadows emerged a figure.

"We really need to stop meeting like this," said the figure, whose presence was all too familiar.

"It's you..."

It was the red-eyed fiend who bore my likeness and name, someone I had encountered far too many times already.

"I thought I got rid of you," I said.

"I'm not that easy to get rid of," he chuckled deviously. "And it wasn't like you hadn't sought out my power that night when you returned to your family. How long did it take you to come crawling back to me, a day?" he teased.

"How much do you see, exactly?" I asked, worried.

"I see everything; your life is bound to me, remember?"

"Unfortunately, I do," I sighed. "What is this place?" I asked, glancing around the hall.

"This is the afterlife; a prison, if you will, made just for the two of us."

Memories of the past surged forward. Before I ended up here, a battle was fought, one where I lost my life to the Talons. It feels like an eternity has passed since that day, and all my emotions seem to have left me; I no longer care for the life I lost. Right before my last moments, I was afraid of death. Now, truly gone, the cold embrace of death feels soothing.

"An eternity with you; I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy," I admitted.

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!" he exclaimed gleefully, clapping his hands like a child. "Let’s use this time to get to know each other," he continued.

"You admitted yourself that you already know everything there is to know about me. You're the one who acts all mysterious and talks in riddles," I retorted.

"Let’s see, where did we leave off..." he pondered deeply.

"You lived among the dragons when the war with the avians began. Most of the dragons' lives were lost, and the rest were sealed away," I interjected, reminding him of the story he told me the last time our paths crossed.

"Ah, yes! What do you wish to know?"

"Where were the dragons sealed away? What happened to you? And why do we share the same face and name?"

"Easy, one question at a time, we only have an eternity!" He smiled at the thought. "To your first question, I’m afraid I don’t have an answer. As for me, that's a tale that will take ages to tell."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Well, we do have an eternity," I replied.

He smiled and began telling a long story, one that indeed took ages to finish.

His name was Valerian, and he existed long before the first mortals were created. Born of an avian father and a dragon mother, he would come to be known as the First Sin.

Valerian's early life was spent among the avians, where every action he took was scrutinized, and every breath he drew made them wish it were his last. Unlike his father, who had been executed, the avians kept him imprisoned, for his wings were golden, a stark difference from theirs. As time passed, he became harder to control, more unpredictable, and soon, all feared Valerian, the Heavenly Dragon. His power grew beyond imagination, and his war against those who had imprisoned him simply for existing raged on for ages.

The world of Elyria was set ablaze, its fate resting in the hands of Valerian, who threatened to tear down the veil between worlds and bring the wrath of dragons to avenge their lost kin. In a world where avians considered themselves invincible, there was only one thing they feared: the mighty dragons of Eldoria. After countless lives were lost and unable to claim the one life that brought them war, the avian elders declared Valerian the victor by banishing him to Eldoria, the land of the dragons.

In Eldoria, among his true family, Valerian found something he had yearned for since the moment he opened his eyes: freedom. Reunited with his mother, a red dragon, he was accepted as one of them. But just as one war ended, another began—one that would bring an end to the reign of dragons and herald the rise of mortal civilization.

The avians grew increasingly impatient, knowing that Valerian's power was only growing stronger among the dragons. They feared the wounds they had inflicted upon him as a child had not healed and that he would one-day exact revenge for their sins. Over the years, they amassed armies and launched an assault on Eldoria, determined to purge every last dragon and eradicate Valerian, whom they deemed the First Sin. In their eyes, his very birth was a transgression, one that created a prophecy: "Do not lay with a mortal, for its offspring will bring an end to us all."

The ensuing war was long and brutal, with heavy losses on both sides. Initially, the dragons seemed poised for victory, their might overwhelming the avians. Desperate, the avians sought help from an unlikely source: demons. Together, they unleashed chaos from both Elyria and the depths of the Abyss. Yet, despite their formidable alliance, they could not match the dragons' power.

Facing a losing battle, the avians devised a cunning plan. Unable to kill the dragons, they decided to seal them away. In a single day, the dragons, who had ruled Eldoria since the dawn of time, vanished overnight. Valerian did not know how such potent magic fell into avian hands or the cost they paid, for the magic of that magnitude always demands a steep price.

With his family gone, Valerian was the last living being in all of Eldoria. He wandered the desolate lands, searching for any trace of the dragons, but found none. Despair often drove him to contemplate ending his life. What purpose was there in living when he had no one to share it with? Then, one night, an idea struck him, an idea that gave birth to the mortal civilization we know today.

In the aftermath of the dragons' disappearance, more and more avians were banished, following Valerian's footsteps, and began inhabiting Eldoria as the first mortals. From these mortals, Valerian created others. First came the fey, then the elves, and finally humans. These founding races gave rise to many others. How Valerian accomplished this or what happened to him afterward remains unknown, but with an eternity before me, I have ample time to uncover the truth.