Slowly the dragon came into view; its scales were dark, way darker than could be natural in the clear light, clearly some magic at play. Because of the apparent darkness, its features were hard to place. Sure, it had wings and a tail, but that was about it; everything else was blurry. As it got closer, the eyes became the last noticeable part. Surprisingly, not black but ember, they scanned the surroundings with a predatory focus, or maybe it was my lizard brain talking.

As his eyes were soon coming upon us, I panicked and jumped to hide behind some wall. This got a chuckle from the orc.

"It can't see us; if it had, it would have spotted me days ago."

The ground trembled beneath my feet as the massive black shape descended from the sky, its shadow blotting out the fading light. The beating of enormous wings filled the air, and the gusts of wind made the air thick with dust, obscuring the view of the dragon.

Still, I had caught a glimpse of his landing, and with the surrounding ruins providing some sense of scale, it was easily three stories tall and as wide as a street. It was one thing to face off random fantasy creatures, but a real, actual dragon was still almost unbeliavable.

I stood still frozen as only the rumble of his growl vibrated through the air. It couldn't be pure coincidence that it landed so near.

Alira was the first to break through the panic. "Are you sure that spell of yours works?"

He didn't look so sure now. "It definitely worked; it's not like I could run around the building in my condition. Maybe the fact that there were three is the cause? My spell was designed for one, and it was created in a rush; I don't even know exactly what it does."

The growl seems to get louder. It could be that we were three, or it was some convoluted plot to kill us by the orc. Anything was possible at this point.

The time for calculated decisions was behind us; we had plenty of time to talk it over in the preceding weeks, and indeed, no solution was good enough. The only hope was that the seed of chaos would activate somehow in the presence of the dragon.

"Alira, keep an eye on him. I'm going to try to lure it away and circle back here," I said.

The look she gave me already told me enough, but she continued, "That's one of the most stupid plans I ever heard, and I've been with you for some time now."

"I'm not going to face it directly, just going to try some things..." I didn't want to give specific details while the orc was hearing everything.

"Fine, be careful," she said.

"Careful is my middle name," I quipped.

I waited for her to roll her eyes and head out but managed to catch a glimpse of the orcs responding, "Is that human humor or part of some weird mating ritual?"

Great, now he felt comfortable enough to make jokes. Still, I had to focus on the task at hand.

With the swirling dust chocking my breath and stinging my eyes, all I could manage was to stumble forward. Each step crunched over broken stone and shattered debris—the remains of a city that didn't really make any sense. Who would build a city in a cave?

So I'm assuming it was just for show; fights did look cool in a devastated city.

The dragon was here somewhere; I could hear the grumbling every now and then, and judging by the increased dust in the air, I was going the right way. The dust hung in the air like a fog, making the ruined city in the dusk light even more like a labyrinth of shifting shadows. Well, dusk might have been the wrong description, as it was a spell of some sort.

As I continued my way through, it had gotten quieter, making me wonder if I had taken a wrong turn and was moving away from it.

I should have had more faith in my bad luck as a roar split the air and somehow scattered the dust, making the dragon visible.

My heart literally pounded in my chest as I realized I was staring up at the massive black dragon; its wings outstretched, blocking the few remaining light rays.

Standing so close, its skin looked almost like glass, shimmering in the light. Its eyes were now fixed on me, and I could swear its iris contracted the moment it saw me.

Maybe it recognized me somehow.I was about to speak, but its maw opened, releasing a torrent of flame. I barely had time to react, but the adrenaline helped me cast my slow time. The world around me slowed, the flames now creeping toward me at a snail's pace. I felt the heat through my shield, so I didn't want to test it against a direct hit.

Diving to the side, I rolled behind a crumbled wall just as the flames reached where I was standing moments earlier.

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Time snapped back to normal as I crouched, my breath coming in quick, shallow gasps. The dragon’s head swiveled, already hunting for me again. I had to act quickly.

Since direct attacks were out, I emerged from my hiding place, putting all my power into a massive quicksand. It was the only good idea I had; maybe I could trap it beneath the earth. Even with magic, it had to breathe, right?

The ground beneath one of the dragon legs began to ripple and shift as the solid stone and dirt turned to a swirling, hungry pool of sand. While it turned its head to look at what had trapped its leg with a flick of my wrist, I poured more power into the spell surging beneath the dragon's feet, and its radius began to increase. The beast roared in surprise as its massive limbs sank into the quicksand, the ground pulling it deeper with every thrash.

For a moment, I thought I had it. The dragon was struggling, sinking up to its thighs. But then, with a powerful beat of its wings, the dragon lifted itself free, dragging its legs from the quicksand as if it were nothing. The gust of wind from its wings knocked up more debris up in the air toward me, and while trying to dodge them, it threw me off balance, and I tumbled backward, barely managing to maintain my footing.

With my one good idea wasted, I went to the more out of the box ones. Since my lightning bolt had been used in the quest so far, maybe it had some weakness to it or something.

I thrust my hands upwards, releasing the lightning bolt. The brilliant arc of electricity shot across the ruins, striking the dragon in the chest. Nothing happened. Well, that would be incorrect; it gave the dragon a clear window of me, and the next moment, fire was again hurled in my direction.

Since it was further than the last time I decided to risk dodging it without the time spell. That was a mistake. The fire clipped my left hand, and pain shot through it. While I could feel the mana shield holding, I could already see first- and second-degree burns forming on my arm.

The adrenaline dulled the pain, making it bearable, and all I could think about was whether the shield had been useless against the dragon or if, without it, my hand would have simply melted.

However, my thoughts were suddenly interrupted as I was propelled sideways by the place I was hiding exploding. All I could see was its tail while I impacted another broken wall.

I cursed under my breath, knowing I had to act quickly. Going on instinct, I slowed time again, dragging everything into slow motion. Even with it, I barely managed to dodge its claws as they emerged from the dust in my direction.

How could something so big be that fast... magic obviously? While I chastised myself for the foolish question wasting me precious moments, I started running from the dragon. I had one more idea to test, but I began to realize that I might have bitten more than I could chew. It was just too fast, and I already used my slow time spell twice; I had maybe one or two uses left.

Still something was weird; I didn't feel any weaker after casting the time dilation spell twice. The last times I used it I actually felt …

My thoughts were once again cut short as the dragon’s attack sent me flying into the debris.

Instinctively, I activated the time spell, barely escaping the flames by a hair. As I released the spell, I realized running was pointless, it was so much faster than me. Turning back, I cast the quicksand spell, hoping to buy myself some breathing room.

This time, the dragon sank slower, struggling against the ground’s pull. I had one more idea—probably the dumbest of them all. Well, maybe not dumb, but it would definitely be awkward if it didn’t work.

I shouted, "Chaos Seed!" and waited, fully expecting something to happen. But nothing. All I did was give the dragon more time to escape, and now it seemed even angrier.

As its tail swung toward me, a quest notification popped up, distracting me from casting the time bubble spell.

This time, I knew something had broken as I was tossed like a ragdoll across the rubble. The shield could only do so much against kinetic force.

I tried to stand, but my hip gave out, sending a surge of pain so intense that I collapsed back to the ground.

The dragon was coming. Panic was beginning to overtake me as I was out of options. Well, my only option was to buy time, so I activated my slow time.

The quest message! Yes, in my confusion, I almost forgot. I concentrated on active quests.

Quest Notification: Find the location of the Forge of the Gods.

Even in the darkest times, hope survives. Well, it also helps to have friends in high places.

Chaos seed consumed.

Reward: You have unlocked a new spell, Chaos Bolt.

Description: By combining an existing spell with the essence coursing through your veins (with a little help from the seed), you can now embed your very own essence into the spell. The spell will bypass all magic resistances.

Warning: The spell is powered by your essence. It has severe consequences for casting. Use it wisely.

Jackpot... Well, there were the consequences, but that was a problem for future Tiberius.

The dragon was now upon me. The time spell had been active long enough for me to finally feel the weakness that was familiar in the past.

Given the description, I didn’t dare risk missing with the spell, especially since I had no idea how fast it would be moving.

With time quickly slipping away, I cast the quicksand spell again. The time dilation spell instantly collapsed, and a wave of exhaustion washed over me. Thankfully, the dragon was perfectly ensnared.

As it was trying to make its way out of it with its wings opening, I shouted "Chaos Bolt" with my hand outstretched.

The Chaos Bolt hurtled through the air, a swirling mass of crackling energy, twisting with colors that shifted unpredictably. It impacted against the dragon’s leg. The force rippled through the creature, arcs of wild magic surging across its scales, like it was distorting reality around it. The dragon screeched in pain, thrashing as patches of its skin flickered uncontrollably at the collision point.

A wave of nausea hit me, and I started coughing, then vomiting blood. Was it from the previous injury or the side effects of the new spell?

Still, I focused on the dragon.

Having been struck in the leg, the dragon collapsed under its own weight when it tried to stand, much like I had.

Its movements, once too fast to follow, became sluggish, its claws and teeth moving as though through thick molasses.

Roaring again, it started beating its wings and gaining altitude. It seemed to try to flee.

I tried to prepare to cast another Chaos Bolt, but it was already in the air, and the spell had traveled kind of slowly. Deciding that a draw was enough for now, I slumped on to the debris.

As the adrenaline faded, I could only hope there were no more threats hidden in the ruins. I could barely stay on my feet, much less walk, and all I had energy for was sleep.

Summoning the last of my strength, I fired a lightning bolt into the sky.