The remains of the stone beast lay scattered across the clearing, its once-massive form now reduced to piles of rubble. Talon stood in the midst of the debris, his heart still pounding from the intensity of the fight. The faint glow of the creature’s core, now extinguished, left an eerie calm in the air.

Lyra hovered beside him, her breath shaky but steadying with each exhale. She stared down at the scattered stones, her pink scales glistening with sweat. “What was that thing?” she asked, her voice still tinged with disbelief.

“I don’t know,” Talon replied, still trying to make sense of what had just happened. “But whatever it was, it wasn’t something we were ready for.” He looked over at Lyra, seeing the fatigue in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

Lyra nodded, though her movements were stiff. “I think so. Just… a little rattled.”

Talon understood. The creature had come out of nowhere, its sheer size and strength overwhelming for two juvenile dragons. But what bothered him more was the energy he had felt during the fight. It was as though something deep inside him had awakened, something powerful and dangerous.

“I felt… different,” Talon muttered, more to himself than to Lyra. He flexed his claws, still remembering the surge of energy that had coursed through him when he had struck the beast’s core. “Like something inside me unlocked.”

Lyra looked at him, her expression curious but concerned. “What do you mean?”

Talon hesitated. He wasn’t entirely sure how to explain it. There had been a moment during the battle, just before he delivered the final blow, where he felt a surge of power—something primal and elemental. It was as if the energy from the void, the dragon souls he had absorbed, had sparked inside him.

“I felt something… from the void,” Talon said slowly. “Like the energy I absorbed when I was still… dead. It’s like part of that power woke up.”

Lyra’s eyes widened. “You mean the dragon souls you absorbed?”

Talon nodded. “Yeah. It’s like I’m starting to feel them now. Like they’re becoming a part of me.”

They stood in silence for a moment, the implications sinking in. The Mother of Dragons had told them they would need to grow, to unlock their potential as dragons. But Talon hadn’t realized that the power within him—those broken dragon souls he had consumed—was slowly waking up.

Lyra stepped closer, her gaze thoughtful. “Do you think… that’s what helped us beat that thing?”

“Maybe,” Talon said, flexing his wings. “But I don’t fully understand it yet. It felt like my strength increased, but it was more than that. It was like I could sense its weakness, like I just knew where to strike.”

Lyra frowned, her tail swishing behind her. “That sounds… powerful. But dangerous, too.”

Talon nodded. He wasn’t sure how to control it, and that worried him. The last thing he wanted was to unleash a power he didn’t understand and hurt someone—especially Lyra. “We’ll need to be careful. I don’t want to rely on something I can’t control.”

“Agreed,” Lyra said, her voice steady again. “But if that kind of power is inside you, perhaps it’s part of what makes you… different. Stronger.”

Talon met her gaze, the weight of her words settling over him. He had known from the moment he had been reborn as a dragon that he was different. The void had changed him, and the power of those dragon souls lingered within him, waiting to be unlocked.

But what did that make him?

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The rest of the day passed quietly. After their battle with the stone creature, Talon and Lyra returned to the cave to regroup and plan their next steps. The air was tense, the strange quiet of the island lingering around them like a shroud.

“We need to learn more about this place,” Talon said as they sat near the entrance of the cave, watching the sun set over the horizon. “We don’t know what else is out there, and we can’t afford to be caught off guard again.”

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Lyra nodded in agreement. “But where do we start? It’s not like we have a map of the island.”

Talon thought for a moment, scanning the landscape below. The floating island was vast, with dense forests, cliffs, and waterways they had yet to explore. But there was something else—something far in the distance that caught his eye. A faint glimmer, barely visible in the fading light.

“There,” he said, pointing toward the horizon. “Do you see that?”

Lyra squinted, following his gaze. “What is that? A temple or something?”

“I don’t know,” Talon said, his wings twitching with anticipation. “But it’s the only thing on this island that stands out. It could be something important.”

Lyra tilted her head, considering. “A landmark, maybe? A place to train?”

“Possibly,” Talon replied. “But if it’s anything like the stone creature, it could be dangerous.”

Lyra smiled faintly. “Dangerous seems to be the theme here.”

Talon chuckled, though the weight of their situation was still heavy on his mind. “We should check it out tomorrow. If there’s anything here that can help us understand this place, it’s worth the risk.”

Lyra agreed, and they spent the rest of the evening preparing for the journey. They would need to conserve their strength, gather resources, and plan for whatever might be waiting for them on the other side of the island.

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That night, as Talon lay in the cave staring up at the ceiling, his mind wandered back to the power he had felt during the fight. It had been exhilarating, but it had also scared him. He could feel the weight of those dragon souls inside him, each one carrying its own memories, its own strength. They were all a part of him now, and as he grew, they would become even stronger.

But what did that mean for him? Was he still Talon, or was he becoming something else—something more?

He closed his eyes, trying to push the thoughts away. There would be time to figure that out later. For now, they had a journey ahead of them.

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The next morning, Talon and Lyra set out early. The island was quiet as they flew across the skies, the wind cools against their scales. Below, the landscape stretched out in all directions—forests, rivers, cliffs, and mountains. It was a beautiful but dangerous place, and every shadow seemed to hide some unseen threat.

As they neared the distant glimmer they had seen the night before, Talon’s pulse quickened. The structure ahead was massive, ancient, and overgrown with vines and moss. It stood in the middle of a valley, its stone walls towering over the surrounding forest. Talon could see intricate carvings along the edges of the walls, worn down by time but still visible enough to make out their dragon-like shapes.

“A temple,” Lyra murmured as they landed near the entrance. “It has to be.”

Talon stepped forward cautiously, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of danger. The place felt old, ancient even, as if it had been here for centuries, forgotten by the world. The air was thick with an energy he couldn’t quite place, a sensation that made the scales along his back prickle.

“I don’t like this,” Lyra said, her voice low. “It feels… off.”

Talon couldn’t argue with that. The power that radiated from the temple was strange, almost unnatural. But something drew him toward it, a pull he couldn’t ignore.

“Let’s take a closer look,” he said, moving toward the entrance.

The massive stone doors of the temple loomed before them, half-open, as though waiting for them to enter. Talon hesitated for a moment, then stepped inside.

The interior of the temple was vast, with high ceilings and intricate stone pillars that stretched toward the sky. Faded murals covered the walls, depicting dragons in battle, wielding the elements with fearsome power. The air inside was thick and stale, but there was something else—a faint hum of energy that vibrated through the ground beneath Talon’s claws.

At the centre of the room stood a large pedestal, and atop it was a single glowing orb, pulsating softly with a blue light.

Talon’s heart raced. He recognized that light.

“A dragon soul,” Lyra whispered, her eyes wide.

Talon stepped closer to the pedestal, the pull of the orb drawing him in. The energy it radiated was powerful, ancient. He could feel the same presence he had felt in the void—an echo of the dragons he had consumed.

But this one was different. It was whole.

As he reached out, the orb pulsed, sending a wave of energy through him. He gasped, the power rushing into his body, filling him with a familiar yet overwhelming sensation.

And then, it spoke.

“Talon,” the voice echoed in his mind. “You are the one who will awaken us. But be warned—power comes with a price.”

Talon’s vision blurred as the energy surged through him, unlocking something deep within. He could feel the dragon’s essence merging with his own, its power becoming his.

And then, just as quickly as it had started, the energy faded. The orb was gone, its light extinguished.

Talon staggered back, breathing hard. His heart pounded in his chest, his mind reeling from the experience.

“What just happened?” Lyra asked, her voice shaking.

Talon steadied himself, his eyes glowing faintly with the remnants of the dragon soul’s power. “I don’t know,” he said, his voice low. “But I think… I just unlocked something.”

He looked at his claws, feeling the new strength pulsing through them. The dragon souls inside him were waking up, one by one.

And this was only the beginning.

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End of Chapter 6.