Vulgaris was silent, pondering this information deeply. Finally, he nodded, realizing the importance of what had been said.

“Are you saying that the meat would have been even tastier if the animals had had something to eat on the way here?”

“Exactly. Two-thirds of the herd died of hunger on the way, and those who survived were on the verge of starvation.”

“What or who prevented the animals from maintaining their strength? I do not understand.”

“The trees in the forest do not put out their leaves, fearing to be burned. The grass hides underground for fear of you, dragons. All living things tremble before your wrath.”

Vulgaris looked at me with distrust, as if I was telling him a story that was not at all funny.

“Hey!” he called sharply to one of his servants. It was a tall man, his face bore the marks of many years of service. Vulgaris related our conversation to him, and the servant nodded fearfully, confirming every word.

“And how can I fix this?”

“Cancel Pyronax’s order. He is younger than you and, despite his hot nature, is unlikely to dare to oppose you. This will improve the quality of the food that ends up on your table and perhaps bring life back to this dying forest.”

Vulgaris strained, his eyes widened wildly, and I thought he was suffering from gas. The dragon opened his toothy mouth and screamed,

“By the power given to me by this planet, I cancel Pyronax’s order. Everything that can grow — let it grow! Everything that can bloom — let it bloom! There will be no punishment!”

The dragon’s loud cry filled the space with the house, spilling out. The servants seized with horror, fell to the floor, and several glass jugs shattered into small pieces. Vulgaris’s scream rolled across the entire country like a powerful sound wave, making the earth tremble. People froze in fear because it is not every day that one hears such deafening sounds. Plants and trees, at first not believing in what was happening, began to cautiously react to the changes.

A few hours after the scream, the brave, and perhaps impatient, forest giants covered with bark began to awaken. At first, as if by magic, thin green buds began to appear from them, trembling with new life. Soon, delicate greenery, like a magic blanket, filled the lifeless space of the steppes, forests, and mountains.

Grassy carpets spread out underfoot, flowers blossomed, and the world was filled with bright colors and aromas. The forest and fields began to come to life, as if nature and magic themselves responded to Vulgaris’s command, once again filling the earth with life and beauty.

Meanwhile, dinner continued. I was full and didn’t know what to do with myself. Looking at the chomping Vulgaris, I asked him,

“Tell me something about yourself. Anything you want. I’m tormented by simple human curiosity.”

The dragon burped contentedly, filling the room with a stench, looked at me thoughtfully, and then sighed. His gaze suddenly warmed, and he fell silent for a moment as if collecting his thoughts.

“You know,” he began, his voice sounding a little embarrassed, “as a child, I wasn’t the luckiest dragon. My first attempts at flying… oh, that was something! I have wings, of course, but apparently, coordination of movement is not my strong point.”

He smiled, remembering the past, and continued:

"Every time I got tangled in my wings, instead of soaring majestically into the sky, I crashed into everything. I was constantly walking around with my face smeared with dirt. One day, after another unsuccessful flight, when I found myself on the ground again, I suddenly had a thought: “Why fly at all? You can move around on the ground, too.”

And I came up with my way — to move on foot, comically jumping on my short legs. The elder dragons laughed at me, and I was just glad that I found a way to move without smashing my face on every rock.

I found his story funny. I imagined a huge lizard comically jumping on its short legs.

“Maybe Vulgaris is not so bad. People tend to label everyone. He does not fly. He sits in a cave, only eating. Furthermore, he listened to my advice and canceled Pyronax’s order. Maybe it’s worth making friends with him.” However, the dragon’s next story threw me into confusion, and I immediately destroyed the sympathy that had arisen:

“When we found ourselves in this country, Pyronax and Cryonax took advantage of their advantage. They flew wherever they wanted. They found this remote place and brought people here for construction. My mother and I had to walk to the future home. At first, I moved very carefully, without destruction or casualties. But then, I got bored and decided to go straight ahead. Through fields and forests, villages and towns. The peasants’ houses crunched under my paws. Frightened people ran in different directions. If they had time. It was funny. Then I purposefully moved through residential areas, scaring insignificant people.”

"You said - "if people managed to run away at that moment?! What happened when they didn't have time? Old people? Little children?"

“Have you ever stepped on a bug? How funny it crunches!” — the dragon shook as if in a fit. He was shaking with laughter.

I wanted to tear the hated creature into small pieces. I could restrain myself from attacking Vulgaris again.

My mind was clouded with anger. Every word Vulgaris said echoed in my head, filling it with a pulsating, all-consuming, hateful noise. At first, I felt something like pity for him, a tiny spark of sympathy. But now this spark turned into a furious fire, ready to burn everything in its path.

“If people had the chance…” — his words sounded like bells announcing the end, ringing in my ears. How could he say this with such cold-bloodedness, with such cruel pleasure? Every mention of crunching bones, of panic, of the fear he had caused, sent a wave of rage with me that was unstoppable. His laughter, that vile, compassionless laughter, made me cringe inside. I felt the anger welling up in me, rising from my very core, squeezing my chest, robbing me of air.

My body tensed every muscle fiber screaming for action, for the urge to tear Vulgaris to shreds. But I held myself back, holding the rage in check like a beast on a chain. If I let myself give in to it, I might not turn back.

I sucked in a breath, trying to push away the images his words had conjured up in my mind. The dragon noticed my change in mood, but, as always, interpreted it in his way:

“After a good meal, I always feel sleepy. By the way, a room with a soft bed has been prepared for you. If you want, I can send a girl for the night. One of those that Laverna didn’t have time to eat.”

“And when are you going to rest? You’ve had quite a beating today.” I tried to sound casual.

“Yes,” Vulgaris scratched his muzzle with a clawed paw, “but the new dish turned out so delicious that I can’t get enough.”

“Well, eat your fill,” I grinned, holding back a satisfied grin. “I still have many recipes in stock.”

A malicious satisfaction was boiling inside me. I knew that in a couple of hours, the magic spell cast on the meat would lose its power, and those pieces that now seemed small would return to their true, enormous size. I wonder how Vulgaris would cope with such a surprise? Who would he look like after lunch, which had turned into dinner, turned into a real feast trap?

I was taken to a small but cozy room, in which the only furniture was a bed. The floors and walls of the room were decorated with the furs of wild animals. It served as a bedroom for one servant, and it was draped only. It is unlikely that Vulgaris received guests in the guise of people.

Having fallen onto the bed, I fell asleep instantly. So it seemed to me. The events of the last days, hours, and minutes are mixed into one indigestible dish, throwing ugly and unrelated images into the subconscious. For some time I felt light dizziness, nausea, and pain in my arms and legs. Then darkness fell upon me.

Vulgaris, left alone, continued to feast. He had already eaten three times more than usual, and still, the long-awaited satiety did not come. The dinner ended with the dragon’s steward, embarrassed and apologetic, turning to him and saying that all the cattle that had been brought in had been cooked and eaten by Vulgaris.

The dragon looked angrily at the servant.

“Order a new batch to be brought in by morning, I want to have a hearty breakfast.”

“My lord, you have eaten a week’s supply of meat…”

“It is none of your business how much and what I have eaten,” the dragon rudely interrupted the man. “You must unquestioningly carry out what I order you to do.”

The servant bowed obediently and left the dragon. He understood that his lord was in danger of trouble from the new tenant, but he did not know what he could do. Vulgaris continued to devour the meat, greedily tearing it with his sharp teeth. It seemed that he could not get enough until he suddenly felt a strange sensation in his stomach. Satiation came abruptly as if someone invisible had cut the magical thread that supported his hunger. Vulgaris stopped, feeling how his stomach began to expand, becoming heavier and heavier with each passing moment.

“What is happening?” — flashed through his mind when his stomach began to fill with heaviness as if he had swallowed a stone. He tried to burp the meat to free himself from this terrible pressure, but it was all in vain — nothing came out, only the gagging tormented him even more.

“What is wrong with you, lord?” — the servant asked anxiously, seeing how the dragon was suffering, convulsively clenching his claws on the stone floor. He came closer, trying to somehow help.

Vulgaris shook his head sharply, his breathing becoming ragged and uneven. Each breath was agony as if his insides were being torn apart. The servant, realizing the severity of the situation, frantically attempted to help—casting a spell, performing a magical gesture, even offering a potion—but nothing worked. It was all in vain; the curse continued its relentless assault.

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A dragon's roar shattered the silence as Vulgaris felt his body begin to fail. He collapsed onto his side, his stomach swelling with an unbearable heaviness that threatened to tear him apart from within. His breathing grew hoarse, and his vision blurred. The servant, desperate to save him, tried everything in his power, but it was futile—the very magic that had once granted Vulgaris strength was now leading him to his doom.

With each passing moment, Vulgaris could feel his life slipping away. He summoned what little strength he had left, desperately trying to vomit up the cursed meal, but it was no use. The pain engulfed him, and with every heartbeat, the dragon knew that the end was near. Vulgaris let out one final, anguished roar, the sound echoing through the empty halls, before his eyes dimmed and his massive body crashed to the floor, swallowed by darkness.

I fell asleep, but even in my dreams, peace eluded me. Dark visions tormented me like shadows pursuing a hapless victim. I saw myself during a raging fire, flames tearing apart the ground, and people lost in panic, unsure where to turn. I reached out to them, but each time they slipped through my fingers, and the dragon Vulgaris, with his immense strides, relentlessly crushed everything in his path. His heavy paws pounded the earth, and the sound drowned out the cries, helplessness, and fear of the people. All my efforts were in vain.

When I awoke, I lay in silence, my heart pounding and my thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. My desire to destroy Vulgaris and his kind had spurred me to action, but now I saw that this thirst for revenge did not make me a better person. Instead, it was plunging me into darkness, stripping me of reason and compassion. I wondered if my hatred for dragons was becoming the very force that was undermining what I sought to protect.

Perhaps it was the fear of my reflection in these nightmarish visions that troubled me. Perhaps it was the realization that my hatred could consume me as it consumed everything around me. If I became like the enemies I so fiercely despised, what would be left of me?

The visions continued to torment me, and in each one, I saw my own shadow becoming part of the destruction I was trying to halt. In the dragon’s eyes, I suddenly saw a reflection of my struggle, the same abyss into which one could fall if one surrendered to anger and hatred.

Lying in the silence of my room, I sank into a deep despair. My thoughts churned restlessly, like storms raging outside my walls. I silently prayed for help, turning to Oceania, the great sorceress, for guidance. I awaited her response, her wisdom, and her strength to navigate this endless labyrinth of doubt and fear.

“Why, when I need advice or even just a hint, do I hear only silence? Help me, speak to me!” I implored, but Oceania’s silence remained cold and unyielding, like a block of ice over my soul. Her absence felt like an additional burden pressed upon me. I lay on the bed, unaware that something terrible was unfolding, hidden from my view.

My inner world was shrouded in darkness, and I had no inkling that while I wrestled with my conscience and struggled to understand my desire for revenge, the dragon Vulgaris was already suffering in excruciating agony. I could not sense his pain, nor did I realize that his suffering was a direct result of the decisions I had made and the actions that followed.

The step I feared to take had already been taken. The bridges I had built to connect myself to something greater than my fears and hatreds had been burned. I realized that not only had I confronted my inner demons, but my actions had also led to the destruction of everything that could have kept me on the right path. My decisions had brought an end to my quest for salvation and redemption.

Now, I lay in silence, only the awareness of the gravity of my actions and the destruction they had caused weakening my spirit. I was alone with thoughts of how I had arrived at this point, unaware that my struggle for truth and justice had led me to become part of an unending chain of suffering and destruction.

To distract myself from these heavy thoughts and dark reflections, even momentarily, I began to recall the entrance to the Dragon’s Lair. The scene, once bright and full of contrasts, now seemed distant and almost surreal, like a dream. I remembered the guards, majestic and formidable, standing at the entrance to the Lair, their eyes gleaming with an impenetrable light. Their presence was overwhelming, yet they had allowed me entry, as if oblivious to the danger I posed.

Now, I wondered: would they let me leave? If I survived, would they accept my transformation, my rebirth? Would they submit to me, or would I be forever trapped in this strange and hostile world? My thoughts about how to escape this place grew more insistent with each passing moment.

I had no intention of staying here indefinitely. My friends were waiting for me, likely already worried about my absence, and my beloved Ulia, whose image I clung to as a beacon of hope. I envisioned her face, her eyes filled with concern and love. These images gave me strength and helped me maintain my resolve.

But how could I escape the Dragon’s Lair? How could I find a way out of this labyrinth of fear and doubt? My attempts to envision a path to freedom were met with obstacles, and I felt fear and helplessness beginning to overwhelm me once again.

Maybe there is a way to contact those who own this place, to find a common language with the dragon's servants, or to discover hidden passages? Or maybe the answer lies in my very existence, in how I can use my new abilities and knowledge? I needed to find an answer so as not to become a prisoner of my own choice and to return to those who were waiting for me with open arms.

My thoughts and feelings, mixed in this fog of uncertainty, continued to beat, and I knew that only determination and perseverance would help me find the path to salvation and return home.

Suddenly, I felt that I could solve my problem on my own. After my reincarnation in the egg produced by Laverna, the mother of Vulgaris, I had only two amulets left on me from clothes. One was found in a mysterious cave, the other was a gift that belonged to the King of the Roctopuses. It was undeservedly forgotten and, frankly, I still did not know how it could be useful. I touched it, and the image of the King appeared in my mind. After that, I immediately felt an unknown thread begin to pull my consciousness to the consciousness of the King.

Instead of a dark cave, I found myself in a majestic hall filled with the light of mountain minerals, and the King of the Rocktopus himself appeared before me. I suddenly felt that I was waiting here as a long-awaited guest.

"Welcome!" - his voice thundered, like peals of thunder. - "How happy I am to see you again. How did you end up in such a deplorable state?"

I collected my thoughts and answered:

"I found myself in a difficult situation. My reincarnation left me in this Dragon Lair, surrounded by Guardians. They represent a threatening evil, and I cannot leave this place without going through them. I desire to get out of here, but I see no other way than to bypass the Guardians." The King thought, his tentacles moving slowly as if considering every nuance of the situation.

"The Guardians are indeed a great threat, and simply wanting to leave is not enough in this case. But I can help you."

I felt hope in the King's voice.

"I will send my subjects," the King said, "a dozen of my best assistants who will be able to make an underground passage through the mountains. This passage will allow you to leave the Lair without encountering the Guardians. They will work in secret and create a path that will lead you to freedom."

I opened my eyes and noticed that my head was again filled with anxious thoughts. How difficult it is to go to bed with a full stomach - it always leads to a storm of thoughts and doubts. I wondered how long it would take for the King's subjects to appear in this place. A month? A week? What should I do during this time? With each passing minute, the wait became more and more excruciating.

And then, when I had almost resigned myself to the fact that time was dragging on for me indefinitely, something incredible happened. Part of the wall suddenly began to crumble like sand in an hourglass, and in the resulting opening, I saw a dozen writhing tentacles. They moved with grace and confidence as if they were living beings in themselves, full of purpose and strength.

At that very second, I was overcome by a feeling of amazing joy and relief. I was not alone. My hope and expectation, my requests for help did not go unanswered. This realization became a powerful source of comfort for me. I knew that the support I had given to others had not gone unanswered. It was a moment when the kindness shown by others returns to you, like a cycle that inevitably ends with the return of what you have sown.

How important it is to understand that by helping others, you create something more than just a connection - you build bridges of trust and support that can return help to you in difficult times. Finding myself in this position, I realized that this feeling of unity and mutual support gave me the strength I needed to overcome any obstacles.

I watched as the tentacles disappeared into the doorway, freeing a passage for me, and in this movement, I saw not just help, but confirmation that kindness and compassion matter. It became clear to me that every act of kindness, every step towards others, carries within itself the seeds that will one day grow into something much greater than just an answer to your request. Leaving all doubts in the Lair, I dove into the dark doorway leading me to freedom.