She blinked.

Ignis, the great dragon, was surprised upon seeing a pair of human hands after waking. A disturbing sight, for the clawless fingers were shaped and wriggled like worms. Why are they so big? she wondered. Did a giant human come while I was sleeping and leave their hands behind? Why would they do this? Wait, they’re not detached, they’re attached to something. Ignis shifted her attention slowly but surely: from the fingers to the palm, then to the wrist, then to the arm, and then to… herself?!

She willed the fingers to move, and they did. Those hands were undoubtedly hers!

‘What happened to my claws?!’ Ignis let out her surprise. ‘And why do I sound different?’ Her voice was more high-pitched and less loud. Like a human.

Something was terribly wrong. She could tell.

‘I need to fly to the lake and check myself.’ Her reflection would show on the calm water and then she could get to the bottom of this. Ignis spread her wings—or at least attempted to, but she couldn’t feel them on her back. They were missing. ‘I’ll go to the lake by land then.’ She moved her back limbs, but they felt different. Smaller, thinner, and unfamiliar. Due to the uncoordinated movement, Ignis lost her balance and slipped, falling down the mountain of gold coin which was her bed. Each tumble hurt. A lot. What happened to my protective scales??

When she reached the bottom with a splat, her body ached all over, her head was spinning, and her vision was crowded with darkness. Falling from the clouds was less painful than this, even though that should have been higher!

‘What happened to me?’ Tears welled in her eyes. Ignis didn’t like this. Not at all.

As the darkness that crowded her vision cleared away, in the corner of her eyes, she noticed a slight movement. Ignis looked to the side and saw a female human with blade-like horns on her head, bare without any clothes.

‘Human!’ Ignis said. ‘What are you doing in my home? I did not allow you to be here!’ She pointed at the human with her new hand and the human pointed back at her. At the exact same time. Something was off. Wait a second…

Ignis raised her right hand; the human raised her left hand. She pointed to her left; the human pointed to her right. She moved her right hand; the human moved her left hand. It can’t be…

She widened her scope of vision instead of focusing on the human. To which, she saw a rectangle frame surrounding the human. Ignis had been staring at a mirror.

‘I… I… I’ve become a human?!?!’

***

‘Ouch!’ Ignis fall on soft grass. How do humans walk with 2 limbs?? It’s so imbalanced! She pushed the ground to stand up, but not finding the right balance, she fell. ‘I hate this! I hate this so much! Ugh…’

Confused about her current situation, she had left the cave where she resided and had chosen to take a walk through the surrounding forest to clear her mind. However, far from achieving the effect that she hoped for, she was overwhelmed by everything. The forest was different now, even though it was still the same. The trees which had been insignificant to her, which she had trampled upon her wake, were now huge. They obstructed her vision and erased her tracks. Safe to say, she was lost right now.

‘What happened to me?’ she uttered, not having an answer to that question.

The human body is so uncomfortable. Everything is huge, walking is difficult, my scales are gone, and I get cold so easily! Before leaving the cave, she had opted to clothe herself with what was in her place: a purple kimono which had been given to her as an offering by humans. When she had received it before, she laughed at that, thinking that she would find no use for it. She wished that remained true. Anyway, she was now clothed with a kimono which she tied haphazardly, for she knew not how knot worked.

‘Come on, Ignis,’ she told herself. ‘You’re the great fire dragon. This is hardly anything. I can get through this and regain my dragon form. I know I can!’

She pushed the ground to stand up, but not finding the right balance—again, she fell.

‘I hate this body!!’

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***

Ignis walked through the forest, eyes on the ground to avoid stumbling on rocks and falling. Not that the method was foolproof, as sometimes she would still trip on her own legs. That was just how difficult walking was to her. Regardless, she was falling less often when she kept her eyes on the ground.

The walk inside the forest was meant to be a refresher. So that she could think and figure out what her next move should be. However, truth be told, she was lost and couldn’t find her way back to the cave. The walk which was supposed to be relaxed and peaceful had now turned into a labyrinth trial. One that was on a high level of difficulty because she was small and because she had a hard time walking.

When I get back to the cave, I’ll get to the bottom of this!

‘I’m the great fire dragon, I can—'

‘It’s a horned bear!!’

A shout interrupted her self-encouragement. Sounded like a man in terror.

Although Ignis couldn’t tell where she was inside the forest, she could still track the sound and approach the source. The human body had ears, thankfully. Ignis couldn’t quite imagine living without them.

She went through some bushes and finally saw herself a wooden caravan. Some of the horses were dead one the ground and some of the wheels were broken to pieces. There were a few knights in iron armor, some had been mauled and were critical on the ground.

The horned bear roared, shaking the forest.

Ignis took a look at the bear which had a single spiral horn on its head. In her current form, the bear seemed large. Seemed to be stronger than she was. Seemed to be dangerous. Seemed threatening.

The great fire dragon scared because of a bear? That was unbecoming of her. However, her fear was real.

After all, she knew how fragile a human body was. Small, clawless, and scaleless.

I should let the humans settle their own affairs. It’s their fault to have ventured into the forest to begin with.

Ignis turned away, about to leave them—

‘Help!’

A shout, the same high-pitched voice as current her, stopped Ignis from leaving.

‘Please! Someone! Anyone!’

Hearing that, although she knew she must not, Ignis glanced over her shoulder. Near the caravan, she saw a girl who had similar physique to herself, kneeling beside a person who was dying.

‘Please save my father!’

She was begging with tears dripping down her cheek.

If only I’m in my dragon form! Ignis thought. If she were in her dragon form, she would help them upon seeing this, but what could she possibly do now as a human? With how weak she was right now, if she were to step in, there was a good chance that she would die. The law of nature was right. It’s survival of the fittest.

‘Run!!’

One of the knights was mauled by the bear. His iron armor meant nothing against that claw. If their armor did nothing for their defense, then surely the scaleless Ignis wouldn’t stand a chance.

The bear glanced at the girl. She kept on begging for help, making sounds, which the bear took as a threat. It went on four limbs and went on a charge toward her.

I—I can’t help them!

Yet, despite thinking that, Ignis found herself running into the bear’s path.

What am I doing?! I can die from this!

She stood between the bear and the girl. The horn would kill her if she were to be rammed by it.

Curses. All because I’m fond of humans.

‘It’s do or die.’

Ignis formed a fist, then blazing flames erupted. She might be a human now, but it seemed that she could still use her magic rather fine. She wasn’t the great fire dragon for nothing!

Ignis twisted her torse, winding up, then threw a right straight.

‘Fire punch!!’ she shouted.

Her fist met against the horn. As soon as the two made contact, the horn boiled instantaneously from the heat. The bear couldn’t stop its charge, and kept on rushing forward, boiled away by the intense heat that her flame punch was creating.

The bear boiled away, leaving only a few remains that had become liquid behind.

‘How’s that!!’ Ignis shouted, elated by her victory. ‘Serves you right for charging me!!’ The adrenaline was rushing to her head. ‘Do you really think that a lowly creature like you could stand a chance against me, Ignis, the—’

Ignis felt intense pain. Her right arm hurt.

She glanced toward it and noticed that her right arm was scalding from the heat of her flame.

‘Ouch! It hurts! It hurts!!’

Ignis lost her balance, fell, then began rolling frantically on the grass.

How did she burn herself from a flame that she would’ve considered puny? She had dealt with greater flames before!

She didn’t like this. Not at all. She had to regain her true form quickly, because…

‘The human body is so inconvenient!!’