Long ago, before time was relevant, there were three things.

God, the first demon lord, and then there was a dragon. Well, at first it was nothing. What would eventually form into the form of a dragon was only the product of subtracting reality from itself. It was the void. The space in-between the atoms of the universe.

But then God and the Demon Lord tried to join forces. They merged into one entity, combining angelic and demonic powers into one singular, shared form.

The laws of this reality bent. The very essence of existence was unable to handle the power that the fusion excreted.

So, the void was granted a form. Its form took the shape of a dragon, unlike anything ever seen before.

It's power? Well, it was too great for the two gods to control. As the dragon had been made with only a singular purpose in mind, it knew only rage. Its master deemed it that the dragon had no need for further emotions.

Faced with the immense power of the dragon, God and the Demon Lord both knew what they had to do. They split back into two entities before committing to a combined effort where they sealed the dragon away in a deep sleep.

Reality beckoned. The two gods believed they had made a difference in the struggle but in reality, the dragon was stripped of its consciousness when order was restored. Reality had no more use for the beast.

Yet, the two god’s spells kept the body of the beast in place, anchored to the void from whence it came. The gods believed they had put the creature in a permanent, unending sleep, but this was far from the truth.

The dragon's power was far too much to be simply locked away like the two deities imagined. The body might not have been inhabited by a consciousness, but even without one it was still infinitely powerful.

As if it had a will of its own, the dragon's energy, DNA and power seeped into the living realm. The dimension was forever stained in its draconic aura.

There was only one thing that could end the peace... If the two gods ever were to re-merge, be it voluntarily or not, the dragon’s conscience would be re-awakened.

But that never happened.

Reality eventually lost its interest in the dragon. The body that had lied completely motionless for eons began to crumble away, and with it disappeared all the power it had. All of it became dust on the wind, belonging to no-one.

But the dragons consciousness was still there. It would seem that its will to survive overcame its masters will, and with time it eventually formed into a cohesive form.

That’s what I can remember, anyway.

I was the most powerful at one time, but that was torn away from me.

I should probably start with the first thing I remember.

There was a bright light at the end of a long tunnel of void.

It looked like the doorway to heaven, if memory serves me well.

This was a very curious sight. At the time, I had thought I'd simply have perished and was now granted passage to heaven.

I thought of the different possibilities. Maybe I was being reincarnated? Maybe this was just what it looked like to be in purgatory. There was only one way to find out.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I took a moment to look down at myself, and to my surprise I only saw a bright blue flame where my body should have been. I reckon this must have been my soul.

I looked around the tunnel, and to both my sides there were doors of similar white. Directly to my left and right, there were blue flames standing parallel with me.

I took a step forward, and the blue flames did the same.

I returned my gaze to the white door in front of me. It was glowing with warmth, as if it was inviting me. It felt as if I were to enter that doorway, all my problems would dissolve away. So, I ran.

I ran as fast as my nonexistent legs could take me, And I reached the door.

I stopped briefly, putting a hand on the frame of the door. It felt like the texture of void. It was a texture I knew all too well.

Well, here we go, I guess. All the blue flames entered the doorways simultaneously alongside me, and as soon as I stepped into the blinding white light, the doors slammed shut behind me.

That is what I can remember. The rest is a blur... besides when I awoke in my egg.

“300 for that dragon egg!”

I heard a muffled voice.

“300? Are you crazy? Any other schmuck would pay tenfold!”

Another similarly muffled voice made itself heard. This time it was feminine.

I’m guessing they were talking about me. So, I am in a dragon egg? Interesting.

“5000.”

Yet another voice was heard in the room. It was confident and deep, and it sounded dangerous.

“Deal.”

I felt a soft shake. They must be moving me.

This is different. When I was made, I was already a fully grown dragon. I’ve never been a hatchling before, yet alone be an unborn dragon. The thought excited me, however the thought of growing up with no parents to guard me was... less ideal than I could have hoped for.

I tried to focus on moving my limbs again, but I found that I still could not. I was able to move my focus around my body though, as if I was moving a magnifying glass around, inspecting myself. As I moved my focus around, the piece of my body I focused on became more defined, and I eventually got a good idea of how I looked.

I suddenly felt my egg come to a screeching halt as I'm guessing the person holding me put me down. The voice spoke from the outside, with the same dangerous tone from earlier.

“Grow strong, little dragon. I have big plans for you.”

Sure, whatever.

Time went by, rather slowly. I could only focus on the minor things, like when I eventually was able to open my eyes. Though unsurprisingly, it was very dark, and I still couldn’t even move my limbs. I still had no clue where I even was. When I eventually hatch, Will I emerge into a cage? In the wilderness? Or somewhere else entirely? I have no clue.

Thankfully dragon eggs are near indestructible to normal mortal beings. There are very few reports of mortals cracking an egg. That’s not to say it’s never happened though, so I had every right to be worried.

There was a sharp metallic sound coming from somewhere outside my egg, like a steel mallet was thrown onto the ground.

“Shit! That almost hit the egg!”

I instantly became much wearier of my surroundings. This is not a place for a developing dragon fetus to be.

I focused on my hind legs, feeling the muscles that were still developing under my skin. I felt I could almost control them, and I tried to move my toes.

They moved, ever so slightly. All right, so I can run with two of my legs at least. How about my front legs?

I moved my focus upward, slowly surveying through my pelvis, spine and ribcage. My heart was beating with desire. The desire to be free.

My focus moved to my front ligaments. The biceps, triceps and finally my paws. They were all strong, I'm guessing they were stronger than any usual hatchling’s should be at my age.

Dragons can't survive if our eggs are broken by someone that isn’t ourselves. If we get assistance in any way from an outside source, we drown in our eggs.

I felt anger building up inside me. I may not know what element of dragon I am yet, but it appears my breath attack is ready to be unleashed.

However puny it may be at this age.

“Hatchling. Calm down.”

I snapped out of my trance-like state at the sudden sound of the man’s voice again.

“I can see your egg shaking, you know.”

Hmph. As if you knew anything about dragons.

There was a soft shake as my egg appeared to be moved by the man that was my current “guardian”.

“You may not be able to see the outside world now, and you probably don’t trust me. I mean, how could you? All you’ve ever known is being sold at an auction and almost having a steel mallet smash your egg. To be honest, I'm not even sure you’re conscious yet. I have no idea if I'm talking to a fetus or if you’re able to hear my voice now.”

Well, I can hear you loud and clear.

I felt another thump, as I'm guessing that my egg was placed onto the floor yet again.

“I must warn you, little one, what you’ll see when you hatch is probably going to surprise you.” the man sighed, petting my egg carefully. “I need to make some food now, but I just want you to know that we’re not as different as you may think.”

A light warmth enveloped my egg.

I didn’t even notice before now, but it was actually pretty cold in the egg. I’m guessing he probably put a blanket over me. I paid my regards to the man mentally and heard footsteps walking away.

Maybe I can stay here in the egg a little longer...