The Man and The Dragon

Location: The Northern Continent

Zone: Unknown

Date: Year 2110 of the Magic Era according to the Archivist

Inside a Huomongus library, So vast and extensive that it stood as the unrivaled titan of all Libraries, An old man was hovering in the middle of the air surrounded by countless books, His eyes were closed and the books seemed to be filling themselves with countless words on their own

The old man didn't look strong or weak, Just average

Honestly, There's nothing remarkable about how he looks, Apart from his yellow hair and eyes which are a rarity, He's just an average-looking being with no special characteristics whatsoever

THUD

Suddenly, All the books around the man slammed shut then disappeared, And the man's eyes shot open

He muttered to himself in a deep voice

"The time has arrived to commence the second phase"

Then he disappeared

The man re-appeared in the middle of the air on top of a Mountain, Then he proceeded to glide south, Toward the Draconic Domain

In a couple of minutes, The man entered the Draconic Domain and continued flying towards the middle of it

He was heading to the Heart of The Domain, The Eroded Peaks

As the man went deeper inside the Domain, More and more Beasts took notice of his existence

All kinds of Beasts, Mammoths, Lizards, Huge birds, Massive turtles, And of course, The supreme rulers of the Domain, The Dragons

Countless beings glanced at the flying man, But the moment they sensed how powerful he was, They quickly averted their gazes and returned to what they were doing

This was something unfathomably more powerful than their entire existence.

Naturally, The man sensed every single being that looked at him, However, He paid it no mind and kept flying to his destination

Soon, The man reached the Eroded Peaks and descended, Landing in front of Five Dragons

The Fire Dragon King

The Ice Dragon King

The Wind Dragon King

The Lightning Dragon Queen

The Ancient Dragon Lord

The Dragons were colossal and covered with scales

The Fire Dragon King's scales were reddish-orange

The Water Dragon King's scales were azure-blue 

The Wind Dragon King's scales were emerald-green

The Lightning Dragon Queen's scales were bluish-white

Their eyes matched their scales in color, and so did their horns

The Ancient Dragon Lord was the biggest among them, And his scales were black, His eyes were of the same color as well, But his horns were red

All the Dragons looked majestic, And the Ancient was the most dignified among them.

The man in the middle of the dragons, Two Kings on each side, and the Lord was in front of him, Each of the Dragons showed a different reaction

The Fire King showed disdain

The Water King showed submission

The Wind King showed boredom

The Lightning Queen showed interest

As for the Lord, He remained neutral

After expressing their feelings, The four Kings spread their wings and took to the skies, Leaving the summit empty except for the man and the Ancient Dragon Lord

After the Kings flew away, The Ancient Dragon Lord's body began to shrink in size, And within a couple of seconds, He shapeshifted into a human form, To an extent at least

He chose to keep his red horns, And his body was covered with black scales, But to him, This looked human enough.

After he was done transforming, The Dragon Lord spoke in a hoarse voice

"Long time no see, Archivist, Or should I call you ... Hegemon"

The Archivist didn't reply, But he waved his hand and two chairs appeared, Then he said

"Have a seat"

The Dragon Lord seemed annoyed

"Hmph, Are you planning to stay here for long?

The Archivist replied nonchalantly while taking a seat

"Not really, But the first step in having a civilized conversation is to sit down"

'Not that I would expect a Beast to understand ...'

The Dragon Lord sat down and asked

"What brings you to my turf?"

The Archivist asked with interest

"First tell me, Have you chosen a name for yourself?"

"I have told you countless times, Such things only matter to humans, Beasts only care about survival and strength! Not such useless concept"

The Archivist lost his interest again and returned to his neutral, nonchalant tone

"I came here with an offer?"

"What is it that you want?"

The Archivist waved his hand and a book appeared

The Dragon Lord glanced at the book and then looked back at the Archivist

"I refuse"

The Archivist sighed

'Such bothersome creatures'

"You didn't hear what I have to offer yet, Nor what I want"

"I don't need to, You've decided to persuade me by showing me what you have to offer first, It must be something troublesome"

"It's not troublesome, It'll simply require you to be a bit modest"

When the Dragon Lord heard that, He grew angry, And his hoarse voice became more rough

"In other words, You want to humiliate the Great Dragons!"

"Now now, Didn't you just claim that Beasts care only about Strength and Survival? Why do you suddenly care about pride?"

The Dragon Lord looked at him with narrowed eyes, But since he couldn't refute, He only kept quiet

The Archivist continued

"I am offering you Strength! Will you dismiss it for a measly concept like pride?"

Hearing that, The Dragon Lord felt intrigued

"What kind of strength are you talking about?"

The Archivist smirked

He now got the Dragon Lord's interest, And he wasn't about to waste this chance

He asked the Dragon Lord a question that hit the nail on the head

"How long has it been since the last Dragon King emerged?"

The Dragon Lord averted his gaze and didn't reply

This matter has been agonizing him for centuries

'It's as if the new generations of Dragons are all weaklings!'

'King Level Dragons no longer emerge ...'

The Archivist took note of his expression and pushed further

"You're aware of the fact that King Level Humans now significantly outnumber King Level Dragons, Right?"

The Dragon Lord looked at him with annoyance and asked

"What are you implying, Archivist?"

The Archivist waved his hands in an exaggerated manner

"Look around you, Look at this massive turf

What would you do if one day the Humans united and decided to exterminate your kin?

It's true that humans eradicate their own kin over useless matters all the time, But what if they united for any reason?

What if they deemed you too dangerous to live?

Or ... What if they decided that the corpses of Dragons are worth uniting for?"

Then The Archivist added with a sinister smile

"Like The Dracocide Era"

The moment the Archivist uttered these words, The atmosphere changed drastically