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A cold gust rattled the shutters of Zephyr's little caretaker dorm. Faint moonlight shone through the single cracked pane, stretching silver fingers over the black-scale egg on his bed.
The shell glimmered like a night sky caught in glass matte jet streaked with thread-thin lines that shimmered violet whenever lantern light brushed them.
Fenna's breath misted as she stood beside the bed, one hand pressed to her chest. "It is beautiful," she whispered. "But… We have to hide it. No one can know we have an egg."
Zephyr nodded, heart still hammering from his climb through forgotten tunnels. "I will build a nest for it in the old furnace chamber. The stones stay warm, and most students never go there."
He also thinks, "What do you mean by we? Why are you acting like it's our baby or something?"
Zephyr tore his gaze from the egg to him. Candlelight warmed the gold in his hazel eyes. "Promise me you will not tell a single soul."
"I promise." Fenna placed two fingers over her lips, then touched them to his (zephyr) in a solemn gesture they had used as children. "Our secret is sealed. I feel so excited."
She blushed but did not pull back. "I will bring supplies. Herbs that hold heat and mask scent. Straw soft enough to keep cracks from spreading." Her voice softened. "You always carried my hopes, Zeph. Now I'll carry yours too."
A gentle warmth rose in his cheeks. "Fenna… thank you."
"I trust you," she said. "More than anyone." Her thumb brushed a smear of dirt from his cheek. "And I think… one day this egg will trust you too."
For a heartbeat they simply looked at one another, silence deep as snow all around. Then Fenna stepped back, eyes shining. "Hide it now. I will check on you at dawn. I must return to my dormitory." She slipped out, cloak fluttering like a green leaf in moonlight.
Zephyr closed the door, leaned against the timber frame, and exhaled long and low. The room smelled of straw, dust, and faint sparks of an ancient scent of something about to be born.
He turned the egg carefully, studying every swirl and fleck. A warm wave washed through his palms, meeting the pulse beneath the shell. The sound felt like a quiet drum echoing from his soul.
A chime rang inside his skull.
[Ding! Bound Beast System Notice- Incubation Aura detected. Egg integrity holding. Blood-line resonance is increasing. The host has reached the reawakening threshold. Without reawakening the host can't tame this beast.
Begin Second Awakening?
Yes/No ]
He remembered the day of his first awakening: the dull brown glow, laughter ringing as if it would never end, shame clinging like wet clay to his skin. For weeks he had carried that shame everywhere, a stone in his pocket weighing down every dream.
Now an egg of unknown power pulsed in his room. And inside his chest, heat moved like a second heartbeat. It was slow, steady, and patient.
"I will not fail this time, he told himself. I will not remain weak. I will rewrite my fate."
Zephyr's breath caught. His first awakening had been public and humiliating. This time it was just him, the egg, and the System.
"What skill will I receive if I accept?" he whispered.
[Ding! System notifications: Skill selection is random inside lineage limits. Your Tamer blood ensures a minimum A-rank ability, with probability scaling toward your potential.]
A thrill shot through him. Even an A-rank would raise him far above caretaker status. But the voice of doubt echoed: "What if disappointment returns?"
He straightened his shoulders. "Even the lowest result will be more than I had. And I have an egg to protect." He drew a slow breath. "System please… Begin Second Awakening."
Golden light burst outward, bright and silent. It wrapped him in swirling ribbons that smelled of cedar smoke and cold starlight. Power streamed through every vein, warm, singing, alive. Memories not his own flashed behind his eyes:
A boy in silver armor standing before a mountain of kneeling wyverns.
A girl with violet hair riding a pearl-winged serpent across two suns.
A ring of ancient tamers chanting as a dragon the size of a castle bowed its crowned head.
The vision fractured into a thousand shards of dawn. Light snapped back into his chest like water sucked into deep earth. He collapsed to one knee, gasping, palms planted on the cold floorboards.
A new window glowed in the air.
[Ding! System notifications: Second Awakening Complete.
Skill Gained: SSS-Rank Dragon Tamer.
Description: Forge a permanent soul link with any draconic life-form. Command aura forces lesser dragons to yield or flee. (According to host rank). Soul link strengthens both host and dragon with shared growth. Skill evolves with bond depth.
Passive Upgrade:Beast Feed Cultivation now harmonizes with draconic mana, boosting hatch rate and early growth by 40 %. Soil and growth increase.
Blood-line Purity: 4 % → 8 %
Title Unlocked: Incipient Dragon Sovereign. ]
Zephyr was shocked. His chest heaving, heart blazing like a furnace. SSS-Rank. Not A, not AAA, not even S or SS. The highest tier spoken of only in legends. His hands trembled. Joy spilled as a laugh, then tears glinted in his lashes.
"I am… not worthless," he choked. "I carry the power of god tier tamer."
The black egg pulsed brighter, as if echoing his joy. He wiped his eyes and steadied his breathing. But fear returned, as quick as hope.
"If anyone discovers the egg or my skill now, they will take it. I cannot defend myself yet." He closed the status window and pressed a firm hand to the shell.
"Little one, we stay silent. We grow in the shadows until light is safe."
The egg answered with a faint warm vibration. After his second awakening he can feel the egg life force presence.
He wrapped the egg in Fenna's green shawl and concealed it inside a straw-padded crate. When muffled, the glow barely shone through. He lifted the box and slipped through dorm corridors, past snores and creaking beams, down into the unused basement furnace chamber beneath Wing Two.
Sooty bricks ringed a great stone hearth once used to dry towels. Now only an ember bed glowed. Zephyr fed new logs and crouched until tongues of flame licked high. He set the crate close, arranged fire-bloom petals Fenna had given him around the shell, then sat back, letting Incubation Aura flow.
System: "Optimal temperature reached. Hatch meter: 5 %."
A quiet and slow start… but a start.
Day one: Zephyr woke before dawn. He shoveled fresh coals, added herb bundles to keep scent low, then hurried to Wing Two duties. Wren tasked him with mixing herbs for a molting Flame Viper. All the while, he felt the egg's pulse inside his chest, like a soft drum echoing his heart. Evening check: Hatch 15 %.
Day two: Fenna arrived with a basket of supplies: feather-soft moss, a small warming stone, and a jar of honey cakes. She set them beside the hearth and smiled. "Cakes keep caretakers upright." Zephyr touched her hand in thanks. They talked about herb songs until curfew bell. Hatch 26 %.
Day three: A surprise inspection swept the dorms; guards searched for contraband stimulants. Zephyr's pulse raced. He slipped to the furnace room, lifted the crate, and hid in a broom cupboard while footsteps thudded overhead. He held his breath until the clamor passed. Sweat chilled his back, but the egg stayed warm. Hatch 34 %.
Day four: Callen Dros strutted through Wing Two with his Bristle Fang, boasting of new combat drills. The beast's nostrils flared at the furnace door. Zephyr stepped into its path with a cart of bandages. "Delivery," he muttered. Callen sneered but nudged his cub away. Only when they vanished did Zephyr's knees stop shaking. Hatch 45 %.
Day five: Fenna spent the afternoon break reading by the fire while Zephyr tended the egg. She hummed a lullaby her mother used in herb fields. Silver motes drifted off the shell. Zephyr's hand brushed hers when they shifted the blanket. Electricity leapt up his arm. Fenna's cheeks flushed rose, but she did not move away. Hatch 58 %.
Day six: Snow turned to sleet; water dripped through loose stones. Zephyr patched leaks with old canvas to keep the hearth dry. At midnight faint thuds echoed inside the egg. It was like tiny knocks on a locked door. The system chimed: Heartbeat detected. Imprint link was slowly forming. Hatch 74 %.
Day seven: Shafts of dawn seeped through basement cracks. Zephyr dozed beside the hearth, cloak draped over the crate. A sharp crack split air and dream together. He jerked upright. Fenna, who had arrived before the first bell, grabbed his sleeve, eyes wide.
Another crack. A bright fissure crawled across the shell, releasing violet-silver light. Tiny fragments popped away.
[Ding! System notifications: Hatching in progress. Maintain a calm presence. Imprint window: 60 seconds.]
Zephyr knelt, hands steady, voice soft. "I am here, little star."
The shell burst open. A sleek head like midnight black, flecked with starlight emerged. Two silver eyes blinked, ancient in their wonder. Small wings unfolded, translucent like moonlit glass. The hatchling tumbled onto the moss, roaring a note that rang like crystal.
Golden light leapt from Zephyr's heart, twining with the hatchling in glowing ribbons. Power surged between them. It was warm, deep, as if two halves finally met.
[Ding! System notifications: Imprint complete. Bond Level: Absolute.
Skill 'Dragon Sovereign Bond' fully active.]
A new status line flashed:
[Bonded Beast: Star Scale Dragonling (Infant) Potential: SSS-Rank God-tier. ]
The hatchling climbed into Zephyr's arm, claws were gentle, and pressed its nose to his neck. A soft hum of purr, song, promise, vibrated through his bones. Tears blurred his vision.
Fenna's voice shook with joy. "He chose you."
Zephyr looked at her, then at the beast curled against his collar. "No," he whispered. "We chose each other."
He extended one hand toward Fenna. She placed hers atop, and the dragonling rested a tiny paw against both. A triangle of warmth formed, maybe tamer, or friend bonding. It was small yet unbreakable.
Outside, sleet stilled. Pale sun washed the eastern sky gold. Lowmoor academy's towers looked less like prison walls and more like stepping stones toward the endless sky.
The caretaker boy of yesterday was gone. A Dragon Sovereign had awakened. And the echo of his promise, "I will change my fate and carry on the morning wind, straight into tomorrow."