dragon raja

Brother "Brother..." a child's soft voice called out in the dark. *So annoying! Did someone lose their kid?* "Brother," the child called again. *Seriously annoying! Brother? Wrong place!* "Brother... I'm leaving now..." the child said softly, the voice fading away. A pang of guilt hit him. That fading voice sounded so alone, making him picture a receding back, like an abandoned puppy. "Alright, alright! Where do you live? What street, what number? What's your useless brother's name? I'll take you home!" He sat up abruptly. He sat on the floor in sunlight, wearing pristine white clothes like the moon. A white camellia bloomed in a simple pottery vase. Across the table, a pale child in white meticulously worked with an ink brush. *Hey, you didn't leave? Were you tricking me?* he thought, but didn't say it. He naturally did something: plucking a small cluster of emerald green grapes from a plate on the table and offering it to the child. The child looked up, eyes wide with fear, alert like a little wild animal. "Brother, there are so many people outside." *Total nonsense! It's perfectly quiet*, he thought. Yet, surprisingly, he said something else entirely: "We might die. But don't be afraid, Constantin." "Not afraid. With brother here, not afraid... But why... not eat me? If you eat me, you could break any cage." The child spoke seriously. *Eat... you? Yeah, you look tender, but I bet you're no tastier than a burger. I had one for lunch, I'm not hungry*, he thought. "You are good food. But then it would be too lonely. For thousands of years, it's only been you and me." Again, words not his own came out. "But death feels awful. Like being sealed in a black box forever. Pitch dark... Groping in the dark, hands reaching out, but touching nothing..." "The fate of the outcast is to cross the wastelands, raise the battle flag once more, and return home. Death isn't scary; it's just a long sleep. We will wake again." He couldn't believe such dramatic words came from him. "Brother... when you raise the flag and devour the world, will you eat me then?" The child looked at him, clear eyes shining with... *expectation?* *Good grief! Is this some bizarre 'We're a Loving Cannibal Family' play? Your family morals are messed up!* "Yes. Then you'll stand beside me as we rule the world!" But he nodded softly, his voice carrying cold authority. The child poured a cup of water and handed it to him. He drank it without thought. "I must go now, brother. Goodbye." The child stood up. *I'm not your brother, you have the wrong guy!* he wanted to say, but he only muttered, "Goodbye. Be careful. Humans... cannot be trusted." Another odd, abrupt line. The child left, closing the door behind him. Hearing the footsteps fade and vanish, a sudden fear gripped him. *I must be crazy! Letting a little kid wander the streets alone? What if he gets kidn*pped? How far does he have to walk to find his brother?* Restless, he finally jumped up and ran to the door. He pushed it open. Blinding, fierce light struck his white clothes—not sunlight, but firelight. An inferno roared; the city screamed. Charred figures ran through the flames. Thousands of arrows poured from the sky. A huge burning signboard, twisting as it fell, bore the characters "Baidi." It was a hellscape. At the city's heart stood a tall pole. Suspended from the top was the child, eyes closed. The city's fire consumed him, roasting him alive. Like some grand sacrifice. The pain in his heart was sharp, like a knife cutting. Someone precious was lost forever, because *he* had made a mistake. Suddenly, he remembered. It was true. He *was* that child's brother. "Con... stantine," he rasped the name. He jerked upright, gasping for breath in the afternoon sun, covered in cold sweat. Outside, the sound of the elevated train passing