Chapter 3: The Moon Dragon's Test
840 Words
The ancient moon dragon watched them without blinking.
Its silver scales shimmered like liquid starlight beneath the glowing Crystal Heart, and every breath it released filled the cavern with sparkling mist.
Lira tightened her grip on her staff.
Kael stepped slightly in front of her.
"I can fight it."
The dragon let out a low chuckle that echoed through the cavern walls.
"You cannot."
Its enormous eyes settled on Kael.
"You carry the fury of fire."
Then they shifted to Lira.
"You carry the wisdom of magic."
Its voice softened.
"Yet neither of you carries trust."
The Crystal Heart pulsed once.
The cave floor trembled.
"You seek power."
"We seek to survive," Lira replied.
The dragon inclined its head.
"A far better answer."
---
The dragon spread its wings.
Silver light exploded through the cavern.
When the brilliance faded...
The cave was gone.
Lira stood alone in the ruins of Black Hollow.
Smoke poured from burning homes.
People screamed.
Dragon fire rained from the sky.
"No..."
She recognized the day.
The day her mother died.
A younger version of herself ran through the streets, desperately searching for her family.
"Lira!"
Her mother's voice echoed from the old watchtower.
She sprinted toward it.
This time...
She could save her.
She reached for the tower door.
A familiar hand grabbed her wrist.
"No."
Kael.
She spun toward him.
"Let me go!"
"It's another illusion."
"I can save her!"
"You can't."
Tears streamed down her face.
"You don't know that!"
"I do."
His voice cracked.
"Because I tried to save my brother a thousand times."
Lira froze.
For the first time...
She saw the grief hidden behind his confidence.
---
The illusion dissolved.
Now it was Kael's turn.
They stood beside a battlefield covered in ash.
A younger Kael knelt beside his older brother, who struggled to breathe after protecting him from a forbidden spell.
"I should've been stronger," young Kael whispered.
"You already are," his brother answered weakly.
The memory repeated exactly as history had written it.
Except this time...
Kael stepped toward him.
"I can change it."
Lira caught his hand.
"You told me the cave lies."
Golden eyes met emerald ones.
Neither spoke.
Together...
They turned away from the illusion.
The battlefield disappeared.
---
The moon dragon smiled.
"You have passed the first truth."
Kael frowned.
"That wasn't the trial?"
"No."
The dragon's tail swept across the cavern floor.
"This is."
The underground lake erupted.
Dozens of creatures climbed onto the shore.
Shadow wolves.
But they were different.
Larger.
Stronger.
Each had glowing silver markings carved into its dark fur.
The dragon's expression became solemn.
"They are not evil."
Lira blinked.
"What?"
"They are enslaved."
Black crystal shards protruded from each wolf's chest.
"They have lost their will."
Kael stared at the creatures.
"Someone corrupted them."
The dragon lowered its head.
"Destroy the wolves..."
"...or free them."
The Crystal Heart floated lower.
"There is only enough time for one choice."
---
The first wolf charged.
Kael ignited dragonfire in both hands.
Lira raised her staff.
Then she noticed something.
The crystal embedded in the wolf's chest pulsed with the same magic as the cavern.
"It's controlling them!"
Kael hesitated.
"If we kill them..."
"We're killing victims."
The wolves surrounded them.
There wasn't much time.
Lira looked at Kael.
"We do this together?"
He smiled.
"No arguing?"
"Just this once."
"Deal."
She slammed her staff into the stone.
Blue runes spread across the cavern floor.
Kael inhaled deeply.
Instead of releasing fire...
He breathed pure golden light.
The magic merged.
Moonlight.
Fire.
Ancient witchcraft.
The black crystals shattered one by one.
Each wolf collapsed before slowly standing again.
Their crimson eyes faded into brilliant silver.
The largest wolf approached Lira.
Instead of attacking...
It bowed.
One by one...
The others followed.
The moon dragon smiled proudly.
"You chose compassion over victory."
"The rarest magic of all."
The Crystal Heart floated into Lira's hands.
It glowed warmly.
Then split in two.
Half drifted toward Kael.
The other remained with Lira.
The dragon nodded.
"The Heart has chosen."
Kael looked down at the crystal now resting against his palm.
"What does this mean?"
The dragon's ancient eyes grew distant.
"It means your destinies can no longer be separated."
A thunderous explosion shook the mountain.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The freed wolves began growling toward the tunnel entrance.
The moon dragon's expression darkened.
"They have found you."
"Who?"
The dragon looked toward the darkness.
"The ones who created the Shadow Wolves."
A voice echoed through the cavern.
Cold.
Calm.
And filled with hatred.
"Hand over the Crystal Heart..."
"...or everyone dies."
From the shadows stepped three cloaked figures.
Behind them stood a dragon unlike any Kael had ever seen.
Its scales were black as midnight.
Cracks of crimson light glowed beneath them like molten lava.
Its eyes burned blood-red.
The moon dragon whispered only two words.
"Blood Dragon."
Silence filled the cavern.
Kael's heart stopped.
Blood dragons had vanished nearly five hundred years ago.
If one had returned...
The prophecy was already unfolding.
- Writer
