An hour later, amidst the smoldering remains, a butt-naked man knelt in the center of a ring of ash. He slouched forward, eyes fixed on the gray dust beneath him.
Everything within ten meters had been reduced to cinders—including the massive tree he'd once been tied to.
"I screamed too much," Sett rasped, lifting a trembling hand to rub his raw throat.
He remembered the day before his verdict, when a dungeon warden had waved a burning torch close to his face. He'd flinched instinctively, but after a few more passes, he'd realized something strange—he couldn't feel the heat.
It had been… warm.
Lukewarm, even.
His gaze shifted to the city stele, its stone surface blackened but intact. He silently thanked his luck that it was made of stone.
Hissss~
A harsh, high-pitched hiss erupted—no, two hisses—from different directions. Sett's head jerked up, eyes widening.
Three scaly creatures stood before him.
Each had two hind legs, while their forelegs were fused into leathery wings. Their long necks coiled with fluid grace, allowing them to snap their heads in any direction. Light scales covered their slender abdomens, while heavier plating protected their chests, necks, heads, and limbs. Their thick, segmented tails flicked about, occasionally lashing at the scorched ground.
The first was crimson, with streaks of gold and eyes like molten lava. It stared at him, tilting its head slightly—curious.
The second was pale white, marked with faint blue stripes. Its sapphire eyes glowed softly as it examined its surroundings, ignoring the naked man before it.
The last stood quietly behind them, jet-black with purple vein-like markings on its wings and body. It was silent, still—watchful. Unlike the others, it didn't make a sound.
Sett's breath caught. His eyes widened.
"Wyverns?!"
At the word, the red-and-gold creature screeched, flapping her stunted wings and charging forward. She slammed her jaws down on his foot.
"Argh!" Sett gasped through clenched teeth, eyes widening—not from pain alone, but realization.
She'd understood him.
They were intelligent. Like toddlers, perhaps—two or three years old, curious and reactive, yet capable of understanding.
They weren't wyverns but dragons!
As Sett gazed at the dragons, his mind reeled with questions.
According to what he knew about this world, these beasts didn't just grow in size—their intelligence would evolve alongside their bodies. With time, they could become far more than beasts. Perhaps… Guardians. Legends.
The implications staggered him.
His mother—was she even truly his mother? Maybe she'd found him along with the eggs, hidden somewhere… and paid for it with her life.
A sharp pang struck his chest as another woman close to his heart—Cersei's face surfaced in his mind. The previous Sett's feelings for her still burned within him, raw and aching. The image of her on his father's bed, of the Duke's cold, deliberate cruelty—it all came rushing back like a flood.
Then, a gentle nudge.
The red dragon rubbed its snout against his side, pulling him from the spiral of memory. He looked down, and the creature met his gaze, molten eyes full of an odd warmth.
He reached out and touched her. A pulse stirred in his chest—faint but real. A bond.
"Auge," he whispered, cradling the small dragon in his arms. She made soft noises, pressing closer.
Sett looked up and panicked. The white-scaled dragon was already disappearing into the undergrowth, only the tip of its tail visible.
What was it looking for? In its current state, even a warthog could gore it.
He couldn't lose a dragon. Not now.
Rushing forward, Sett grabbed its tail and hoisted it gently to eye level. The instant he touched it, the same pulse of connection surged through him.
"Keraunos," he muttered, the name coming unbidden. The creature bared its tiny fangs in a prideful snarl, satisfied with the name.
Sett placed him on his shoulder. Keraunos latched onto his hair with one forelimb, hissing possessively at Auge.
He looked proud, like a child who'd claimed the highest seat in the room.
The black dragon approached Sett, arching his head to look at his head. It was 2.5 feet long from nose to tail tip and at shoulder height, he was 1 foot tall.
He was also scrawny, as scrawny as a newborn calf. Sett crouched and caressed his soft head. His skin was still fleshy as his scales have not hardened yet.
Sett crouched, touched its head gently.
"Aion," he said, voice firm this time.
Another bond. The black dragon let out a weak screech in reply and climbed onto his other shoulder, glaring sidelong at Keraunos.
Keraunos hissed. Aion hissed back, weaker but defiant.
'I can't connect to the world channel without establishing a territory. But I can't do that here—on the edge of the wilderness.'
Steeling himself, Sett ventured deeper into the wild, city stele in hand and three newborn dragons clinging to him.
Should he encounter a beast, the stele's protective dome would buy him time. It was his only safeguard.
____
The sky bled orange as dusk settled.
A lone figure trudged across the vast land, each step heavier than the last. Sett was already aching for water and food. And so were his dragons.
They cried weakly. Keraunos was now trying to rip his hair out.
"Stop… Keraunos," Sett rasped before collapsing into soft sand.
He blinked. A massive basin stretched around him. Rocky hills rose in the distance, taller even than the black-leaf trees that filled the wilderness.
'I'll die if I don't set my territory now.'
With the last of his strength, he slammed the stele into the ground.
A golden dome erupted outward. White haze shimmered down like a curtain, obscuring the land a couple meters before him.
[Ding! You are now a Lord, Sett Archon.]
Benefits unlocked: Subject profiles. Aid from the Tree of Life.
[Access to World Chat Channel: Unlocked.]
[Lord Ned]: I summoned a powerful hero today. Four days left before my barrier drops.
[Lord Silver]: Yo Ned, got any bread?
[Lord Ned]: Yeah. But my hero eats like a beast. One loaf—10 silver.
[Lord Silver]: Robber!
[Lord Cador]: Anyone try leaving the dome?
[Lord Eric]: Those who did… stopped chatting. They're dead.
[Lord Silver]: Told you it's suicide. The dome's protection was given for a reason.
[Lord Ned]: So, about that bread…
[Lord Faelan]: I established my territory in the Pone Wilderness—Gray Basin. No water source. Would anyone trade for warthog meat?
Sett froze.
'Gray Basin. That's where I am.'
There were other lords nearby—maybe more across the wilderness. The largest on the continent.
He was already behind.
[Ding! You are one of the few lords who awakened an aspect upon establishing your territory. Check your profile.]