Hellfire - A Dragon's Lifestory (Prologue)

Chap. 19 - "To the Ends of Time"

Zachary: "Alice! What's wrong?!"

Zachary hurriedly enters Alice's house from the front door. When he saw Alice crying, and me right next to her...

Zachary: "You! Did you make Alice cry?!"

Rygon: "......... Half-yes. And, half-no."

Zachary: "What do you mean by that?! So, you made Alice cry?!"

The other children rushed inside the front door too. Hal and Esnov aren't here though.

Aunas: "Hey, where's Alice's mom?"

Zachary: "Don't tell me... you ate her?!!"

Selle moved in between us.

Selle: "Everyone, please don't fight."

Zachary: "Why are you defending that monster?!"

Selle: "Because Rygon wouldn't do such a thing!"

"What's all the ruckus about?"

An old man with hair sticking out of his nose came in the house. And, just like Zachary, when he saw me...

"Waah! A dragon! Kids, get out of the house!"

The old man shoves everyone outside excluding Selle and Alice. He instantly closes the door in a panic.

Zachary: "But, uncle! What about Alice and Selle?!"

"We'll think of a way. Right now, we need to alert everyone of a dangerous monster sighting that got inside the village."

I can hear you, you know. The door may be closed, but I can still hear you loud and clear.

"You kids go find your parents and hide. I'll gather up the men."

Gather? Will there be strong humans from among them? If there is, I want to meet them.

Selle: "Rygon, run. I'll take care of Alice, so please, just go back to the forest."

Selle is crying too. Why is she telling me to go back? I might miss my chance of meeting another strong human here. I want to stay, but... I also feel like I shouldn't cause any more trouble here. I don't really know what just happened to Alice's mother, but I think it was my fault? I mean... that warped swirly thing showed up right when she patted my head, so I guess it was my fault then? She was taken inside of it and it disappeared right after it took her in.

Alice: "Ry-... gon..."

I don't really know why, but after seeing Alice's face and hearing her speak, I immediately did as Selle told me and ran towards the back door, out of the house, and into the forest. It took me a few moments before I realized that I just missed my chance with meeting another strong human. Oh well, maybe next time.

Arriving in the forest, I can hear and smell a group of humans who're searching for me. I headed straight to where I came from, the river. On the way, I felt something approaching and instinctively stopped running. The moment I stopped, a dart came flying over my snout and stuck to a tree. I look to where the dart is shot. It's a human crouching on the ground. He's wearing a red cloak and holding... uhh... a gun, right? Garg once mentioned that to me before. But, that gun looks kinda long.

"Wew... to think I'd get a rare find today. Compared to these mushrooms, a Purgatory Dragon is going to fetch a hefty price."

The human shot another dart straight to my head. I release an aura of flame and burned the dart to ash. I continued running after that. The cloaked human stood up and started chasing me. I used my tail to cut a few a trees down and blocked his path while running. Whoever this human is... he's able to skillfully dodge and maneuver through those fallen trees. What is he, a snake? He moves his body so swiftly.

"Tricks like that won't work, little guy!"

Then, from out of nowhere, something was thrown at the human's face.

"Eh?"

That "something" shined brightly and blinded the human. The other group of humans probably saw the light. After a few seconds, it stopped shinping, and the cloaked man fell down the ground face first.

Hal: "What are you standing around for? Keep running!"

Hal showed up from behind a tree and started running ahead of me. I run after him. A while later, we finally made it to the river. On the way, me and Hal never spoke. We just kept running.

Hal: "This is as far as I can go. I have to get back, or else they might get worried."

Rygon: "Why'd you help me?"

Hal: "Someone told me to."

Rygon: "Who?"

Hal: "A voice in my head, perhaps. Also, that voice told me to tell you「When you get back, we'll have a feast」, it said."

Rygon: "Ah... I think I know who that voice is."

Hal: "Well, anyway... it's not like I know if what you did to Alice's mom back was on purpose or not, but considering the ruckus you just caused in our village, I doubt you'll get welcomed here again."

H-he knows what actually happened.

Hal: "Alice's mom will probably be treated as just one casualty. They'll tell Alice that it was just an unfortunate event, and it could've happened to anyone. I'm not sure if they'll conduct a search party past the river's border, so I suggest you leave this place for good."

He sounds like he's already thought well and hard on this. That only gives me all the more reason to follow them through.

Rygon: "I got it. This is goodbye, then."

Hal: "I hope I never see you again."

His words struck me as I fly over the other side of the river. Garg showed up from behind a tree and greeted me.

Garg: "Had your fun?"

Rygon: "You... were watching the whole time, weren't you?"

Garg: "Watching? Of course not. I was listening to you the entire time. And, I gotta say... what  you did back there... even I myself had no idea what just happened."

Rygon: "You don't, huh? Hmm......"

Garg: "......... Boss?"

Rygon: "Garg, can I... leave you alone here and start traveling on my own now?"

Garg: "...... What?"

Rygon: "I want to get stronger... on my own. Though, I'm not sure myself, but I want to discover more about my powers alone. I haven't met any other dragon than myself, and I surely haven't met any Purgatory Dragon other than me, and if I do, they might know more about me than I do. That's why, I want you to..."

Garg grabbed my snout with his wing-talons.

Garg: "Say no more, Boss. I understand. Then, if you'll excuse me... off I go!"

And, without a moment to spare, Garg flew off in the distance. Leaving me alone... in the forest... all by myself... What in the-...?!!

I planned on leaving him alone in the forest, but he ditched me first. Didn't he follow me all the way out here when I left? And now, he suddenly flies off away from me the moment I tell him I'm leaving. What is going on to his mind, I wonder.

Oh, well... what's done is done. Now that I'm alone, I can finally start checking out more about myself. About my powers. And, about what I am. This is all right. I have all the time in the world to figure it out. Now, then... where do I get started?

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(Prologue Resolution:

The events that will happen in between the prologue and the main story will involve Rygon encountering the hidden settlement of a certain lost tribe. There, he will train and develop his powers as he grows. The main story takes place 13 years later.

And, yes... this is rushed :p
But, what did you expect? I'm a terrible story-writer X3)