The Red Dragon

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"I have a what?!" Gray spluttered, staring in disbelief at the two dragons in front of him.

"A dragon soul," Atlas repeated slowly, "As in, you used to be a dragon."

"How the hell does that even happen?!"

"Many years ago, there were all kinds of dragons on this Earth, but in recent years that's changed. Disease, infighting, and of course, the war, they all took their toll on our once numerous populations," Igneel explained calmly, sensing that this approach would be more productive than Atlas' bluntness.

"It's my guess that as fewer dragons were born and human populations exploded, the dragon souls found their way into humans. Nature has a way of balancing inequities out," Igneel shrugged.

Gray stared at him, his mouth still open in shock, but there was something in his expression that gave Igneel hope. He could tell that the boy was already considering this information and what it could mean to his situation.

"Natsu's mother?" Gray asked, his brows furrowing as he tried to understand, to give credence to what he was being told.

"We think she might have possessed a dragon soul as well," Igneel responded. "It would explain why her magical ability was so much stronger than any other human I encountered while living in Talos, or why she was my mate."

"I used to be a dragon?" Gray's voice trembled as he looked down at his body, "That's very hard for me to accept."

"I won't try to convince you. You already saw it for yourself," Atlas said impatiently, "You have within you the soul of an ice dragon. There haven't been many of those for a long time."

"That explains so much, though," Atlas' laughter was loud, his mirth echoing inside the room and irritating Gray.

"What's so damn funny?"

"Well, while it's true that you can never be sure who you will end up with as a soulmate, most pairings happen within races. Matings between dragon races are not unheard of, but it is quite rare to find them within dragons of opposing elements."

"That's true," Igneel agreed, "but when they happen, as with Sting and Rogue's dragon parents, the bonds that develop are incredibly strong. Just like the bond you share with Natsu. I highly doubt many other bonds would have survived the damage yours suffered."

Gray's eyes widened as he absorbed Igneel's words. "Okay, let's say for now that I believe you," Gray said, "Why does any of this matter? Regardless of what kind of soul I have, I'm still a human, and Natsu is still a dragon."

He fixed his gaze on both dragons and tried to wait patiently for an answer as they once again had a conversation he wasn't privy to.

Igneel finally faced him, looking more solemn than Gray had ever seen him. "What if there was a way for you to live your life out with Natsu as equals?"

"As equals? What do you mean-," Gray stopped in mid-sentence, suddenly grasping what the dragon was asking him.

"You want to turn me into a dragon somehow?!" The words sounded ridiculous to his ears, but he could see from Igneel's quiet nod and Atlas' scowl that it was precisely what the dragons were proposing. "But how is that even possible?"

"It would be a gamble," Atlas revealed. "But I've been looking into soul magic, among other things, and it is at the very least within the realm of possibility to move your soul into a dragon body."

"You can't be serious," Gray argued, "That's impossible."

"Not impossible," Atlas corrected, "It would just require very complex magic. The amount of latent energy existing within all life forms is enormous. It's a combination of magical potential, body size, and life force. Some spells, like the one Igneel used to turn into a human temporarily, require so much magic that they eat up amounts of your life force in exchange. If we deconstructed your body and converted all of that energy into magic, we can harness it to-"