Old man Kael went still. His hands, which had been organizing bandages and medicine bottles with the practiced efficiency of someone who'd done it a thousand times, stopped moving. He turned slowly, like a man who'd just heard something he couldn't ignore, and his eyes locked onto Jabber's face.The look in those weathered eyes was different now. Not the gentle concern of a healer checking on his patient. Not the cautious worry of someone monitoring a potential problem. This was something else,something knowing, something heavy with the weight of secrets that had been kept too long.He walked over to the bed. Each step was deliberate, measured, like he was giving himself time to decide whether to say what he was about to say. His boots scuffed against the wooden floor, and the sound seemed louder than it should have been in the quiet clinic.When he reached the bedside, he didn't sit immediately. He stood there, looking down at Jabber with an expression that was part sympathy, part re

Jabber's voice was quiet, almost hesitant, like he was afraid that speaking the words aloud would make them more real than he could handle. But he forced himself to continue, to tell old man Kael everything that had happened in that dark void."He asked me something." Jabber said, his eyes fixed on some point in the middle distance, seeing the memory play out again behind his eyes. "The dragon,he looked at me with those purple eyes, and he asked..." He swallowed hard. "He asked if I was tired of being weak."The words hung in the air between them, heavy with implication."Just like that?" Kael prompted gently. "Those exact words?""Yeah." Jabber nodded slowly. "He said, 'Are you tired of being weak? Tired of getting knocked down? Tired of watching others surpass you while you struggle just to keep up? Tired of being looked down on’ And I…" His voice cracked slightly. "I said yes. I didn't even hesitate. I just said yes, because it was true. I am tired of it. I'm tired of bei

"Thanks, old man Kael. For everything. For telling me the truth, for not treating me like I'm crazy, for... for being here."Kael's stern expression softened. "Get some rest, kid. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."Jabber nodded and started toward the door. Each step felt like he was walking through mud, his legs heavy and uncooperative, but he forced himself to keep moving. He needed to be out of this clinic, away from the smell of medicine and the weight of revelations. He needed normal, or at least something resembling it.He pushed open the clinic door and stepped out into the hallway. The facility was quieter now, most people having turned in for the night, but there were still a few late-night stragglers moving around. The cool air hit his face, and he took a deep breath, trying to clear his head.That's when he heard the voices.Two laborers were walking down the hallway in the opposite direction, carrying tools and supplies like they'd just finished a late shift. They hadn'

There was a pause, and then Asta chuckled. It was a dry, humorless sound. "Yeah. Old man Kael thinks the dragon's presence is suppressing my natural flame abilities. Like having something that is powerful sealed inside me is drowning out everything else, making it impossible for my own flames to manifest.""That's rough." Jabber said, and meant it. To be surrounded by people who could all use flames, to be training as a warrior in a facility specifically designed for flame wielders, and to be unable to access that power yourself,that had to be incredibly frustrating."It is what it is." Asta replied, though his tone suggested it bothered him more than he wanted to admit. "I've learned to work around it. Focus on physical combat, strategy, things that don't require flames. But still, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be normal. To just... use my flames like everyone else."He paused, then his tone shifted, becoming lighter, almost envious. "But your dragon is cool, thoug

The dragon's jaw clenched. When he spoke again, his voice was tight, controlled, like he was forcing the words out. "Not until we dragons were overwhelmed by a particularly strong foe. Something we hadn't anticipated, something that pushed us beyond our limits."He looked directly at Jabber now, and those purple eyes were filled with something that might have been regret. "When dragons get overwhelmed, when we're pushed to our breaking point, our instinct is to fight with everything we have. All our power, all our strength, holding nothing back. We will go all out."Jabber nodded slowly. "That makes sense. Survival instinct.""Yes." The dragon agreed. "But here's the problem,when a dragon releases all its power, when it stops holding back, the vessel can't handle it. The human body, even enhanced by the merging, can't maintain both their own flame and the dragon's full power at the same time. It's too much. The system overloads."He paused, and his voice became even quieter. "Th