While a millennium had passed since the dragon's egg had been hidden in the cave's crevice, time seemed to accelerate at an outstanding rate for the tiny dragonling.

Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days, days to weeks and finally weeks to months as the little dragon gradually recovered its strength by hunting the cave's native inhabitants and consuming the pool's slightly luminescent waters.

It never ventured further down the tunnel that the rabbit had disappeared, the surprise attack significantly shook Kai's confidence, and so, he stayed in the first chamber, which was around the size of a large arena.

At the start, due to being severely injured and in a weakened state, Kai had found it almost impossible to take on the other creatures in a one on one fight and was forced to eat the glowing moss that lined the rocks and walls of the cave while cowering in the shadows.

The insect-like creatures that called this place home, while to the outside world were small and weak, were almost on par with the young, inexperienced dragon, and that was if he was in his prime.

While being forced to behave like this hurt the dragon's pride, and was more than a little depressing, he soon discovered some benefits, including being able to hone his stealth skills alongside his innate sense of danger.

The main reason that the cave's creatures were able to compete with a dragon, even if it was only a hatchling, was because the insect-like beasts had lived a very long time and grown in isolation from the outside world. The lack of natural predators, other than each other, as well as being able to refine the world's energy without the chance of the energy being lost if creatures had left the cave, was the reason why they were slightly stronger than their related species in the outside world.

These advantages somewhat negated the benefits of the tiny dragons heritage, and Kai found that he had to rely on his increased intellect during the first few weeks to survive. This was especially true as most of the creatures could bite and string, their fangs, and stingers usually containing potent venom thus requiring cunning and guile to be able to confront them safely.

If Kia hadn't worked out what was happening to his body after his first experience with such creatures and learned how to circulate his blood, purifying the venom, it would likely have built up to the point where it would have been able to overpower his body's impossibly robust immune system. If that had happened, the young dragon would have fallen into a coma, never to awaken.

Coincidentally, this was how he discovered cultivation, though he did not know its name or what purpose it served.

Each cycle of blood that he forced rough his body, in an instinctual pattern, had to pass through the diamond-like core deep in his chest. As it passed through, the blood was energized with spirit energy, a pure substance that had been refined from the world energy he had been absorbing subconsciously, which would then be diffused into his flesh, muscles, and organs, slightly strengthening them.

And elder dragon would have been shocked to find out a hatchling had achieved the first step of body refinement on its own, yet to Kai, it was a means to purify venom and little else. The advantages, especially with the stale world energy in the cave, of cultivation were almost insignificant compared to the results of his constant battles.

However, the dragonling realized that it needed every advantage no matter how small, to be able to survive. As if fate was giving him a helping hand, the constant doses of venom he obtained were enough motivation to ingrain the habit deep into his bones setting a foundation that, while insignificant now, could lead to great things in the future.

To purify the venom from his body, he had to cultivate and so, a vicious cycle began.

It wasn't as if the young dragon was a masochist, far from it, it was just that he was just too slow to avoid all their attacks and, even with his sixth sense, found himself being ambushed at the most inopportune moments.

Soon he was continually cycling his blood, forcing it through his core at a subconscious level.

The tiny dragon continued to fight valiantly, but there was little to show for it at the start. Kai not only persevered but used each defeat to temper his resolve and learned from his mistakes.

His first live and death battle had been against a foe far more powerful and cunning than the insects, and while that didn't help his pride, being forced to retreat or outright flee in the early confrontations, it only reinforced the desire for strength and power.

Each confrontation, no matter the outcome was analyzed as Kai licked his wounds in a dark crevice and recovered.

Eventually, after many life and death battles and humiliating defeats, the dragonling discovered his style.

It was fast, brutal, and it was what most would consider reckless, but surprisingly, it worked exceptionally well. The injuries Kai sustained significantly decreased as his opponents started to fear the tiny, black terror who seemingly had no regard for its own life.

It wasn't like Kia enjoyed fighting, like his ancestors before him, he saw it as a waste of time and energy yet, he also understood natures fundamental law.

Survival of the fittest and that only the strong could decide their fate.

More than once, the only reason he survived was that his pursuer, usually a long, snake-like creature with multiple legs as they were one of the few species that wouldn't give up without a chase, would abandon a pursuit after a couple of meters, deciding the scrawny lizard wasn't worth the hassle.

The dragonling understood it was their choice to give up and that had ended up saving his life. He also knew that they only had that choice available as they held the advantageous position. He was weak while they were the strong.

They held the position of absolute power, at least over him and his life.

These thoughts, along with the experiences Kia had gained since birth started to taint his way of thinking.

The environment Kai found himself in did not help this.

All of the creatures inside the cavern were solitary, only coming together to mate, so the dragonling did not have a concept of the group, family or companionship.

While Kai knew the benefits and dangers of such behavior locked away in its mind, without experiencing or even seeing the act, the information was slowly pushed towards the recesses of his mind.

This early start, so different than what the dragon's kind customarily received, started to form a warped ideology in Kai's heart.

Dragons were traditionally a highly social species, their clan and extended family numbering in the hundreds if not thousands yet, alone in a dark cave deep inside the mountain, Kai had none of these benefits or experiences and, true to his nature, his mind, body and soul rapidly adapted.

That wasn't to say that he didn't feel like he was missing something. A semi-painful hole, at least in the figurative sense, felt like it existed next to his heart yet, at the moment, the dragonling didn't know why or what he could do to fix the uncomfortable feeling that only grew with the passage of time.

However, those thoughts were quickly pushed tot he back of Kai's mind as three weeks had passed and the dragonling had finally recovered enough of its strength to challenge the bottom of the cave's food chain.

It was only a slug-like creature that spat poisonous liquid from its mouth and secreted a slimy substance that mitigated a lot of damage from piercing attacks, but to Kai, it was as if he had been reborn.

Glowing Goldeneyes, tinged with a hue of red at their edges radiated from the corner of the cave, the cave as a chill fell upon its inhabitants.