-Central Telum Continent. 3Rd POV-

After a meeting in the dark, the copy of James, with the Main Soul descended upon the World once again. This time, with a plan. During the early days of the Dragon Mating Season, it sought a compatible Egg laid twenty days ago by a Low-ranking Dragoness and encroached once again. To life.

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-RageFire Volcano Crater. 1ST POV-

The first experience after I came to be was like sleeping without a dream as consciousness comes and go while making it impossible to become aware or remember anything else.

...Dark. A thought surfaced for the first time before the darkness claims my consciousness until the next time. What am I? Or is it a who? I briefly question my existence once more. Have I always been like this? I questioned my state of mind before plunging back into the darkness.

I was alive since it was possible to hear a faint heartbeat every once in a while accompanied by reflexes that indicated a body of sorts, but not being aware for too long before plunging back into darkness, caused fear and frustration from not being able to control my state of mind.

I can think again, but I feel lazy about it, and I'm finally starting to remember about the last time I was aware. Ah, not again-- I deliberated before consciousness ceases yet again.

It's not uncomfortable, but the feeling of no control is, and voluntary movements aren't possible.

I'm starting to feel my body a little, but no detectable change is possible and not being allowed to think for too long before everything turns dark again is frustrating. I try not to strain my mind since the darkness comes faster.

I embraced the comfortable feeling and let time pass until outside stimuli got strong enough to be felt as vibrations and audible muffled sounds.

*Crack...* A sharp sound in the dark was accompanied by light.

Crack? Is this sensation warmth? Oh, it's light, and that is a crack! Wait, I remember now... life, human, REBORN! I yell inside my mind in the joy of finally coming out of the dark prison.

Seeing the light for the first time, I peek through the crack at the slightly illuminated and blurry tunnel, then wracked my brains to identify my first view as fast as possible.

Recalling I was a human creature before and now I'm supposed to be a dragon... arrived at the conclusion that it might be a cave until curved shadows of meat and rows of teeth on the side became visible.

Not a cave! I'm about to be eaten... Immediately my body's responses were activated, and next thing I know, a little creature's wail resounded in the vicinity.

"GUAAAAAH!" Not understanding anything I screamed as loud as I could, in hopes to stop the thing chewing my egg.

My scream successfully stopped the movements of the creature breaking the shell, and dropped it to the ground.

*Crush* My encasing hit the ground like some sack of broken eggs, spilling fluids through the cracks. I struggled out of the wreckage, then sprinted away, tripping a few times over the rocky surface, and gaining enough distance before turning back to look at what was eating me.

I didn't make it very far when the big scaly jaws with glimmering green scales covering the majority of my vision and teeth larger than my eye level blow hot breath on me. Freezing on the spot with the stinky breath pushing me down until I became too uncomfortable, and moved away from it, tripping some more. Is it not following? That massive thing should be my Dragon parent and was either checking if I was alive in the egg or trying to eat me. I feel tiny in comparison and unsuitable to be a snack for a beast that size.

There's something slimy in my mouth that tastes good, but I must stay on alert for now. I watch my possible mother walk away from my sight, making the ground vibrate strongly enough to make my body and pebbles on the ground tremble.

While my little eyes adapt to the light, I observe landscape littered with gray rocks of different sizes as far as my blurry vision can see, and two small creatures come into view, heading for what should be my egg wreckage then started eating it. Ah, that was probably food, but it's too late now since only the fluids and egg shell pieces, paint the rocks. I lament the disappearance of the only food source.

I remember my human vision being a focused round point that blurred around and narrowed with the eyelids into a horizontal line, obscuring the view. However, now it closes involuntarily into a clear vertical line that blurs horizontally beside the eyelid that turns everything black like a human's and the semi-transparent one that comes from the side. New eye features are uncomfortable...my human vision didn't do all this! I better practice, before running into rocks or get stepped on.

Walking in circles over small rocks, I tripped a few times until I got the hang of pacing with four legs, and turned to look at the other inhabitants resting at the place where my egg shell was. I look similar to those ash-looking reptiles with the same color as the rocks around, and although, I should be around half a human knee tall...I'm probably half their size. I compare with a rough estimate.

I remember the Sun is currently not shining in this place and decided to look for something that might produce a shadow since newborns are not supposed to be under direct sunlight. I move sluggishly between boulders that are bigger than me and find an elongated rock toppled over another that could be used to hide.

The place fits me with room to spare, and I lay down on the side of my belly to relax.

My new body feels like being inside thick clothes without being hot or stuffy, but there's lack of touch, and my little claws around the length of human pinky nails feel like could break if enough force is applied. Remembering what clothes were, I start inspecting myself from top to bottom. Without uniform size or shape, the scales that cover my body are smaller on intricate joints, lips, and eye sockets while bigger and thicker in places like on top my snout, chest or back.

Feeling safe beneath the jagged rock, I probed my snout using forepaws with care not to claw eyes out and noticed little bumps above my elongated ears that should be growing horns, rows of teeth human size with some coarse, short hairs on top of the head. Something like thick hair fibers run along the spine decreasing in quantities and thickness towards the tip of the tail, making it another feature that makes me look different from the other creatures around.

It's not wrong to call these thick fibers 'hairs' since it feels like that, but they are not that numerous, and also ash-gray in color. I run my claws through the robust strings that look like strands of a broom and compare my head.

Triangular-ish lizard head with a fitting neck to match the dragon body and can twist it around a bit, but it would appear that I can't see my ass from above... I stretch my neck over my top to test.

These bulges on my back and a little behind the shoulders might be where wings grow, and the larger lumps on the other lizards must be folded wings. I assume and move my neck to my belly.

Well, it's a regular lizard's ass, I think.... moving onto the scaly tail, it's thick at the base and can extend to the middle of my neck. The lack of control becomes evident when I slap myself a few times.

It ends in arrow-shaped horizontal bony part, with some hair fibers growing on what would be the shaft covering the tip.

This gray color might be for protection but it's quite dull, and since my parent is green, it should be possible to graduate from this tone one day. I speculate, looking at the rocks matching my scales.

I remember what dogs are... my egg was big enough to allow a small canine to be born from it and I'm hungry enough to eat one too. I try to sniff food in this smelly place to no avail.

Picturing a dog, I commence the analysis of my anatomy while salivating.

The thin front leg is composed of an upper arm, forearm, and wrist. I confirm moving my articulations around.

The front paws have pads under three toes with long brownish claws, and a long sharp Dewclaw is curving from inside to the outside of my body frame, similar to the human thumb. I practice grabbing rocks clumsily with my little paws.

Despite being just born, the muscular forelegs have a thick upper thigh, lean lower leg, thin hook and lastly the hind foot possess four toes adorned with claws around the length of human thumb's nails. I compare with my previous corpse while feeling increasingly tired.

"GHAUUU." I cry out, feeling the emptiness in my new stomach.

My scream had no effect and decided to lay down to preserve energy.

...

I was woken up by the shaking ground followed by a growling racket and ventured outside my Lair, spotting the giant green lizard dropping a black ball of fur to the gravel, where the other two lizards were anticipating.

It's edible, must eat! My mind and stomach were screaming to devour.

Before I became fully conscious of what it was, my body was already rushing to bite the creature, but unlike the other hungry dragons who found an open wound leaking blood... I had no luck piercing the thick fur.

"GHAU" I look up at what should be either mom or dad that brought the meal and cry.

If the children can't feed, they will die, and it should be the job of big green to do something about it. With this logic, I stared at its eyes until it noticed.

Realizing I wasn't eating, it lowered the jaw to the ball of fur several times my size, held it down with its right forearm, and ripped a piece before starting to chew.

Are these... big dogs or am I small as a rat? Remembering a rat, I do another comparison staring at the mountain of black fur.

After Big Green regurgitated the big dog contents to a side, I proceed to slurp the bitter meat and bone contents to fill my stomach, but the hair was a nuisance since it was hard to chew or swallow.

I'm still hungry... need to try my luck with the furball and shouldn't I have two parents? I watch Big Green stroll away to the distance while the Sun started shining down from the cliff walls.

I approach, aiming at the furball that is getting ripped apart by the two animals twice my size, but they growled me away.

I get it's your work, and I'm too weak to earn it, but this thing is big enough for the three of us. Looking for an alternative, I stare at the dark blood flowing on the bloodied ground.

Can this grossness be eaten? I indulge in slurping the blood along with the dirt until my stomach felt satisfied and stopped to rest a bit.

At least the color changed to Red, but it doesn't feel uncomfortable unless it gets into my eyes. Some water would be nice to wash my mouth and eyes. I look for traces of the essential liquid around.

Having my belly round already, I moved back to my lair while feeling the wet sensation of blood and gunk inside my scales. Making my lair dirty with the gore stuck on my body, I wonder where do the other beasts that should be my siblings, sleep.

After a lot of burping that impeded me from sleeping, the ground shook once more, making me curious about what could be.

Approaching the site, a Huge Red creature even bigger than Big Green, became visible, spilling water on the ground next to the dismantled dog. Umm, this is probably Father, right? I stare at his Big Red body with scales even larger than my body.