I would have probably been dead then without Gradient. I nearly tried to escape Rilu's grip as the flames built to a crescendo, flowing like rivers through his veins. I probably could have, too, considering those flames now seemed to have a potent strengthening property.

As they were released, though, I knew instinctually that they meant no danger. It was rare I could touch upon it, but some objects, such as the Well of Life, had a distinct feeling about them. The Well gave me a distinct impression of Vitality, for example.

During Rilu's awakening, he gave me the distinct impression of something akin to the sun's warmth- allowing plants to grow and life to flourish, watching over it all as an impetus. It was energizing in the same way that escaping the ground to fly was.

Ironically, just as the ghostly flames adorning the dusk sky began to die, so too did the sun's light. And just as the trail in our flight's wake began to fade, we reached the depths of the floating island.

The last end of our flight showed us an inverse precipice torn apart with caves at the bottom, holding promising glints within their depths. It was an elongated scene, as we were decelerating in preparation to touch down as the island's edge reached us, but it was only around 100 meters. Altogether insignificant considering the fact that we were at least 2 kilometers airborne.

The gray and brown of stone and dirt fell away to the lethargic branches and vibrant leaves of a weeping willow, bathed in a growing star(er, planet?)light. At the base of which Rilu gracefully touched down.

I specify Rilu because I, on the other hand, immediately locked a knee, stumbled, and tripped over a root. The dirt tasted wet and cool.

I scrambled back to my feet in a similarly elegant fashion. The wind wasn't howling as I would have expected it to be. Rather, the strong winds of the world above the ground simply seemed to be a light breeze. My head felt light, but the sense of vertigo was leaving me quickly.

The air was also surprisingly thick, it felt little different than it felt on the ground. I wondered about the physics behind either but eventually chalked it up to either magic, gravity working differently, or both.

Finding my bearings and wondering about the nature of the universe took a few moments before some lingering excitement pulled me from my stupor. Almost- No, scratch that, full-on giddily, I sprang toward Rilu.

"You awakened, right? What'd you get?!" I exclaimed more than inquired, barely able to contain myself.

I absolutely invaded his personal space in my excitement, but he didn't even flinch at it. Instead, he seemed satisfied and relieved.

"That's an... Uncharacteristic level of excitement," Rilu retorted, undoubtedly far happier about it than I was on the inside.

"Right, but I saw cool-looking fire. It's a man's romance," I said while I cleared my throat and backed away. I wasn't entirely sure why I was so excited. Maybe I could feel I had an influence? Was I just happy I could give back a bit?

Rilu nodded his head sagely at my comment. It seemed we had a mutual understanding there.

"So, my question still stands. What'd your Skill evolve to?" I reiterated.

"Not sure yet. Usually you get the chance to test out what it does during an awakening, but just trying to release it just told me that I have some control over its destructive properties."

"I suppose it wouldn't be as noticeable to grow a power you already have."

"Mhm," Rilu confirmed as he stomped down his foot, golden light escaping from the ground, heralding the rise of a stone tablet.

"Can I look?" I asked hopefully.

"I doubt there's much you could do with that information. Go ahead,"

"Ouch,"

Or so I said, but I still read what came up, as the tablet re-etched itself into his Skill description.

-

[Keeper of the Origin Spark Lv. 1]

Your flame is bound to your body, mind, and soul, and now it serves to embody your growth. Your fire provides a nurturing effect to those you choose, allowing you to imbue observers or those you enchant with properties of your choice.

*Your flame still burns as it always has, but it struggles to destroy or corrode objects and beings directly.

*Techniques: Ignite, Transfer, Enchant, Project

*Transformations Unlocked: Eyes, Scales, Claws, Wings

-

It was an interesting Skill, all things considered. I was curious about the limits on the effects it could imbue, but assuming it could function on Rilu as well, it could be the break he needed to win more duels. We would have to do experiments, of course, such as if a flame-enhanced sword swing would cause less fire damage but possibly end up sharper at Rilu's discretion, or...

A sense of uncomfortable warmth blasted me out of my theories, and I quickly realized that something was very wrong. The physical heat was stifled, but Gradient detected some distinct spiritual weight which grew more intense as I focused on the Skill.

Hesitantly, I looked over at Rilu, beginning an encouraging sentence.

"Hey, this is great, right? If it works on you, you can focus it for 1 on 1, or, depending on the limits, open a lot of new dimensions to combat. What if you can make plants-" I began rambling at his expression of boiling yet chilling anger.

"Quiet."

"Oh, okay!"

I was not going to fuck with that.

-

Had my parents been right? Did I really block myself off from every option? Leaf was supposed to be my hope, but was it really what I wanted if my only option was support?

True Dragons simply did not awaken abilities like this. They may have control abilities, they may have defensive abilities, but they did not have abilities that eliminated the true might of fire.

This was the power of a Hornless. What more did I expect from an awakening borne of one? I bet that the damn Human would have said something like 'the true might of fire is what it can create'. That was what humans saw in fire, after all.

How was I so blind? How did I let myself listen to his stories? Why didn't I let myself see that message? I could have avoided this unwanted inspiration.

I spat on the ground and didn't allow myself to experiment with my regained control. I would not relish in this, there was another way, there had to be, one that felt even more disgustingly right.

-

"Hey, you aren't being rational right now! Seriously, you're overreacting, there isn't any going back and I think that you're ignoring the potential of-"

"I know, and I said to be quiet. I don't want to hear any more of your oh-so-brilliant human ideas."

I didn't know what to say. I think he preferred it that way. We just stood, both in thought, him angry and me confused.

Or... Not so much confused as I felt betrayed. Up until this point, Rilu's sense of superiority was always said with his tongue firmly in his cheek, as if he didn't believe it himself. Or, more likely, that he didn't feel he had the right to believe it.

But that pride did exist, even if he was self-conscious about expressing it. I didn't appreciate the reminder that any distance I had cleared in his heart was because of my status as an outlier in how he was told the world worked.

My stomach fell and I felt the blood drain from my face. Because as I tried to reconcile with myself the fact that I had confirmed myself as an object of contempt in his eyes, I began to empathize with the fear he felt at that and the effect of his trust.

And as I felt it, my Imprint closed off, crushed under the weight of Rilu's. As our mental state aligned, my Imprint encountered immense interference. It was a thin and aimless resonance, a messy conflict due to being on the same battlefield, but it made me feel so naked in so many ways.

I stumbled back, leaning against the trunk of the nearby tree to keep myself stable.

Rilu's wings rose again. He tried to send me a look of anger based on his facial expression, but the story his eyes told was one of internal strife.

I wasn't even able to reach out my hand before he disappeared in a gust of wind. The sight of my mind's eye returned, but it was hollow.

-

I stood in that spot on the edge of the island for a better part of an hour. Staring off of the edge into not the glorious sky but the ground below.

More accurately, the distance between myself and the ground.

The feeling was too familiar.

I didn't cry or shake or hit or scream. I just stood there. Not considering, just seeing. The sky was a whole lot less bright today.

I was alone.

The words felt cold as I felt at them, analyzing their every inch and looking for a crack. I found nothing, no vulnerability to dispute with or break the statement. It was simple and I wasn't in a state to remind myself that it wasn't everything.

And then I turned around. I had work to do.

-

I didn't know how to start a fire.

Dragons happened to be good at that. This was normally a blessing, but also the reason for my current predicament.

It appeared that the being who could snap and conjure an inferno didn't see a need to carry a firestarter of any sort in his extradimensional satchel. Which took at most ten minutes to attune to.

It had been left with me because Rilu wanted me to see if I could consciously create or alter Catalysts outside of an awakening. I would have been so very dead without it.

Even if the camouflage tent or the grappling hook or the shapeshifting tool or the weird runic staff and really all of the cool magic stuff ran on mana, it was stocked with ration bars and mundane equipment as well.

I believe that at this point I had already displayed my utter ineptitude at being a survivalist, so these things were godsends. The sky was bright enough for to see my immediate surroundings and even if it weren't Gradient would still function, so the night held no danger.

But good lord was it cold. The temperature at the height I was at covered the grass and trees in a growing layer of frost, growing whiter and more intense as the night went on. Combined with the only semiobscured view of the Web, it was even more enchanted

I just wished that some of that enchantedness came coupled with a source of heat.

I wanted to tell myself that I was alive and that that was all that mattered, but I just found myself wincing at the emotional pain it brought. I needed something to distract myself.

And I had two real options to waste the night on- Sleep not being one of them, I knew I wasn't getting any of that- and I knew which one I would pick.

I pulled up my Manifestation, a transparent light-blue screen greeting my eyes. It provided no light and hung in my vision. I was mildly intrigued by how my Imprint seemed to twist and warp to manifest it, but that was a curiosity for another day.

I navigated over to my skill screen, finding that Gradient's description still remained the same. Rilu had told me to watch out for that.

Sadly, that was my last distraction.

I mentally navigated to my class selection menu.

-

Available Classes: Scholar, Enchanter, Ranger

-

I had intended to go with Enchanter, as the focus could become mental strength quite easily assuming that it worked how I believed it to, but my situation demanded something else.

I selected [Ranger].

-

The wind whispers to you and flows behind you, the earth tells you ancient tales and lengthens your stride. You have begun to walk on the path of the Ranger, an explorer and a fighter seeking new stories rather than new prey. May heaven and earth always be on your side, traveler, from this first step and for every mile after.

You have chosen your initial class and will now undergo a Trial. There are no consequences upon failure, but all of your progress will be reset. You cannot choose a different Class once you have begun.

Do you wish to begin the Trial? [Y/N]

-

I almost wanted to click no for the hell of it, but I wasn't going to let myself get out of this. I needed to take the first step if I wanted to prove myself to Rilu. I had to become strong. I had a suspicion, or perhaps more of a hope, that there was a reason I was stranded on this planet. That I had the potential to face it.

And that hope would only come to fruition if I gave it a shot.

I had to become a Dragon. Now more than ever.

I nodded and selected Yes, in what would be my first of many Trials.