Date: ????

Location: ????

A man lay on his back on a smouldering sheet of rock that floated in a river of lava under a charcoal sky. He wore what was probably once a radiant suit of golden armour and clutched a once brilliant, golden spear in his right hand. Both were now charred and almost completely blackened, and the part of the armour that covered his forearms and chest had been completely destroyed. His helmet was also partially melted and it continued to burn at his scalp. However, the man did not scream or even moan in pain. He continued to lie there, mainly because he had no strength to move, but also because of his feelings of solemn accomplishment.

He was unable to turn his head, but from the corner of his eye, he could see a silver gauntlet still just slightly poking out of the flowing lava before completely sinking beneath the molten river. He lamented the loss and sacrifice of his partner as he patiently waited for when they would be reunited. Despite the extreme heat that sought to overpower all his senses, he could still feel that the rock he lay upon was breaking apart, and he would soon sink into the lava like his partner before him.

Suddenly, the flow of the lava became more violent and small waves of it splashed over his tiny island, hastening its destruction. Then, everything around him shook. The man couldn’t see it, and he wished to be unable to confirm it. Please, just let me die now before witnessing my failure.

“Remarkable.” A deep voice resounded throughout the man’s head. No, it cannot be, he thought. “To think, a pair of mortals could wound this one so.” The molten river surged again, but when a tide of lava was about to envelop the man, it suddenly split into two and splashed past either side of the floating rock. Then, the river of lava started to flow in the opposite direction, and the sheet of rock was dragged along with it.

Soon, a great shadow loomed over the man and his island. From the moment he heard the voice, he knew it had to be true, but he still fervently wished it wasn’t. He looked up, his face filled with a mix of hatred, despair, and regret. An enormous, red dragon rested before him. It could not be seen, but the dragon was not swimming or floating in the lava. It was simply so massive that everything above its chest could be seen despite resting on the molten riverbed that was at least forty feet deep. Notably, on its exposed chest was an open wound that was a few feet across and at least ten feet deep. Fire-like blood dripped out of it, and when the droplets hit the lava below, the lava sizzled and unnatural fires suddenly flared up on the lava’s surface.

“It was an impressive performance.” The dragon leaned in closer after giving its condescending compliment. It was just out of sight from the man, but a silver spear was lodged into the dragon’s right eye. “Regardless of how brief it was, you should feel honoured to have downed this one for even a moment.” As the dragon continued to speak, the wound on its chest started to glow a burning red.

“Damn you…” the man weakly let out.

“And you even still have the strength to speak. Yes, this one is sufficiently convinced. Mortal, this one offers you a chance to serve the Dragon God. Although a mere mortal, this one is sure you will be a great addition to the Dragon God’s army. Especially after taking in this one’s blood.”

“N- never…I will never…”

“This one has heard many tales about the stubbornness of mortals. However, this one has battled you and deemed you worthy. This one is even offering its own blood to induct you into service of the Dragon God. This is an offer no other would offer to a new follower.”

“I’d rather… die…” The man’s despair and regret was completely gone now. No matter what, he would never join with the ones responsible for destroying his kingdom and killing everyone he ever knew and loved. With a sudden burst of strength, he tightened his grip on his spear, and got off of his back. However, just as quickly as it had come, it faded away. He nearly collapsed and barely remained on his two feet as he held onto his spear for balance with his right arm. His left arm had no feeling left whatsoever.

“This one does not wish to negotiate.” The man could clearly hear a rising anger in the dragon’s voice. “However, this one also does not wish to kill one who could be reborn as a valued follower of the Dragon God. This one shall ask again. Will you serve the Dragon God?”

“No.” The man, despite his hoarse voice, tried his best to sound as imposing as possible, but he fell far short of his goal. The red dragon flapped its wings and the temperature of the air around them rose. The man fell over and his rock started to break apart faster now.

“You will choose to die a miserable death over choosing to receive this one’s favour?!” Magical flames erupted from the dragon’s wings and started to cover the river of lava.

“Yes…” The man did not bother to pump up his tone. He was already having problems staying conscious from the even greater heat and any attempts of bravado would only be self-serving at best. The magical flames now surged on his rock and quickly enveloped the man. It was excruciatingly painful, but it was also over in an instant.

****

In a hospital room somewhere, a man finally opened his eyes after a two month long coma, loudly screaming as he did. After hearing his own voice, he suddenly stopped. A nurse who heard the screaming quickly entered the room and went up to the man. He turned his head with a confused look on his face.

“A- are you alright?!” she asked. The man blinked a couple times and then looked around the room.

“Where am I?”

“You are in a hospital.” The man continued to look around as if he didn’t quite believe her. “E- earlier, you were screaming. Are you in pain, right now?” The man suddenly lifted up his arms, which moved with relative ease. Then, he tried moving his legs, but nothing happened. “Ah…sir-” The nurse’s words were cut short when the man suddenly conjured a spear and then gripped it with his right hand. The nurse screamed and fell backwards. The man ignored the panicking nurse and examined the spear. It was very simple and had no adornments or any unusual characteristics. However, the man didn’t think that to be a necessarily bad thing. It felt comfortable to hold and although he hadn’t tested it yet, he was confident in its strength and sharpness.

“Woman, is this Allenven?” The nurse did not answer, and right after the question was asked, a doctor and another nurse entered the room.

“What’s going on here?” the doctor asked, clearly wondering about the nurse’s scream. However, upon seeing the spear, he no longer needed an answer. He quickly brought up his hands and changed his tone. “Sir, this is a hospital. We are here to treat you. Please, put away your weapon.”

“Man, is this Allenven?” The doctor took a few seconds to respond.

“No, you are in West Byzantine.” The doctor had no idea what Allenven was, but felt it was a bad idea to talk about that.

“I see. I figured as much.” The man knew it was foolish to hope that his kingdom had somehow survived. “Then, tell me, what is the current situation of the war?” The man did not recognize what West Byzantine was, but he at least had the wherewithal to understand that he was now in a different time.

“T- the war?” The doctor knew it was bad to look confused when dealing with a distressed patient but he couldn’t help it. “Uh, I mean, well, there are no problems with any war right now.”

“What? Really?” He was feeling more excited than he had ever felt in a long time, but then another thought dawned on him. “Wait…why did the war end?”

“...which war?” the doctor asked.

“Which war? What other war could I be talking about?!” Before the man’s agitation grew even more, it suddenly started to fade. The sedatives administered through his IV were now starting to take effect.

“Sir, just relax. There is no war that you need to worry about.”

“B- but…why? Did you sell yourselves to the Gods?” The doctor and nurses ignored his question.

“Doctor, do you think that perhaps the patient is referring to the Dungeons? He used to be a Dungeoneer, after all.”

“Ah, you’re right. The trauma from that is probably contributing to his distorted memories.”

The hospital staff continued to talk, but the man could no longer hear them. He only felt numbness. Before falling unconscious, though, the man resolved himself to one thing. No matter what the rest of the world was planning to do, he would not stand for the reign of the Gods. He would absolve himself of his past failure and personally strike them down.