When did I become aware of my current existence? I am not sure. The passage of time has been lost to me for…well I do not know how long. All I do know, is that for the time I have been aware, it has been dark. Not a scary type of dark, rather, a comforting one. Forever sounded by a soft warmth that envelops my entire self. Not that I quite know what my “self” is. It has been warm, and dark, for what feels like forever.

What about before that? Before forever? It sounds impossible, but I do remember things. Threads in an unwoven tapestry. I remember a bright blue sky, fields of green grass. Tall oak trees, the soft breeze, white beaches and the vast oceans. The outside world, I once lived in it. I was a person living in that world.

Is where I am now the same as the one I once lived in? I can’t be quite sure, all I know about this world is that it’s warm, and dark. That could be all there is to this world, or maybe all I am capable of experiencing. If that’s the case, then I suppose it’s enough. It’s comfortable here, simple. I don’t really have to think or act, I merely am, and that’s enough.

“The World shall be yours.”

Even when I think of making peace with my existence. Those words ring out in my head. I heard them so long ago, or maybe it was yesterday? That voice I heard, it was the only voice I have ever heard here. A large and comforting voice, but who was it? Why did she say that? It only leaves me with more questions! The world shall be yours, so that means there is more to the world than this? Or, does it mean that I already have the world, since this is all there is?

It made me restless, the longer I am here, the more my restlessness grows. I wanted to know, I needed to know if there was more out there. If this warmth and darkness is all I will ever be, or if I am something more! I don’t know when it happened, but as I sat there pondering, my entire world began to shake.

_____

“Argh! Damn this thing’s heavy!” Shulk groaned, every muscle in his body bracing the weight of the human sized egg he tried to carry. Even with his strength from years of mercenary work, this thing was far too big for him to carry! “Dana, c’mere. I need your help.”

“Are ya kiddin?” Dana scoffed. “I’m gonna get squished by that!”

“Well the boss wants whatever valuables we can find from this place brought back, and this giant-ass egg’s gotta be pretty damn valuable!”

Dana shook her head in defeat. He was right, out of anything found in this old temple, this was the only thing that looked remotely valuable. A red scaled egg, sitting on a pedestal behind a hidden wall in the temple’s treasure vault. Other groups seemed to have scooped up what treasure was left in the vault a long time ago, but no one else found this.

“Fine!” Together, they heaved up the large egg. Shulk took the bulk of the weight while Dana kept its size balanced. They may be experienced mercenaries, but heavy labor wasn’t their strong suit.

“Careful, careful! Don’t want to break the thing!”

“Urgh-! Easy for you to say, you tiny rat!” The large man grunted at the tiny woman. He had to carry the weight! “What the hell even is this thing? Never seen- urgh, something like this before.”

“Must be some sorta decorative egg or somethin, never heard of an egg with scales on it. I bet the inside’s made of gold!”

Up the stairs they went, through the temple’s main hall, dilapidated with centuries of neglect. Parts of the structure’s stone crumbling with time. Its windows shattered after a hundred storms battered its glass. The symbol of the god or goddess this place worshipped was even destroyed, making it impossible to tell who this Temple is dedicated to.

“Ey, if it’s made o’ gold inside. Maybe we could break it into pieces. Tell em that’s how we found it! Keep a couple pieces for ourselves.”

“Nuh uh, we dunno what’s on the inside Dana. If we break it and it’s nothin. We just wasted our paycheck! C’mon we’re almost at the wagon.”

“God you’re such a bore, Shulk.” She huffed as their steps took them outside, to the ruined courtyard just outside this Temple’s main Church hall. The land surrounding it is covered in dense forest. High above, the stars glittered across a dark black sea of night. A full moon begins to creep above the trees.

“We were in there for quite a while huh?” Shulk asked.

“Yeah- ergh, let’s just get this damn thing loaded then we’ll make ca-“

“Agh-!”

In the dark of the night sky, Dana wasn’t able to see the pebble that crossed her path. Slipping underneath her feet and dropping her to the ground. The egg she was balancing was losing it’s support.

“Dana! Agh, shit!” For all his might, Shulk was not large enough to balance the egg. Without Dana, the weight began to shift, forcing itself to the ground, right where Dana sat. She had only a moment, rolling to the side as the egg slammed onto the grassy stone where she just laid.

The egg, slamming to the ground, cracked.

_____

The entire world began to shake, my intangible body suddenly feeling the physical contact of the walls surrounding me. The constant bouncing of my world continued on and on, bumping me back and forth across my own confines. I was being carried! This “world” was a sealed item, and I was its contents. There was a world outside of the darkness.

But how do I reach it?

My body felt like it was churning, the constant bouncing getting to the stomach I now felt. This feeling isn’t warm and comforting, it’s sickening! How do I get it to stop? How do I go back to my peaceful warmth? No, that wasn’t it. The real question. How do I get out?

Just as I asked, my world came to a crashing halt. A crack in the darkness appeared before my very eyes, gentle light poured into my dark home. With its light, came sound.

“Fucking hell Dana! What the hell did you do?!” A deep voice, a man? I can understand his words, but I have no idea what they meant.

“What did I do?! I almost died! That thing almost crushed me!” Another voice, higher pitched. A woman? They both sounded angry, loud. It hurt my ears, I had never heard anything before now. Like scratching nails across a chalkboard.

A chalkboard?..

Suddenly, senses I didn’t know I had were coming to me. The stench of alcohol and sweat laid just outside this cracked barrier. I could feel the confines of my world ever clearer, and could feel the movements of my body in full. I have four limbs, that I know for sure. Though they feel different than what I once was used to. Either way, with these, maybe I could break free? I put my arms forward towards the crack of light, and pushed.

___

“It wouldn’t have had the chance to crush ya if you kept hold of it correctly! Now look at it, it’s cracked!” Shulk yelled back angrily, but before Dana had the chance to retort. Another crack in the egg burst open. A large, jagged line that sought to break open the egg further.

“Eh…I didn’t do that one..” Dana replied, watching as the cracks grew larger, a scale breaking off and falling to the earth. This was no longer the fault of the fall, they both know. Something else was breaking it, something from the inside.

“..Are ya sure this is just decorative, Dana?..” Shulk hesitantly asked.

“H-How should I know? There ain’t no beast I heard of that lives in that type of egg!”

“Now that i’m thinkin about it, I think there’s one kinda beast that’d be growin in something like that.”

“What in the hell are ye talkin about Shulk?!”

The force against the egg finally reached its breaking point. A piece of its shell flying free, and a single scaled, clawed hand reaching out.

“A dragon-!”

____

With enough force, the wall that stood in my way to the light finally broke free. My hand reached through! A flood of pale white light shining into my eyes. So bright! At least, brighter than the pitch black I once had. My eyes had to adjust to it, but the walls that bind me no longer stand in my way. The darkness shattered and fell to pieces, and my world expanded like never before. To a gentle night sky covered with thousands of glowing lights, and a large white moon that loomed high in the dark glittering sea. My lungs filled with the fresh air of the forest, stepping out of my confines and onto the broken stone and soft grass that sat beneath my feet. It truly was like the world I once knew!

Even better, I wasn’t alone in this world. There were people! Human people! A large, hairy man and a smaller, freckled woman. From the looks of it, I stood at about the same height as the woman. Just a tad shorter than the man. They both wore rather crude traveling wear, the man having a chainmail shirt over his chest. The woman likewise wore a worn padded gambeson. Each of them had swords at their hips, but the woman also had something else on her belt. Seeing as I could understand them before, maybe I can talk to them?

Hello! Could you tell me where I am?

“Aaorugh! Croouhrooaar?”

They both jumped in shock as I tried to speak, though I was even surprised! I didn’t think I wouldn’t be able to speak, maybe I just haven’t done it in a while? The man carefully had his hands on the handle of his sheathed sword, but the woman held her hand out to stop him.

“Wait wait Shulk.” She said, the man was named Shulk then? “It’s just a baby, maybe we could use it?”

The man named Shulk lowered his eyes at me, he clearly was wary of me. But to call me a Baby? I don’t feel like a baby, babies shouldn’t be able to think or talk. Then a certain thought came to mind…What exactly am I? I came out of my darkness into this…courtyard it seems. A crumbling Temple behind me. The stones are covered in moss, grass and dirt, and puddles dart the flat yard space. The two people stand in front of me, watching me carefully. A wagon stood behind them, their wagon, I can assume.

Next to me, was a scaled egg. Red in color, with slime pouring out of its broken shell. The slime leaves a trail out of the shell toward a long, red scaled tail.

My tail.

“Are ya sure about that? If this is what we think it is, Dana, they are meant to be extinct!”

“All the more reason! We got a rare species in our grasp right now. Someone’s gotta be willin to pay a king’s ransom for it!”

“…Maybe, it ain’t attackin us at least…It’s standing on its hind legs though, is that a threat?”

I have a tail, did I always have a tail?! It’s covered in the same red scales as the egg. I was in that?! My heart raced in my chest, my head started to pound from the shock. This was all new, this was too much! I brought my hand to hold my head, then my eyes saw them. The scaled red hand, with four large, thick claws on its fingers. My fingers. This is my hand!

This isn’t right, I'm a person, aren’t I?! People don’t have tails, or big clawed paw hands! If I'm not a person, then what am I?! I have to figure this out, could I ask them?! No, they can’t understand me. My voice is harsh, hoarse. Like an animal…Like a..

A puddle, there are puddles in this courtyard! I spotted the nearest one towards my egg, and rushed to it on my two legs. Though, walking on two legs didn’t feel right at all. It was more like waddling than walking. The two humans watched me carefully, clearly as confused as I am! Extinct, a baby, a tail, clawed paw hands, harsh voice that can’t speak. I can’t be human, but when I looked into the reflection of the puddle, it was still the last thing I expected.

“I don’t know a thing about dragons! But if we’re careful. We can get it, trust me!”

A dragon. I’m…I am a dragon!