Chapter 1
“What is gone shall return,Fire shall rise to the heavens.Under the dominion of dragons,The world shall drift into ash.”
For dozens of generations, these verses had been spoken only in whispers.Some dismissed them as nothing more than a tale.Others knew that when the day came, nowhere would be safe.
And now...
the sky was on the brink of turning crimson.
***
I woke to my mother’s scream.
Two minutes later, she burst through the door of our room. Before I could even understand what was happening, she started shouting:
“Get up! Pack your things. Now!”
“What? What’s going on, Mom?” I asked, my voice hoarse and cracked with sleep. My younger sibling, not understanding anything, began to cry.
The sun had barely risen — yet with a single word from my mother, darkness fell again:
“Dragons...”
Dragons had always been nothing more than a legend.Most people said it was all made up, and I secretly mocked my parents for believing in it. I had never thought it worth questioning.
But when I saw the fear on my mother’s face, I didn’t argue. I just started gathering my things.
Less than ten minutes later, we were in the car.
My parents sat frozen the entire drive. I could see my mother’s lips moving — praying. My sibling had stopped crying, but soft sobs still shook their shoulders.
I couldn’t take the silence anymore.
“Mom... where are we going?” I asked.
“To the Grove of Sair,” she said, taking a deep breath. Then she reached out and placed her hand over our knees.
“The dragons have come... the prophecy has come true. Your father and I are part of a small group that prepared for this day. Shuttles are waiting in the grove — they’ll take us to Earth. We’ll be safe. Don’t be afraid, my babies.”
Mom... what are you saying? For God’s sake!” I said, unable to believe it.
I had graduated from high school just yesterday. I had dreams, plans, goals ahead of me.
This all felt like a mad, impossible dream.
But then my mother looked straight into my eyes — and in that look she poured everything she felt into me:
fear, worry... and an unshakable faith.
When we arrived at the Grove of Sair, a massive crowd had already gathered. Faces were frozen in terror. Mothers clutched their children tightly in their arms. Elderly people murmured prayers. Dogs barked wildly, straining against their chains.
It was pure chaos.
I spotted familiar faces in the crowd. I waved at one of my classmates from afar — but he ignored me.Or maybe he didn’t... maybe fear had made everyone blind to each other.
Even in the middle of that frenzy, Selim looked the same as always. Cold. Controlled. Silent. His eyes scanned the crowd, but not a single expression moved across his face — as if none of this concerned him at all.
As my family stepped into the shuttle, a scream tore through the air behind me.Something ice-cold wrapped around my leg. My heart leapt into my throat. When I looked down, I saw it:
Half human. Half lizard.
Its skin was covered in scales, and in its eyes burned a disgusting hunger. In that moment, I felt like I might lose control entirely. I had never seen anything like it — and I wished I never had. I didn’t know what to do. My heart pounded so hard it felt ready to shatter my ribs.
Suddenly, we were surrounded by these grotesque creatures.
My family was already inside the shuttle. Before the doors closed, they were calling out to me, reaching their hands toward me. They were screaming my name — but their voices sounded distant, muffled, like echoes from the bottom of a well.
In our kind, everyone is born with a unique power.
Mine... was healing. In desperation, I did the only thing I could think of:
I reversed it.
My palms trembled. Fire coursed through my veins. With every ounce of my will, I tried to unravel the creature’s system from within. A low hum rose. The creature screamed — its body convulsed.
It worked.
But my relief lasted only seconds.
Because when I lifted my head...
the shuttles were already lifting into the sky.
My eyes widened in horror.
My mother and sibling were striking the glass, their mouths moving in silent screams — but I couldn’t hear them. As their cries rose toward the heavens...
I stood on the ground, utterly alone.
And then...
a shadow fell behind me.
The creature I had just struck down was standing again. This time, far more enraged. It seized me with its claws and hurled me to the ground. My head slammed hard against the earth. For a moment, everything blurred.
And then...
darkness.
