My world-tree system-Chapter 84 - 83: Searching for food

Foster adjusted his gear, tightening the straps of his reinforced skin battle suit, while the dragon perched on his shoulder twitched slightly, a sign of impatience or excitement. They were ready to leave Vollua, to move away from the protection of the Mother Tree to meet the creature’s growing needs.

Lïanna and a few elves watched silently as they left, concern evident on their faces. Köflik, arms folded, grunted as he shook his head.

- Are you sure you want to go alone?" he asked gravely.

- I’m not alone," replied Foster, glancing at his dragon. And I can’t risk imposing this burden on our people. If they’re to learn to survive, it’s I who must guide them.

Lïanna nodded slowly, her gaze heavy on the empty jade egg he still carried attached to his belt.

- Be careful, Foster," she murmured. I sense disturbances in the forest. Something lurks beyond our borders.

Foster didn’t answer. He felt it too. An unhealthy presence, lurking somewhere in the shadows of the forest.

Without another word, he darted through the opening in Vollua’s protective roots, the dragon leaping from his shoulder to follow close behind. The barrier closed behind them with a muffled rustle, instantly severing all connection with the elven city.

They were alone.

The forest outside Vollua was radically different from what he knew. Where the interior was bathed in light and living magic, the outside was uncertain territory. The trees were more gnarled, their trunks twisted as if corruption was trying to reach them without ever being able to fully subdue them.

Foster advanced cautiously, listening for the slightest noise. His dragon walked beside him, his piercing gaze scanning the environment with instinctive attention. The bond between them vibrated with sudden tension.

Something was wrong.

Foster stopped abruptly.

Silence.

Absolute, unnatural, oppressive silence.

The birds had fallen silent. The wind itself seemed to have stopped blowing.

And then...

A crack.

Foster turned, instantly drawing his katana. His dragon growled softly, its scales glinting in the pale light of day filtering through the treetops.

They were not alone.

The air took on a suffocating, icy presence.

The Obscurus were there.

A rustle in the thicket.

Then a shadow materialized between the trees.

Foster instinctively took a step back. There were so many of them. Far too many.

The Obscurus emerged from their hiding place, their silhouettes silhouetted in the mist that slowly rose from the ground. Their bodies were tenebrous, indistinct, masses of shifting shadows with eyes gleaming with spectral light.

Some had vaguely humanoid shapes, others resembled nightmarish creatures, creeping, hissing, deformed by the very corruption that had spawned them.

Foster clenched his jaw. They were surrounded.

- It wasn’t meant to be..." he breathed, clutching his katana.

The dragon instinctively clung to him, its wings folding against its back, ready to attack. But he was still young. He’d never fought before.

Foster knew it was up to him to lead.

And so the dance began.

One of the Obscurus leapt without warning. A monster with a gaping maw, riddled with black fangs dripping with a viscous substance.

Foster swung to the side and struck in one swift slice. His katana went through the creature in a flash, splitting it from shoulder to hip.

The Obscurus exploded into a black mist, but they weren’t supposed to be that weak.

A trap.

Others attacked at the same time. A black tide washed over him.

Foster narrowly dodged a claw that grazed his face, rolling to the side before thrusting his katana into a second attacker. He pivoted, slicing through another in one clean swoop before leaping back.

But there were too many of them.

A larger Obscurus struck with a titanic backhand. Foster barely blocked, but the force of the blow sent him flying into a tree.

Breathless, he felt a searing pain shoot through his ribs. They were overwhelming him.

The dragon suddenly screamed.

And Foster felt something trigger.

A raw, savage flow of energy from the bond.

The dragon opened its mouth and an explosion of green energy burst forth.

A howl pierced the air.

The wave of energy struck several Obscurus head-on, dissolving them instantly.

Foster froze for a moment. His dragon had just used a spell... without even knowing how.

But there was no time for reflection.

The fight wasn’t over.

Foster regained his composure and ran to his dragon, placing a firm hand on its neck.

- You’ve done well. But it’s not over yet. Just be ready.

The dragon nodded, his consciousness merging with Foster’s. They were connected.

They were connected.

They would become one in this fight.

The ground shook as the Obscurus horde reformed around them. Foster tightened his grip on his katana, his dragon watching at his side.

There was no escape.

It was time to fight.

- Come on, you evil horde..." Foster murmured through clenched teeth. We’ll see which of us is still standing at daybreak.

And with a shared roar, Foster and his dragon charged.

Foster braced himself for impact, his katana firmly clenched in his hands, his muscles taut, ready to face the tide of Obscurus that surrounded them. His dragon was glued to him, the energy vibrating between them like an indestructible bond of steel.

But just as Foster lunged to take the initiative... his dragon beat him to it.

With a cry of pure excitement, the little dragon swooped down on the horde, its wings quivering under the sudden impulse of its leap.

- Wait, what are you doing?" cried Foster, stunned.

The dragon plunged into the heart of the swarming Obscurus mass, claws and fangs forward, striking one of the creatures with bestial violence. He sank his glittering fangs into the monster’s throat, and with a vile sound, tore it out entirely with a sharp blow, swallowing it with a satisfied roar.

Foster, completely frozen, witnessed a scene he’d never imagined.

His dragon was eating the Obscurus.

And he wanted more.

He didn’t even give the creatures time to react. In a frenzy of claws and fangs, he leapt from one enemy to the next, tearing through the dark mass with terrifying ease. With every snap of his jaws, an Obscurus disappeared into nothingness.

- By the Mother Tree..." breathed Foster, utterly incredulous.

The creatures began to react, realizing that this threat was far more dangerous than their original prey. But it was already too late.

The rampaging dragon had become a predator at the top of the food chain.

Foster watched as a wave of energy swept through his dragon’s body. He immediately felt a sudden increase in his mana, as if something was changing.

Then it hit him.

With each Obscurus swallowed... his dragon grew.

- Oh shit...

He watched the scene unfold before his eyes with horrified fascination.

After twenty Obscurus devoured... the dragon grew as big as a wolf.

After forty... it exceeded the size of a pony.

After sixty... he was already bigger than Foster himself.

- It just doesn’t stop! he murmured, completely stunned.

But it wasn’t just his size that was changing. His scales were getting thicker, his wings were growing, his claws were getting longer. Every monster he absorbed made him more powerful.

The Obscurus began to panic.

They weren’t supposed to be the prey.

Some began to back away, hesitant. Others tried to flee.

But the dragon gave them no time.

In an explosion of pure mana, it opened its mouth and spat out a wave of green fire, sweeping away several Obscurus in one fell swoop. This was no mere flame. It was a living, hungry fire that devoured the creatures, leaving them no escape.

- Oh... Oh fuck.

Foster felt his dragon’s instincts resonate with his own. He was feeding. He was getting stronger.

And the scariest part?

He loved it.

After a hundred Obscurus, he reached the size of a full-grown horse.

After a hundred and fifty... he began to flap his wings, testing them for the first time.

After two hundred... he now eclipsed Foster, an imposing, massive creature, a monster born of flames and chaos.

He turned slowly towards Foster, his emerald eyes shining with intelligence... and sated hunger.

Foster felt a shiver run down his spine.

He no longer had a baby dragon.

He had a living weapon.

The dragon approached slowly, stooping slightly, its wings folded against its now muscular body. It gave a muffled growl, not threatening, but like a call.

Foster understood immediately.

He wanted him to come up.

- Do you want to try this now?" breathed Foster, his eyes round.

An image immediately appeared in his mind.

Him, riding his dragon, soaring into the sky.

- Shit...

Foster inhaled deeply, then, with a leap, climbed onto his back.

Foster clung to the dragon’s scales, feeling the raw power beneath his fingers. The wind blew against his face, sweeping his hair back as the massive creature spread its newly formed wings.

He didn’t even have time to think.

With a colossal flap, the dragon soared into the sky.

The sudden acceleration made his heart miss a beat. His stomach churned, his body tensed as gravity tried to pull him from his companion’s back. But the dragon was fast, precise, perfectly in control. He split the air with terrifying ease, his gigantic wings projecting gusts of wind with every beat.

Then, in one fluid motion, it rose above the Vollua canopy.

Foster had never felt anything like it.

Pure freedom. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The ground he’d always known beneath his feet was nothing more than a green carpet below. He was free from the limits of the earthly world, from the shackles of gravity.

His heart beat frantically, not with fear, but with pure euphoria.

- It’s... incredible.

The dragon pivoted slightly, gliding smoothly through the air currents, its silhouette silhouetted against the immense sky.

Foster could see everything. Vollua, the mountains in the distance, the rivers winding through the woods... He had never felt so powerful, so light.

Then, for the first time, a voice echoed in his mind.

- I feel it too.

Foster missed a beat. He wasn’t ready for this.

- Can you talk?!

- Yes.

It was a calm voice, poised, but with an underlying childlike curiosity. As if he was discovering the words as he spoke them.

- I didn’t know before. But now I do.

Foster took a moment to assimilate. His dragon had reached another milestone. Not only was he growing at breakneck speed, he was also learning faster than any other creature.

- It’s... fascinating," Foster murmured. You feel all this through our bond?

- Yes, I can.

There was silence as the dragon flapped its wings more slowly, stabilizing their flight.

Foster closed his eyes for a moment.

He felt everything his dragon felt.

The exhilaration of altitude, the caress of the wind beneath his wings, the brute force that propelled his body through the sky.

They were one.

Two souls in one flight.

- Do you have a name?" asked Foster after a moment.

The dragon remained silent before finally answering, in a more assertive tone.

- I haven’t got one yet. But I will.

Foster smiled slightly.

- Then we’ll find it together.

The dragon gave an approving growl, tilting its body slightly to begin a smooth descent.

Foster knew this flight wouldn’t last forever. They still had a goal.

- We must find food for Orëlas," he declared aloud, as much for himself as for his companion. Fruit rich in pure energy, not meat.

The dragon nodded in his mind.

- I can find them. I can smell them.

Foster nodded slowly, tightening his grip on his dragon’s rough scales.