The Silver Dragon

"Elaine! Are you alright, what happened!?" Elliot and his grandfather rushed out into the hallway leading to the bedroom, seeing only a smoldering doorway veiled in smoke and ash.

"Elliot, stay here! Do not go any closer!" Elliot was stunned as his grandfather suddenly firmly gripped his shoulders, forcing him to a halt.

"What? But Grandfather-" Elliot tried to argue but found himself stopped.

"No, Elliot! Stop talking back. Stay here now, I must ensure your safety. Trust me." Elliot's grandfather flashed him a severe look and immediately rushed forward. His old frame moved incredibly quickly, almost too fast for a normal human.

With a wave of his hand, the smoke in the doorway was blown to the side, clearing the way for him to see into the room.

"That… What on earth happened to her?" Elliot's Grandfather stood in gaping shock as he stared at the doorway. All he saw was Elaine, sitting in a cross-legged position, her clothing being nothing more than rags. However, rather than normal skin hidden underneath, her body was coated in what appeared to be shining silvery metallic scales.

"She… Did she awaken? How is this possible?" Elliot's Grandfather didn't know what to say as he whispered his stunned thoughts to himself. He paid no attention to the utterly destroyed room, only focusing on the relatively peaceful expression on Elaine's face.

"Grandpa, can I come over? Is Elaine alright?" From behind, Elliot called out. He had rarely seen his grandfather acting so serious, and he didn't dare to get too close when his grandfather was in such a solemn mood.

"Yes, you can come over. The girl seems to have awakened, is all. Though for it to be so powerfully destructive…" Elliot's grandfather still had a solemn tone, though this time it was for a different reason as he looked at Elaine's peaceful expression.

When a magical child first received their mark, that was the day they could begin to practice Arcane Breathing. Once they finally managed to absorb and integrate Arcane Essence into their body, it would allow them to manifest their mark on their entire body. This was different for every person, and it was known as Awakening.

"Elliot, this girl… She is someone quite special. You are almost ready to leave for the academy… Until then, you will be responsible for guiding her through her magic practice." Elliot looked at his grandfather with some surprise.

"Guide her? Grandfather, she hasn't even awakened… yet…" Elliot stopped as he reached the door's entrance and saw the metallic scales which coated Elaine's skin.

"Sh-She really… Grandfather, how did-?" Elliot's stammers caused his grandfather to shake his head. "My boy, I do not know either. Perhaps she lied to you, but even still, for it to happen so suddenly…"

…

As Elaine sat meditating on the floor, her consciousness was not actually present in the room. Instead, she found herself in the middle of an endless expanse of darkness.

"This is…? Where am I? Elaine twisted her body in the endless void, finding that there was nothing around here except for empty black.

"Hello? Elliot? Are you there? Is anyone there?" It didn't take long for panic to set in, but Elaine quickly found that there was a strange sensation building up inside of her body. It felt as though there was a pressure building up inside of her veins, putting strain on her heart and lungs.

"Ah… What is happening? Hello!? Anybody? Can anybody hear me!?" Elaine's mind started to race as breathing became more difficult. She found herself desperately flailing in the empty space, gripping for something to hold on to, to support her.

Then, like a rush of cold water had been dumped over her head, all of the pressure within her body seemed to flow in a wave. It felt chilling and also greatly relieving, almost like being taken out of a warm bath and being placed into the wind.

The pressure quickly left her chest and began to rush into her arm, flooding down her blood vessels and causing her hand to twitch violently.

"Its… My burn mark? What is happening?" Elaine suddenly held out her hand, on the back of which, a dim glow started to emerge. As more of the pressure flew into her hand, it seemed to disappear, and as it did, the glow became brighter and brighter.

Finally, under Elaine's wide eyes, a figure began to emerge from the mark on her hand. She watched as a massive, pitch-black claw shot out of the blinding light which coated her arm, followed by a set of gleaming scales.

It was the same creature as before, the one which had left Elaine feeling unsure, almost like a hallucination. In her dreams for the past two years, she had recalled this beast in different ways.

Like a demonic hand of fire that cast aside her parents, and also like a kind hand of God, which rescued her from the fire. Elaine watched as the claw became a scaled hand, then an arm, and then a shoulder. Finally, the entire creature emerged, illuminating the darkness with a faint, silver hue.

On its back spread a pair of wings, which sprouted out like a silvery canvas, completely surrounding Elaine. Its body seemed to be made of metal, its scales a shining, ethereal silvery color.

Elaine looked at the silver dragon before her with unknown emotions, feeling conflicted. She wasn't sure of what exactly had happened on the day of her parent's death, and she wasn't sure what to feel about this beast.

She looked up at the creature's head, watching its incomparably beautiful silver scales, and seeing its peaceful and closed eyes.

Then, like a thunderclap, the voice she had heard all those years ago sounded out once again. "Finally, you decided to wake up." Then, the dragon lifted its eyelids, revealing the golden orbs which seemed to pierce through Elaine's soul.

At that moment, Elaine had an inexplicable feeling pour into her heart. With a placid and calm expression, she met the dragon's eyes, feeling her own willpower soaring when she stood her ground with the creature.

"Why didn't you save them?" She whispered at first, but then, she felt the burning sensation in her nose, and her vision suddenly began to blur.

"Why!? Why couldn't you have saved them!? Why did you leave me alone without my parents? Huh? Answer me!" As Elaine spoke, she felt her tears fall faster, and with rage, she rushed up to the dragon, throwing a fist at the scaled leg of the beast.

It was pointless, the dragon was nearly 8 meters long, but Elaine didn't hesitate. Her hand collided with the metallic scales of the creature, and she felt a sharp pain in her knuckles and fingers.

"Elaine. Please, calm down." The powerful but soothing voice of the dragon sounded out, but it only caused Elaine to feel irrepressible anger in her heart.

"Calm down!? My parents… Th-they are dead because of you… They…" Elaine clutched her injured hand as she collapsed to her knees, tears welling in her eyes.

The dragon before her had a deep sadness in its gaze as it looked down at her crying body. "Elaine. They are not dead because of me. Nor are they dead because of you. At that time, it was all we could do to save you… I couldn't save them… Because we are the same. We were not strong."

The dragon's words pierced Elaine's heart, and she felt her body grow limp. "You… What do you mean? We are the same? How is that…"

"Elaine, you and I, we are the same. You are me. I am you. I most certainly did not kill your parents, merely, I protected us. It was all we could do." The dragon then stopped speaking. It lifted its claw and touched Elaine's chin.

Elaine felt something within her tremble as the claw touched her skin. From the point of contact, silver scales began to emerge on her pallid white skin, transforming her sickly pale appearance into one of stunning and lustrous beauty.

The scales did not completely coat her skin, but they turned the pallid white into an enchanting, snow-white color. Her long, golden hair perfectly matched the silvery-white color of her skin and would leave most people enchanted by the sight. Her eyes, which had appeared to be just a normal and dull brown color, suddenly seemed to glow with a vibrant light, becoming a shimmering mercurial gold, exactly the same as the eyes of the dragon.

"Elaine. You and I are still young. We should not have a grudge between us now. In the future, there will be much to discover, but you must return. You cannot stay here forever." These were the final words Elaine heard before she suddenly found the space around her disappearing.

Her consciousness returned to her body, and she opened her eyes to find herself in a destroyed room, covered in ash and dust. In front of her, Elliot and his grandfather were standing, staring at her with shocked expressions.

"Hm? Elliot? What… just happened?"