Draven looked at the man who had approached him, smiling to himself.
*He's a vampire... and he called me his nephew. So, he must be my old man's brother.*
*I'll just pretend I don't know who he is.*
Still smiling, Draven said,
"Nice to meet you too, mister... but I don't know who you are."
The man smiled back, but inwardly, his thoughts burned with hatred.
*Mixed-blood freak how disgusting.*
*Just standing near you makes my skin crawl.*
But his expression didn't change.
Just as the man opened his mouth to introduce himself, another voice cut in.
"I see you've met my son," said a calm, commanding voice.
Draven turned and saw his father approaching.
"This is my brother—your uncle."
He gestured toward the man.
"His name is Ivan."
Draven took a step closer to Ivan, his grin widening.
"Nice to meet you, Uncle Ivan."
He looked up at the man with mock innocence.
"So... where's my gift?"
Ivan stared down at Draven.
*Stay away from me, you abomination if you where to get any closer I won't be able to restrain myself from killing you.*
But on the outside, he smiled like a gentleman.
He raised his right hand, and mana began gathering in his palm.
A soft glow formed, growing brighter and brighter until the room was bathed in white light.
Draven and Alex shielded their eyes.
As the light faded, Ivan lowered his hand, revealing a strange black stone.
It was smooth, faintly pulsing, and shaped like an egg.
"This," Ivan said, "is a Spirit Egg."
Draven took the egg, turning it over in his hands.
"Am I supposed to eat it?" he asked flatly.
Alex gasped.
"You don't know what a Spirit Egg is?"
Draven didn't even blink.
"Never heard of it."
Alex stared at him, dumbfounded.
"There are only a few in the entire world. This might be the only one left..."
She shook her head.
"But I guess it makes sense you've never heard of it."
Draven simply stared at her with the same blank expression.
Alex sighed and began explaining.
"Spirit Eggs are ancient artifacts. You can hatch them by injecting mana into them."
Draven tilted his head.
"So, what kind of beast hatches from it?"
"No one knows," Alex said. "It's completely random."
She paused.
"You might get an F-rank beast... or an A-rank. Or, if you're incredibly lucky, something like an SSS-rank."
Draven squinted.
"And what are these ranks you're talking about?"
Alex straightened, eager to educate him.
"Beasts are ranked by power: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS."
She held up a finger.
"F is the weakest."
Then she raised another.
"SSS... that's the level of a god."
Draven nodded slowly.
"And what kind of beast is strong enough to be considered SSS-rank?"
Alex didn't hesitate.
"Dragons."
Her expression became serious.
"They're the strongest creatures known to exist."
"Some say they can live for millions of years."
She crossed her arms.
"They're like gods—unstoppable."
Draven looked at her silently.
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Draven shrugged.
"Have you ever seen one of these dragons you keep going on about?"
Alex hesitated.
"Well... no. But I've read about them."
Draven gave her a deadpan look.
"So you believe everything you read?"
Alex crossed her arms.
"Books don't lie."
"If no one's ever seen a dragon," Draven said, "then they probably don't exist anymore."
He glanced down at the Spirit Egg in his hands.
"And even if they did, they're probably long dead."