The Voice: "A long time has passed... since a 'Vampire' last set foot in this world." Leo: "Who is there?" The Dragon (in a voice that shook the void): "How dare you question me when it is you who came to me?"
Leo used his "Power of Manifestation" to force the entity to reveal itself. A massive blue dragon appeared, its sheer size filling the entire void. Leo looked at it in astonishment and said: "How can this small stone contain the essence of a dragon this massive?"
The Dragon looked at Leo and said: "A predictable move from a vampire... arrogance runs through your blood just like your thirst."
The Dragon continued: "I am the spirit of this stone. I will grant you the ability to live in this world, but the price will be a drop of your blood for every period you spend here. And if you do not return me to this place after one year, your immortality will turn into a frozen shackle that breaks your soul forever."
Leo began to think angrily: "Only one year?! How will I conquer this world in just one year?!" Leo looked at the Dragon and said in a firm voice: "Forget the idea of me returning you after a year!"
The Dragon: "For you, this is the least I can do." Leo: "How can a captive dragon compare himself to me? I am the lord of these worlds!" The Dragon: "But you have not succeeded yet, and without my power, this world will also be difficult for you."
Leo stepped back slightly and said: "Bind me with something else." The Dragon replied: "Then, you must find the three remaining stones." Startled, Leo asked: "And what is the story behind these stones?"
The Dragon began to explain the secret: "We were four dragons living here in this world; we helped the people, and humans lived with vampires and other creatures in total peace. But one person appeared who did not want this peace. He wanted a world for humans alone, and he wanted to make the rest of the creatures his slaves. But the people did not accept his idea, so he decided to take revenge on us, because we were the rulers at that time and the ones who introduced the idea of co-existence and peace."
The Dragon continued: "This person came to us posing as a student who wanted to learn from us, and because he was very powerful, we accepted him among us. But what we did not know was that he would be our end. He began to divide us and forge his own path alone, until the day came when he decided to attack. He began to fight each one of us individually, at a time when we were scattered because of him, and he managed to defeat us because we faced him alone. After that, because he could not break our essence, he decided to trap us in these stones so that we would watch his dreams and ambitions come true in reality while we remained helpless."
Leo: "And where is he now?"
The Dragon: "No one knows his location, nor the location of the other stones. The only thing I know is that each stone is so far from the others that one distant stone will not know where another stone is located."
In the Human Village - The Competition Square
Meanwhile, the competition square was buzzing with shouting and cheering. The contest began, and the participants had to cut 5 massive logs, with the last person to finish being eliminated in each round. Alex was moving with deliberate slowness, making sure to finish cutting the five logs just before the last person, so as not to attract attention.
In the midst of this noise, Nilofar stood in the front rows, cheering for him enthusiastically, while Alex was suffering internally; he could not stand the smell of the humans surrounding him from every side, and he felt disgusted to be among them.
The rounds continued until Alex was left facing the three strongest competitors, who were used to winning the title every year. Excitement flared as the decisive stage began: cutting 500 pieces of wood to win the top two spots.
Everyone took off like lightning, and while the three rivals approached the 200-piece mark, Alex was still struggling to reach his first hundred. At this point, mockery from the crowd began to rise, and mocking laughter grew louder: "Look at this weakling!" "Why is he even participating?"
At that moment, Alex felt rage boiling in his veins. He could not tolerate the insults of these weak humans. While everyone was busy watching the top three rivals, Alex seized those few seconds and released a portion of his true power.
In a cold voice, he threw his axe to the ground and said: "I am finished."
The square suddenly fell silent. Everyone turned in shock; how did he complete 500 pieces in the blink of an eye? No one believed what their eyes were seeing, and whispers began to escalate: "This is impossible!", "How did he do it?". But soon, the people began to cheer for him and encourage him warmly after being dazzled by his strength.
Alex looked at the crowds and said to himself mockingly: "Weak humans... even they love the strong... what a world."
But Nilofar was not like the others. Since the beginning of the competition, her eyes were fixed on Alex alone. She saw what no one else saw; in the first blink of her eye, she saw half of the wood had been cut, and in the second blink, he had finished the rest. Nilofar stood stunned, immediately remembering what happened in the forest that day.
She began to whisper to herself: "Does this person have a connection to what happened in the forest that day? Where did he come from? And who is he, really?"