A burst of power surged through his limbs as his feet slammed into the cracked floor.
Wind screamed past him as he launched upward in a blur of gold and heat, his eyes locked on the falling object.
He seemed like a rocket being launched into space.
The egg shimmered with a soft, golden light, like it was otherworldly.
In that split second, Drahon felt like the life of everyone in the world depended on him catching the egg.
It felt like the fate of the world rested on his shoulders. At that point, it seemed so. Like if the egg should fall and meet the ground, the world would end.
It was with this mindset that Drahon stretched, dots of sweat on his face.
And then, in a heartbeat... in the blink of an eye, he reached it.
His arms wrapped around the egg just before it would’ve shattered on the stone floor, and he landed hard, crouching to absorb the impact, his boots skidding against the dust-covered tiles.
Finally on the ground, Drahon stared at the egg in awe.
Golden runes, all in caps, appeared in front of him:
[Congratulations players, you have retrieved the first of the mythical eggs!]
For a second there, Drahon couldn’t believe it.
The first of the five mythical eggs—which he had no idea what the names were—now rested upon his hands.
Some seconds ago they had almost been defeated by some guard goblin, and before that were tons of other perils they had survived.
To finally have the egg in his hands!
The glow from the egg lit up his face as he stared at it in silence.
Warmth radiated from it, steady, rhythmic, and like a heartbeat.
Devon was smiling and so was Ayvira. They too couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
[Dragon Egg Discovered!]
[Type: Mythical Dragon Egg | Grade: Extremely Rare]
The air warped into itself, and Drahon, Devon, and Ayvira all looked at it with a questioning look.
[Congratulations players, you have discovered one of the mythical eggs!]
[All skills upgraded!]
[All abilities enhanced!]
Drahon looked at the words in the air in surprise. It was likely the Rune Guide, and well, he had a lot of questions so he might as well take a shot:
"Golden egg?" he asked, the glowing dragon egg still in his hands. "What are the names of the remaining dragon eggs?"
The words rearranged, and now, the players heard a voice, synthesized, actually, one that seemed to echo in their minds:
[The Five Mythical Dragon Eggs:]
Golden Egg – Embodies the essence of light and purity.
Azure Egg – Holds the power of the endless skies and storms.
Crimson Egg – Contains the fury of fire and destruction.
Emerald Egg – Channels the vitality of nature and growth.
Obsidian Egg – Shrouded in shadows, it harbors the secrets of the void.
The voice continued, its tone solemn:
’[These eggs are remnants of the Primordial Dragon, a being of immense power who existed eons ago. Before its demise, it laid these five eggs, each infused with a fragment of its essence. Its reason for laying them is unknown, or what led to that.
Scattered across the realms, they remained hidden, awaiting those deemed worthy... which are you, players.]’
[Warning: Entity ’Lord Valcvan’ seeks the Dragon Eggs for a forbidden ritual to ascend beyond mortal limits.]
The voice elaborated:
’[As you must have been told when you were in the simulation realm, when your kingdom-building phase was put on halt-
Lord Valcvan, once the leader of the legendary dragons, now walks a dark path.
He aims to collect all five eggs to perform the ’Rite of Ascension,’ a ritual that would grant him unparalleled power, disrupting the balance of the Dragon World.
The game world mechanics can’t stop him, and that is why the players have to.
Hundreds of players will be looking for just five mythical eggs, and you guys seeing one is truly outstanding.]’
The notification faded, leaving the players in contemplative silence, the weight of their discovery settling in.
Drahon suddenly blurted to the already faded runes:
"What do we do with the egg?"
He felt stupid at the moment, forgetting to ask the runes until it faded.
But then, a spark surged out of the air, it was the runes and the voice again:
’[One of the players should bond with the egg, not to use it, but instead to keep it.]’
The players exchanged glances.
One of the players should bond with the egg?
Not to use it, but to keep it?
What the hell was the Rune Guide stuff trying to do?
This would clearly cause some fight or something like that.
All the players would like to use the egg, and this would likely cause a misunderstanding.
The players all exchanged glances, skeptical about who should ’keep’ the egg.
Ayvira wasn’t so much interested in bonding with a Golden Dragon Egg.
It was more tense with Drahon and Devon.
Although they didn’t make it seem like a fight, they exchanged uncertain glances.
’I don’t know, man. I think I should take the egg.’
Some seconds passed, and nothing eventual happened.
The players just continued looking at each other, rooted to the spot, when Drahon broke the silence, saying to Devon:
"Want to keep the dragon egg?"
"I don’t know, to be honest," he said, like he didn’t have any interest in the egg. "I’d say the right person should have the egg."
A long second passed, and Drahon saw (or were his eyes playing tricks on him?) Devon clenching his fists.
"You’re clenching your fist," he said.
Devon didn’t reply immediately. He stepped back a bit and suddenly punched the wall.
Drahon stared at his outburst, surprised, and so did Ayvira.
"Don’t bother. It’s just some weird urge."
Drahon furrowed a brow.
It sort of made sense because the clenching of his fists seemed like he was keeping himself grounded, like trying to control some wild urge.