The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 22

Splash.

Aiden's head broke the surface of the water. With powerful sweeps of his tail, he swam to the riverbank and hauled himself out, water sluicing from his crimson scales. He stood dripping on the shore, staring at the river with disgust. The fish were simply too fast. Hunting them now was an exercise in futility.

Still… his mind worked the problem. He looked from the river to the soft earth of the bank. Those carp had mouths full of sharp teeth; they weren't exclusively herbivores. If he were to dig a shallow pool, a trap, and procure some form of bait… it was a viable strategy. But it was far too much work for a single dragon. If the other two were here, the task would be trivial. But even then, he had no bait.

He sighed, a puff of steam in the hot air. He would have to revisit this place later. For now, he needed a new hunting ground.

Aiden spread his wings. With a mighty flap, he launched himself into the sky, hovering for a moment as he got his bearings. He turned his head to the west. That was the direction Azure had explored. The direction of the cactus forest. Compared to this barren wasteland, the odds of finding prey there were significantly higher.

Decision made, he beat his wings and flew west. He kept his eyes trained on the ground, ever hopeful. Luck was a fickle thing. Perhaps it would smile upon him and present a wandering beast, a quick meal to sate the gnawing hunger in his belly.

He flew for an hour. The ground remained empty, the landscape unforgiving. It seemed Lady Luck was not on his side.

Then, a new scent reached him, carried on the hot wind. It was a clean, green fragrance, reminiscent of the cactus Azure had once shared with him. He was close.

Aiden picked up his pace, a renewed sense of purpose in the beat of his wings. Soon, patches of green appeared on the desert floor, coalescing into a vast, sprawling forest of towering cacti. He had arrived.

He ceased flapping, gliding silently as he surveyed the area below. The sea of green was a stark and vibrant anomaly in the endless expanse of ochre sand. He angled his wings and climbed higher, ascending until he was just below the cloud layer. From this vantage point, he could appreciate the sheer scale of the place. It had to be at least ten miles across.

Grrroowl…

His stomach's protest was a sharp reminder that admiring the scenery was a luxury he couldn't afford. Finding a meal was paramount.

Aiden's head swiveled slowly, his sharp eyes scanning the terrain. His gaze froze on the deep shadow cast by a particularly massive cactus.

Did the sand just move?

He focused, his pupils narrowing to slits. There. In the gloom, a colossal, spade-shaped head the color of sand was swallowing something whole. Its body was completely buried, leaving only its monstrous head exposed. It was huge, its skull easily twice the size of the Athrox he had fought.

The Blood Memory(Dragon's Heritage) provided a name and details.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

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Name: Great Desert Serpent

Type: Magical Beast

Element: Earth

Rank: ★

Growth Potential: ★★★

Traits:

· Ambush Predator: Buries itself beneath the sand to ambush its prey.

Abilities:

UnknownWeakness: Unknown

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As Aiden watched, the serpent finished its meal and began to slowly sink back beneath the sand, disappearing from sight.

One-star, Aiden calculated. When he activated his own innate power, he could match that. This is a worthy opponent. This is a hunt.

A crown of embers began to coalesce above his head as red flames traced the lines between his scales. His body grew, swelling with an ancient and familiar power that flooded every fiber of his being. He lifted a claw, admiring the molten fire that now flowed in the gaps between his crimson scales.

He would hunt.

He angled his body downward, his flaming eyes locking onto the patch of sand where the serpent lay hidden. With a single, powerful beat of his wings, he dove.

The ground below remained still, betraying nothing.

Fifty yards from the surface, Aiden raised his right claw, pointing it at the serpent's hiding place. Two concentric rings of red runes flared into existence around his wrist.

“Burst!”

The draconic word was spoken with cold, youthful authority. The desert answered with a deafening BOOM! A thirty-yard pillar of fire erupted from the sand, billowing upward into the shape of a mushroom cloud.

Aiden faltered for a second mid-dive, taken aback. Was the spell always this powerful? Burst is an intermediate-tier

spell.(☆☆)But the force of that explosion felt like a one-star attack. And the fire… why is it red? Is it because of my own nature as a red dragon? Could it be the new ability, the Source of Flame?

HISSSSSSS!

A furious shriek tore through the air as a massive body erupted from the heart of the inferno. It was the Great Desert Serpent, its sandy scales shattered and blackened in dozens of places. It coiled, its head rising high, its reptilian eyes immediately locking onto the descending dragon—the source of its pain.

With its body tensed like a massive spring, it launched itself into the air, its jaw, lined with fangs like daggers, gaping wide.

Aiden watched the flying serpent approach, his expression one of pure, draconic contempt. Foolish creature. To challenge a dragon in a contest of strength.

The moment their bodies met, Aiden's powerful foreclaws clamped onto the serpent's upper and lower jaws. Let me show you the meaning of power.

With a surge of strength, he wrenched his claws apart.

CRACK.

The sickeningly small sound of breaking bone was lost as the two bodies, locked together, plummeted from the sky. They crashed into the ground in a shower of sand and shattered cacti.

Aiden felt the impact but was unharmed. He untangled himself and rose, turning to face his adversary. The Great Desert Serpent lay twitching on the sand, its jaw broken and hanging open at a grotesque angle. It struggled to rise, to fight, but it was crippled.

Aiden glanced at the fiery sigil burning in his right eye's vision. The power it granted him was already drained by a tenth. He needed to end this quickly.

He strode toward the serpent, once again pried its jaws apart, and pinned its thrashing body to the ground. Then, he opened his own mouth.

A torrent of liquid red flame poured from his throat, washing down the serpent's gullet. Its body convulsed violently. Aiden tightened his grip, his claws sinking deep into its flesh, holding it steady as it was incinerated from the inside out.

The struggles weakened, then ceased. An appetizing aroma of roasting meat began to fill the air. The Great Desert Serpent was dead.

The fiery crown above Aiden's head flickered and vanished. His body shrank back to its normal size, and the familiar wave of drowsiness that followed the use of his power washed over him. He shook it off with ease.

He looked down at his kill. The serpent's body was immense, nearly thirty yards from head to tail. This single meal would last him for days.

He lowered his head and began to feast.