Chapter Text
When Kim Rok Soo awoke, he found himself in neither his so familiar office, nor was he in his typical break room. Rather, he couldnt actually see anything. It was pitch black. Wherever he was, it was cramped, his body felt estranged, but at the same time, it was warm. He felt wet but couldnt really tell if he was or not. He didnt know anything, not where or what he was yet understood things he couldnt comprehend.
He didnt want to move, it was strangely comfortable.
Then.. After so much time had passed, he didnt even know, a faint slither of light cracking through his dark world... Yeah, a crack. Then multiple began to spread, as if the darkness was shattering like glass.
With a wet squelch, he fell forward, he had absolutely no strength to try move, letting his body stay limp as he lay on cold ground. It was far too bright here, he squint his eyes, attempting to focus through the blurriness.
As his senses began to develop rapidly, various voices boomed, much to loud for him right now. He had a headache, his entire body felt heavy, especially his head and back.
"Hm?" A low voice, uninterested, broke the conversation.
Kim Rok Soo just barely made out a figure approached, the man(?) had bright red hair, so vivid even through a daze he could see it. The figure knelt down, grabbing Rok Soo's chin and examining his face. A weak growl and tiny yelp escaped his mouth.
"Odd. This one wasnt supposed to hatch now, or not at all. So why is it alive?" His voice turned cold. Prompting more growling from Kim Rok Soo. This bastard. Also, hatch?
Another's voice. "What should we do with it?"
it???!!! Oh this motherfu- if i could id beat your ass!
"..Well it cant be used for 'him' now, its too early since 'he' ate the first triplet not long ago.. Just send them both to the recipient."
"Yes sire."
He? Sibling? Recipient? Dazy eyes just managed to glance around and catch a glimpse of a large oval object, midnight black in colour, before his limp body was picked up and thrown in what felt like a cloth bag.
Kim Rok Soo couldnt resist, he was too tired, too overwhelmed, he just let his consciousness waver and succumb to the aches.
~*~
When he awoke again, he was in a much darker, damper and colder place. His vision seemed to have cleared up too. He examined his surroundings only to find chains, metal bars, and rather crude devices which were meant to cause harm. Then the smell hit him, that metallic scent that he knew all too well. It was an old smell, clearly from awhile ago and attempted to have been cleaned.
Then his eyes landed on the object from earlier. He didnt see wrong, it looked like a large black egg.
Now he understood.
This wasnt his world. He didnt know how, but it seems like he had transmigrated like those Main characters in a novel or fan fiction.m
He came to terms with it rather quickly..
Curiosity got the better of him, as someone who had fought monsters day and night, adult and offspring, someone who recorded everything about what he knew and remembered. He couldnt resist attempting to figure out what this was.
Kim Rok Soo attempted to move forward, he was crawling on all fours, it felt more stable this way with how unbalanced he felt. It was safer. Though he only made it a few steps before a loud clatter made him halt. His movement got restricted from going any further. He finally looked down.
What eh saw werent hands, but rather paws. Paws covered in pure white scales and little stubby claws... What the fu-
He plonked his ass down and began pondering.
No wonder crawling felt comfortable.. It was because whatever the fuck he was, was quadrupedal. He then remembered how his head and back felt heavy.
He used his paws to touch his head, as expected, a pair of what felt like horns.
Then he twisted as much as he could to even catch a glimpse of his back. Two large wings lay limp at his sides and a thick tail laid similarly still.
...Fuck...
He knew one creature that fit this description. And that creature also fit hatching.
He was a dragon.
He was a newborn dragon.
His eyes wandered back to the egg. So thats another dragon, and from what the figure said, likely my sibling, or rather, twin... so there shouldve been three of us, but the eldest got eaten?... Im white, but im pretty sure my egg wasnt.. The egg should reflect the colour of the dragon..
His little head was working overtime, record replaying through information on dragons from different novels he read. In transmigration, its usually into a novel or something.. His body began to heat up.
Finally he found something that vaguely matched.
A novel which described dragons in a way that seemed like him now. The Birth of A Hero. He began to recite what he read about dragons, he only read five volumes, but it was enough.
Fraternal dragon twins or well triplets.
A mother dragon can lay at most one egg in her lifetime, two was miraculous, it was always said they would be twins, no matter how far apart and it would take a heavy toll on the parent dragon.
Dragon eggs can take years, decades, usually even centuries to hatch. In the rare case of twins, One sibling may hatch earlier, and a couple hundred years later, the twin would hatch too.
It made sense.
Still, they were triplets.. Two eggs was nearly impossible let alone three. It was unheard of in the first 5 volumes. So either we were just three different eggs, or i didnt read enough..
Something told Kim Rok Soo that wasnt the case, that all three of them were certainly born from the same mother.
Only when he felt a warm trickle of blood flow from his snout did he snap out of his trance.. So he still had record, and it still had side effects.... Even as the most powerful being in this world...
Speaking of... Arent dragons, even from the moment the mother lays the egg, masters of mana...
He began pondering, but as he was about to try something, footsteps were rapidly approaching, a little boys excited chatter resounded.
"Father! Are these the new toys you got me??" A young boy, about 10 years old, with blonde hair exclaimed.
"Yes, one is ready to be played with, but you have to wait for the other one."
"Awwhh..." His green eyes were filled with disappointment but cheered up looking at Kim Rok Soo. "Hes so pretty! Hes so white! I want to make those scales red! Red!"
A growl, this kid.. He wasnt talking about innocent play time. Kim Rok Soo now knew the reason for all those tools..
"Daddy! It growled at me!" The boy shrieked angrily as he stomped his foot. "Punish it! Daddy!"
The man sighed, looking at a guard. "You heard him. Deal with the beast."
Kim Rok Soo watched as the guard approached with a whip and what looked like a metal collar. He raised his wings and bared his teeth. The whip was brutal as it hit his underdeveloped body. A sharp whine escaped his mouth and the blonde boy yelped with glee. The metal collar clicked around his neck, he felt his body had just been heavily restricted. Out of pure instinct he attempted to conjure up mana, something dragons were masters of, even if he didnt know how to do it consciously.
Yet... nothing happened.
Mana restriction.
These bastards.
Seeing he had no way to fight back, the guard visibly relaxed, throwing a kick straight into Kim Rok Soo's side.
"Yay! Kick him harder! Whip him more!!"
The beating slowly got more intense, with more blood spilled, the more the child squealed with excitement.
Rok Soo was reeling. He was no stranger to pain, but being in such a small body reminded him of the past, of his uncle. His records were going wild, overlapping the guard with the image of that bastard from his original world. It hurt so much. He hated pain.
A low voice. "Enough now. Throw a low grade potion on it. Venion yo can play tomorrow."
The guard stopped, reaching into his pocket and sprinkling a liquid on the small creature before leaving with his leige
The hatchling lay still. what good would a low grade potion do with a mana restriction on... He panted, his vision flashing with past and present abuse... Venion... Venion Stann..The bastard who tortured a black dragon into going berserk.
His eyes wandered to the black egg. That must be the black dragon huh..? He flopped his head down, exhausted..
I wonder if im here, it wont go berserk... Well no matter what... The original story will flow in a different direction because i hatched too...
Too much thinking... I want to rest..
.
.
Everyday was the same. Wake up, get thrown scraps on good days, get beaten and tortured by Venion until he was on the brink of death, then he'd be left alone until the next day.
Everyday for for years it was this schedule. By now, Kim Rok Soo's cries and yelps echoed the dungeon, embedding his whimpers into the walls, his blood staining the stone.
He wanted to run away. Hide, run far away, but those chains shackled him. And that egg. Still unhatched, still unmoving.. He couldnt leave that poor child behind. A spare mana restriction collar always lay nearby, waiting.
A familiar rhythm of thumping.. Ah.. was it time already..?
Venion was now 14, grown into an ugly bob and a nasty teenager. His wicked smile plastered on his face seeing the small beast tremble as it saw the whips and knives.
He grabbed its face, pulling it close. "We're gonna play a bit differently today okay?~"
He grabbed a pair of pliers, stepping closer. With each step Rok Soo backed away until the chains bound him from moving further. He yanked and pulled, the metal clanging and screeching, yet never breaking.
A cruel reflection was mirrored in terrified reddish brown eyes.
"I like that look on your face." Venion grinned. "You see, lately youve been too quiet, not yelping enough... So..."
The teen thrust the pliers underneath one of his scales, clamping it down. "lets see how long you can keep that mouth closed." Then he pulled back, tearing the scale out.
Rok Soo grit his teeth. Endure. If he gets bored, he'll stop. Just endure.
Yet with each scale ripped off one by one, bile rose in his throat, tears welled, but he wont. He wont yelp. He wont given Venion that satisfaction.
The blonde boy was clearly getting irritated, so he switched technique, he threw the bloody pliers aside, grabbing Rok Soo's large wings. He'd never once targeted them, apparently he was under strict warnings about the wings, yet it seems his anger made his forget.
With one full movement, he snapped that delicate wing, reeling in the feeling of that crisp crack. Rok Soo actually cried out, the pain was unbearable, he snapped, sinking his teeth into Venions hands. The teen cried out as his own precious blood flowed, furious, he grabbed the pliers again, taking advantage of the open mouth, he grabbed a tooth.
Reddish brown eyes shook as the realisation of what was gonna happen dawned on him. This sadistic kid was gonna tear his teeth out. Resistance was futile.
One by one.
Tooth by tooth.
Scream by scream.
Only once blood was pouring and a pile of teeth lay abandoned did Venion take a step back, admiring his work.
"As i thought, your scales are much pretty dyed red."
Another low grade potion was thrown on his battered body, it stung more than it healed. Again, he was left alone, panting in pain. However, the teen returned again, another small glass vial in his hands.
"Hey, open wide." He didnt wait, nor did he expect Kim Rok Soo to obediently do so, and now he had no risk of getting bitten, he pried the little jaws open, pouring the vilas contents in the dragons throat.
Agonising shrieks filled the cell. As it trickled down his throat, it burned the flesh inside, but soon his cries began to break, becoming raspier yet more painful. The tiny battered body fought and squirmed to no avail. With the final drops landing on his tongue, Venion shattered the bottle in his mouth, clamping his jaws shut, forcing him to swallow the shards. Only after watching the small beast unable to even produce a whimper did he smile and leave it alone, not offering a healing potion this time.
Whatever he had just been forced to drink, had destroyed his vocal cords. Rok Soo's judgement was wrong, Venion didnt care whether he cried or kept quiet. He wanted resistance. He didnt want painful whimpers but rather challenging growls.
This was a lesson.
And Rok Soo learnt. Stay silent, stay docile. He'll get bored.
A tiny rattle. Barely audible, but to sensitive ears, it was like an alarm bell. It wasnt the guard. His head shot up and looked at the only object that couldve made that sound.
The egg.
It was shaking slightly, thin tiny cracks spreading across the surface. The hatchling inside was furious. He could feel it. Like a connection of sorts.
A chunk of shell dropped, a bright blue eye became visible, staring straight at him, its fury calming into sorrow as it observed his body.
Rok Soo met its gaze, a slight head tilt expressing his words for his voice. Do you need help getting out?
The eye blinked slowly. Perhaps confirming his desire for help.
Sending all his strength into his trembling legs he crawled as close as he could to the egg, then waved his paw to tell the little one to lean towards him.
The egg rocked slowly, gaining more momentum until his fell forward, shattering the moment the impact hit... That wasnt the plan but it worked to get him out..
At the commotion the guard flashed a magic light into the cell, groaning seeing the new creature. He grabbed the magic collar immediately, snapping it around the newborns neck before scowling at the older beast.
Blue eyes filled with pity looked at his older brother, a flame of wrath visible too. Rok soo just shook his head, telling the little one he was okay.
The newborn black dragon didnt believe that, he had heard it all, all his brothers cries, his attempts to flee, the consequences. Everything. If his brother wouldnt fight back, he would. His gaze rested on that small back covered in wounds, his unusually large wings laid motionless, one horribly disfigured. A fire was lit in the little ones heart. No matter what... everything his brother suffered. He'd return it a thousand fold.
Unlike the white dragon, the black dragon was bound by nothing other than his collar, he wandered up to his sleeping twin, nestling close. Revelling in his warmth.
Broken and scratchy growls echoed. The smaller dragons eyes fluttered open, only to witness the scene hed only heard so far. A dragon larger than himself stood with his wings raised high, yet his body was lowered, his teeth were bared. His white scales were nowhere to be seen under all the blood.
A human with blond hair stood grinning with a whip in his hands. "Hm~ Your teeth grew back so quickly. Painful and quick to recover thats nice. But hurry up and move so i can break the other one" His voice was amused but turn icy towards the end. Rok Soo's growls became louder but more strained. The younger dragon immediately understood, this dragon was protecting him from the same torture he'd been experiencing.
"Tsk. Hey, you dont like your wings being touched right?"
The white dragon flinched, his body trembling yet he still stood up against his abuser.
"Fuck. Oi. tighten the chains, keep him over there."
The guard complied, pulling on the chains, yanking the larger dragon away, of course Rok Soo resisted but his body was exhausted.
The black dragon watched this all, copying his brothers posture, he bared his teeth too. However pure aggression could be seen, not terror. Venion felt excited again. "Yes! This is what i wanted! "
Rok Soo could only watch in horror, watching a newborn creature, a creature born to dominate, getting tortured.. Yet, unlike him, this dragon didnt whimper or tremble, it kept challenging Venion again and again, each strike, he fought back. It was admirable but hard to watch.
How long had it been before the little one's strength gave out? Rok Soo didnt know. But he had watched it all. Every crack of the whip, every small whimper followed by a snarl, every laugh from Venion. All of it. Ingrained in his head.
With one final kick, the baby dragon was sent to the corner of the room. "Let the pretty one go and tie up the baby. He can watch his protector not even be able to cry out."
Blue eyes narrowed, his brother couldnt yelp? No he could. he had heard it. Sure his growls were weird and he was weak but even his brother could snarl. The guard forced the black dragons head down with his foot, pinning him to the floor.
Venions whip rang out, each strike was even harder than the ones that had struck the black dragon... Yet although his mouth opened to whimper, no sound came out. Even when the human used different weapons, even when the black dragon was splattered with his brothers blood, even when his wing was snapped again, the white dragon couldnt even cry out. The little black dragon began to cry for him, tears flowing out his eyes.
Only when the white dragon fell limp did that human scoff and kick him away, leaving the two injured twins alone. The moment the pressure lifted off his head, the little dragon ran to the bigger one, ignoring any pain he himself felt. He nudged the white dragon with his nose.. He was cold..
A small huff, weak reddish browns looked at those glossy blue ones.
im okay. its okay, we're okay..
The little dragon shook his head furiously. a tiny voice finally escaping his mouth. "Ill kill them.. Ill kill them all..." the tiny black body cuddled into his twin brother.
~*~
How long has it been now? Neither dragon knew. The torture was getting worse, every week a new technique, more extreme than the last. And at some point the human had began eating watching them both suffer. Hell, they even got beaten by the guards whilst the human wasnt even here now.
Rok Soo had a rough idea on how long itd been. Venion looked around 18 now, maybe 19. Which means... The original story had began.. His gaze swept to the sleeping baby dragon cuddled up beside him. He hadnt gone berserk, nor had shown any signs of it.. Him not getting killed shouldnt change the story that much.. It was only a small event that was used to show Choi han's strength.. There should be no major change...
A loud clatter startled both dragons. The guards. It wasnt Venion, he didnt come this early.
Three big men smirked looking at the two hatchlings. Two clipped large chains onto Rok Soo, the other chained the smaller one.
Again, it was Rok Soo the first to be beaten. Though it was much more intense than usual. Daggers and blades were plunged deep into his limbs and twisted before being yanked out. Barbed wire was wrapped around his neck and tightened. Choked gasps filled the cellar.
The little baby dragon fought furiously against his restraints, growling, roaring and crying. Yet a single look, a pained look of desperation from the white dragon made him fall limp. The more the black dragon struggled, the more the guards would find it amusing to beat him, especially with how extreme they were today. Rok Soo was actually afraid of what theyd do if the little one didnt stop challenging them.
The guards scoffed at how little Rok Soo was fighting back, so they chained him against the furthest wall, turning to the smaller dragon who immediately changed into an offensive posture.
Whips, knives, needles, poisons. It was painful, that for the very first time, the black dragon actually cried. His convulsions and roars of agony awakened soemthing in Rok Soo.
What the fuck was he doing, just watching. This wasnt like him. Back on earth, if anything bothered him, he'd just get rid of it entirely. If anything or anybody hurt his family, he'd return the pain a million fold. He'd reign hell on these bastards.
His growls were akin to low grumbling, slowly increasing in volume. It finally caught the guards attention when he began to pull at the chains, not caring for how they tore his body apart. The abuse against the baby dragon stopped for a moment.
"Oh? Ive never seen it fight back like this?"
"Hah! Look at that glare!"
"Should we let it down?"
"nah let it keep fighting,, it cant break those chains. Just keep beating this one. We have them to ourselves for a few months."
The little black dragon whimpered.. Slowly retreating backwards, not away from his abusers which were still continuing the torture, but to get further away from his brother.. He'd never once been afraid like this, he had been afraid over his twins conditions but that was a concern, not fear. It wasnt in his nature to be fearful but that deep rumble coming from his brother, it was an instinct to back away from that.
One last sharp yelp from a knife piercing his hind leg escaped the little black dragons mouth, but it was not heard to its full volume as a loud explosion occured, kicking up dust.
The three guards yelled, panicking. A silent roar echoed unheard by all except a small hatchling.
The little black dragon couldnt see due to the dust, but he heard revolting crunches and screams of terror. He also felt and just vaguely made out blood flowing through the cracks of the bricks.
He pressed himself against the corner of their cell. He closed his eyes tightly.
Then, silence.
No screams
No crunches
No splatters.
No, from the distance, angry yelling and running. But not towards them, it was outside..
The black dragon opened his eyes, still unable to see properly due to the wreckage, but he could make out a silhouette in front of him, no... above him. He was beneath a familiar body which had become much larger. It was his brother. It was him for sure. That low rumble of his broken voice still echoing... the danger wasnt gone. The hatchling obediently stayed beneath his brothers protection.
Footsteps approached. Two mens voices resounded, it sounded like they were bickering. Two other but inhuman scents followed them too.
"Fuck you're so vicious. Fuck off!"
"Cale, stop swearing in front of the kittens-nims-"
"Ill do whatever the fuck i wan-"
The two men stopped their argument, the two Kits of the Cat tribe which were happily trotting in front of them had halted in their tracks. Their bodies lowered and trembling, fur stood up straight. the smaller red kitten his behind the larger silver one.
In front of the four, a thick dusty fog hung, completely obstructing their vision. The swordsman furrowed his eyebrows, grabbing the hilt of his sword.
"Hey Choi Han.. It wasnt you that caused that explosion earlier?"
"Nope." His voice lowered. "I smell blood."
Cale bit his nails, was he too late? Did the dragon go berserk already? No, they wouldnt even be standing here if it did. Whats going on..?
The kittens hissed, but not in aggression, rather in pure fear. It seems Cale-nya and Choi Han couldnt hear it, but there was a low growl coming from that fog. A being so powerful they felt the urge to bow their heads and beg for mercy.
"Ohn. Can you clear that fog?"
The silver kitten flinched, terror riddled in her eyes. "T-Theres something in there... I-Its watching us.." Her voice shook.
The redhead felt shivers up his spine. "Fuck! Did it go berserk??? Shit shit shit just my fucking luck."
"I-... I can try... But if it gets angry im sorry..."
"No-"
fog slowly began to disperse at the kittens command before Cale could discourage it. Choi Han was on guard immediately, honestly, even his instincts were screaming at him to back down.
The first thing that could be seen through the haze was a small black blob, two small blue eyes staring directly at them..
Cale sighed in relief, a defeated laugh escaping his mouth. "Oh thank fu- It hasnt gone berserk.,.. Its just glaring..."
As more fog cleared, more was revealed, the blood soaked bricks and rubble came first. The redhead spoke up, "Well it was a torture chamber..."
Choi Han jumped in front of the trio, his aura flaring from his sword as three mangled bodies were revealed Hong covered his eyes, sobbing and chanting he was sorry. Cale actually hurled at the state of the bodies.
"I know its a baby dragon but fuck its still a dragon- Vicious little bastard."
Ohn cried out, running behind the two humans refusing to manipulate the dust anymore.. No matter, the majority was gone now, it was now naturally dispersing. All of it was light now, just barely blurring the surroundings. except the fog around the baby dragon, it stayed thick and heavy.
The swordsman's unimpressed voice rang out as his head tilted to look above the hatchling. "Ohhh fuck.."
"No swearing in front of childre-" Cale began as he turned around to look forward again. His eyes narrowed to look at that black blob with white fog hanging around it.
Now they all felt that low vibration.
The little black hatchling glared at them with clear blue eyes. Cale already had goosebumps from his gaze... But his head turned upwards to find out what that bastard Choi Han had sworn at.
The redhead felt all his strength leave his body as he dropped to the floor. Reddish brown eyes identical to his own other than the slit pupils stared down at them. Blood dropped from its maw and poured out various deep gashes on its body.
They hadnt noticed it because it blended in, its body pure white under the blood, so well, no, the kittens did. They didnt see it, but they felt it there..
His voice came out as barely a whisper.
"Why.. Why is there two of them..?"