In the endless void, where neither light nor shadow reigned, a colossal dragon drifted alone. Its body, covered in scales the color of flame, glowed from within—a smoldering crimson, like molten iron pulled straight from a blacksmith's forge. This was no ordinary emptiness. It was a place between worlds, a devouring silence that consumed all, leaving only stillness in its wake.
The dragon had wandered this place for centuries. How he had arrived, he no longer knew. But he could feel it—the void was draining him, feeding on his essence, fragment by fragment. Once, his roar could shake mountains. Now it vanished soundlessly into the abyss. Each movement was heavier than the last. His wings, once mighty, barely stirred.
Then, through the suffocating silence, the impossible happened.
A shape began to take form from nothing. A silhouette—more shadow than substance, without face or meaning. It emitted a sound not quite a voice, more like the whispered chorus of a thousand murmurs.
"I am the one who measures weight—of action and consequence. And now, your scale has tipped too far. You had a task. A role. You were part of the Balance… and you failed. Was it fear? Indifference? Weakness? The cause no longer matters. Only the result remains. And now, you shall become part of this world."
The dragon surged forward, defiant. But the voice bound him—not in chains, but in change.
His body began to shift.
Scales peeled away, one by one, dissolving into the dark. His wings shattered into gleaming metallic shards that floated like embers caught in a storm. His roar turned into a clash of iron, his once-living eyes dimming into molten orbs—cold and glowing, like dying coals.
His form compressed, collapsed, dissolved. The transformation was agony—cruel, final, eternal. Bones cracked like thunder, scales burst with sharp cracks, scattering into dust. Yet from this ruin, something new was born.
The scales from the dragon's skull melted and reformed into a helmet—sleek, impenetrable, brimming with wisdom. It protected the mind from corruption… but burdened its wearer with knowledge heavy enough to break the unready.
His chest liquefied into a molten stream, cooling into a breastplate. Within it pulsed the ghost of a once-mighty heart—now a steady rhythm, a beat of indomitable will that no blade could breach.
His mighty claws shattered into crimson-lit plates that became gauntlets—gifting unearthly strength to the arms that bore them.
His tail and hindquarters unraveled into fragments, which reformed into greaves. They shimmered with endurance and swiftness, embodying the primal force of motion itself.
His talons cracked, their jagged remnants reforged into boots so unyielding they could crush bedrock—boots for one who would walk where others falter.
The dragon's spine split down the middle, reshaped into a single blade—long, sleek, blood-red. Razor-sharp like the edge of the world, it held the wrath of a dying star, demanding wisdom to wield it, lest it destroy all.
At last, the dragon's heart gave its final pulse, erupting into a blazing crimson jewel. The amulet it became held more than magic—it carried the Dragon's life force and tethered it to the world. Warm to the touch, it was both a gift… and a burden.
When the transformation was complete, the void knew the dragon no more. Only the artifacts remained, suspended in silence, as if awaiting a worthy hand.
The voice returned—fainter, but resolute.
"By the law of Balance, you should be erased. Your echo must fade, like a dark before dawn. But I am not cruel. I do not destroy where hope remains. Your power was too great for you alone. So now, it is divided. Each part of your essence shall find its place… where it is most needed."
The shadowy presence lifted the artifacts and scattered them—like stars flung across the sky—toward a world teetering on the brink of collapse. Each one landed in a different corner of that realm, hidden by magic and protected by wards. Only those who proved their strength and worth would ever uncover them.
The void calmed. The voice faded.
And the last light of the Dragon's legacy flickered out.
But the legend endured—passed from tongue to tongue, a whisper in the wind, a story of power that could save the world…
or end it.