Shadowfen never truly slept. Even at midnight, with the fog draped low and the trees swaying in some ancient rhythm, the world hummed with a low, predatory energy. Tonight, though, the swamp felt softer, almost gentle. My dragon companion was curled against me, her tail wrapped around my hips, wings half furled like a living blanket. Her breath was steady, a warm counterpoint to the chill. I couldn't sleep.
I watched the embers drift from our campfire, painting the mist in pulses of orange. Each spark triggered a memory sharp, bright, impossible to ignore. Maybe it was the bond, deepening by the day, or maybe I was just tired of running from the past. Either way, I let the memories come.
Before Shadowfen: Earth, One Year After Her Death
Knox Ashford. Age: mid twenties. Height: six feet, give or take. Build: forgettable. Soul: already a ruin.
My days blurred at the edges, wake up before dawn, shuffle into a used-up apartment with bare walls and a single framed photo turned facedown on the dresser. The world was colorless, everything filtered through a layer of numb, gray static. I worked at a music store that played old records nobody bought. I didn't play anymore. My guitar sat in the closet, gathering dust. Music belonged to the Before.
Most nights, I walked the city until my feet ached or the cold seeped into my bones. Sometimes I ended up at the all-night diner, nursing black coffee as the sun rose, watching other people live lives that still had momentum. Sometimes I went to the river. I never jumped, but I understood the urge.
A year since Emma died. Overdose. Her laugh still echoed, but softer every month. I'd loved her fiercely, or as fiercely as a broken man can. When she was gone, the hole she left was too big to fill, so I didn't try. I just shrunk myself to fit around it.
I devoured light novels and isekai manga like oxygen escape hatches, all of them. Late at night, I'd binge survival shows and grimdark fantasy, as if stockpiling useless skills for a world that would never need them, just in case.
There was one bright spot: the old lady who lived on the floor below mine. She'd leave cookies at my door, sometimes a note: "You're still here. That matters." Once, she caught me in the hall and pressed a knit scarf into my hands. "You look cold, dear." I almost cried. Didn't.
The pull to another world began as a feeling of weightlessness, a sense that nothing tethered me to Earth anymore. I ignored it at first. It got worse. Lights flickered. Dreams grew strange forests, distant thunder, a woman's voice whispering, "Please. Just one more chance."
I didn't fight it when it finally came. Truth is, I was already gone.
Present: Shadowfen, By the Fire
The dragon shifted in her sleep, pressing closer. Her mind brushed mine softly, curiously. She sent warmth and a question, not with words but with feeling: Are you okay?
I hesitated, then let the memory surface, sharing the edges with her. Grief. Guilt. The hollow ache. She responded with a wave of comfort, her aura flaring with silent understanding. Our bond pulsed, stronger than before.
"You ever lose someone?" I whispered, voice barely more than a breath.
She sent back loneliness ancient, aching, but not without hope. Images flickered: a dark nest, cracked eggshells, empty spaces where siblings should have been. I reached for her, running my hand down her scaled neck. "Yeah. I get it."
We sat like that for a long time, both of us haunted but not alone.
Flashback: The Day Emma Died
It was raining. Everything important always happens in the rain.
I'd come home late, hands full of takeout, the smell of cheap noodles already congealing in the bag. Our apartment was dark except for the bathroom light. The door was cracked.
I found her slumped against the tub, eyes open and unseeing, needle still in her arm. There was music playing, her playlist, not mine. I remember the way the world went silent, how even my heartbeat seemed to pause, waiting for someone else to fix it.
The months that followed were a blur: police, paperwork, the funeral, where everyone told me to "remember the good times." I tried. I failed. I made myself smaller, a shadow in my own life.
If not for that old lady, the scarf, and the stubborn part of me that refused to check out completely, I might never have made it.
Present: The Bond Deepens
The dragon nuzzled my shoulder, her breath tickling my neck. Her emotions rolled over me: sorrow, empathy, and a fierce, protective love that startled me with its depth. She wasn't just a pet or a partner; she was a mirror, reflecting the parts of me I thought were gone. She wanted to keep me safe. Needed me to survive.
The System pinged:
[Bond Deepening: Trauma Shared. Emotional Barriers Lowered. Protective Instinct Strengthened.]
I laughed, a broken sound that felt more real than anything in months. "Guess we're stuck with each other, huh?"
She purred, a sound that rumbled through my bones. For a moment, I let myself lean into her warmth, trusting the bond to hold us both.
Flashback: The Last Night on Earth
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The city outside was quiet, the kind of quiet that only happens after 3 a.m. I thought about calling someone, anyone, but the thought of explaining what I felt made my tongue heavy. Instead, I closed my eyes and wished for a world where things could be different.
That's when I felt it: a tug, gentle but insistent, like a hand reaching through the dark. I didn't fight it. I let go.
I woke in Shadowfen new body, new world, new rules. Everything was different except the ache inside. That ache followed me, a ghost I couldn't outrun.
Present: Forging a New Path
The fire burned low. The dragon shifted, her head resting in my lap. I stroked her scales, feeling her contentment intertwine with my own. I let the silence stretch, comfortable now where once it would have driven me mad.
"I wasn't much before I got here," I admitted. "Not really. Just a guy running on empty."
She flicked her tail, sending a pulse of affection through the bond. In my mind, I saw myself through her eyes: strong, clever, stubborn enough to survive a murder swamp. Worthy of trust. Worth keeping.
Maybe, I thought, this world was giving me something I'd never had a reason to hope again. Not for a rescue, or a return to what was lost, but for something new. Something real.
The System pinged:
[Bond Milestone: Hope Rekindled. Emotional Resilience Increased. New Ability Unlocked: Shadow Sanctuary ~ Create a zone of safety for yourself and your bonded companion.]
The dragon looked up, eyes gleaming in the firelight, and nuzzled my hand. I smiled, the gesture shaky but genuine.
"Thanks," I whispered. "For staying."
She purred again, warmth flooding the bond. For the first time, I didn't flinch from the feeling. I embraced it.
Shadowfen was still a nightmare. The past was still a wound. But together, we were forging something new ashes and embers, shaping the future one heartbeat at a time.