"A titan's egg."
Kenny hissed the words, his eyes wide enough to ache in their sockets. His mind raced, struggling to comprehend the reality before him.
How did this even happen? A titan's egg, here in the safe zone? It was unheard of. If the cold wind wasn't still needling his skin, he would have sworn this was some elaborate, desperate dream.
As for how he knew it was a titan's egg? That was simple. The thing was thrice his size. Three whole times! The sheer scale of it stole the air from his lungs.
"This...shouldn't have been possible?"
he whispered. He blinked hard, expecting the vision to vanish. It did not. It sat, immense and impossibly real, glimmering under the moonlight with a soft, internal yellow glow.
It seemed to shift subtly, as if breathing, cycling through different shades of burnished gold.
"Who even...?"
The next thought iced the blood in his veins. An egg meant a parent. A titan parent. His head snapped left and right, scanning the dark tree-line for a shadow that would blot out the stars. But nothing moved.
Thinking fast, he slid down the narrow opening, landing with a soft thud where the egg rested on a thick cushion of leaves and vines.
The moment he landed, a wave of clarity crashed over him, so potent it was dizzying. It was as if a fog he hadn't known was there had been scoured from his mind.
The energy radiating from the shell was purifying, a silent hum that resonated in his bones. He didn't fully process the sensation; his attention was riveted on the silent forest, waiting for a roar that would shatter the world.
Yet, nothing happened. The realization dawned: no titan beast was around. Of course not—it would have been towering over the trees.
Greed, sharp and instinctual, kicked in next.
"I have to report this."
He breathed, the thought taking root.
"Just imagine the rewards..."
He fumbled for the map in his pocket, his hands trembling. He had to mark the spot, lead someone here, and claim his prize...
Then, the first ray of dawn breached the horizon, a sliver of brilliant light that fell directly upon the egg. The dawn illuminated intricate, scale-like markings that swirled across its surface.
This wasn't just any titan's egg. It was a dragon's egg.
The thought of proving his brother wrong, of earning a reward, suddenly felt petty and insignificant. Another wave of that mind-clearing force washed over him, and his gaze lifted, locking onto the rising sun.
The clarity solidified into a single, urgent command: Return. He had to get back to camp before Rufus woke. If he gave his brother a reason to come looking for him, the egg would be discovered; for now, it was his secret.
He turned and ran, his feet flying over the path, faster than before. His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat of fear and revelation. He had to return quickly.
Climbing the rocky path, he peered around the corner. Winter was still at her post, but her head was dipped, her sunflower eyes closed in a light nap.
Kenny seized the chance, spinning around the rock and tiptoeing toward the tent, his body coiled with tension.
He was almost there when a voice, cold and piercing, froze him mid-stride.
"Where were you, Kenny?"
He spun to face Rufus, who stood with his arms crossed, fully dressed. The excuse
"I went to pee."
died on his lips. Rufus had clearly been awake for a while.
"I went to practice,"
He blurted out the lie, forming it on the fly.
"The foundational steps."
Rufus's brow lifted in slow, mocking amusement. In the growing light, Kenny could see the utter disbelief in his brother's cold brown eyes.
"Hmm, really now?"
Rufus's lips curled.
"Why don't you show me how much you learned when you went off in the dark?"
Kenny nearly cursed. This was his worst fear realized. Rufus was going to make him perform, and that performance would either confirm his words or make his story even more suspicious.
All he could do now was prepare to give a good show.
Kenny took a fighting stance, balancing on his hind legs and raising his left fist while he stretched forward his palm with the right, the stance of the foundational technique.
The technique known as the foundational steps was created to train students of the Kainos empire.
Usually, techniques were hard to come by since comprehending them took a lot of effort, and turning that comprehension into a written document for others to study was even harder.
But this particular technique was given to students in the Empire freely once they enrolled, not because the Empire was wealthy or anything, but because it was important.
With just three steps, it taught one how to control life energy, and that was something Kenny really sucked at. He couldn't even finish the first step; he was good at history and stuff, not fighting.
Kenny performed the steps, his hands moving slowly in a familiar motion, channeling life energy into his bones.
The skill he had been struggling to learn for a while suddenly became easier. With a fierce punch, the air snapped with a burst of force, causing Kenny to freeze.
Even Rufus seemed shocked. Kenny had performed the move flawlessly—something he thought was impossible. Still, it was just the first move; there were still two other layers to the foundational steps.
Rufus raised his hands and clapped a mocking applause.
"It's about time you learned the first step. I was starting to think you wanted to be a historian rather than a fighter like me and Dad."
Kenny squinted.
"How did Rufus know he wanted to be a historian?"
Timmy and Blake also praised Kenny's steps before the tents and other equipment were packed up. It was time to head back to the Iso shelter and return to Earth.
They started down the narrow path towards the shelter in the distance. Off the cliff and down the road, everything seemed clearer.
Kenny could see the birds, trees, vines, and beautiful flowers that littered the path. The sun here might have been hot, but it looked beautiful in the blue skies.
Still, his mind wasn't on any of these sights. His thoughts were still occupied by another shiny yellow orb-like thing, but it wasn't the sun; it was the dragon's egg.
The empire had a simple rule: whatever beasts were found or captured had to be presented or shared with the empire so that all humanity could be strengthened. Anyone who refused to follow the rules would immediately be executed.
That was the terrible rule Kenny was breaking just by keeping the egg hidden. He gripped, greed and morality crashing against each other.
The rules were the rules, no matter how they made one feel, so Kenny decided he would turn the beast in as soon as it hatched. That was his plan, for now.
Giving an egg to the government or empire wasn't quite polite, was it? Of course, it wasn't.
The group of four soon arrived at the ISO shelter. This was the shelter built around the gate leading into the beast dimension.
Although there were many shelters, Kenny found this one particularly eye-catching.
The first thing his eyes settled on were the walls of the shelter, with stones depicting an ancient castle from the medieval era.
The Iso shelter was impressive; it had tall spires reaching toward the sky, red banners fluttering in the wind, and thick stone walls that seemed to speak of centuries of history.
He rubbed his hands against the shelter walls as they stepped inside, feeling the hard surface beneath his hands.
Something he had noticed since the trip here: everything seemed extremely hard. Like more solid than usual, even the leaves here felt as hard as potato chips—fragile? Yes, but definitely harder than usual. He could only imagine how tough the walls were.
A guard standing in tech armor addressed Rufus, who was at the head of the group.
"Younger Master Voss...what a relief. We were preparing to send a patrol to search for you."
Rufus waved dismissively, a smile that didn't reach his eyes appearing on his face.
"I'm truly sorry we're late; we're just trying to get more supplies to present to the shelter commander. By the way, where is that old geezer?"
"Commander Vesta?"
The guard looked surprised at Rufus calling the commander an old geezer. If it had been anyone else...
"He's on a hunting mission. Just place the meat over there, and I'll get you scanned and outta here."
He gestured to a board beside him. Rufus proceeded to drop bags of monster meat on the board.
The guard's eyes lit up.
"Whoa...so much! You've outdone yourself this time, Young Master. Beast King Julian is truly lucky to have such an...amazing successor."
Kenny grimaced when he heard the amount of praise the guard had heaped on his brother. What about him? Wasn't he amazing too?
"Just you all wait and see."
The guard then pulled out a device with a glowing light at the tip. This was the scan detector, used to check for residue energy on those who had left the shelter, as the whole beast terrain was unexplored.
People didn't really know what sort of crazy powers to expect from the place. But based on what they had already seen, it was better to be careful.
The process was supposed to be smooth. But the device suddenly blurred to life, a yellow light flashing with the words:
[Extreme Energy Levels.]
Everyone froze, Kenny especially almost collapsing. His gaze flickered to Rufus, who only raised his brows, then to the guard, awaiting his reaction.
However, the guard simply hit the back of the device with a frustrated expression.
"Eugh... I'm sorry, this device has been acting up lately. You guys should just go; I'll assign you as cleared."
Kenny released his breath with an audible sigh that everyone seemed to miss. A dangerous light of anticipation flashed across his eyes.
The rank from the device said extreme energy level. If just the scent of the dragon's egg could accomplish such a feat, what would happen if he actually tamed one? That remained to be seen.