The screen pulsed once.
Then vanished.
Jax felt it immediately.
Not pain.
Not heat.
Lightness.
His body felt… right. Balanced. Responsive. Like every movement was exactly where it should be before he even thought about it.
He took a cautious step forward.
Then another.
Then—
He ran.
The ground vanished beneath him.
Wind tore past his ears as the forest blurred into streaks of green and brown. Jax barely had time to register the speed before—
CRASH.
His shoulder plowed straight through a tree thicker than a truck.
Wood exploded outward in a deafening crack as the trunk snapped in half and toppled behind him.
Jax skidded to a stop, heart hammering.
He stared at the fallen tree.
Then at his hands.
"…I should be dead," he said calmly.
Nothing hurt.
Not his shoulder.
Not his ribs.
Not even a bruise.
He flexed his fingers experimentally.
"Okay," he muttered. "That's… new."
The roar came again.
Closer.
Heat washed over his back as flames tore through the space he'd just vacated. Jax yelped and launched himself sideways on instinct—
—and cleared nearly thirty feet.
He hit the ground, rolled, popped back to his feet without even thinking about it.
"Oh," he said, breathless. "That's very new."
The dragon burst through the trees behind him, wings tearing branches apart as fire spilled from its jaws. The ground blackened and smoked where it landed, eyes glowing with molten fury.
Jax didn't freeze.
He moved.
Flames washed over where he'd been seconds earlier as he weaved between burning trees, dodging blasts he somehow knew were coming before they did.
Still—
"I don't know what I can do," he muttered while sprinting. "Which feels like a problem."
The forest opened suddenly.
Ahead—water.
A wide lake stretched between the trees, its surface smooth and reflective. Steam already curled upward where stray embers touched it.
Jax's mind snapped into focus.
Fire hates water.
Big bodies don't turn fast.
And necks…
He veered toward the shoreline.
The dragon followed, enraged, wings beating as it skimmed low over the ground. Fire blasted past him, forcing Jax to dive, roll, and leap again—each movement faster, cleaner than the last.
The lake was just ahead.
Jax skidded to a stop at the water's edge and turned.
"Hey!" he shouted, waving an arm. "Overgrown lizard!"
The dragon roared and lunged.
Good.
Jax ran straight at it.
At the last possible second, he leapt.
Not away.
Up.
The world slowed.
His body twisted midair without effort, instincts guiding him as if he'd done this a thousand times before. His fist drew back—
—and he punched.
Not wildly.
Not desperately.
Perfectly.
His knuckles slammed into the side of the dragon's neck.
There was no resistance.
No impact.
Just—
BOOM.
The explosion tore the air apart.
Jax felt himself pass through something massive and wet before he slammed into the ground on the other side, rolling hard before coming to a stop.
He lay there for a moment, staring at the sky.
"…I think," he said slowly, "I overdid it."
Something heavy hit the ground behind him.
Very heavy.
Jax pushed himself up.
The dragon's body stood frozen at the lake's edge.
Its head did not.
The massive skull slid free, tumbling into the water with a splash that sent waves rolling across the shore.
The body collapsed a heartbeat later.
Silence.
Jax looked down at himself.
He was drenched.
Blood.
Blackened scales.
Steam-hissing bile.
Head to toe.
He wiped a hand across his face, staring at the viscera coating his palm.
"…I need a shower."
The screen appeared.
FIRST FOE DEFEATED
SHADOW EXTRACTION POSSIBLE
NECROMANCER SKILL ACTIVE – SHADOW SUMMON
WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROCEED?
Jax stared at the dragon.
Then at himself.
Then back at the screen.
"Any other time," he said flatly, "I would say absolutely not."
A beat.
"…But that was kind of incredible."
He tapped YES.
CREATE A COMMAND WORD TO ACTIVATE
Jax blinked.
"A command word?" he repeated.
He glanced at the corpse.
Then took a breath.
"ARISE."
The world darkened.
Shadows poured out of the dragon's remains like smoke, coiling and compressing, rebuilding flesh and bone from pure darkness. The air vibrated as something immense took shape.
Then—
It stood.
A dragon of shadow and fire rose before him, whole and intact. Fifty feet long. Wings unfurled. Claws digging into the earth, each one nearly as tall as Jax himself.
Its eyes burned with controlled flame.
Not hostile.
Waiting.
The screen flashed again.
S-CLASS BEAST ACQUIRED
PLEASE NAME YOUR BEAST
Jax swallowed.
"A fire dragon from the depths of hell tried to roast me," he thought. "Feels appropriate."
He typed.
DANTE
The dragon lowered its massive head.
Acknowledgment.
Jax stared up at it, still dripping with gore, still breathing hard, heart pounding with adrenaline and disbelief.
"…Well," he said quietly. "That seems useful."
The shadow shifted and disappeared as he willed it gone.