Inside the mansion's quieter rooms, the air was still and heavy with mana.
Arthur sat on a chair pulled close to a bed. On top of the bed, nestled in carefully arranged blankets like a priceless artifact, rested a giant golden egg. Faint lines glowed along its surface, patterns shifting almost imperceptibly, like veins of light buried beneath its shell.
The room itself was silent except for the faint hum of mana surrounding the egg. The curtains swayed gently from a breeze slipping through the slightly open window, causing thin rays of afternoon sunlight to dance across the polished floor.
Even the ambient mana in the room seemed to gather instinctively around the egg, as though acknowledging the extraordinary life sleeping within.
Arthur studied it, his chin propped on his hand.
Slowly, a smug grin spread across his face.
'Just imagine it,' Arthur thought. 'Me riding a giant, majestic dragon…'
