Chapter Ten: An Awaited Prophecy and a Fracture in Fate

  The moment I stepped into the cave, a sharp cracking sound echoed all around.

  Crack! Snap!

  It wasn’t just any object breaking—it was the sound of a red dragon’s eggshell splitting open.

  I locked my gaze onto the source of the noise. I wanted this moment etched into my memory.

  As I watched, one of the cracked pieces of shell was pushed aside, revealing the head of a red dragon, its body covered in gleaming red scales that were far more magnificent than I had ever imagined.

  A small red dragon emerged from the egg, covered in gleaming red scales, with two small horns protruding from its head.

  The bright red scales were polished like the vibrant hibiscus flower, or like frozen drops of blood, or a massive crimson ruby covering its entire body.

  With crimson eyes and slit pupils, as I met its gaze, I felt as if a faint light slipped inside them, like a crystal containing a dim flame.

  This is the appearance of the original Red Dragon girl.

  The little dragon opened its mouth without looking, then, without hesitation, curled its mouth to begin devouring the entire eggshell.

  A clear hunger drove her; she began devouring the eggshell voraciously, as if she hadn’t eaten in a century!

  She didn’t notice my presence at all while I stood staring at her in amazement, watching her chew the shell as if it were her favorite potato chips. It was a sight I would never forget.

  I kept watching her silently until she finished eating every piece of the eggshell, then she drank the yellow liquid with relief, as if it were refreshing lemonade on a hot summer day.

  Afterward, her small belly puffed up adorably, then she started looking right… left… up… back… down… and forward, as if she’d lost her bag in a room full of mirrors.

  She looked so cute, irresistibly so… and at that moment, a sudden feeling grew in my heart: “I want to hold her!”

  Well, I can’t deny her movements were a bit strange…

  Was she looking for something? Or maybe for her mother? Or… a dessert after the meal?

  Oh no… Could it be that she intends to replace my little green turtle?

  Well, I didn’t have to wait long to find out what she intended to do.

  It seems she noticed me, and as soon as she saw me, she started moving toward me… or rather “crawling defiantly” toward me, as if competing in an Olympic race for newborns.

  What now?! Has she decided to replace me with my little green turtle?! How treacherous!

  Strangely, she doesn’t seem skilled at standing or walking. Well, what did I expect? She hatched from the egg just five minutes ago! She can barely tell her foot from her tail, let alone keep her balance.

  Me? My situation is completely different. I have memories from my past life, so I didn’t need anyone to teach me how to stand or walk. I was mature from my very first cry!

  And let’s be clear… I wasn’t interested in joining that Olympic crawling race.

  Then, at the height of excitement, I started walking toward her to see what she would do… but she completely surprised me.

  As soon as I reached her, she sat in my lap… then fell asleep.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Yes, she fell asleep! Just like that, no greeting, no permission… as if I were a royal pillow reserved for her comfort.

  I know why she fell asleep — that heroic walk surely drained her energy — but the real question is: why did she choose my lap in particular?

  Am I really that comfortable? Or do I… actually look like a pillow?!

  (From the third-person perspective — the vast Star World)

  On the Red Cliff Continent, specifically in the Kingdom of the Celestial Tiger…

  At that moment, a black tiger was seen from afar, sprinting swiftly toward a majestic palace looming on the horizon. At the palace entrance stood a colossal statue of a winged tiger, carved with exquisite precision, its wings spread wide from its back as a symbol of majesty and grandeur.

  Before this entrance, guards stood in their formal attire, weapons gleaming. As soon as they spotted the black tiger charging toward them like lightning, they quickly stepped aside, then bowed silently with respect, not a word spoken.

  The black tiger continued running without casting a single glance their way, as if they were invisible. Once he passed through the grand palace gate, he headed straight toward the throne hall with unwavering steps.

  Their eyes met those of the middle-aged man sitting on the royal throne. As soon as their gazes locked, he immediately lowered his head, showing deep respect to the one seated before him.

  Then he transformed into an old man and quietly knelt before the king, renewing his submission and admiration.

  The black tiger said in a voice full of awe and respect: “My lord… The Council of the Knowers has sent me to inform you that a great change has occurred in the course of fate… and that there is an unknown variable not yet detected in the threads of destiny.

  Silence filled the hall after the old man’s words, as if time itself had stopped at the utterance of the phrase unknown variable.

  On the throne, the king remained silent for a moment. His piercing eyes, with their dark silver hue, did not blink. He stared into the emptiness before him, as if seeing something beyond the walls… something no one else could see.

  Then, with solemn slowness, he raised his right hand and made a slight gesture toward the guard closest to him.

  The guard immediately approached and knelt beside the throne.

  The king spoke in a calm, deep voice, emanating an undisputed authority: Summon the council… and send the Night Tiger to the noble family and the great clans. Tell them that the balance has been shaken.

  Then he looked at the kneeling old man before him and asked in a tone devoid of any emotion but carrying the weight of a hundred years of wisdom:

  The king said, Have the Knowers determined the nature of this variable?

  Is it human? … From the higher realms? … Or something unlike anything we know?

  The black tiger answered in a low, trembling voice, but his words carried heavy weight:

  The black tiger said: “My lord… They said it is neither human, nor from the higher realms, nor even from the lineage of beings known in the Celestial Register. They described it with only one word…”

  He paused for a second, as if the letters eluded him, then murmured: Fracture.

  The king frowned, leaned forward slightly, his eyes staring intently.

  The king said: Fracture?

  The black tiger nodded.

  The black tiger said: The Chief of the Knowers said it is a fracture in the fabric of fate; no prophecy touches it, nor knowledge encompasses it. Its very existence is disorienting.

  Silence filled the throne hall once again, but this time it was not a silence of awe… rather, the silence before the storm.

  The Tiger King said, in a heavy tone carrying the burden of responsibility and fear of the future: Does the Council of the Knowers know the cause of this event? What is this variable that fate has caused? And why was this message sent to me?

  Do you mean that the matter concerns only the Tiger Kingdom, or is there something deeper and more complex lurking to trap us all?

  The black tiger answered in a calm voice, but one pulsing with undisguised anxiety: My lord, the Council of the Knowers sent me to inform you that the Tiger Kingdom is facing an imminent disaster, and perhaps this disaster is the result of the mysterious changes occurring in the very fabric of fate.

  They told me that the vision they saw is not just an ordinary warning, but a key that may hold the secret to our salvation or our downfall, and caution is necessary, for fate may have charted for us a dark path from which there is no escape.

  The Tiger King said, his eyes narrowing with a worry he was not used to showing:If this is what the Council of the Knowers says… then the matter is truly grave. We must prepare for the coming storm of fate… for that disaster that may strike the Winged Tiger Kingdom without mercy. Continue, envoy.

  The black tiger bowed slightly in respect, then spoke in a low voice, but one charged with the weight of the news:Thank you, my lord. As mentioned, the council saw a vision… a vision unseen for centuries.

  And they believe this vision may be the only key to saving the kingdom from inevitable doom.

  The king’s features hardened, and he said sternly, bearing the burden of kingdoms: What is this vision they speak of? Speak it fully.

  The black tiger raised his eyes to him and said in a tone wavering between admiration and awe:The council saw that one of your daughters, my lord, will give birth to a different tiger… a tiger with red wings like those of a crimson dragon,

  A child born with limitless talent, whose aura glows from the very first moment.

  They said he will be the light in the heart of the storm, and the emperor who will lead this era.

  And he may be, alone, the last hope for the survival of the Tiger Kingdom.

  Silence reigned for a moment in the throne hall, then the king said in a hoarse voice: Did the council say when this disaster will occur? What is its nature? And how do we survive… if this child you speak of is not born?

  The black tiger said in a serious voice: The Council of the Knowers told me that the path of the emperor will return again.

  But the one who will restore it is not from the tigers, but a human… a human who carries in his blood the lineage of the Red Dragon. This person will be the cause of the end of the Red Dragon clan, and he will be the first to be crowned emperor in this new era, and he will succeed in reviving the path of the emperor once again.

  He paused for a moment, then continued in a more cautious tone.

  The black tiger said: But the council did not tell me how we can survive if the tiger spoken of in the prophecy is not born. This means they are confident he will be born soon,

  and confident that the human who will restore the path of the emperor… will appear soon.

  The king was silent for a moment, then said in a calm, thoughtful voice

  The Tiger King said: I will believe this… for the Council of the Knowers has never been wrong. But did they say when the disaster will happen? Or when the tiger they saw in the vision will be born? And did they know which of my daughters will be his mother?

  The black tiger said: According to what the Council of the Knowers told me, the disaster is inevitably coming, but they were unable to determine an exact date for its occurrence.

  However, they estimate that the earliest possible time for it to happen is after one hundred years,and the latest estimate for its occurrence does not exceed one hundred and fifty years.

  As for the tiger mentioned in the prophecy, he will be born sixteen years before the disaster, which means that when the disaster strikes, he will be sixteen years old.

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  (Number of words in this chapter: 1,948 words)

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