Chapter 1: The Jewel of Transformation

“Quick! The boy ran this way!”

Deep within the darkened forest, the young boy crouched amidst the tall grass beneath a looming rock, his hands pressed tightly over his mouth, desperately trying to stifle any sound.

As the retreating footsteps faded into the distance, the boy cautiously peered out, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings. Only when he was certain the group had moved far away did a profound sigh of relief escape him.

His body, weakened from exertion, slowly sank to the ground, droplets of blood steadily pattering onto the already crimson-stained earth.

Leaning against the unforgiving cold of the rock, the boy finally unclasped his tightly clenched hands. Nestled in the center of his palms, a perfectly spherical jewel, radiating a pristine, pure light, was revealed.

“Finally… finally safe…”

The boy’s eyes, fixed on the shimmering jewel, brimmed with the exhilaration of having narrowly escaped death, a nascent spark of hope flickering within their depths.

‘This jewel’s quality is quite good,’ he mused. ‘It should fetch a respectable price.’

He began to idly turn the jewel over in his hand, when suddenly his grip faltered, and the orb struck precisely against the wound on his abdomen.

In that very instant, a brilliant golden light erupted, blinding in its intensity. The jewel expanded with astonishing speed, visibly swelling until it completely enveloped the boy’s entire form.

The fleeting joy on the boy’s face twisted into sheer terror. He had never imagined that the treasure, which he had risked life and limb to acquire within the secret realm, possessed such an unforeseen ability.

‘It would be catastrophic if that group of pursuers noticed this commotion and returned to finish me off.’

The boy frantically pounded against the luminous barrier surrounding him, yet it remained utterly unyielding. Suddenly, a viscous, chilling liquid began to creep up, engulfing his feet.

His worn straw sandals seemed to vanish. Glancing downwards, the boy watched in horrified fascination as the milky-white liquid rapidly ascended his legs.

To his utter shock, his tattered clothes, upon contact with the strange fluid, began to dissolve.

A wave of profound despair resurfaced, washing over him, and the vibrant light in the boy’s purple eyes began to dim, slowly extinguishing.

‘I had already been reborn,’ he thought, his mind reeling. ‘I had already secured this treasure, leveraging all the knowledge from my previous life.’

‘But why, why would the heavens play such a cruel jest upon me?’

The boy’s lips twitched, and a low, cold scoff escaped him, even as glistening tears welled in the corners of his eyes.

Something beneath his feet seemed to detach, and then, disturbingly, parts of his legs began to slough off as well.

‘Perhaps it’s my flesh and skin,’ he thought grimly. ‘My legs must be nothing but bare bone by now.’

Lost in his desperate musings, he forced his gaze downwards, towards his lower limbs.

In that sudden moment, he froze, utterly dumbfounded. Beneath him, two slender yet exquisitely defined legs, devoid of any superfluous flesh, now stood erect.

The boy rubbed his eyes fiercely, a chilling suspicion forming that he might be trapped within a horrifying dream.

A searing, excruciating pain suddenly assailed him, and in the throes of this agony, the milky-white liquid finally surged upwards, completely filling the entire jewel.

She thrashed desperately within the fluid. Her clothing was entirely corroded away, and her bones, emitting a mournful creak under the immense, unbearable pressure, began to visibly diminish.

The boy’s once distinctly masculine facial features gradually softened, their sharp lines blurring into a more delicate contour. His entire body underwent a profound metamorphosis; something within his legs seemed to vanish, replaced by an entirely new form.

She pounded against the jewel with what little strength remained, but her efforts were utterly futile. As her consciousness finally succumbed to a deep slumber, the jewel, having completed its radical transformation of the young girl, began to contract, shrinking until it seamlessly merged into her very being.

Lying on the ground now was no longer the black-haired, purple-eyed boy, covered in grievous wounds. Instead, a young girl with flowing silver hair lay there, completely nude, adorned with a delicate dragon tail and nascent dragon horns.

****

“Oh? What was that sound?”

At that moment, another young girl, drawn by the faint disturbance, pushed aside the concealing grass. Her cerulean eyes widened and trembled uncontrollably as they fell upon the silver dragon girl lying motionless on the ground.

‘A dragon! And a hatchling at that!’

A tumultuous storm erupted within her heart, yet she distinctly recalled that the secret realm should have been entirely devoid of any draconic presence.

Approaching with a curious gait, the girl gently pinched a section of the silver dragon girl’s horn, meticulously scrutinizing this enigmatic silver dragon who had so inexplicably materialized.

The silver dragon girl before her possessed facial features that were sharp and exquisitely chiseled, her jawline tapering clean and smooth, imbued with a subtle, almost imperceptible tension.

Her cool, porcelain-white skin imparted a delicate, almost ethereal fragility, creating an impression of vulnerability and helplessness, yet underscored by an undeniable strength.

A certain aloofness emanated from her entire being, so profound that even the kingdom’s own princess felt somewhat eclipsed in the presence of this ethereal girl.

Without any discernible reason, a powerfully destructive surge of possessiveness erupted from the depths of her soul.

‘How could such a breathtakingly beautiful and captivating girl fail to stir her heart? If they had been within the safety of the kingdom, she would have undoubtedly swept this defenseless girl into her arms and carried her home without a second thought.’

The girl continued her careful examination for a prolonged moment, only then noticing a faint trace of blood on the silver dragon girl’s body. It was at this juncture that she became aware of several unhealed wounds marring the girl’s pristine skin.

A flash of indignation marred her exquisite face. ‘How could those brutes bear to inflict such harm upon such an adorable and lovely child?’

“Don’t be afraid, little sister. Once I leave this place, I’ll come find you and avenge what they’ve done.”

With those reassuring words, the girl gently lifted the silver dragon girl into her arms and carried her towards a simple, nearby thatched hut.

****

Within a realm of impenetrable darkness, Gern, the black-haired young boy, warily scanned his surroundings. At this moment, he was utterly disoriented, unsure if he had perished or was merely trapped within a dream.

Yet, the ingrained habits from his previous life persisted; he maintained an unwavering vigilance when confronted with an unfamiliar environment.

Suddenly, a voice, soft and resonant, echoed in his ear.

“Gern~”

“Who! Who’s there!”

The voice was profoundly ethereal, yet distinctly feminine in its tone.

“Do not resist~”

The voice continued, seemingly oblivious to Gern’s frantic shouts.

“Spark… hope…”

Listening to these cryptic and perplexing words, Gern felt a prickle of irritation. He despised riddlers above all else.

However, the very instant the voice faded, a pure white beam of light enveloped him. The boy’s body underwent a swift and startling transformation; his original height of 1.7 meters rapidly diminished to 1.5 meters.

Every male characteristic vanished without a trace, replaced instead by the form of a silver dragon loli, complete with delicate dragon horns and a slender dragon tail.

“Eh?! Ehhh—!”

The silver dragon loli let out a piercing shriek of terror. Before she could even begin to comprehend her predicament, a colossal, boundless silver-white phantom materialized, consuming her entire field of vision.

“I am… the Dragon God… gather… the spark… the hope… of life…”

Having uttered these profound words, the massive figure instantly fragmented, dissolving into a wisp of shimmering light that then pierced and merged with Gern’s body.

In that precise moment, she felt an overwhelming surge of boundless power. Yet, in her current state, she was utterly incapable of controlling it, forced to allow this formidable energy to lie dormant within her.

Gern gazed at her newly transformed body, feeling the potent force stirring within, her frame trembling almost imperceptibly.

“Big Sis! Change me back before you vanish!”

Gern collapsed onto the ground in utter despair, her eyes fixed on her delicate, newly acquired form, a profound sadness washing over her heart.

‘Why, oh why, after being reborn, after finally securing this treasure through my own arduous efforts, must the world treat me with such cruelty?’

‘Heh… I might as well just die.’

Gern found herself utterly unable to accept the reality of her transformation into a silver dragon loli. The very moment the thought of ending her life entered her mind, the ethereal voice from earlier suddenly resonated once more.

“Can… change… do not… destroy…”

This time, the voice was noticeably weaker than before, and far closer, as if it emanated directly from within her own body.

Gern’s mouth twitched involuntarily. ‘This unknown entity, whatever it is, has simply moved into my body just like that?’