Chapter Text
There was once a quote along the line of “The greatest tricked the devil has ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.”
For centuries, what the boy had done was the exact opposite.
When he was 15, his family settled down in a castle they found standing isolated and preoccupied. His father had said, "Yoongi, one day you will take over this castle after me."
The boy had nodded because the thought of running a castle and declaring himself king of the place he had just claimed his own sounded pretty reasonable back then. But then his mother had pulled him to a corner when they were alone, and whispered, "Yoongi, you must not take what isn't yours."
The boy had nodded, too, but somehow was very confused.
And only when the next group of people had settled down on the land next to his father's that the boy knew, this earth was not anyone's to call theirs. Fights broke out between the two groups, but the boy's father had won every single one. And he was proud.
"Yoongi," he had said. "The land is yours and this castle remains yours. My next battle is also your battle. Will you fight with me?"
The boy had nodded, excited. But he didn't realize the danger he was about to put himself into. The next battle his father had was with a group unlike any other human. These people possessed abilities that could swipe everything on land to dust with just the flicker of their finger.
The boy had returned home alone. His shirt was gone, his army was gone, his father—gone. The first thing his mother had told him was, "Yoongi, everything is going to be all right. I'm going to find a way to save you."
The boy had heard yelling. And the clanging of metal against metal. And screaming. He saw his mother's face for a brief second before she shove him into something.
And that was the last thing he remembered.
The next group that came to live next to the castle didn't know the history of the land. They had lived believing in peace.
And then the next group.
And the next.
The boy woke up one morning, feeling the most uncomfortable in his entire life. He had looked around his room, which was dark and gray. When he tried to reach for the candle, he only saw of sharp finger nails bigger than his normal hand. He pulled back and examined himself. His skin was sore and hard and rough, his hands were no longer his hands, they were replaced by a pair of talons. He gawked, appalled. What should have been his voice was no longer there. When he opened his mouth and tried to speak, red hot fire erupted from his throat and burned everything in front of him.
The boy jumped back, and something soft flapped behind him. He turned, seeing two enormous wings attached to his back. And when he tried to look closer, he was stopped. His head bumped against the wall. Or rather, his head was inches away but something on his face had bumped against the wall. What? Fire. More fire. The boy grabbed his own face in horror, on which he found crooked horns grown out.
He cried himself to sleep that night, his tears hotter than boiled water.
And many nights after.
So many, until his appearance no longer bothered him, until he learnt about his new self and abilities—that he was no longer a human. He had become a beast. A fire-breathing dragon. He had learnt to not try to speak because what came out would only bring destruction. He had found solace in his being, though, for he got to spend many sunny days indoor, not worrying about battle or invaders because nobody dared to come near him or the castle anymore.
Monster, they had called him. He would have agreed if he could still speak, so for that moment he could only light their houses on fire to prove their point.
Those people evacuated. Then a new group settled in. The beast had learnt to cope by staying out of the villagers' way. But not until long that words got around about a beast in the castle full of diamond and gold.
And from that moment, the boy had become more aware of the world he was living in, and what kind of thing the greedy people—like his father—were capable of doing.
-
The year is now 2015.
The light from the torch flickers and the intruders wince in uncertain fear. The further they get into the castle underground passageway the colder the air gets. Both of them scoot closer to one another as they continue to take their steps.
"Careful." Once whispers. "Do you hear this?"
The other one whimpers. "Yes."
The harsh breathing sound that echoes through out the whole tunnel turns the intruders' spine to ice. Suddenly they don't want to go on anymore.
"Maybe we should go back."
"But we've come so far."
The breathing hitches. And silence. The intruders stop abruptly. The whole place has become very still and quiet, as though the wind stops blowing and the trees stand still in fear of something. Ever experience the peacefulness before the big rain? The moment when the clouds in the sky blocks all sunlight and suddenly everything is dark and hopeless?
The torch is blown out by a sudden strong wind and the two intruders let out a squeak. There are stories about this abandoned castle—of how the first mankind on Earth had lived here, and they had gold and diamonds, and they had a poor fate and didn't get to live the fancy life they deserved. The story goes on saying that their ghosts remained, and that they guarded those treasures from outsiders. But people feel that the living should be able to live properly, and so from time to time people try their luck to get those things. But so far, no one has succeeded. All who have ever tried all said the same thing. They said something alive was still inside and it was watching them.
They weren't wrong.
The two intruders finally find a set of stairs. Tagging closely behind one another, they climb up. They keep their cool and take each step with carefulness until a dim light shines through the door at the end of the stairs. They turn to each other and grin. Pushing the door open, the first thing they see is a gigantic red-skinned creature, with a head the size of a truck, two eyes bigger than frying pan, and two swirling horns—unlike any horn normal animals possess—on where the eyebrows should have been. The beast has its jaws wide open toward the intruders' direction, its teeth baring sharp like spears.
Both of them scream and fall down the stairs, crawling on hands and feet back to the way they come in.
The dragon opens his eyes. He swears he's just heard human's scream closer than ever. He looks around—he's alone. But then he notices the door dangling open and comes closer to peek. He sees two figures running away in the dark.
He sighs.
He has just scared them off again. This is why he has no friend.
The dragon scratches his belly with his front talons. It feels so nice. And then he scratches his back, and his tail, and then his head. The horns on his face feel crooked and itchy, so he scoots closer to the wall and brushes against it. It makes a horrible screeching sound, like dragging chalk across the board, but he strangely enjoys it.
He yawns and fire threatens to peek from his nose. He inhales it back.
Shit, he thinks to himself. The walls above him has been scorched black. He must have unknowingly burnt it when he was asleep. The dragon blows his breath, trying to dust away the blackness. Instead, he burns it even more. Fuck! He ducks when burning debris falls his way. It hits his right wing but there is no pain. He flaps his wings once, blowing away the ashes.
And then he decides he wants to go back to sleep, so he tosses around and falls fast asleep.
-
"There is a beast in there!" One of the intruders say to the gathering villagers. "It's true! It guards the gold in the room. When we opened the door, it almost bit our head off!"
The villagers gasp. Exact reaction every time someone comes back claiming this exact same thing. A little exaggerate, most of the time. One time a middle aged man came back saying the beast has chased after him even to the outside of the castle, but none has seen any beast. Only him running and his wet pants stuck to his legs.
An elderly woman steps inside the group and grabs one of the intruder boys by his ear.
"I told you countless times not to play inside that castle! Countless times!" He drags him away. "It's rundown and smelly and what else, ghosts infested! What if you got hurt?"
"Mom, but it's true! There's a giant beast inside! A dragon!"
"A dragon exists? You're taking me as a fool! All are rumors." She turns to the villagers. "Stop encouraging my stupid son! If you know he stepped foot inside that castle again, break his legs!"
The villagers, some nod because they do not want any conflict with the woman, others just look around, embarrassed. The thing about modern day villagers is that their ignorance and false beliefs are still their weaknesses, and one day it could be their mean of extinction.
"Mom!! You're not helping. I'm trying to warn our villagers here!"
"The city men came today. They have bought the right to the land and they will demolish that old, crumbling castle soon." The woman announces. "Worry about yourself. If there is really a dragon, then we'll see."
The villagers nod again. Many have walked away by now, and only a few remains. One of which seems very interested in the story that he just stands there and listen, not saying a word.
"Mom, seriously! If you don't believe me, go with me and I'll show you!"
"I don't have time for this nonsense! I haven't cooked for your sister yet." The woman releases her son. "You better go home before dinner or I'll feed you to the crocodiles in our river!"
"We don't have a river!"
When the mother walks away, the boy mumbles to himself about how nobody believes him. The other intruder boy has already gone back with his family—literally being dragged away against his will.
"Hey,"
The boy looks up to find another boy around his age. He has weird golden-pinkish hair and the face of someone who has come from a very faraway land. But he speaks common tongue.
"Are you gonna tell me I'm crazy too?"
"No." The boy says calmly. "I do believe you. Now, which way to this castle you've just spoken of?"
-
-
-
The boy with weird hair stands in front of the castle with both his hands on his hips. The village boy stands a step behind him. It could be from the sunlight, or the boy's hair has just turned more pinkish than earlier.
The village boy shakes the thought away.
"It's big and has skin the color of blood. Its teeth are sharp. I've never seen anything like it. It's a dragon, or even a dinosaur."
"Just a boy," the boy says. "Who was cursed into a dragon."
"How do you know that?"
The weird hair boy grins at the question. "Because he is my responsibility. He has been for a long time now."
-
The pinkish hair boy enters the castle through the main gate. The village boy has told him about the underground passageway but he didn't listen.
"I am here for good cause," he has announced. "He will not harm me."
"Whatever, man. You're crazier than I am." And the village boy has left after that.
Before has has stepped inside, he has snapped a few photos for sentimental purpose, and given the castle a quick judge. The outside walls are covered with greenish slimy thing he doesn't know what, and the whole thing seems close to falling without even the need of demolishment from the city men as that one woman has claimed. The boy has shaken his own head, smiling to himself. If he hasn't known better, he wouldn't enter this place either. It looks way too dark, too ancient and too mysterious even Angkor Wat temple would be a teenager being compared to this colossal grandpa.
The boy with the weird hair takes out his necklace from under his shirt. The red pendent shines dimly when he taps it. He smiles. The other boy is here. He has finally found him.
And also, the interior is way uglier than anticipated now that light has been shone.
"Hey?" His voice echoes throughout the whole castle. "I'm Jimin. I'm here to help. Where are you, cursed boy?"
Quiet.
"Helloooo?"
Quiet.
Jimin shrugs and just wanders aimlessly. He looks left and right till he gets to the third floor. It's true, what the villagers say. The harsh heat and the eerily humming sound do feel frightening. But Jimin knows what he's doing, so he keeps going.
He peeks into each room curiously. He finds that each room has clothes, unmade bed, and other stuffs scatter all across the floor. It's as though there was something that had caused these people to leave in such a rush.
"Uh… I'm kinda lost." Jimin says casually. "If you can just signal me-" the castle rumbles. Jimin looks up at the ceiling, cracks like spider webs cover what could have been a thoughtful carving. "Are you up there?"
Quiet.
"Okay. I'm coming~"
-
Jimin sees him now—the cursed creature. He's sleeping on a big pile of jewels. There's a crown poking his behind, but he doesn't seem to mind. Jimin clears his throat.
"Hello. I am here to lift your curse. Are you awake?"
The dragon stirs but is still asleep.
"I prefer to do it with both of us awake." He nudges the dragon's tail. "Hey, you're a beast with heightened senses. You should have heard me coming from miles away. Wake up."
Still asleep.
"This is not how I expected it would go."
Jimin almost decides the dragon is dead. But when the door bangs shut by the strong wind and the dragon jerks awake, Jimin lets out a breath of relief.
"Hey~"
The dragon rolls over at the sound, sees Jimin, rolls back, then rolls over again.
He stands up on all four instantly, too excited to see actual human in front of him that he forgets, for a moment, that he is a dragon.
"Good, you're up." Jimin waves.
The dragon jumps up and down, his tail wages like a dog's. The castle shakes with his heavy weight. He opens his mouth, wanting to say hello back but shuts it again quickly because he remembers. He wants to say a lot of things, but being a dragon has taken away his ability to communicate with words. So he can only hum, which to Jimin sounds like a growl. Jimin backs away cautiously. The dragon stops when he sees the boy take out something.
A tiny pouch.
What is that, he wants to ask, instead he spits fire. Jimin can barely escape in time. He starts chanting something and the red pendent in his left hand illuminates a harsh light, the pouch in his right hand is on fire. The dragon feels it, then—the heat from the stone. He presses his talon to his chest, noticing his heart has stopped beating. He falls to the floor. A brief moment later, his heartbeats come back. It feels like he is being set on fire, which is ridiculous because fire cannot harm him. He is a dragon.
Argh! The gruesome pain in his chest spreads to his wings. He feels suffocated, like being squeezed by an invisible pair of giant hands. The dragon clasps his talons to his chest again, this time digging into his own skin with desperation. He feels as though if he cracks open his own chest, he might be able to breathe again. Arghh! Another sharp pain shoots through his whole body, and the dragon can feel his scales biting harder into his skin, afraid they might disappear. And they do—one by one, his scales fade. And his body shrinks. His wings wither like burnt flower petals. He lets out a scream. His horns disappear. And his talons—gone—replaced by a pair of human hands and legs.
Human.
His eyes stay wide open. He is human again.
Jimin has stopped chanting, now, and looks at the boy with satisfaction.
The boy struggles to stand up. But when he's on his feet, the first thing he says to Jimin is:
"What the fuck have you done to me?"