Chapter Twenty: The Court of Immortality ~ Part Two

  He stared at me with eyes that were almost human.

  Thick smoke, like living fog, poured from his nostrils, creeping slowly toward me, carrying my scent.

  Then he bared his massive ivory fangs, stained a dark yellow, before letting out a low, rumbling roar that froze my spine with terror and sent violent shivers across my crimson scales.

  His size defied reason. I had always considered myself formidable, but what stood before me was no mere opponent… it was a living nightmare.

  When my gaze met his sharp, icy eyes, a name surged in my mind as if it had been burned into my soul:

  The Primeval Ice Tiger.

  I drew in a sharp breath, summoning every ounce of courage I had left, and unleashed a deafening roar.

  His body trembled for a moment at the sound, then the tiger recoiled with a sudden burst of speed, disappearing into the thick fog as if he were nothing more than a phantom of this harsh, white world.

  My heart pounded violently inside my chest, and my eyes darted from side to side without rest.

  Where is he? My thoughts drifted into chaos as I scanned the frozen land for the beast.

  If not for the occasional low growl rumbling in the distance, I would have foolishly believed it had already vanished.

  I’m being hunted. The realization lit a strange, burning anger deep inside me.

  A pride both senseless and overwhelming surged through my veins.

  “How dare a mere polar tiger think it can chase me? I am… a dragon!”

  My body screamed it, my mind echoed it, and my instincts roared it back at me.

  I pulled away, moving toward the raging snowstorms. I knew the beast would strike eventually, but I refused to charge in like a fool—especially when my enemy was faster and the very land itself bent to his will.

  But my body seemed to have a mind of its own. Without thinking, my hands shot forward, as if deciding for me. I no longer waited for him… I chose to go to him.

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  Every drop of my blood screamed: “No one hunts this dragon!”

  My rational mind howled at me that what I was doing was pure madness, yet my instincts refused to obey.

  I let myself flow with the air, silencing my anxious thoughts with sheer force, following an inner current that would not be resisted.

  Moments passed, and my fear began to fade, numbed by the rush of my first real thrill. The sense of predation—felt for the first time in my life—surged through me, filling my veins with a power I had never known.

  I scanned the land stretching before me, but my opponent was nowhere in sight. He was watching, hesitating, as if testing me.

  Then… a massive form appeared before my eyes, a white aura shaped like a giant cat.

  It was him.

  The Primeval Ice Tiger I had been fleeing from just moments ago.

  And now, only now, did it become clear… he was never going to be an easy opponent.

  It seemed to me that he despised attacking ordinary creatures, as if they weren’t even worth a glance. His predatory instincts only stirred for colossal prey—polar bears or winter wolves… worthy prey for a predator like him.

  I lunged at him with lightning speed, my wings propelling me forward like icy arrows cutting through the storm, my body sliding through the air for the first time in my life.

  A furious roar erupted from my throat, echoing across the frozen snows. The polar tiger trembled for a moment in surprise, but quickly raised his massive claws—gleaming and outstretched—in a desperate attempt to block my attack.

  For a fleeting moment, it felt as if time itself slowed. I saw him clearly—his eyes widening in lethal astonishment as my body twisted in the air, my pointed tail lashing toward him like a deadly club.

  The dragon instincts within me screamed to tear him apart with my claws and fangs, to taste the blood of my first real hunt… but my mind hesitated. I dared not risk getting too close to his jaws and claws.

  In the end, I chose the safest weapon: my tail.

  Wham!

  I collided with his claws in a violent rush, sending him flying through the air before he slammed into a mound of ice, a high-impact strike that sent shivers down my spine.

  My heart skipped a beat, stunned by the force behind my blow. I hadn’t expected it to go this way… this was my first real battle since being born into this world.

  A fierce dragon roar erupted from my chest, echoing through the cold air, making the Primeval Ice Tiger feel an unfamiliar unease.

  His fur bristled, and the hunger in his eyes twisted into sharp fear and heightened alertness. It seemed he finally realized that I wasn’t easy prey, and that toying with me would be a fatal mistake.

  But that brief hesitation nearly cost him. The moment he regained his senses, he let out a scream of pain and lunged at me mercilessly, his eyes burning with blind rage, every trace of intelligence vanishing in an instant.

  His attack was lightning-fast. I barely dodged the first swipe of his claw with a clumsy sideways jerk of my head. Then he lunged at my neck, jaws wide open.

  Panic surged through me as his yellow, razor-sharp teeth aimed straight for me. I retaliated with a swift strike of my claws, trying to push him back before he could tear my neck apart.

  But the tiger was faster than I anticipated. His body twisted in a smooth, unexpected motion, effortlessly dodging my strike.

  I barely managed to scratch the side of his face—but even that was enough to draw blood, my claws unnaturally sharp.

  The tiger seemed unconcerned by his wounds, relentlessly continuing his savage attack. His massive jaws pierced my defenses, clamping mercilessly onto my left shoulder.

  Grah…

  A scream of pain tore from my chest as the Primeval Ice Tiger’s razor-sharp teeth sank into my crimson scales, blood flowing between his fangs, staining the white icy ground a brilliant red.

  With his jaws fixed on my shoulder, the beast shook his head violently, right and left, trying to rip my shoulder to pieces, intensifying the pain that seared through my veins.

  My eyes flared crimson with rage as I sank my teeth into the back of his neck, a sickening crunch echoing through the storm.

  My fangs easily pierced his thick fur as warm blood flowed into my mouth and across my face, my vision turning a blinding shade of crimson, as if the entire world had become one tone of rage and blood.

  His body trembled for a moment before he lunged at me with his claws, trying to tear into my stomach, as if to force me into retreat.

  Adrenaline surged through my veins, and instead of deterring me, his strikes fueled my fury. I raised my claws, coiling them around his back, tearing into his flesh and fur without mercy, each movement a violent fusion of dragon strength, anger, and predatory instinct.

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  (Number of words in this chapter: 1,200 words)

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