Highschool DXD: I am Issei

I woke up to a weightless sensation—no pain, no pressure on my body, just a dull warmth that pulsed with the rhythm of a living heart. The world around me glowed in shades of flamy red and deep orange, like I had been dropped into the core of a burning forge.

It wasn't hell. At least, I didn't think so. It felt more like standing in the middle of something ancient and alive.

I looked around.

Jagged spires of crimson crystal jutted out of the ground like the bones of some long-dead god, pulsing faintly with heat. They hummed low and slow, like the breath of something massive just beneath the surface.

Overhead, the sky was a swirling expanse of red-orange energy, veins of lightning slithering through like serpents behind thick glass. There was no sun. No wind. Yet everything pulsed with slow, molten light.

It was quiet… until it wasn't.

"You're finally here."

The voice didn't echo—it simply *was*. It came from everywhere at once, heavy and calm. Not trying to intimidate, because it didn't need to. It just existed, and the world bent around it.

I turned.

And there he stood.

A dragon. No, *the* dragon. Towering, regal, with crimson scales that gleamed like smelted armor fresh from a forge. Heat radiated off him in waves.

His wings, massive even when folded, stirred slightly as if ready to unfurl at a moment's notice. Green eyes locked onto mine—not with rage or disdain, but something worse: expectation. Recognition.

I felt my breath hitch. Not from fear. From awe.

"Ddraig," I whispered.

He didn't answer immediately. He stared at me for a few long, heavy seconds. Then he nodded, just once.

"You know my name already," he said. "That's what I expected. From *you*. Issei… or rather, the one who now wears Issei's skin."

I didn't bother denying it.

"I was wondering when I'd get to meet you," I said.

"You've been waiting for this?" he asked, more as a statement than a question.

"I have."

"Good," he replied simply. "Then I don't need to waste time explaining who or what I am. You already understand the nature of this place. You're inside the core of my soul. Or rather, the place where our souls touch."

The crystals around us pulsed brighter. I could *feel* him, not just as a presence, but as an idea. A weight. A force that had burned its name into history more times than most could count.

Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor. The Welsh Dragon. The embodiment of Power through Conflict.

"I've known many hosts," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Fools, dreamers, martyrs, tyrants. But not you. You're different."

He took a step forward. The ground didn't tremble. It *accepted* his weight like it had always been his.

"You are a conqueror."

I blinked. O don't know what he telling.

"That's not an insult," he added. "It's truth. Your soul—it's not content with survival. It doesn't seek peace or balance. It moves forward. Always. Devours challenge. You don't fight to protect. You fight to win. You soul is that of Conquer."

My Soul? Was I some kind of conquer in my past life.

"But you're still weak," Ddraig said bluntly. "For now."

I clenched my jaw. "That's why I've been pushing myself."

"And that's why I'm speaking to you now," he rumbled. "Others, I guided slowly. Carefully. I gave them crumbs and watched what they built with them. But you—if you're to carry *my* name, you don't have the luxury of time."

I straightened. "You're offering me your full power?"

"Not yet," he said. "But I *will.* Not because I trust you. Not because you've earned it. But because you *will.* And when that time comes, I expect one thing."

He unfolded his wings. The heat surged, searing through the space.

"You will become the strongest Red Dragon Emperor of all time."

His voice shook the world.

"Stronger than Albion's partners. Stronger than any incarnation before you. That is the only path forward for a soul like yours. Otherwise, you'll burn out. You're not built to be average. And I will not carry a forgotten name for someone like you."

He stepped closer. The distance between us vanished until his eyes filled my vision.

"I will guide you. I will grant you everything I can. But if you fail to rise to what you are—what you *should* be—then you will die. And I will wait for another."

I didn't flinch.

"I won't fail."

~~~

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