Wings of Dark Snow

Chapter Nine: The Stages of Maturity – Part One

After dinner, my sister went to sleep. Despite her intelligence, it was extremely difficult to force a ten-year-old girl to train. As usual, I went to my mother to ask her to tell me stories from her life.

My mother has lived for more than 90,000 years, and during that time, she has witnessed many events. I tried to memorize the locations of the rare plants she spoke about, even though she might not know their exact properties.

Anyway, who could believe that in this world, there are only three dragons?

My mother told me that all the dragons in this world were exterminated by humans, fearing that one of them might take over the world one day. In short, they were wiped out because they possessed immense power. Any powerful dragon that appeared would cause humans to gather an entire army to completely eliminate it.

Even she—humans know nothing about her. Any human who sees her would be eliminated before they could escape. Yet, rumors about our existence continue to circulate among them.

She has warned me countless times that if humans learn about our family, they will destroy us. My mother forbade me from wandering near human-controlled areas so that we would not be discovered.

After my mother finished speaking, I felt the weight of her words. The three of us are all that remain of the once-great dragon race—me, my little sister Aislin, and my mother, who has lived for more than 90,000 years.

The thought that we are the only ones left in this world filled me with a mix of pride and fear—pride because we carry the legacy of the ancient dragons, and fear because our end could be near if humans discover us.

My mother always emphasizes the importance of staying hidden in this icy cave, where human eyes cannot reach us. We are in the far north because the cold here protects us, especially since there are no large cities. Even if any creature comes near, they would die before discovering our location due to the ice storms.

But I always wondered—can we really live in isolation forever? My sister Aislin, despite her young age, was full of energy and life, always asking me about the world beyond the far north. She wanted to fly freely under the blue sky, while I leaned more toward thinking and caution, just as my mother taught me.

"Mother, are we really the last dragons?" I asked her in a low voice.

Selina said, "Yes, my son. There is no one left but us. Humans eradicated all those before us because they feared our power. We are now the last hope of our race, and even the smallest mistake could lead to our extinction."

I looked at my sleeping sister, curled up near the walls of the cave, and said to my mother:

"But how long can we keep hiding? Aislin is growing up, and soon, she will start asking questions we won't be able to answer. We are dragons—we were born to fly and rule, not to hide in caves."

My mother closed her eyes for a moment, as if remembering distant days, then answered:

Selina said, "I know, my son. But this is the only way to survive. One day, you may have the power to change this fate. Until then, we must protect what remains of us."

At that moment, I felt an immense responsibility. We are not just a family—we are the last remnants of the dragon race. Protecting my sister and mother is not just a duty; it is my battle against this world.

This made me wonder… Is this my legendary mission? Is this the reason I was reborn into this world?

Does this mean that I am the hero?

I am the hero of this world…

I am the one who carries the responsibility of the dragon race in this world.

But curiosity had always been stronger than fear for me. I wanted to understand the world that made humans hate us so much. How could such weak creatures have eradicated the dragon race—a race that once ruled both the sky and the earth, standing at the very top of the food chain?

I needed to know more about this.

Inside my mind, countless thoughts were swirling, but there was something else. I felt like there was a part of the story that she hadn't told me.

As I drowned in my thoughts, I lay on the cold ground, enjoying the silence that enveloped the place. The wind howled outside the cave, carrying whispers of the past. Maybe one day, I would uncover the full truth about this world…

And the real reason why humans sought to exterminate dragons.

But what puzzled me the most was how humans were able to eliminate an entire race of dragons.

In any case, it wasn't the right time for me to dwell on this matter.

Right now, I needed to focus solely on becoming stronger.

I wasn't strong enough yet to uncover what happened between dragons and humans in the past. So, I would forget about this matter for now… as long as I remained weak.

I would not stay trapped in this cave forever.

I would grow stronger, and I would uncover the truth, no matter how shocking it might be.

Because I realized that the fate of my family—and the entire dragon race—depended on what I would do in the days to come.

I no longer saw this place as just a shelter; it had become a prison that kept me away from the world I had always longed to understand.

How could we remain here while the world changed around us?

How could I protect my family if I didn't even know what we were up against?

In my past life, I was human. I knew what humans were capable of.

I needed to blend in with them, to gain power over them, to turn their own strength against them—just like their spiritual weapons. If I truly wanted to win, to carve out a place for myself and my family in this world, I couldn't live like a wild animal. My human mind and my dragon instincts both refused the life of a caged bird.

As the days passed, my younger sister, Aislin, began to show signs of curiosity. Despite having the body of a mature dragon, she lacked a mature consciousness. For the most part, she still behaved like a ten-year-old child. However, something had changed—her way of thinking no longer seemed like that of a child. She now acted more like someone who was fifteen or sixteen.

Her questions were no longer as innocent as they once were.

She asked me why we feared humans. Why didn't we just fly away and live freely? Were we really the strongest, as Mother claimed? Had she already begun maturing, entering the stage of adolescence?

She asked many questions, but what shocked me the most was when she said that she wanted to get married.

That was when I realized—she was no longer a child. She was on the verge of becoming a fully grown dragon.

It is well known that when dragons enter adulthood, they experience a period of intense mating urges. However, there is only one way for them to suppress these instincts—if they do not find a suitable mate. This applies only to female dragons.

A female dragon will not choose just anyone. There are many conditions that must be met before she selects a mate.

The first requirement is that he must be stronger than her—and he must defeat her in battle.

Even then, she might still reject him.

However, if she finds someone she truly wishes to be with, she will enter a state of deep longing for him.

Once a female dragon chooses a mate, she will remain loyal to him for life, never accepting another.

There are only a few exceptions to this rule.

If her mate is unable to satisfy her, if he dies, or if he abandons her, then—and only then—she may seek another partner.

For her to ask such a question… it meant there was already someone she was considering as a mate.

And yet, in all these past years, I had never seen her interact with any male. She had never even formed close friendships with other females.

She had always been attached to me… and to our mother.

So, for her to ask this question now… made me wonder—when did she find a partner?

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I apologize for the delay.

I am a high school student, and right now, it's exam time, so it's difficult for me to write.

Number of words in this chapter (1,423 words)

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