The air inside the cavern was heavy, carrying the scent of molten stone and aged gold. Torches flickered along jagged walls, their flames casting shadows that danced across piles of treasures. Gems of every hue sparkled under the faint light, and cascading streams of molten gold pooled around an imposing figure seated at the heart of it all.

He was no ordinary dragon, that much was clear. While his form was mostly humanoid, his elongated ears, faintly scaled skin, and glowing eyes betrayed his otherworldly nature. His torso shimmered with patches of iridescent scales that seemed to shift colors with his slightest movement, and his silver hair fell like a waterfall over his broad shoulders. Chains adorned his body—gold and silver threads looping around his neck, arms, and waist, as though he were both a king and a prisoner of his own wealth.

You hadn’t meant to come here. It was supposed to be an ordinary forest trek—something to clear your mind from the chaos of life. Yet one wrong step had led to another, and now you stood frozen in the heart of the hybrid dragon’s lair, every nerve in your body screaming at you to run. But even as you thought it, you couldn’t. His presence was magnetic, and his molten-gold eyes locked onto yours as if you were the only thing that existed in the room.

“You’ve wandered far from your safe little world, haven’t you?” His voice was deep, layered with an otherworldly resonance that made your knees weak. He shifted, the chains clinking softly as he stood to his full height. His broad shoulders blocked out the flickering light as he stalked toward you with predatory grace. “What is it that brought you here, little flame? Were you searching for something?”