Kzilon the Yellow Dragon

❦❦❦

Sireen lay down and I wrapped my arms around her. She gazed up at me with joy, eagerly waiting for me to tell her a story that we had repeated countless times before she fell asleep.

"King Kzilon! King Kzilon!" she exclaimed, playfully striking her pillow resting on her stomach.

"Shh... Sielron might wake up, my dear," I hushed her, smiling, as her younger sibling lay sleeping right beside her.

"Okay, I'll be quiet, Daddy," she mimicked me in a whisper, and I settled down next to the two of them.

I opened the blank book and began recounting the life of King Kzilon to her.

❦❦❦

In a land, there were five kingdoms.

The kingdom of Pyralis, where the sun's warmth originated.

The kingdom of Boreas, bringing wind to the surroundings.

The kingdom of Caelestis, granting clouds and shade to the land.

The kingdom of Eldoris, providing rain and water to the entire country.

And the kingdom of Achlys, bringing darkness and night to the world.

These kingdoms were ruled by Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses, but that was not all.

Each kingdom had a guardian dragon, a dragon that bestowed protection and power upon its realm.

Every hundred years, it laid eggs and birthed a new dragon that would carry on the tradition.

A tradition that was shattered by a child named Kzilon.

He was born to a dragon in the kingdom of Pyralis, with two eggs resulting in a dragon and a human.

The entire kingdom was astonished and puzzled by these extraordinary events. As a result, the King and Queen took him in and claimed him as their own child.

Kzilon grew up under the care of the King and Queen, lacking nothing and more.

But they wondered why the child seemed to possess no special abilities. Only his gentle smile provided answers to all their questions.

And as the years went by, the question of whether their prince, Kzilon, was normal or had hidden talents remained a mystery in the kingdom.

They only knew that he could converse with dragons and seemed to understand them.

But all those beliefs vanished when the prince turned eighteen.

A great conflict arose, a battle against the commoners and other factions from neighboring kingdoms.

They blamed Kzilon's dragon sibling for the excessive heat and drought that plagued their crops.

Chaos and protests ensued, and someone attempted to harm the dragon, but it retaliated with a powerful response.

It spewed an intense flame in front of the kingdom, instilling fear in the people.

However, Prince Kzilon swiftly intervened and blocked the dragon's second fire breath.

The dragon ceased its attack, freezing the moment for the bystanders.

They witnessed the charred body of the prince collapse, yet he continued to move.

He sought help, displaying a chilling appearance to the onlookers.

But as he stood up, the smoke slowly dissipated from his burnt body, revealing golden scales emerging from the ashes.

Scales as radiant as his golden hair, he resembled an indestructible figure of gold.

As the ashes disappeared, the King and Queen embraced him, concealing his naked body, untouched by any wounds or burns from the incident.

Peace was restored, and tranquility returned to the kingdom.

Much changed for the prince, and the passing years felt peculiar to him.

The landscape transformed, the kingdoms prospered, and the population multiplied.

The crown was passed to the true child of his perceived parents, and their subsequent demise.

But the question remained: why did he not age? Why did time seem to stand still for him?

He was not the only one who noticed this; even the people in his kingdom did.

Because of this, he became the talk of the town, labeled as an immortal. He was also hailed as the King of Dragons, which some disagreed with.

Beliefs were shattered, and factions emerged, some willing to fight against him.

Others argued that he should be the sole ruler of the nation, fueling envy in each kingdom.

The consequence?

War.

Many attempted to claim Pyralis and kill King Kzilon and his twin dragon.

In response, King Kzilon decided to face the war alone.

The outcome?

He was repeatedly killed.

And repeatedly revived.

Each enemy surrendered, and he returned unscathed.

The conflict ceased, and Pyralis was declared the center of the nation, with King Kzilon at its core.

But he did not desire any of it; he despised the peculiar events happening within his own body.

He detested every part of himself.

Why didn't he age?

Why couldn't he be hurt?

Why did time abandon him?

And why did everyone he loved leave him?

Yet he continued to breathe.

Countless years passed, but he couldn't keep track. All he knew was that he stood there, still, on his throne.

For he was the immortal dragon, King Kzilon.

❦❦❦

I closed the book and kissed the foreheads of my two children.

"Are they asleep, Arno?" my wife inquired, and I nodded, smiling at them.

"They're peacefully sound asleep," I replied, placing the book down and closing the door.

CHAPTER ONE...

KZILON THE YELLOW DRAGON

♛♕♛

Sireen and Seilron, the siblings, were walking toward their school along with other students who were starting the new semester.

"Sielron!" The siblings heard and turned to see two guys who had been friends with Sielron since elementary school.

The two guys waved and quickly ran toward the two locations.

"Good morning, sister Sireen," they greeted, and Sireen nodded in response.

Sielron, her brother, looked at her as if having a silent conversation through their gaze.

"Take care," Sireen reminded them, and the three of them walked together toward junior high, which was adjacent to her own school.

"Your telepathy is really amazing, you two," Sireen overheard one of Sielron's friends saying, and she saw Sielron simply shrug in response.

The three of them moved farther away as the crowd around them grew larger.

Sireen couldn't help