We stepped into what I first thought was a normal cave. But this wasn't any cave. As I drained the mana, the fog started to clear, and the clearer it got, the more shocked we became. It was like someone scooped out the whole mountain and said yeah this looks fine. There was a spiral ladder hugging the walls, curling down into the dark like a stairway straight to the bottom of the earth.

  The walls were too clean, too sharp. No way this was natural. Someone had built this, though they clearly didn’t live long enough to enjoy it. Skeletons and scraps of heavy armor lay everywhere. I stepped over a pile of bones, careful not to join the collection. Taking a shaky breath, I cupped my hands around my mouth.

  “Hey! Anyone there?” I shouted into the void below.

  My voice bounced off the walls and slid down the spiral, getting weaker and creepier with each echo. No answer. Just wind hissing through the cracks and the thick, heavy silence of mana pressing in.

  “You hear me?” I tried again. Still, nothing from down there. Just more echoes fading into the dark.

  “It looks like they’re all dead,” I muttered, turning to Midori.

  “Or maybe they went on a permanent strike underground... Dwarves are like moles.” She said, tapping a skull with her foot. “They hate the sun and can’t resist shiny rocks.”

  “...Dwarves?!”

  I looked down at the skeletons on the ground, and yeah, she was right. They were way too small to be normal humans. I walked over, sat against the cold wall, and for once didn’t freak out about my power. I shaped my fire into a dome big enough to cover both of us, holding back just enough to warm us and steady my control, not enough to roast us alive.

  Midori sat beside me, smirking at the fire like she’d caught me pulling off something cool by accident. “Not bad, not bad... You’re almost starting to look like a lord.” She glanced at me, then held up two fingers an inch apart. “Just a little.”

  “A little?” I said, then sighed. “But don’t get used to it,” I added, staring at the fire. “I’m sure I’ll screw it up any second now…”

  She set the bag down next to me, pulled out some food, handed me mine, and started eating hers while scanning the place with her mouth full.

  “Whatever’s up there,” she muttered, “must’ve killed these poor souls.”

  “All of them?!” I blurted, almost choking on my bite. She really wasn’t gentle with dinner talk.

  “Looks like it,” she said, turning to me. “And dwarves aren’t easy prey. They’re fighters from birth.” She paused, eyes dark. “Whatever’s waiting for us up there won’t be kind.”

  Fine, I had zero interest in dinner-time horror stories, so I quickly steered the conversation elsewhere.

  “Think we’ll reach the peak tomorrow?”

  “I don’t know. Mana’s thickening, and who knows how much your shield can actually hold," she said, then paused. "From here on, it looks like it’s up to you and your mana control.”

  If everything depended on me and my mana control, we were already screwed. No way around it. I had a few days, or maybe less, to master my domain. My muscles tensed without me realizing, and I just stared ahead, quiet, fighting with my own thoughts.

  Midori leaned against me, eyes slowly closing. “Let’s just sleep… today was exhausting,” she mumbled, drifting off.

  I didn’t sleep that night. Every time she moved or fidgeted, I woke up. Sometimes my eyes snapped open on their own, heart racing, just to check if the fire shield was still there. Half asleep, half panicking, I somehow made it through the night.

  When morning came, we stepped out, and the view didn't help my mood at all. A snowstorm had started. It was weak, but more than enough to slow us down. We moved anyway. I pulled mana in front of us and burned it behind. As the mana grew thicker, I had to push the fire harder, and I could feel myself slowly getting the hang of it.

  “Keep your eyes sharp,” Midori said after hours of fighting snow and bad luck. “We’re at the heights where the plant shows up.”

  “Really?” I asked, looking at her. A spark of excitement surged through me, and I nearly lost my control.

  “The higher we go, the better our chances. But if we’re lucky, we might find it here too…”

  My face fell right after hearing that. Luck had never been on my side, at least that’s what life had taught me so far. And soon enough, what we’d face would be the universe’s way of confirming that sad little fact.

  

  The terrible roar came again, louder and heavier this time. I jerked, and all my careful mana control went straight to hell. Dense mana slammed down on us fast. I grabbed Midori’s hand. We couldn’t see anything, and the pressure hit like a truck.

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  We sank to our knees, clutching each other, gasping for air. My head felt ready to split open. Everything blurred, my thoughts spinning in endless circles. I couldn’t even remember why we were on this mountain or what the hell we were supposed to be doing.

  “Do… domain…” Midori mumbled, barely able to speak.

  “...What?” I muttered, my mind completely scrambled.

  We wobbled like two drunks, struggling to stay upright, as the thick mana around us went haywire. It didn’t just float, it twisted, collided, and piled up like it had its own mind. And then… it started to take shape.

  The moment I saw it, every hair on my body stood up. So this was what the general and the others warned us about. The mana had taken shape. A dragon. Massive and transculent. Its wings tore through the air, each beat sending shockwaves that made everything around us shake.

  I glanced at Midori. She was already flat out in the snow. The mana should have knocked her out by now. I crawled over and gave her a poke, praying she was just napping at the worst possible time.

  "Hey, wake up. Midori! The boss…”

  She didn’t respond at all. I checked her pulse, still there. That at least calmed me a little. I turned back to the dragon. Something had to be done, and fast.

  “Uh, sorry,” I said, “if you can somehow understand me, we don’t want trouble. We're just—”

  

  The dragon roared, and this time it wasn’t just scary, it felt like a giant fist of air slammed into my chest. We were yanked off our feet. I tumbled over frozen rocks, grabbing Midori’s collar to keep her from being blown away. Midair, I used my body as a pathetic shield, trying to keep her safe.

  

  "Ahh!"

  We hit the rocks with a bone-shaking crash. I hauled myself up, blood dripping down my neck, my head pounding like a church bell. Talking wasn’t an option anymore. So I did the next best thing, I held out my hand and summoned my fire katana, hoping it would at least look a little heroic.

  But nothing happened. My hand hovered uselessly in the air as I realized the dragon had sucked up every bit of mana around, including ours. My fire katana stayed nothing more than a thought in my palm, and all I could do was stare like an idiot at the translucent nightmare looming above.

  Then I released my domain, trying to snatch even a sliver of the dragon’s tail, just enough mana to fight back. It noticed instantly. One flap of its wing, and a mana-laced wind slammed me into the wall, my head hitting stone.

  

  I had no choice. I needed that mana or we both would die here. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself forward, each step a battle, keeping my domain open. Finally, just a brush against its tail, and I yanked a handful of its mana. I glanced back at Midori and hurled the stolen mana at her, shaping it into a rough fire shield. It wasn’t good, but it would stop her from getting smashed, at least that was what I hoped.

  Then I dumped everything I had left into my katana. The blade snapped to life, glowing a furious red. I gripped the sword with both hands and raised it over my head. The dragon was drawing breath, ready to roar. I swung down with everything I had, sending my fire flying like a burning blade. The flames screamed through the air and hit it… but they passed right through.

  Nothing happened. Not a scratch, not even a flinch. I stood there, my soul sinking. Of course, it did nothing. There was no body to cut. The dragon wasn’t flesh or bone. It was pure mana, a raging smoke cloud, and my pitiful attack was nothing more than a warm puff of air.

  

  It roared into the air this time, and the mountain finally gave up. The ceiling above the ledge split open, long ugly cracks racing through the stone. Chunks of rock tore free and hung there for a heartbeat, right over Midori.

  “Midori!” I shouted, but it was useless, she couldn't hear me.

  I didn’t think. I didn’t pause. I didn’t care what happened to me anymore. I threw everything open and let it all pour out. From that moment on, I was basically a walking bomb. I was going to kamikaze straight into the dragon and drain every last drop of its mana. Half of it, a scrap of it, I didn’t care. I might pass out before I got anything. I might even die right there. But that was fine. This was the promise I made back in town.

  I didn’t just open my domain. I tore the chains off. I let it spread, swell, and bloat in every direction. I threw myself forward on panic alone, on raw fear and stubborn promises. Promises to people who called me their lord while I still felt like a fraud borrowing the title.

  The first attempt was like trying to swallow the ocean through a straw. I reached out with the edge of my domain, clawing at the dragon’s translucent chest. But the beast was too vast, a concentrated reservoir of the mountain's mana that laughed at my pathetic attempt. The pressure kicked me back, and for a second, I thought my heart had actually stopped.

  “Agh!” I groaned, struggling to catch my breath.

  I got back on my feet a second time. This time I staggered toward the dragon like a walking corpse, blood dripping everywhere. I spread my domain once more and dragged myself forward step by step. Somehow, it worked. I didn’t stop until one of its wings was almost drained dry.

  The mana got so thick my legs just quit. I hit my knees, sucking air like a fish tossed on land, fighting to keep the power from killing me first. At least, I forced the bastard down to the ground. It didn’t like that. Its other wing fired back, a brutal shockwave that caught me clean and sent me flying. Pain exploded through my body, sharp and loud, like every bone was yelling at once.

  I was done. Wrecked. I tried to stand and failed. Tried again and face planted straight into the snow. I looked at Midori. Then at the rocks swinging above her. Then at the dragon. Something inside me snapped. My eyes burned dark red. Fear was gone. Fine. If this was how it ended, then I wouldn't be sane, I would go insane.

  Riding that fake god rush Berserk handed me, I forced myself up one last time. This time, no hesitation. I ran, full throttle, pure rage driving every step. Pain didn’t slow me, it pushed me faster. I slammed into the dragon, ripping its mana away, every bone screaming in protest. It burned. It hurt. I didn’t care. I didn’t stop.

  “Damn you, bastard!” I screamed.

  By the time I slammed into it, I’d drained the other wing too. I was bursting with so much mana it felt like my skin might split into scales, my arms sprout wings. Black lightning clawed through the air, each crack a booming explosion that rattled the mountain. The mana went wild, thrashing, writhing, lashing out like it had a brain of its own.

  I looked at Midori. She was still out cold, not even twitching. Fear punched straight through my chest. The dragon wasn’t the only problem anymore. I was too. If this dragged on even a little longer, I’d be the one to kill her. So this had to end, and fast. There was no control left to take back. All I could do was keep draining it until one of us dropped dead.

  I locked onto the monster and pulled with everything I had left. Mana poured in, too much, too fast. My domain screamed, swelling, wild and hungry. It felt unstoppable. I felt unstoppable. Just a little more. Victory was right there. And then… the world went black.