Lina felt a wave of panic, unsure of her next move. She wanted to grab the dragon egg from the boiling water but paused right before her hand dipped in. Not because she was scared of the scalding water, but she was super worried that she might mess up the hatching.
She was also too nervous to add more stones to the magical furnace, afraid that even a tiny change in temperature messed with the baby dragon trying to get out.
Lina could only stand frozen in place, hand clamped over her mouth to hold back her tears. To her, this wasn't just some dragon egg. It held the future of her and all her people.
With every new crack from the egg, Lina, eyes blurry from tears, whispered her encouragement, "Come on, you can do it!"
Adam was super busy dealing with the last few dragon spirits.
And he was doing it quite literally. He was careful not to show off too much of his epic powers. He was just using a smidge of his telekinesis to choke out each of the final ten dragon spirits. Each crack in the eggshell was a telltale sign of their fight to stay alive.
As he worked, Adam was totally amazed by these dragons. Even when they were super young and weak, they were as powerful as an apprentice. Compared to him, they weren't that big of a deal, but if a human had that kind of soul power, they'd totally be qualified to join the trail.
But being super strong from the start might mean bigger problems later on. Thinking back to the dragon shouts he heard five years back, Adam was pretty sure there weren't any transdimensional dragons out there.
He figured it must be super hard for dragons to level up after they hit the stage equaling a real mage.
Mages, though, were a different story. Even though they started out kinda weak, Adam remembered feeling tons of super-strong vibes from the higher floors of the Tower, places he couldn't go to.
Crack.
A mini telekinesis hand choked the very last dragon spirit, ending it right there. This added another break to the eggshell. Lina, drying her eyes, got a soft blanket and some yummy blood food ready, waiting for the dragon to come out.
Adam didn't keep her waiting. In a blink, a shiny silver claw, looking super detailed, punched through the egg. Another claw came out and, with a mighty push, a dragon about as tall as a grown man's waist slowly came out.
And then, it made a big splash right into the boiling water.
Even though the super-hot water couldn't hurt the dragon, it sure surprised Adam. His new body's built-in powers kicked in all on their own. He breathed out super cold air, turning the hot water into a block of ice, and he got stuck inside the tub too.
Adam opened his dragon eyes wide, looking around from inside the ice bucket. He was really confused. *Why is boiling water used to hatch an ice dragon like me?*
Lina let out a surprised shout, dropping the soft blanket she held. Quickly, she sent out a green light beam which broke the ice apart. With a mix of awe and fear, she kneeled down before the baby dragon.
Adam tried to move, and it was still a bit awkward. It was easier than the first time he took over a human body, but he still moved in a slightly clumsy way.
He had wings, but they were too tiny to use. His dragon instincts made him want to crawl around. Even though he was just born, he was way stronger than a normal Frost Dragon, probably because he had absorbed so many dragon souls. Like, wherever he moved, he left a chilly frost trail.
Lina shivered from the cold. She didn't dare to use her special skills to keep the cold out. All she could do was watch as Adam, the young dragon, stepped over her and left her covered in ice.
Adam didn't really notice her. Instead, he made his first sound ever.
Roar.
A powerful dragon shout echoed.
Roar!
An even bigger dragon cry rang out. The whole Makalu mountain area became super cold. Suddenly, a massive force started moving quickly toward Adam.
The big Frost Dragon, Okov, felt the baby dragon's birth and woke up from his sleep.
In a flash, Okov was outside Lina's room. He ripped the roof off with his massive claw and looked down at Adam. He growled at Lina, making sounds like "Chirp-krik-sizz-hak!"
Lina, super scared, bowed down low. She replied with some other sounds like "Ah-gu-yin-ying."
Adam was lost. The magical rebirth had given him a dragon body, but he didn't get any memories that usually come with it. So, he had no clue what language they were speaking. Adam couldn't understand anything Lina and Okov were saying. It all sounded like nonsense to him. He realized he'd have to listen and watch for a long time before he could figure out their language.
Luckily, Okov didn't seem to want to chat with Adam. Maybe he thought a newborn dragon couldn't talk. Instead, he reached out carefully with two fingers, lifting Adam's head to get a closer look.
Adam quickly shut his eyes, worried that his not-normal baby dragon eyes would give away his secret.
The next thing Adam felt was a super cool feeling, then he heard some more weird dragon language, and then... everything went black.
Three years later, high on the icy cliffs of the Makalu mountains, a shiny, white Frost Dragon named Chris, who was almost as tall as a basketball hoop, stretched out his wings, which were as long as a small car, and glided smoothly. Right beside him, Lina, surrounded by a bright green glow, flew along.
After Chris was born, Okov had promised to set Lina and her tribe free, and he did. But Lina didn't leave. The outside world felt strange to her after so many years on the mountains. The idea of freedom didn't really mean much to her anymore. Instead, she decided to stay and look after Chris.
Adam was now called Chris, or Chris Frost.
Okov, the big dragon, didn't turn out to be the best dad. Actually, most male dragons weren't great at being fathers. He got bored with baby Chris after just a month. So, he put up a dragon sign outside his cave that basically said, "No one allowed," including Chris. Then he went back to his super long nap.
The only thing Okov told Lina was to take care of Chris.
This was lucky for Chris because he didn't really get how to be a dragon. He didn't know their language and didn't have their memories. As a tiny dragon, nobody noticed. But Chris was worried about when grown-up dragons would expect him to know things. With Okov snoozing, Chris didn't have to worry about that for now.
Lina looked at Chris with a worried face, "Young master, are you sure about leaving here? You're still pretty young. Outside this mountain, there are some scary people called dragon slayers who'd love to catch a young dragon like you," she kept talking, trying to get through to Chris."
