Chapter 126 Building the Dragon Academy
Drakon's POV
"The children!" I shifted to dragon form instantly. "Evacuate the Dragon Academy! NOW!"
The First Chaos swept toward the newly built school like a wave of erasure. Where it touched, things simply ceased to exist. Not destroyed, unmade, as if they'd never been.
Fifty dragon shifter children were in that building. Babies through teenagers, all learning to control their powers.
"I'm going with you!" Elara jumped onto my back.
"Too dangerous!"
"They're children! I won't abandon them!"
No time to argue. I flew at top speed toward the Academy. The First Chaos moved faster.
We reached the school seconds before it did. Teachers were already evacuating students, but the younger ones were too slow. Too scared.
"Everyone out!" I roared. "Follow the teachers!"
But a five-year-old dragon shifter, barely able to control her form panicked and shifted mid-run. Crashed into a wall. Started crying.
"I've got her!" Elara jumped off my back and ran to the child. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm here."
The First Chaos hit the Academy's outer wall. Reality cracked. The building began unmaking from the outside in.
"Elara, run!" I screamed.
She ran, carrying the crying child. But she wasn't fast enough. The Chaos was right behind her.
I breathed my hottest fire at it. The flames did nothing. The Chaos consumed fire, stone, air—everything.
"Drakon!" Elara stumbled. The child fell from her arms.
I dove. Grabbed them both with my claws and launched skyward just as the Academy building vanished completely. One second there, the next second nothing. Not even rubble. Just empty space.
All the other children made it out. But the school we'd just built, the symbol of our hope was gone.
"We'll rebuild," Elara said firmly once we landed safely. "Better and stronger."
"How do we rebuild against something that erases existence?" I asked. "How do we fight pure entropy?"
"We figure it out." She held the frightened child close. "Because these children need us. They need a place to learn and grow."
The First Chaos retreated after destroying the Academy. Like it was testing us. Seeing our response.
"It's intelligent," the Dragon Queen observed. "Not just random destruction. It chose the Academy specifically. It wants us afraid."
"Then we don't give it that satisfaction," I decided. "We rebuild immediately. Show we won't be intimidated."
Over the next week, we constructed a new Dragon Academy. This time with magical protections. Wards designed by Faye. Shields powered by the crystal in Elara's chest.
"These won't stop the First Chaos," Faye admitted. "But they'll slow it down. Give us time to evacuate if it attacks again."
The new Academy opened with a different focus. Yes, we taught dragon shifters to control their powers. But we also taught integration. How to live peacefully with humans, ice faeries, all beings.
I taught the transformation classes. Helping young dragons learn to shift smoothly between forms.
"Like this," I demonstrated, shifting from human to half-dragon. "Control comes from accepting both parts of yourself. Neither is better. Both are you."
A ten-year-old struggled, his transformation jerky and painful. "I can't do it!"
"Yes, you can," I encouraged. "Remember, fear makes it harder. Breathe. Accept. Transform."
He tried again. This time successful. The joy on his face when he managed it perfectly was priceless.
Elara taught the human perspective classes. Helping dragon shifters understand non-magical beings.
"Humans aren't weak," she explained to a class. "They're different. They build with tools what you build with magic. They create through cooperation what you create through power. Different strengths for different situations."
"But aren't dragons superior?" One bold student asked.
"Superior at what? Flying? Yes. Magic? Yes. But humans are superior at other things. Engineering. Agriculture. Art. Medicine." Elara smiled. "We're all superior at something. That's why unity works. We complement each other."
The Academy thrived despite the looming threat. Children learned and laughed and grew. It was beautiful.
Then, one month after opening, a dragon couple came to us with incredible news.
"Your Majesties," the female dragon said, barely containing excitement. "We have an egg."
The room went silent. "An egg?" I repeated. "A dragon egg?"
"Yes! The first laid in this kingdom in over forty years!"
Dragon eggs were rare. Dragons only reproduced when they felt completely safe. The fact that this couple felt secure enough to have an egg meant everything.
"This is a sign," the Dragon Queen said, tears in her eyes. "Dragons trust this kingdom again. Feel safe enough to create the next generation."
The couple brought the egg to the castle for protection. It was beautiful, midnight black with golden veins, already warm with life.
"When will it hatch?" Elara asked, touching it gently.
"Three months," the mother explained. "And we'd like to name the hatchling after both of you. Combining Elara and Drakon into one name."
"We'd be honored," I said, voice thick with emotion.
That night, we held a massive celebration. The first dragon egg in decades! Hope for the future embodied in one perfect shell!
But as the celebration peaked, a courier arrived with urgent news.
"Your Majesties! The First Chaos! It's not alone anymore! It's been... multiplying? Splitting? There are now THREE Chaos entities! And they're all heading toward..."
He paused, face pale.
"Toward what?" Elara demanded.
"Toward the egg. They're heading straight for the dragon egg. Like they know it represents hope. And they want to destroy it before it hatches."
My blood ran cold. The First Chaos entities would arrive in two days. And we had to protect that egg, protect hope itself from three forces of pure annihilation.
Or watch the future die before it even had a chance to be born.