Limitless Evolution: I’m The Next Dragon God?

Runa was fast. Inhumanly Fast.

Yuki could feel nothing but wind and chaos.

His eyes, tilted toward her back, caught a crimson glow pulsing from above. The enormous being had unleashed a wave of red energy from its eyes. The light wasn't just chasing them. It was flooding the entire forest, targeting every living creature in its path.

"Don't look back, Yuki! Close your eyes!"

Her urgent voice snapped him out of his daze as she reached up and turned his head forward, shielding him from the sight behind them.

The forest behind them was silent no more. Screams, roars, and crashing trees echoed from every direction as the crimson tide advanced.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

With his eyes shut, Yuki could only hear the deafening roars and growls of beasts. They were growing louder, more savage. It appeared as if the creatures had completely lost their minds.

Unable to resist, Yuki peeked from his right side and was met with a terrifying sight. The area touched by the crimson wave had changed. The once-lush greenery had withered and dried, as if their life essence had been drained away.

And the magical creatures... they were still alive.

But their eyes became hollow, soulless. They were alive, yet something clearly had taken control of them. Their bodies moved, but their wills were gone, replaced by madness and an insatiable hunger.

They turned on everything in sight. Howling, snarling, they began hunting each other down like rabid beasts.

It was no longer a forest. It was a nightmare.

--

After over an hour, the relentless chase finally ended. They have somehow survived.

Yuki and Runa now stood at the edge of the forest, where sunlight shone down warmly through the thin trees. The light was bright and pure, completely different from the chaos they had just fled.

Runa turned her eyes toward the forest behind them and muttered under her breath,

"They've gone berserk… just like Mom warned me. Now those beasts will rampage through the forest without reason. It's not safe anymore. I need to find a survival camp."

But then her gaze shifted to the small dragon beside her.

Her brows creased.

"But where do I take Yuki?" she whispered, eyes clouded with worry. "If they find out what he is… they might hunt him. Or worse, kill him."

She stared into Yuki's innocent, curious eyes. Those same eyes which always looked like they were trying to say something, trying to speak a truth beyond words.

Her chest tightened as she stood on the edge of a difficult choice.

One path was survival.

The other was morality.

Torn between the two, she clenched her small fists. Her golden hair fluttered gently in the wind, the weight of her decision pressing heavily on her heart.

"What should I do, Yuki? I can't abandon you. But if I take you to the human settlement, they.."

She paused as tears welled in her eyes and slipped down her cheeks.

"They'll kill you."

She began to cry silently. Her shoulders trembled as she did so. The warmth of the sun on her back felt distant, drowned by the storm in her chest.

Just then, from the corner of her eye, Runa noticed Yuki walking away quietly, without a word.

Her heart trembled.

"Yuki! Where are you going?"

But Yuki didn't respond.

And for some reason, her feet refused to move. Her heart screamed at her to chase after him, to bring him back, but...

She couldn't.

She needed to find her own family. She needed to survive. And for that, her heart turned cold. Only for a moment. Her mind whispered the cruel logic of survival.

Don't move. Don't call him back. It'll only put him in more danger.

Parting ways here was the safest choice.

If he was lucky, if he was clever, he might survive.

She too would survive.

This was better.

This was necessary.

While thinking so, her shoulders slumped. Her knees gave out beneath her as she dropped to the damp earth, watching the tiny silhouette of the little dragon grow smaller in the distance.

Fading. Disappearing.

Thus marked the end of a bond that had just begun to bloom.

Or maybe, this was just the beginning of something stronger. Something eternal.

---

Yuki walked alone along the edge of the Rampaging Forest, carefully avoiding the path Runa had taken. He was searching for another way out. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere away from danger. Somewhere far from her.

For Yuki, the choice had not been difficult.

She had shown him warmth and kindness when no one else had. He could not repay that by dragging her into his troubles. He was a burden to her right now. And he knew it well.

This was not a matter of who was right or wrong. This was a matter of understanding. And Yuki understood his place clearly.

He was a Dragon.

And Dragons were not always worshipped. Sometimes, they were feared. Sometimes, they were hunted.

Leaving her was the only choice. At least for now.

But this would not be forever. One day, when he became strong, when he had earned the right to stand tall, he would return. He would face her not as someone needing help, but as her equal.

"Tch... I am daydreaming again," he muttered. "Why am I forgetting that I am still in danger?"

His claws dug into the earth as he ran, fast. His speed now rivaled that of a full-grown adult. Maybe even faster. The forest shadows stretched long across the ground. Evening was falling.

"If those mindless beasts find me now, I am done for. Please, my Ancestor, show me the right way."

He prayed silently.

Not to any god.

To his origin. To the ancient ancestor who passed this bloodline down to him. To the very beginning of life itself.

Yuki had no use for deities. His life had been cruel. It still was.

But at least now, he had hope.

Hope to rise in this strange new world.

And finally, he saw it. A narrow path leading out of the forest. One untouched by the chaos. A path that did not lead to Runa. A path that was his alone.