Chapter 54: The Hunter’s Domain

The first awareness was heat—intense and searing, wrapping around its scaled body like a mother's embrace. The creature, barely more than a clawed hatchling, blinked its filmy eyes open to a world crackling with life. The ground pulsed beneath it, baked and broken, and every breath tasted of ash and fire. Instinct pulled it forward, claws scratching over the jagged earth as it sought its first taste of prey.

Nearby, another hatchling scrambled over the blackened rocks, unaware of the predator behind it. The newborn creature's tiny muscles coiled, eyes narrowing as it crept forward. Its heartbeat was a drum, thundering with the promise of a kill. The world around it was chaos—a cacophony of hisses, the distant wail of dying beasts, and the ever-present hum of the scorched sky.