It was nine o'clock in the evening when Elric finally dragged himself to bed, his face drawn with exhaustion and his back hunched after another long, grinding day at the printing shop.
Keeiekk~ The familiar creak of his katri—a simple bamboo bed—welcomed him as he collapsed onto it with a groan. His belly was full from the hearty dinner his grandma had lovingly cooked. He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and stretched out on his back, giving his small but soft white pillow a gentle pat.
"What a busy week it's been..." he muttered, stretching his limbs. "All the work! Do this, do that, print this, print that! No overtime pay, no time to play Dota. This life sucks."
He mumbled his complaints to no one in particular, venting about his underpaid job as a graphic artist—a role he had filled for two years now at a modest shop conveniently located near their home.
"Now you're talking!" came the sharp, familiar voice from the kitchen.
His grandma had overheard him. Of course.
Still washing the dishes, she wasted no time beginning her nightly tirade. "You were so stubborn about becoming an artist. Look at you now—an artist indeed! A poor, overworked, underpaid graphic artist! Pathetic!"
Elric rolled his eyes and pulled his pillow tighter as he turned to face the small wooden window beside his bed. But there was no stopping her now.
"Why can't you be like our neighbor's children? One's a successful seaman. Another's an engineer! Some of your classmates are nurses abroad. Teachers! For heaven's sake, Elric, of all the careers you could've chosen—why this?"
Her voice had become a daily reminder of every "wrong" turn in his life.
Elric sighed internally. His dark brown hair fell messily over his light brown eyes. His pale brown skin and slightly chubby build spoke of a sedentary life—one fueled by coffee, instant noodles, and zero exercise. He knew that once she got going, her rant could last a thousand years, and so, as always, he prepared to open the other end of his ear and let her nagging sail right through.
"You should've been a teacher or a seaman! At least those jobs are stable. They pay well. You'd even have a better chance finding a partner. But what did you pick? An artist! What will you feed yourself, a paintbrush? Can you even—"
He had trained himself to ignore her "greatest hits" playlist of regrets.
Still, Elric wasn't angry. He never was. His grandma was the only family he had left—his mother and father both taken from him in a tragic storm when he was just a child. It wasn't unusual in the Philippines, where typhoons were more frequent than holidays, especially between July and October. They lived a simple life, far from the town's center, in a humble nipa hut tucked away behind the hills.
"Yeah... yeah, yeah," Elric muttered, feigning a reply as the clinking of plates echoed from the kitchen.
He pulled out his phone and began scrolling through Facebook, watching Dota highlights and random travel vlogs to drown out the sound of her voice.
"Elric."
He looked up. His grandma now stood at the open door, arms crossed, a stern expression on her face as she leaned against the doorframe.
"Don't think I'm saying all this because I want your money. I've lived long enough, and I can take care of myself. But you've been working in that shop for years, and you've saved nothing. What will you eat when I'm gone? That 'designs and Dota' nonsense?"
She wasn't wrong. She was just being… Lola.
Each morning, she sold vegetables and fruits in the town market, scraping together just enough for the two of them. The bills, Elric covered. It was a quiet system that somehow kept their world spinning.
"You're only twenty-seven," she continued. "It's not too late to choose a better path. Live a stable life. Find a good woman. Be happy!"
Elric didn't respond. He stared at the ceiling, her words planting small, quiet seeds in his mind.
Their nipa hut had a tin roof and weathered bamboo walls. Behind the house was a small patch of farmland. Outside the door, a vegetable garden grew from his grandma's care. Their nearest neighbor was a hundred meters away. At night, it felt like they lived in a world of their own. Beyond the house, the forest loomed—a thick line of trees stretching for kilometers. Elric had rarely ventured there, mostly because of his grandma's constant warnings.
"Don't ever go into the forest," she'd say. "There are creatures there—manananggal, kapre, white ladies, sigbin."
Whether true or not, the fear stuck.
"You better sleep now and—"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, Lola. I'm going to sleep now."
"I'm not done talking yet!"
"But you told me to sleep."
"Sleep when I finish talking!"
"Zzzzzzz—"
Whapak! A crisp smack echoed across the room as her palm landed squarely on his butt.
"Ouch! Lola, I was already sleeping!"
"Don't try to fool me, El! I raised you. Don't you dare sleep right after eating unless you want to meet Orom early!"
"It's not like I'm really sleeping. I'm watching videos." He held up his phone.
She rolled her eyes and changed the subject. "Did you brush your teeth?"
"Lola, I'm 27! You've been reminding me since I was a fetus. Of course, I brushed my teeth."
"No wonder your teeth are still rotten."
"I love you, Lola."
That was the magic word.
Her irritation melted into a warm smile. "You dummy."
Elric smiled too. He knew how to shut down her rampages—compliments were his ultimate counterattack.
She had raised him since infancy. His mom died when he was just five months old, and his dad passed ten years later, swallowed by the sea. She had made a silent vow to care for him, and she never once let go.
"Goodnight, Elric," she said, turning and finally heading to her room.
Around 11:20 p.m., Elric lay on his bed, staring into the dark. The house was too quiet. The air, heavy and hot.
"Why does it feel like summer in October?" he murmured.
He reached up to switch on the fan.
Taktaktaktak~
Its rusty gears clacked as the blades spun to life, but the noise couldn't drown out the stillness. No crickets. No dogs barking. Nothing. A strange chill crept over his body despite the heat.
"This is probably insomnia," he whispered to himself.
He stood up, intending to open the window for some air.
Then—FLASH!KRAKAAABOOM!
A bolt of lightning lit up the sky, blinding his eyes for a heartbeat. Thunder cracked so violently it nearly rattled the roof. In her room, his grandma jolted awake, panic spreading across her face.
But Elric remained frozen.
Because in that single, blinding instant—he saw it.
A massive, serpentine creature—soaring through the night sky.
A dragon.
Long and elegant, like those from old Eastern legends, with twisting red and green scales that shimmered as the lightning struck. Deer-like horns crowned its head, and its tail lashed through the air. Then, as if the bolt had pierced its soul, the dragon stiffened—and began to fall.
Elric's breath caught in his throat.
He rubbed his eyes. Once. Twice.
But the creature was still there, glowing faintly, spiraling downward into the thick forest beyond his home.
"A... dragon..." he whispered, his heart hammering.
He didn't even think.
He threw on a white t-shirt, leapt out the window—saving a precious second over the door—and ran. Careful not to trample their garden, he bolted toward the forest.
Rain began to pour, fast and hard. Distant dogs howled. The wind screamed. Elric's heart pounded as he pushed forward, lightning still flashing above.
Behind him—
"Elric! Where are you going? It's raining! You'll get struck!"
He stopped, just for a moment, turning back.
"Lola! You won't believe what I saw!"
"What!?"
"I saw a dragon!"
"What did you say?!"
"I said I SAW A DRAGON!"
He couldn't stop smiling. His body buzzed with adrenaline. His feet wouldn't stop moving.
"See!? This is why you should stop playing so much Dota! Come back here or I'll whip your geeky ass!"
"I'll be back, Lola! I promise!"
"Hoooy! Elric! You crazy boy, come back here!"
But he didn't.
He turned around and dashed into the dark forest, heart pounding wildly, eyes wide and ready for whatever lay ahead.
This night—the night the dragon fell—was just the beginning.
"Zzzzzzzzz…"
Whapak!
A crisp smack landed square on Elric's butt, echoing through the house like a mini thunderclap.
"Ouch! Lola, I was sleeping!"
"I've known you since you were a child, El. Do you think you can fool me? Don't you dare sleep right after eating! Do you want to get sick?"
"It's not like I was going to sleep immediately," Elric mumbled, turning his smartphone screen toward her. "Can't you see I'm watching videos?"
The phone played a stream of Dota replays.
Lola rolled her eyes. "And did you brush your teeth?"
"Lola, I'm twenty-seven years old. You taught me how to brush my teeth when I was still a fetus. Of course, I did!"
"No wonder you have so many rotten teeth!"
"I love you, Lola."
That did the trick. Her irritated face softened into a smile as she looked at Elric's back.
"You dummy," she muttered, amused.
Elric knew the formula: well-placed compliments could silence even the most relentless lectures. His grandmother had been his guardian since he was a baby—after he lost his mother at five months and his father ten years later in another tragic sea accident. She had raised him with every ounce of love she could give. Through elementary, high school, and up until he finally graduated college three years ago, she had always been by his side.
"Goodnight, Elric," she said, heading to her room with the usual sigh of resignation.
It was already 11:20 PM. Elric remained on the couch, staring at the darkened ceiling. Something about the night felt... off.
"It's already October, but why does it feel like summer?" he muttered, annoyed by the thick, sticky heat.
He reached up and flicked the fan's speed dial.
Taktaktaktak~
The rusty fan groaned as it cranked into motion, its old gears clicking with each passing second.
Still, the silence outside was unnatural. No crickets. No dogs barking. Just a heavy, blanketed hush pressing down on the house.
He lay back down, but sleep wouldn't come. Inside, he felt cold despite the outside heat. A strange, gnawing unease settled over him.
"Probably just insomnia," he muttered, eyes still tracing shadows on the ceiling. He stood up, intending to open the windows for fresh air.
FLASH!
Krakaaa-BOOOOM!~
A brilliant lightning bolt ripped through the sky, followed by a deafening thunderclap.
In the bedroom, his grandma jolted awake in terror, nearly clutching her chest.
Elric, however, stood frozen—his breath caught.
In that fleeting blaze of light, something enormous had passed through the sky.
Something impossible.
Elric's eyes, wide and alert, locked onto the fading outline.
Through the brilliance of the lightning, he had caught a glimpse of what looked like a dragon—a massive creature flying through the sky.
Its serpentine body glowed with red and green scales. Roughly twenty meters long, it had deer-like horns crowning its head and sharp claws tucked beside its sinuous form.
As if struck by the lightning, the dragon's body suddenly seized mid-air—then fell, plunging toward the dense forest on the horizon.
"A... dragon," Elric whispered, stunned.
He blinked hard, rubbed his eyes, but the image lingered.
It wasn't a dream. He was certain of what he'd seen.
Elric didn't hesitate. He threw on his usual white T-shirt and leapt out the window—only a few feet from the ground. It was quicker than using the door.
He darted across the yard, skillfully avoiding the rows of vegetables his grandma had tended earlier.
Then the rain came.
A sudden downpour soaked him instantly. In the distance, dogs barked like mad, and the wind picked up with a howl that sounded like the forest itself was alive.
His heart pounded. His skin tingled, as if invisible eyes were watching.
"Elric! Where are you going? Come back! It's raining, you might get struck by lightning!" his grandmother's voice pierced through the night.
He skidded to a stop and turned around, waving.
"Lola! You won't believe what I saw!"
"What?!"
"I saw a dragon!"
"What did you say?!"
"A DRAGON!" he repeated, excitement glowing in his face like a little boy's on Christmas morning.
"See?! That's what happens when you play too much Dota! Come back here now, or I'll spank your geeky butt!"
"Lola, I promise, I'll be back!"
And with that, he turned around and sprinted toward the forest.
The wind howled louder. The rain blurred the trees ahead, but he didn't stop.
"This darkness is nothing," he whispered, eyes gleaming. "Compared to the bright future of my discovery!"
His thoughts spun in wild circles.
Will I be the first to prove dragons exist? Can I tame it? Will I fly across oceans and rule the skies? Become the Dragon King? Conquer the world?!
HAHAHA!
He let out a manic laugh, his mind ablaze with dreams of adventure, of movies where heroes discover mythical beasts and rewrite history.
Behind him, his grandmother's voice grew fainter.
"Come back, you crazy boy! You'll get sick! You're in big trouble, Elric!"
But Elric no longer heard her. The forest had swallowed him whole.
His figure disappeared into the darkness, heart pounding, legs moving faster than ever before.
Something incredible had fallen from the sky.
And Elric was determined to be the first to find it.
Little did he know...
That lightning would mark the beginning of the greatest chapter of his life.