Serendipity (Veldora x TBATE)

05 | Fiery

I vividly recall my own self-reflection in the void as I processed my own unmaking, and awaited the emergence of a new storm dragon—a new me.

Mortals are peculiar creatures. They speak of loneliness as if it were a curse—a burden too heavy to bear. They look at me, Veldora, and see an existence they deem apocalyptic and tragic. Absolute strength, they say, must come at the cost of companionship. Immortality, they believe, must be a sentence to eternal solitude.

They live in fear of the end, always aware of the ticking clock. Their entire existence is bound by time, by limits I know anything but. They love and hate each other because they know they won't be here forever.

How quaint.

I've lived for a long time, witnessed the rise and fall of countless civilizations, some of which by my own hands. And through it all, I've never once felt the sting of loneliness that seems to plague these ephemeral beings.

True, there are few who can stand as my equal. The other True Dragons, perhaps, but we're scattered across the world, each pursuing our own interests. We don't seek each other out for tea parties or idle chatter. Why would we? Our very bodies are the very roots of the world around us. We are forces of nature incarnate, not socialites at a garden party.

Mortals might look at my life and see endless solitude. They imagine the centuries pressing down and think that each passing year is a reminder of my separation from the world of the living. But they fail to understand the fundamental truth of my being.

I am complete unto myself.

My strength isn't a prison that isolates me from others; it's my identity. I don't yearn for companionship because I don't need it. The storms are my playmates, the mountains my confidants, and the seas my mirror. In the crack of thunder, I hear laughter. In the howling wind, I feel embrace.

Yet, I'm not blind to the world around me. I observe, I interact, I even form bonds of a sort. The creatures of my domain, the spirits that embody my elements—they provide fleeting amusements. But do I need them to feel fulfilled? No.

The world continues to turn, days would fade into nights, night into days. A million years could pass, and I'd remain the same. Even if the sunset turned blue or the moon and sun swapped places, I'd still be here.

Perhaps that's what mortals fail to grasp. They see an eternal being and assume eternal longing. They project their own fears and desires onto me.

I am Veldora, the Storm Dragon. In every moment, I am fully and completely myself. There is no void within me to be filled by others.

Absolute strength isn't a burden; it's liberation. It frees me from the petty concerns that consume mortal lives. I can move through the world as I please. I've never known the fear of being alone, because I've never truly been alone, even as I was stuck in that seal for centuries.

I don't fear death, I don't anxiously count the passing years, I don't desperately seek meaning in fleeting connections.

I simply am.

And in that state of being, I find not loneliness, but wholeness. A completeness that no mortal could ever truly comprehend. For in the end, I stand alone not because I am lonely, but because I am enough.

The world is vast, ever-changing, full of surprises, and as long as that's the case, I'll never lack for something to keep me entertained. That's my shape of mind.

It's just life. A life where the horizon stretches endlessly, and I'm free to explore it all at my own pace with all the time in the world.

No regrets, no fears.