Lacuna

Chapter 2: The Silver Winged Lizard

It was a calm yet cloudy day in Faeri. The mountain-like hills that surrounded the valley seemed to sing with the birds, the harmony of wild animals. That was what Faeri was known for, its soothing, peaceful atmosphere. Everyone who lived there could agree; the area was beautiful.
The great surrounding hills held waterfalls which rushed powerfully. So powerfully, in fact, that the valley ran off water power instead of oil. People from the bordering towns would comment on how the smooth sound could be heard from miles away, drawing them to sleep every night.
Of course, The people of Faeri took this as a complement.

A young man, around the age of 16 to 17 was observing the falls from a pathway, taking a break from his delivery service. He's always loved taking time to watch how nature worked. It inspired him, gave him ideas for stories and future folktales.
"I've always wanted to be a journalist,"
he'd said once, "to capture moments with my own writing."
On this particular day, however, he wished he would've brought something to write on. As he stared dreamily at the nature, a glint of silver was caught in his peripheral vision. His slight smile faded to a thin line as he sharply turned towards the attractive object in curiosity.
But the boy was not excited at what he saw. His eyes widened, shoulders dropping seconds after. What he saw could not be unseen; a lizard. A monstrous, silver winged lizard stood like a statue on a cliff that hung overtop the waterfall. The only way he could detect it was not in fact a statue was by the way its head moved from side to side, scanning over the town like a gargoyle on top a castle.

Then the lizard's head stopped, its eyes resting on the boy, gazing into his own blue eyes. The boy's breathing sped up, his heart beating out of his chest. This was no dream.
'It can't be a dream,' he thought, 'Mother's cornucopia tasted too real for it to be a dream.'

The two still held their gaze, like they were locked in time. Locked in a different dimension.
He couldn't move. He was trapped, caught in the lizard's stare.
'This is no ferocious lizard monstrosity. This is the monster of legend; the dragon.' He didn't know if the adrenaline rushing through his veins was from the awe or the terror at the sight of the beast.

The boy felt a warm breeze crawl up his back, seemingly melting into his arms and covering the rest of him from there. His vision began to cloud with a dark grey, the image of the dragon still implanted in his mind. He opened his mouth to scream, to call for help, but he was only frozen in time by the dragon's stare alone. The mist which swirled around him came to a halt, reversing its pattern by going in the opposite direction. When the gas made contact with the ground, it spread along the pathway, crawling in between the cracks in the pavement. Sooner or later the gas would make its way into town, paralyzing anyone who came across it.

Satisfied with the catch, the silver monstrosity made its way down the cliff to stand beside the boy. He was turned to stone, pure terror implanted on his face, now stuck in such an emotion forever.
"Not the ideal human I could've picked, but he'll do," The dragon's head twitched. It didn't even have to open its mouth to speak,
"No human would expect such a wimp, besides..." the beast's tail extended, wrapping around the boy's torso. A thin, wispy orange mist slithered out from under its scales and into the agape mouth of the statue.
"Portraying his character won't be hard."
The pale, grey eyes of the boy lit up behind the stone covering. The stone cracked and the horrifying noise echoed throughout the valley. But the monster did not care. It kept applying more and more pressure, squeezing the statue tighter and tighter until the covering shattered into a thousand pieces.

The dragon stared into what used to be the boy's eyes, concentrating at the task at hand. As if the tail wasn't enough, the glare of the beast seemed enough to cause the covering to finally give way. It split straight down the middle with an ear popping sound that could break any other stone nearby. So it did, causing a dent to form in the path they were standing on.

During all this, the dragon did not move. It stayed put, keeping its gaze on the boy. Though the statue was no more, the outline of the innocent one stayed where it was, replaced by the orange mist. Although, the process was not done yet. The beast's nostrils flared, releasing a thick smoke, forming a spherical shape in the middle of the misty silhouette. But with the smoke came the dragon. It evaporated into the thick smoke it had released seconds ago, following the same path, entering the very soul of the boy.

Only a few moments passed before the monster had full control. The boy's- or should I say, the beast's- eyes snapped to life in an instant. They emitted an orange glow, alongside the rest of the vessel. The monster let out a snicker, which turned into a maniacal laugh. Its voice deepened, giving off an echoey effect. It inhaled deeply with its newfound 'nose', taking in the atmosphere of its surroundings.
Every time the beast moved, it left behind part of its previous aura. This made it seem as if you'd seen a ghost, a paranormal spirit. It was perfect to give anyone the sense of being haunted, but that's not what the dragon had in mind.
"I will use this boy as a vessel," it said in its deep, echoey voice.
"Once I'm able to pass through, Omega will begin, and the destruction of the dimensions will take place."