Long ago, before the kingdom of Huǒyuán was etched into history, a young orphan named Tiān wandered the ruins of a war-torn land. His parents, victims of battle, left him with nothing—except grief and the silent companionship of a creature he rescued from death.
A dragon.
Small, curious, and unlike any other.
He named it Lián.
It became more than a pet; it was his only family. Their bond was a secret, nurtured in the shadows, away from fearful eyes. While the world burned around them, they found warmth in each other's presence.
As the years passed, Tiān devoted himself to cultivating magic, and he became a temple priest afterward. With time, he joined the military of his village, rising quickly through the ranks through relentless battles. After defeating a powerful rival king, he returned home a hero and was honoured with the title of military general.
Despite his fame, he continued to visit the temple. One night, during deep meditation at the temple, he saw destruction, fire raining from the sky, cities falling, and a familiar scream echoing through the flames.
In one of his battles, he discovered a wizard, who taught him dark magic. He used the forbidden magic to transform his beloved dragon into a human. Only then did he discover: Lián was female, and beautiful beyond mortal words.
They moved into the palace together.
But their peace didn't last.
The king, seduced by Lián's beauty, grew lustful. While Tiān was sent away on another campaign, the king sent for her. In his private chamber, he tried to force himself on her.
In terror, Lián transformed into her true form, sending the king into panic.
She fled, retreating into the wilderness among her kind. The king, shamed and humiliated, sent his hunters after her. They found her. And they followed.
What followed was slaughter.
Dragons fell.
And when the battle grew fierce, the dragons struck back.
The king returned, bruised and defeated, only to find his kingdom in ruins, burning under a crimson sky. Above him: an endless swarm of dragons.
Priest Tiān arrived just as the flames swallowed the city. His heart sank at the devastation. His voice broke as he cried out:
"Lián!!!"
There was no reply.
He shut his eyes in tears, and he used his magic to find her.
When he opened his eyes, a mighty dragon stood before him, its chest glowing, ready to release fire. On instinct, he cast a deadly spell.
The creature dropped.
And from its mouth, a last word in dragon-tongue:
"... Return home, his evil....!"
Tiān's breath caught.
From the sky, Lián had the familiar voice, then descended, eyes wild with rage. She cradled her mother's lifeless body, trembling. Memories flashing like lightning.
"Why?!"
"Why are you destroying my people, Tiān?!"
He fell to his knees, pleading.
Tears streamed down his face.
"Lián... I didn't know..."
But it was too late.
Her voice, once soft, now thundered:
"You lustful creature. You chose mankind over me. What more do you want?"
She cursed him.
She shed her human form completely, becoming a beast consumed by pain.
With trembling hands, Tiān remembered his vision. He cast an ultimate evil spell. A forbidden one.
He separated her soul from her body.
The beast collapsed, soulless, empty.
But her curse remained.
The Aftermath
Grief-stricken and lost, Tiān traveled to the mountains where he had once trained. His old masters urged him to let go, but he refused.
"Her deepest wish," he said, "was to live among humans. I will grant it. No matter the cost."
He turned to dark magic, offering his life thread to the wizard master for power.
The power was granted, but the precautions are many; he experienced an intense heat he couldn't release around mere men; his blood cells became thicker.
When he returned home, Huǒyuán was deserted. Only scattered survivors remained.
But with Lián's life thread, he rebuilt the land:
Raised mountains as natural defenses.
Fertilized the soil.
Created barriers no enemy could break.
Built the Sì Tiān Temple and wrote her name into the heart of his temple.
Thus, the nation was reborn — beautiful, strong, and eternally protected...
Yet beneath it all was a broken heart;
and the curse of a dragon who once loved a man more than life itself.
The priest ruled with a steady hand and a cold heart. His bloodline — the Tiān lineage — was fated to reign for generations.
"I walk through the shadow of death... and now, I am finally home. Hello, old friend," the priest murmured as he stirred from sleep, breath ragged, haunted.
Was it a dream?
He saw her again — the dragon he had imprisoned. Her eyes, sorrowful, stared back at him with the weight of a thousand betrayals. Since that vision, his power waned. His spells weakened. Whispers of a curse lingered in the temple's halls, and the walls grew dark with flowers.
In secret, during covenant rites with his wizard, the priest confirmed: no more children would be born to his line, save one heir. One fragile thread in the tapestry of a cursed legacy.
Desperate to preserve his power, he penned a spell scroll, etched with blood and guilt, recording his sins and secrets, but all words were Draconic. He founded a sacred sect and taught them dark magic, cloaked in loyalty but riddled with greed. Xún Lóng, Bái Zhēn, and Tán Hēi, his most gifted disciples, rose in his shadow. They were fierce. Brilliant. Dangerous.
When they uncovered his hidden truths, they demanded an answer. With heavy eyes, the priest revealed what he could. He made them take an oath before gifting them immortality, an ethereal bond to protect the kingdom.
"You must carry on the legacy. Else your oath will work against you".
But he left one choice for himself: to be reborn. Clean. Unburdened. Unaware.
Over time, Huǒyuán became a kingdom admired across the lands for its peace, power, and prosperity. People from other countries started buying their way in. At last, the priest took a bride in his twilight years. From that union came a son, Tiān xuān.
He watched the boy grow, gifted him the spell scroll, yet withheld the truth of their bloodline's beginning. Fear settled in his heart like dust on forgotten scrolls.
As his death neared, regret consumed him. He mourned not for power, but for the dragon, his soul-bound companion, whose love he never understood until it was far too late.
In a final act of remorse, he built a secret underground library, entombed beneath the temple chambers. There, he preserved memories ... and the last pieces of her. He placed her soul essence in a jar and sealed it.
When the hour came, he walked with his son beneath the earth, torches flickering against stone-carved truths.
"I know you're confused. But some truths demand silence. The truth... is worth death," he whispered.
"Father, I've read your scroll... but I can't make sense of it; the language is not familiar. Help me," Tiān xuān said, holding out the scroll like a plea.
The priest took it, pressed a blade to his thumb, and let his blood drip onto the page.
In a flash of crimson light, the book vanished.
At dawn, the high priest breathed his last. He was buried with honor, his legacy folded neatly into the scrolls of history. His son, Tiān xuān, took the throne, guided by the three immortal priests.
But deep within, Tiān xuān turned his gaze away from fate. He longed not for magic or power, but for freedom.
He did not yet know that the soul his father once bound still wandered the world... searching for him. He began having nightmares.