(Hiccup's POV)
The sky felt smaller.
Even with all that open space, it felt like there was nowhere to go.
Hiccup kept his foot steady on the pedal as Toothless hovered at the edge of the volcanic island's airspace. Heat rolled upward in waves, distorting the air.
Below them, dragons poured into the crater.
Each one carried food.
None kept it.
Astrid leaned forward slightly, eyes locked on the scene.
"They're… bringing it there."
Hiccup nodded.
"Yeah."
Toothless drifted lower, staying behind the flow of dragons.
They followed.
Carefully.
The inside of the volcano came into view.
Dark rock.
Glowing cracks of heat.
And at the center—
Movement.
Massive.
Breathing.
Waiting.
The dragons dropped their food.
Then immediately backed away.
None of them stayed.
None of them challenged it.
Astrid's voice dropped.
"They're scared."
Hiccup didn't answer.
He was staring at the creature emerging from the depths.
The Red Death rose slowly from the shadows.
Its size dwarfed everything around it.
Wings like cliffs.
A head the size of a ship.
It inhaled—
Then unleashed a blast of fire that lit the entire cavern.
The dragons scattered.
One wasn't fast enough.
The Red Death snapped it out of the air and swallowed it whole.
Astrid flinched.
Hiccup tightened his grip.
"…That's why they steal food."
Toothless let out a low, uneasy rumble.
Hiccup nodded slightly.
"They don't want to."
"They have to."
The Red Death shifted again, settling deeper into the volcano as more dragons brought offerings.
Astrid stared in disbelief.
"All this time…"
Hiccup exhaled slowly.
"They're not the enemy."
Toothless pulled back.
Hiccup didn't argue.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "Let's go."
The Night Fury turned sharply and climbed out of the crater.
The heat faded as they gained altitude.
The open sky returned.
Astrid didn't say anything for a long time.
Then finally—
"They have to know."
Hiccup shook his head.
"They won't listen."
"They have to!" Astrid snapped.
"They think dragons are just—just—"
She stopped.
Her voice softened.
"…they don't know."
Hiccup looked ahead.
The cliffs of Berk were far in the distance.
"Neither did I."
Above them, unseen in the higher currents, another dragon followed.
The bat-winged dragon circled silently, her glowing wing membranes faint against the dim sky.
She had watched the same scene unfold.
The feeding.
The fear.
The control.
The Red Death.
Nothing had changed.
But something else had.
Below her, the human now understood.
And that would change everything.
The Night Fury carried them away from the island, back toward Berk.
Behind them, the volcano continued to breathe.
And the dragons continued to obey.