Exhilarating. Likely an experience all creatures possessing a dopamine-like system find irresistible.
A sufficiently high amplitude in the sleep cycle, combined with the lie-flat BUFF from the Authority of Sloth, brought David a quality and experience of absolute sleep that he wouldn't even have dared to dream of in his previous life.
This sleep was too damn good.
So much so that even hunger couldn't wake him.
Or rather, he didn't want to wake up at all.
And indeed, it had been proven that when David was not in danger, he himself was the greatest danger.
Owing to the self-healing nature of his Endless Gluttony and a sudden drop in energy consumption, he, with his hunger resistance talent fully developed, seemed to enter a state of hibernation.
Even on the brink of starvation, Gluttony would drive his draconic body to activate Heaven's Attraction of All Phenomena and sustain his life signs with inorganic matter.
This cycle could have continued indefinitely, until the end of time.
Or perhaps until an accidental event occurred, such as a meteor strike, an earthquake fissure, the rise and fall of civilizations, or simply being excavated by some powerful 'archaeology enthusiast.'
He would thereby become the first dragon in history to go from a hatchling straight to an ancient Red Dragon by simply lying flat.
But just as the first month drew to a close, an unexpected visitor successfully overcame the waves of Sloth welling in her heart, shattering this utterly boring potential future.
PLOP.
A slender Silver Dragon with a gleaming silver body broke through the narrow passage piled high with Crimson Ash, landing on the ground and bouncing a couple of times.
The first thing she did was shake off the Crimson Ash. Though it merely smelled of sulfur, it still made her feel an instinctive aversion.
Then, she sensed a Dragon Might, perhaps of the same origin as her own. It startled her so much that her scales bristled, like a frightened Persian cat.
Once her darkvision quickly adapted to the dim environment in the depths of the cavern, she saw a gaunt Red Dragon coiled up, curled tightly in a corner of the cave. Her tail, which had been bolt upright with vigilance and caution, immediately drooped.
My goodness!
She had expected that her 'little brother,' having lost their mother's care and protection and been left to fend for himself, wouldn't have an easy life. But she never imagined that in just one month, he would already be in such a 'miserable' state, nearly too thin to resemble a dragon!
He looked so emaciated, if someone told me he was a Lich Dragon, I'd believe it.
Yes, this visitor was the only survivor among the three Dragon Eggs that David had 'witnessed' being swallowed whole by the Dragon Mother.
David's blood-related sister—Tania.
Yunikasha Tania Patricia Sedpongja.
The moment she hatched, Tania cried out her true name in the loudest, most melodious voice. She was ready to welcome the affection from her parents and the cheers of her Silver Dragon relatives. But when she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a Red Dragon staring at her unblinkingly, its eyes narrowed!
What drove her to further despair was the aura of kinship, relentlessly assailing her worldview and cognition, forcing the unbelievable answer directly into her mind: This terrifying Red Dragon before me... is actually the mother who birthed me!?
Tania froze, a stress response kicking in. Yet, the sheer, unbridgeable power gap between them left her looking utterly dumbfounded.
Tania had braced herself for the worst. But after living for some time with this Red Dragon mother—who seemed to dislike both speaking to Tania and hearing her speak—her initial views gradually began to change. She started to realize... My Red Dragon Mother, despite her arrogant and irascible temperament, her laziness, and her penchant for wanton destruction and villainy, is still... a good mother in her own way...At least, according to what I, Tania, know about Red Dragons from my draconic heritage, this is indeed true.
Just as Tania—small, pitiful, helpless, yet surprisingly gluttonous—had dug her way through all the nearby Volcano Worm tunnels and was beginning to think she might actually starve to death, the rumbling in her stomach finally woke the sleeping Dragon Mother.
Good heavens! Stared at by those ferocious eyes, I felt like I might just die of fright on the spot! Just as she was bracing herself for the tragic, lamentable, and sorrowful end to her brief dragon life...
"Keep your stomach quiet for me! If I hear it again, Mum will eat you!"
"Ah, forget it... Just wait here."
That was a scene Silver Dragon Tania would likely never forget in her entire life:
Dragon Mother Pafila launched herself from the lava pool at the volcano's crater, cursing under her breath. She showered sparks of lava like rain as she whizzed past mountain peaks and ridges at incredible speed, leaving only her incomparably domineering silhouette behind.
An unknown amount of time passed. Then, after a dazzling flash of firelight, the earth began to tremble faintly. A colossal pillar of steam erupted from the frozen Katjana Bay on the horizon, shooting straight into the clouds.
A long time later, Dragon Mother Pafila was seen dragging back prey several times larger than her own body. She tossed it onto the edge of the volcanic crater before settling back into the lava pool herself to continue her bath and nap.
"Eat up. And keep the noise down. You know the consequences."
By that time, Tania was already deeply awestruck by this first Dragon Food her mother had prepared for her.
It was a whale.
A partially charred whale...
Her mother had simply unleashed her Dragon Breath, boiling Katjana Bay nearly dry, then picked out the largest creature and brought it back.
If not for the issue of food spoilage, this whale would probably have been enough to feed me until I reached my juvenile stage...
With an inexhaustible supply of food, the well-fed Silver Hatchling wanted to fly over and snuggle with Dragon Mother to sleep.
But the intense heat at the crater's edge deterred her. She also feared her mother might roll over in her sleep and accidentally push her into the lava pool to be cooked alive. So, she had no choice but to dig a pit in the volcanic ash nearby and bury herself.
Having successfully navigated her first deep slumber, Tania thus began, hundreds of years earlier than most, a carefree life of endless food that countless young dragons could only dream of.
Had the other two Red Dragon Eggs hatched, they, being Red Dragons, would likely have matured quickly. Well-fed and comfortable, they probably would have moved straight to thoughts of procreation.
Tania, however, was a Silver Dragon. After filling her belly, she began to follow the traditions of her kind. Her innate sense of justice and kindness began to flourish, and she started looking for ways to be helpful.
Suddenly, I remembered—I have a brother out there, lost to the world!
Here I am, enjoying protection and food in Mother's nest, while my brother might be starving, worried about his next meal!
Guilt washed over me at the thought.
Even if he's a Red Dragon, that doesn't change the fact that we share the same blood.
What if... what if this brother of mine is like Mother? Just a bit fierce-looking on the outside?
Tania, drawing on her draconic heritage, tried to delude herself with such thoughts.
Even though Mother refuses to acknowledge this... fire-farting little brother, she hasn't explicitly forbidden me from visiting him, has she?
And so, after overcoming many hardships, she arrived, leading to the scene at the very beginning.
Sigh. You're lucky to have such a kind sister as me.
Just wait, your big sister will bring you back something to eat.