The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases

Seeing David so bluntly "get to the point" made the Chromatic Dragon Queen find it rather amusing.

"Although you're a heteromorphic dragon from a foreign realm of the Multiverse," she began, "I must say, in some ways, you do resemble your mother, Pafila. For instance, you're always so... 'impatient.' Impatient to merely go through the motions of your duties to me, impatient to... break free from my control. And, like most Chromatic Dragons, you dragons seem to view us Dragon Gods more as entities with whom you must bargain at great cost. I must say, this is the sorrow of us Chromatic Dragons—or perhaps of all dragonkind—and it is also my sorrow and Bahamut's."

I wouldn't dare! How could you suddenly slap such a heavy label on me? I can't bear it! I'm just a young Red Dragon! It's like a small horse trying to pull a heavy cart! David thought.

Tiamat laughed lightly. It was unclear whether she was amused by his current comical pose—covering his cloaca with his large rear sticking out—or by the sorrow of her own predicament. She didn't continue to wrangle with David on this point, instead changing the subject.

"You've done well on the Skanis Continent. You've created a sustainable model that allows us Chromatic Dragons to grow strong. Mother dragons are freed from the burdensome duty of raising hatchlings, and the hatchlings are protected until they mature. If this model continues for a millennium, it might genuinely re-establish a hint of the planar dominance our dragons held during the Thunder Era on Toriel, here in Elariya, this newly born primary material plane. It's a pity, though..."

David caught on quickly. "Your Majesty means to say that this model is doomed to fail?"

"Not that it cannot succeed, but rather that external factors will inevitably prevent us from achieving success. Do you know what disaster is most likely to befall us if your model continues to develop?"

"Disaster?"

David couldn't immediately think of what kind of disaster could lead to the downfall of the dragons of an entire plane. It surely couldn't be like the end of the dinosaur era on Blue Star, with a comet suddenly plummeting down from the sky.

But to David's utter surprise, Tiamat actually named a comet.

"The Slaying King Star."

And it was another name that struck fear into all dragons, a dread etched into their very lore:

The Dragon Mad Lock.

David was utterly shocked.

"But isn't that a comet from the Toriel Plane? Could those Elves possibly..."

Damn it! He'd initially wanted to say, 'Could they actually move a comet here?' But considering the High Elves possessed the technology to teleport their entire race across planes, teleporting a comet over... well, it didn't seem entirely impossible! Especially since those Elves had already failed to maintain their mainstream status on the Toriel Plane and had retreated to Eternal Gathering Island, beyond the main continent.

"That is not merely a comet," Tiamat continued. "It is a weapon—one specifically designed to target us dragons, researched for four entire millennia. It was a weapon that reduced us dragons from a 'civilization' to a mere 'species' through a massive, extinction-level event."

"Why are our Chromatic Dragons so isolated today? Why do they claim small territories, build their nests, and act self-satisfied, as if they have completely forgotten? Over thirty thousand years ago, during the distant Thunder Era on the planet called Toriel, we dragons were the true sovereigns, dictating the fate of the Continent. At that time, aside from the Giants, no other civilization could challenge us. Eventually, we even drove the Giants from the heart of the Continent and became the ultimate rulers.

"Without exaggeration, the survival and prosperity of other races at that time depended entirely on the appetites of us dragons.

"It was for this reason that we took in, fed, and domesticated the Elves. They herded other beings for us, and we allowed them to live in the position of servants. We even interbred them with the native elves of Toriel, creating the Sun Elves and Moon Elves. The former answered to me, while the latter revered their Platinum Dragon King.

"In that era, Bahamut and I were like the sun and the moon that caused Toriel to revolve, day and night.

"The world revolved around only two great wars: the Blood War between Barto Hell and the Abyssal Depths, and the Dragonfall War between the Chromatic Dragons and the Metal Dragons!

"All else was insignificant.

"David Uthos, this is a conspiracy and a great betrayal targeting us dragons.

"Do you think that we, who possess the dragon lore, truly do not desire to restore our former glory and civilization? That we are content to continue this beastly life, subsisting on raw flesh and blood?

"No, it's not that we do not wish for it; we dare not. Every dragon remembers the sight of that blood-colored star rising in the sky.

"At that moment, all dragons went mad. They attacked everything in sight, including their most beloved mates. They tore their own children apart with their claws, shoving them back into their own disemboweled stomachs. Vassals slew their lords, sons killed their fathers, until only they themselves remained amidst the bloody scene.

"That single instance of dragon madness reduced Toriel's once-flourishing dragon population to a mere four percent.

"And after that, every few decades or centuries, the Slaying King Star, the celestial body that drives dragons mad, would pass through Toriel's skies."

David was suddenly startled. "It isn't periodic?"

Her black dragon head shook. "I've told you, it's a weapon—one specifically designed against us dragons. And being a weapon, it can be utilized; it can be summoned by magic. Even if it's merely its mirror image, it can still drive dragons to madness."