Freya and I were venturing beyond our kingdom, introducing her to the peculiarities of a gun, a device that here was adapted and crafted for our quadrupedal forms, weird enough but it worked well. We found a secluded spot, perfect for our shooting practice. The gun, while awkward to hold, was effortless to aim. The recoil was gentle, yet its effect was formidable. Instead of conventional bullets, this device fired fragments of dust, generated internally. These fragments flew at an incredible speed, electrically charged to the point of electrocuting or incinerating anything they hit. The gun seemed to possess infinite ammunition until, unexpectedly, after a barrage of shots, it ceased to function. Freya’s weapon too did stop working soon after, its lights and indicators, dimmed and went dark. The devices seemed to have ran out of power.

Upon inspection, I discovered a concealed tray hiding something. I opened the tray to find a dark crystal nestled within. Upon touching it, I sensed that it was devoid of power. I used my elemental abilities to infuse it with energy, then reassembled the device. After resuming my dragon form, I tested the gun, and it worked flawlessly as before. However, I found the design flawed. In the heat of battle, such a complication could prove fatal. After I made both our weapons operational again, we resumed the journey.

Each day, we flew for hours, heading south until we reached an immense jungle, a ceaseless rainforest near the equator. We decided to traverse it in one go rather than circumnavigate it, just to spare some time. However, midway, exhaustion claimed our wings, forcing us to land. We found a tree with giant leaves that provided shelter from the relentless rain. It seemed like an ideal spot to rest, but we were well aware of the dangers of unfamiliar territory. We had one ground rule: never stop at a place we didn't know or trust. However we were kind of forced to. Freya volunteered to keep the first watch while I slept. After some protest, I agreed to rest. The rhythmic patter of rain on leaves lulled me into a restful slumber soon enough.

Until, a sudden noise jolted me awake. Panic surged as I realized Freya was missing. For a moment, I wondered if I was trapped in a nightmare, but the cold rain on my face confirmed the harsh reality. There were no injuries on me, but Freya had been taken. I searched the dense foliage, and about ten meters away, I spotted a flash of white. “Freya?” I called out, but my plea was met with silence. Then I saw it: a predatory gaze from large eyes set in green scales. The creature slithered out from its hiding place, a massive, snake-like green dragon. Its long tail was coiled around Freya’s unconscious body, marked by two red punctures on her neck. She had been bitten. “Let her go, right now!” I demanded, aiming my gun at the beast. However, it seemed unfazed by the unfamiliar weapon. It ignored my warning and taunted me instead, prompting me to throw a rock near its head as a warning. I gestured towards Freya, making it clear that she was mine. The dragon responded in a raspy voice, “Why should I? She’s such a cute and nice white dragoness. She can’t go to waste. Hehe.” I retorted, “She’s not food. She’s my partner! You overgrown green snake.” It replied mockingly, “Oh, so you’re a couple? What a shame.” As it was distracting me with its words, I failed to notice the second dragon creeping up behind me until he glanced at it. Before I could react, the second dragon had me in its jaws, its fangs sinking into my neck. It held me tight against its chest and crushed me to the ground with its weight, causing me to drop my weapon. I felt dizzy as the poison coursed through my veins, blocking my elemental abilities. I couldn't believe I had been caught off guard. But I didn't surrender. Using my sharp claws I tried to slice through him, but it barely flinched. It continued to squeeze me in its deadly embrace. Despite my efforts to slash at its head or neck, I couldn’t quite reach them, he had me, literally, in its hands.

The other green dragon, still holding Freya by his tail as a trophy, sneered at me. "Your time is up, little shadow dragon. Embrace your fate." I attempted to retaliate, "Never, you bloody murderers!" but was hushed by the dragon biting me. I despised every moment of this torment. They were waiting for my eyes to close, but it was taking longer than I, or they, anticipated. Whispering amongst themselves, one questioned, "Why hasn't he died yet?" "I don't know. I bit him, I swear," the other retorted.

The dragon holding Freya approached me. It was a grotesque sight, barely resembling a dragon with flightless, not large enough to lift him, wings and a body similar to a colossal snake. It studied me, curiosity gleaming in its eyes. "You bit him on the neck. Are you sure you still have poison left?" it questioned. "Yes, wait, let's try again," the other dragon replied. I saw it coming and screamed, "No, don't you dare!" but it paid no heed and bit me once more. This time, its teeth too penetrated my flesh, and blood seeped down my neck. It was excruciating. It spat out my blood, which started transforming into white smoke. It looked puzzled. "What the hell is this?" it wondered aloud. "I don't know. Does it hurt?" the other asked. "No, it's just, steam like smoke," it responded. I was still conscious, observing them, my mind a whirlpool of bewilderment. My wound healed rapidly, thanks to my healing power, which was miraculously and mysteriously still working. It was all I had left.

The dragon holding Freya then said, "Ok, let me try. Something is off." Once again, I shouted, "No, wait, it won’t work!" but it bit me regardless, not on my neck but near my head. Its fangs were even larger, and they pierced my throat like daggers. I tasted blood and something else—something salty and burning. I thought it was the poison. Smoke erupted from my mouth.

Realizing their poison had failed, the dragons changed their strategy to brute force. The dragon that had bitten me spoke in a raspy voice, "Hold him still. I'm going to crush his lungs." I pleaded, "Wait, can we discuss this, please?" but it ignored me and executed its plan, while the other dragon pinned me down with its claws, one constricted my chest, inhibiting my breathing, while the other wrapped its tail around my neck and then my nose, squeezing with such force that I heard a sickening snap from my spine. I was paralyzed with agony as they shattered my backbone spine. I tried to move, but my body was unresponsive. I tried to scream, but no sound emerged. I was aflame with pain. The poison was still coursing through my veins and reaching my brain, but I did not lose consciousness. I had an astonishing resilience to everything they threw at me.

After they heard the crack, the dragons released me and recoiled in horror. "Ugh, that was awful," one of them said. "Yeah, that's too cruel even for me," the other one agreed. They left me on the ground, paralyzed, only able to stare with wide eyes of torment.

As I lay on the ground, wounded and bleeding, one of them leaned over me and snarled, "Why won't you die? What are you?" I spat out some blood and smirked, "You're just trying to kill a king and his queen, you fools." He scoffed, "You're delusional and crazy," and he was partly right. I felt a surge of madness in my veins and burst into maniacal laughter. He commanded, "Take him. We need help." I taunted, "Oh yes, bring me to the others. I can't wait to see you fail to kill me again." He ignored me and continued, "Take his equipment too." They took our gear from the ground and dragged us along.

On the way, I saw them blindfold Freya, and they did the same to me. But, for some reason, I could still see through the cloth made of some kind of leaf. As my backbone spine healed itself, I attempted to break free, but they quickly bit me, and my powers were bound again. I cried out, "Oh, please just let us go. We were just passing through." They remained silent. Every time I regained some strength, I tried to fight back, until they broke my spine again. After that, I surrendered. I never wanted to endure such agony again.

The ordeal seemed an eternity, until at last, we detected the arrival of new voices. Another dragon, similar to our captors but featuring a different shade of green, spoke with a trace of admiration. “Oh, I see your hunting has been successful. Is that a shadow and a wind dragon?”

Responding hesitantly, our captors said, “Ehm, probably.”

Seizing the moment, I said, “Oh yeah, a shadow dragon, dark as the plague!”

This comment surprised her, and she retorted, “Oh, it’s still awake. Let me fix that.”

I tried to protest, “No, wait, it doesn’t work…” but it was too late. She bit me hard and encircled my neck with her tail, stifling my breath and movements. Unlike the others, who had broken my spine almost by accident the first time, she did it deliberately. She was ruthless. I went limp, but I remained conscious. She held me in her grip for a while, ensuring I died. But I wasn't. Even when I felt my heart cease beating, I just played dead.

She finally released me and said, “Next time, make sure they aren’t awake. If you're so bad at it, just kill them.”

Our captors protested, “Wait, we did that, but he was, like immortal, we swear.”

She didn’t believe them, just like they didn’t believe me. “Yeah, yeah, sure, now let’s put an end to the suffering of this second one too,” she said dismissively.

Hearing this, I knew she was going to kill Freya. My heart pounded in my chest, and despite my terrible condition, I sprang into action. I managed to unlock the light element, turning myself into a cloud of light. I tried to reach Freya, but after a few seconds, my element failed me again, and I reverted to my form, surrounded by white smoke as parts of my body were still regenerating.

She gasped, “What the… how did you not die?”

The others said, “We told you he was immortal.”

I pleaded, “Please, please listen to me. Don’t kill her. She’s the Queen of the Kingdom of the Whispering Wind, I beg you.”

She looked at me doubtfully, then glanced at Freya, who was teetering on the brink of death. She noticed the distinctive mark on Freya's neck and, with a jolt of recognition, gently lowered her to the ground. She muttered, “Holy queen of life, she’s… she’s… Queen Freya.” The others echoed, “Who?” She gasped, “Wow, you’re lucky you didn’t kill her. We’re in big trouble.”

Looking at Freya, I noticed her neck had turned black near the bite mark. The dragoness said, “We have to stop the poison before it’s too late. Hurry to the village.” I protested, “Wait, I can heal that. Just let me, agh.” My spine was still broken, causing a surge of pain and preventing my movements. She said, “Can you? Since when can a shadow dragon do that?” I said, “I’m not just a shadow dragon. Damnit.”

I tried to move, but my body was paralyzed, except for my head and mouth. She asked, “How long ago did you bite her?” They said, “A couple of hours, maybe? It’s hard to tell.” She thought for a moment and then asked me, “Can you heal her?” I said, “First, I must heal myself. Then, I will.” She said, “Do you think you can heal both of you in less than an hour?” I said, “If you would stop biting me, I could heal myself in less than fifteen minutes.”

As I spoke, one of the other dragons sneaked behind me and snapped my neck back into place with a swift motion. The pain was excruciating. My spine was still shattered. But after several seconds of agony, I felt my body again. I said, “Oh, wow, that was the worst thing I ever felt. Thanks anyway.” He said, “You’re welcome, and sorry for everything, especially breaking your spine. Ehehe.”

The female dragon was curious and asked, “Wait, did you already break his spine?” He proudly said, “A couple of times, actually.” I confirmed, “Yeah, those two did it with their bare… tails.” She said, “Oh wow, congrats. I’m so proud of you. But can you please save your queen now before it’s too late?”

I responded, “Of course.” I reached for Freya and placed my hand on her neck. As I healed her, I said, “You have really big and deadly fangs, I must say.” She said, “Mine are even bigger than theirs, to be honest.” One of the others said, “Oh, dear sister, that’s rude.” She said, “It’s the truth. What do you want me to say?”

Finally, I managed to heal her, and Freya's neck returned to its normal color. Her breathing stabilized, but she didn't wake up. I pleaded, “Hey, Freya, please wake up.” There was no response, and I didn't know why. The older sister suggested, “Let’s take her to the village. She needs to rest.” I agreed and said, “Yeah, I think she would appreciate that.”