<POV Change>

I witnessed an Ancient Dragon roaring in agony, its body writhing in pain after being hit by a Dual Elemental shot fired from one of the Elemental Mana Cannons that rested on the walls of the last Fortress City in Murika. The Dragon was furious and immediately flew towards the tower from where the shot was fired, its massive wings beating against the air in a frenzy, assuming that our Fortress only had one Elemental Mana Cannon left. This was because the Dwarves had taken most of their cannons to the Underworld when the Fae-Men were banished by the Dragons to the Fae-Realm, leaving only one in each Fortress city out of pity for the Human race. However, after a year of losing fortress cities all over Murika, the Human Engineers and Smiths managed to reverse Engineer the weapons and mass produce them in secret at a ridiculous cost for one last gamble.

As the Dragon advanced towards the tower, seven more Cannons across the fortress city emerged from concealment. They immediately fired at the tunnel-visioned Dragon with Quatriple elemental rounds of Ice-Fire-Metal-Lightning. The rounds found their mark, piercing through the Dragon's scales and causing it to release a pained roar that deafened me and closed my eyes, along with the rest of the city's defenders. When I regained my senses, I saw the massive Dragon falling from the sky, its body spiraling out of control as its massive wings froze and shattered. The sight was both breathtaking and terrifying.

While the attack was a success, no one expected that the Ancient Dragon would use a spell to turn its body into a bomb, which exploded when it crashed into the city below. The white cloud exploded with the concentrated attack of 50 Elemental Cannons shots (Author Note: 500 Tons of TNT). It vaporized the point of impact and partially demolished most of the city and its fortifications, leaving behind a scene of destruction and devastation that was beyond comprehension.

I watched the explosion from the back of a winged Griffin mount flying over the battlefield outside the Fortress City walls, where the last Human Army of Murika was fighting the forces that served the Dragons. The sound of the explosion was deafening, and the shockwave threw us off balance, but we managed to stay airborne. We could see the vast destruction wrought by the Ancient Dragon's final act of defiance as we looked down. The sky was filled with smoke and ash, and the ground within the fortress city was filled with the bodies of the defenders, most of whom were not dead but weren't in a condition to keep fighting.

As I tried to assess the casualties caused by the Dragon's last attack, the sky suddenly echoed with war cries. I saw the hordes of Orcs, Ogres, Trolls, and Giants fighting the Human infantry forces going berserk, doubling their strength to slaughter and consume their enemies, who are now the human race. These creatures had once fought alongside Humans under the Fae-Men, but now they had switched sides. They had joined forces with the last surviving Dragons who had fought in the Dominion War with the Original Fae for centuries. Their eyes glinted with the fierce determination to eat us all, and their roars shook the ground beneath our feet. Their actions caused our remaining defenders to panic, their minds already clouded with confusion and fear from the terrible event that had just occurred. I am sure they all knew our fate and decided to flee to have a chance at survival.

Our Human armies were neglected in their development by the Fae-Men during the Fae-Empire days because they favored the Orcs for infantry, their Fae spawn for Shock Troops, and left Humans for Farming and Spellcraft. Though the average Human Mage is powerful with our Spell Tomes, they lack the numbers to stop the enemies we face, who number at least three hundred thousand at Diamond Rank.

We were a legion of warriors, one hundred and fifty thousand strong, but our efforts could only earn us a meager Bronze Rank. Our mission was to face the formidable creatures that served the Dragons, but we were ill-equipped and under-resourced for such a daunting task. The Fae-Men had raised human warriors to act as meat shields and cannon fodder for the powerful Spell Casters. Our sole purpose was to buy time for the Mages to use complicated spells on the enemy forces, like living artillery, and rejuvenate their mana pools. Their lives were critical to the human race, so they commanded us to fight until our last breath so the Mages could escape death.

I was at a crossroads with no Original Fae, Fae-Men, or Fortress city left to protect. Should I sacrifice my life for the old Mages in this lost war or order my Gryphon to escape the last stand? As tempting as it was to abandon my comrades to their fate, my heart urged me to fight until my last breath.

The continent of Murika was on the brink of destruction, fated to fall under the tyranny of the remaining Dragons, Nagas, Orcs, Trolls, Ogres, and Giants. Their numbers far exceeded those of the Humans, making it inevitable that we would all be enslaved or treated as livestock in the future. And, even if the Humans on other continents were faring any better, there was little hope for our survival. Despite this grim reality, I knew that I could not go down without a fight.

I ordered the other winged Griffin riders to charge, and they dived toward the enemies, slaughtering our comrades below. I used every skill I knew and took as many lives as possible before being overwhelmed and consumed by a Giant. I thought that would be the end, but another Dragon arrived at the battle scene and cried in anguish at losing her mate. She used a Soulmancy Spell to force all the souls of the fallen Humans in the area to be anchored to this battlefield and watch the invaders slaughter every Human, devour them, shit them out as feces and crush every brick of the fortress city we tried to defend into dust.

All the Human souls cried in despair as everything we had built, defended and loved was desecrated until our existence was erased from history. The land was now haunted by the agonizing cries of these souls, who were doomed to wander in eternal torment until a powerful Soulmancer could release them from their prison.

The Dragon's curse also ensured no one dared build another city here. The souls of the Humans who perished were driven mad with rage, consumed by a desire to take revenge on any living creature that dared to enter their domain.

No matter what we tried, we could not break the curse. So we waited and haunted the ruins as nature slowly reclaimed them over centuries. I watched the transformation for over two millennia before I lost track of time.

Over that period, my memories of the man I was in life faded like a dream. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't recollect my name, family, friends, and knowledge about my world. I couldn't even recall why I was haunting that spot and how or why I died there. This continued until the voice of the Demon King woke me up.

"It is unfortunate to encounter so many lost souls in one place. However, I can offer you a new opportunity at life by restoring your memories if you agree to let your souls be bound to a Dungeon Lord who serves me, the Demon King. Will you accept this offer?" A menacing voice echoed from the abyss.

"YES!" I replied through my thoughts, along with thousands of others.

"I can't free you all. Only 30 of the best souls among you who showed loyalty and capability till your last breath." The Demon King added.

I had no idea if I met the criteria. But I wondered how the voice would be able to check all of our histories. To my surprise, it took only an hour before the Demon King sent private messages to the ones he liked.

"I must warn you! The memories will bring you pain and loss, making it hard to find happiness in your new life. You can become a minion without memory of the past life and be restored with the bare essentials needed to serve your new Dungeon, Lord. But if you choose to revive those memories, I will make you a Dragon." The Demon King revealed and offered.

"Will I die again if my Dungeon Lord dies?" I ask.

"Yes." The Demon King answered.

"Then, becoming a Dragon would avoid that fate. So I will accept whatever painful memories that I have to endure." I reply with determination.

"I like your spirit! For that answer, I will gift you a powerful elemental affinity." The Demon King declared.

After that, I spend years reliving my past life. Each relationship I had made along the way to becoming a Griffin Rider was seared into my mind. I found my soul mate and had many sons with her. They, too, became Griffin riders, but the Fae-Men sent all my sons to the continent of Arya to serve the Black Phoenix Mage-Knight, who wanted to build an army around feathered monsters for some reason. I saw everyone rejoice when the Fae-Men told us only a few wild Dragons were left in Artrea, and our forces were on the verge of taming or slaying them all.

I experienced tragedy after tragedy when the Fae-Men were banished to the Fae-Realm, which caused a fracture between the Humans, Dwarves and Orcs. The Dragons tamed by the Fae-Men, now free of their riders, managed to subjugate the Orc race and convince the Dwarves that they would be spared if they retreated to the Underworld. The Dwarves even signed a Mana Contract that affected their entire race to ensure any Dwarf returning to the surface would be reverted to Clay Rank and be banished by Dwarven society in the Underworld.

The Human race refused to submit to the Dragons, who gave the Orcs, Ogres, Trolls, and Giants the freedom to attack all Humans and breed with our females until we were driven into extinction. This resulted in a large-scale war in which the Dragon armies surrounded fortress cities and wiped out all Human settlements to increase their numbers.

My wife was living in one of those settlements, but I couldn't save her because the defense of the fortress cities was the top priority. I felt helpless and knew that she had met a terrible end. I would never be able to find her or see my sons again because they had rushed back to Murika to help me but were ambushed during the passage over the sea by the Leviathans spawned by the Dragons with the sea monsters. But I knew they had sired children of their own in Arya, and I prayed for them to survive the collapse of the Fae Empire.

I then relived the last battle and saw my end in the jaws of a Giant. I swore that in my new life, I would devour them until they were driven to extinction in Murika, along with the Orcs and their cousins. That would be my way of getting revenge for my wife, comrades, and all the spirits who were forced to endure centuries of torment in the lands of Murika.

I hope my Dungeon Lord won't stop me.

Right when I thought that, I felt my soul pulled by a strange force I couldn't resist. Within moments, my soul was condensed into a Soul figurine stuck inside a box in the storage space of a Dungeon Core. Then I heard the soul of the Dungeon lord within the core command its servant to summon me along with two other souls like mine.

My Spirit figurine materialized before the Dungeon core and was swallowed by a scale-covered eggshell. Then I heard another voice and transparent screens in front of my face. It's all written in an alien language, but I can understand everything for some reason.

[Your soul is being reincarnated as a Minion of the Dragon Dungeon Core Lord]

[The Dragon Dungeon Core Lord has received three Elemental Cores from the Demon King and been given instructions as to which soul they must be fused with]

[Initiating Warrior Soul fusion with Elemental Core and Dragon Egg...Completed!]

Once completed, I could feel my new small, scaly body confined inside the eggshell. It cracked when I willed my new limbs to stretch. I tasted the Dungeon air with my new tongue, and the cries of two other Dragon Hatchlings filled the air.

Once I got out of the shell, my first instinct was to eat it immediately. The nutrients within it increased my body size from a wolf pup to a full-grown wolf within an hour. I noticed my snout and scales are all light purple. The sibling to my left has light green scales, and the one on my right has light blue scales. Looking at their bodies, I noticed they were humanoid instead of having the body of a Drake.

[As a minion of a Dungeon Lord, you can always view your status, stats and skills with a simple thought command]

The voice then lists several thought commands for me to use.

[Your Dungeon Lord has named you Ryu]

Ryu? That sounds odd, but I like it.

With a mix of trepidation and excitement, I heed the voice and utter the thought command to inspect my status.

[Name: Ryu
Race: Dragon - Drake (Monster)
Element Core - Lightning
Title: None
Class: Fang and Claw Warrior (Combat-Class), Mage - Electormancy (Combat Class)
Rank: Clay
EXP Bar: Lv 1 0/500
Skills: Lightning Rod (Clay), Static Scales (Clay), Drake Roar (Clay), Night Vision (Clay), Thermal Vision (Clay), Sperior Senses (Clay), Electro Fang (Clay), Electro Claw (Clay)
Language: English (Dungeon Lord's Language)
Unique Race Skills: Ancestor's Wisdom (Clay)]
[HP: 300/300
MP: 300/300
ATK: 300
DEF: 300
DEX: 300]

[As a minion of a Dungeon Lord, you can access all areas within your Lord's Domain and view the status, stats, and abilities of other minions summoned, created, enslaved, contracted or pledged a Deity Oath to your Dungeon Lord]

[Your Dungeon Lord will make all decisions regarding your rank advancement. As a Minion, you may disagree with the choices of your Dungeon Lord, but your body will obey and carry them out]