The Snake That Became a Dragon

At the binding ritual, Kaelen Voss, top prodigy of the Academy of Magic, summons nothing but a worthless grass snake. Publicly disavowed by his fiancée Seraphina and cast out by his clan, he is hunted by assassins and plunges into the Whispering Woods. On the brink of death, Kaelen discovers the grass snake possesses a heaven-defying talent: it can devour magic to evolve endlessly. He names it Nidh. Man and snake hunt ferociously within the forest, consuming high-rank magical beasts. The snake evolves time and again into a flying serpent, then a black-gold true dragon, its power surging beyond all limits. Faced with Seraphina’s greedy and shameless attempts to seize his power, the mages of the academy closing in, and the Realm-Wide Dragon Slaughter Decree issued by the Supreme Mage Council, Kaelen does not flinch. He crushes all powerful foes with overwhelming strength, stripping Seraphina of her magic and reducing her to a powerless mortal. As his might grows, Kaelen obtains the Inheritance of Ten Thousand Dragons within an ancient dragon tomb, uncovering the sordid truth: the Temple colluded with demonkind ten thousand years ago and betrayed the dragon race. In the final battle, the hypocritical Pontiff of the Temple, desperate to cling to power, detonates the continent’s source energy and summons the otherworldly Demon Lord sealed away ten millennia prior. Tempted by hatred and demonic corruption, Kaelen holds fast to his humanity and duty as a guardian. Merging with Nidh in a form blending divine and demonic power, he purifies the Demon Lord entirely within the spiritual realm and saves the crumbling world. Having avenged his wrongs and rescued all living beings, Kaelen turns away from glory. He retreats into the woods alongside Nidh, who has regressed back into the form of a small grass snake, to live a free and peaceful life.