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A screech, raw and ragged, tore through the stillness. It was the sound of pure, unadulterated terror, echoing off the cold, unforgiving bars of a cage crafted from some dark, unyielding metal. The very ground trembled beneath the impact, a shudder that rippled through the earth like a seismic wave. Dust motes, disturbed from their slumber, danced in the sudden shafts of light that pierced the gloom. Then, a sickening thud. Something heavy, something broken, crashed to the ground with a bone-jarring impact that silenced even the frantic chirping of the unseen creatures within the cage.

A wave of nauseating stench – the coppery tang of blood mingling with the acrid smell of fear – washed over the small, trembling creatures huddled nearby. Their tiny forms, normally bustling with frantic activity, froze, paralyzed by the sudden, brutal violence. Wide, terrified eyes reflected the flickering shadows cast by the unseen source of the disturbance. A low whimper escaped one of the smaller creatures, a sound swallowed by the heavy silence that followed the screech and the crash. Rain, relentless and unforgiving, began to lash down, blurring the already indistinct outlines of the scene in a grey, watery haze. The storm seemed to mirror the chaos that had just unfolded, a furious symphony of nature echoing the turmoil within the cage.

Ember glared down at her father, a trembling dragon beneath her immense form. Her voice, though laced with barely controlled fury, trembled slightly, betraying the years of suppressed emotion threatening to spill over. The emerald fire in her eyes burned with a cold intensity, a stark contrast to the flickering fear in her father's own gaze. "I've had enough, Father," she snarled, each syllable dripping with venom. The words hung in the air, heavy with the weight of unspoken grievances, a lifetime of silent suffering finally finding its voice. "I can't have you hitting us, abusing us anymore. Mother left because of you," she hissed, the accusation a raw, open wound. The mention of her mother was a sharp, cutting blade, twisting the knife of her father's guilt. The tremor in her voice didn't diminish the power of her words; instead, it amplified the raw, visceral emotion behind them, making them all the more potent.

"I-I didn't mean to," the black dragon stammered, his voice a pathetic squeak against the thunderous silence that followed Ember's accusation.

 His words were swallowed by the echoing space, rendered insignificant by the sheer weight of his past actions. Ember's tail lashed out, a swift, precise movement that sliced through the air, catching her father's leg with a sickening thud. 

He shrieked, a high-pitched sound that was almost comical in its contrast to his usual booming voice, stumbling backward, his massive wings pressing against a giant wall as he sought escape. "You never mean to, huh?" Ember taunted, her voice dripping with bitter sarcasm.

 The words were like tiny, venomous darts, each one finding its mark with deadly accuracy. "What about when I was learning math? You brutally cursed my jaw every time I got it wrong," she flicked her tail again, the movement a subtle display of her power, her control. "Or what about when Mom just did something wrong? You clawed at her and nearly choked her," she finished, each word a carefully aimed blow, striking at the heart of his guilt, exposing the years of abuse and neglect hidden beneath his gruff exterior.

She leaned close, fire spitting from her jaws, her breath hot against her father's trembling form. The flames danced in her eyes, reflecting the fierce determination burning within.

 Her father whimpered, a pathetic sound that was swallowed by the roar of the inferno that seemed to emanate from her very being.

 "Now I've had enough of you," she declared, her voice ringing with the power of a goddess. "I'm a grown dragon, and I can finally do this." She raised her talons, sharp points gleaming like obsidian daggers in the flickering firelight. With a swift, decisive movement, she slashed down, her claws tearing through his scales, a final, agonizing shriek escaping his lips before he crumpled to the ground, lifeless. 

The silence that followed was profound, broken only by the crackling of the flames and the heavy thud of her father's fallen body. Then, a strange emptiness settled over her, a mix of triumph and a profound, unsettling loss. The weight of her actions settled heavily upon her, a chilling reminder of the power she now possessed, and the irreversible consequences that came with it.

Blood dripped from her claws, crimson staining the stone floor beneath her feet. Ember blinked, her eyes widening, the reflection of the carnage mirrored in their depths. 

A wave of nausea washed over her, the reality of her actions crashing down with the force of a tidal wave. I did it, she thought, the words echoing in the hollow chambers of her mind, a chilling confirmation of the irreversible act she had committed. I killed my own father.

The weight of that realization pressed down on her, a crushing burden that threatened to suffocate her. The triumphant feeling she'd experienced moments before evaporated, leaving behind a vast, desolate emptiness. Fear, raw and primal, seized her, driving her to flee. 

She turned and ran, leaving behind the scene of her crime, the blood, the body, and the crushing weight of her deed. She fled into the night, a fugitive from her own actions, a dragon haunted by the ghost of her father and the indelible stain of his blood upon her claws.