Johnny's consciousness was returning until he finally opened his eyes. Looking around, he could see that he was in the same cave he had found a few minutes ago... or, had it been hours? Either way, looking back at his body, he noticed that his scaly dragon body was completely healthy. Plus, he was on a bed of straw about his size.

"That's weird..." he thought looking at his body, "I remember feeling claws and a few cuts from that beast. Also, who brought me here?"

"Wow, you're very lucky. Not many have faced Cerberus and lived to tell the tale."

Johnny looked behind him: an old fire dragon was walking towards him, with a few fruits in a wooden bowl.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" asked the young dragon.

"My name is Cyrus, young dragon," he replied, "And you, I suppose, are the new apprentice to the Fire Guardian, are you not?"

"How do you know?"

"Well, you are not the first one to come here. The last young dragon who came here years ago, Ignitus, was my last student."

"Student? I thought this was a survival test."

"The 'survival test' is to endure in this hostile environment. If someone needs to watch over and guide the apprentice, there are veteran dragons who will be willing to help them."

"Ah, I understand..."

"So, what is your name, new young apprentice?"

"My real name is Jonathan, but my friends call me Jhonny."

"Hmm... a very strange name for a young dragon. But I will not question the name of the one who the Guardians have chosen to succeed them."

"Yes, to succeed them..." Jhonny muttered, dejectedly.

"Rest for now, and you must eat to regain energy."

"By the way, Mr. Cyrus... how did you heal me so quickly?"

The old dragon held up a small vial filled with a red liquid.

"Fire flower juice that grows in these lands," he replied, "A single drop can heal any wound, even a mortal one."

"Well, thank you..." said Johnny, standing up. It was true: he didn't have any pain in any of his muscles.

The dried fruit that the old dragon had brought was like eating dry biscuits. Besides, the young apprentice also shared what he had brought with his savior.

"Tell me, what was that monster that you saved me from?" Jhonny asked as they ate, "I remember there was a creature similar to a three-headed dog."

"Surely you've heard stories of a similar monster dog guarding the entrance to the underworld," the old man replied, "Well, it's not the only one: the one in those stories is a being trained by demons and dark beings. The one here is wild and mercilessly attacks prey smaller than itself. That's why I told you that you're lucky to survive."

There was a second while the veteran ate the food.

"But I'm afraid you'll have to face it again," he finally said.

"What?!" the apprentice asked frightened, "But you just said that I was lucky to survive!"

"If you have come here looking to increase your fighting spirit, you must prove it by defeating that beast. However, in your current state you will not be able to beat it. To do that, you would have to increase the power of your flames to the level of shattering rocks."

"But it is impossible for a flame of fire to shatter rocks: they are very hard."

"Nothing is impossible, boy. Let me show you: let's go outside."

The old dragon led the young apprentice to the outside of the cave. There was no trace of Cerberus, but the damage was evident. The two dragons approached a large rock black with coal.

"That rock is the target," he said, "But first, show me how much power you have."

Johnny hesitated: yes, he had defeated Simian with that armor as hard as steel... but, now shatter a rock without anyone's support and only with his fire? Seeing that the veteran was serious, the apprentice breathed deeply, trying to find that inner flame. When he found it, he launched a blast of fire at the target. However, the stone did not feel the slightest damage, with the exception of being slightly warm.

"You do not have a great will to fight" Cyrus concluded, "Fire is the flame of the spirit, which we keep burning with our motivation and desire. Besides, your senses are limited: you rely too much on what you see or hear. No boy, you must see beyond"

"Beyond?" asked Johnny.

"That's right, do you even know what mana is?"

The apprentice recalled the teachings and readings.

"It is a magical energy of nature, which gives life and energy to living beings" he said, "It exists in every living being and in every breath of air. It springs from the earth in the form of spiritual gems, an ancestral gift"

"It is clear that you have studied a lot... Correct. But as you can see, there are no spiritual gems in sight, and there are none for several kilometers. And, as you say, it exists in every living being. You are part of nature and it is part of you, just like mana"

With this last, the old dragon launched a powerful flame towards the rock, completely shattering it. Jhonny was left with his mouth open at seeing the veteran's achievement (despite his age).

"If you can perceive and grow the mana within yourself, winning the fight of fire against stone is not impossible" Cyrus concluded, "But, for that, you must grow your will and improve your senses, ready for disciple training?"

Jhonny, knowing that it had to be quite a lot to learn in a short time, decided to begin.

"Yes master"

(Hours later, towards dusk...)

Jhonny was doing a Sirsasana exercise (standing on his head, on his front legs) and he could slowly feel the blood rushing to his head. This exercise, according to what Cyrus had told him, was to promote concentration and memory, as well as balance.

"This is harder than I expected..." he said to himself.

"Try to feel the heat of the heart of the earth: the core" Cyrus told him, "If you connect with the environment, you can feel anything around you, even enemies"

The young apprentice emitted a heat wave around his body, this wave transformed into small sparks and then an aura of fire... but, the position he was in brought back his memories:

"you are useless... you are useless..."

"stop acting like a hero... there are no heroes..."

The flames on his body went out of control... until they became an explosion that threw him back. Fortunately, Cyrus caught him and helped him get back to the ground.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Jhonny sighed; he could not answer that he was okay, because he was not: his past continued to torment him and the comments he received since he was a child and young man caused him psychological suffering too strong to ignore.

"Let's try another exercise," Cyrus told him.

(A few minutes later, in a curved rocky quarry...)

The young apprentice was at the bottom of the quarry, eyes closed, while his mentor was rolling hot rocks to the edge of the curved cliff.

"You have to be guided by your instinct and intuition!" the adult dragon warned him, "The rocks won't hurt you seriously, but you better be able to dodge without using your senses: perceive the heat of the rolling objects."

Despite the fact that he was blindfolded, Johnny had closed his eyes and was trying to perceive the ambient heat. It was... hard to describe what it felt like: it was like he was wearing those heat vision goggles, only darker and he couldn't see the rocks, but rather an accumulation of heat energy that moved at high speed, getting closer and closer.

Just as he was a few meters away, the young apprentice began to move: he knew that those round shapes of heat were the rocks he had to dodge (in addition to being able to sense the movement of the earth). He successfully dodged several of them. However, the attack was constant as the rocks came and went due to the movement and shape of the quarry. It was like being in the middle of a pinball game.

Although he was able to dodge some, so many targets made it difficult for him to find a clear path at times. Besides, part of the exercise was not to fly. Thus, soon Johnny found himself hit by one, and then another and another... he was being pelted continuously. Luckily, the dragon scales acted as armor and he was not hurt that much.

When the exercise was over, Cyrus healed him again.

(Later...)

Both dragons were sitting next to each other, in a meditation position. Anyone would think it was in a quiet and peaceful place, but the truth was that they were each on a pillar that sprouted from a large pool of lava.

"Try to stay calm" Cyrus told him, "Don't let fear and worries overwhelm you. Believe in yourself and have will in what you do"

It was easy to say if you weren't in that situation. However, it was a much calmer exercise than the previous two, if you didn't consider the lava and the difficulty of breathing due to the gases.

When a small stone was heard breaking off, Johnny seemed to hesitate and trembled, which caused his pillar to completely break off and collapse. Before he tried to spread his wings, Cyrus had saved him with his tail.

(Towards dusk...)

"I can't do this" Johnny told himself over and over again as he watched the moon rise, "why did I agree to this?"

"Good question, boy" said Cyrus, who had heard him, "That's the beginning of your path: knowing what you're looking for with this journey and training. But more importantly, ask yourself who you are."

"Many have told me that..." sighed the young dragon in discouragement, "It's something I can't figure out..."

The old dragon approached the young dragon and put his paw on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. Although this seemed to work at first, Johnny still couldn't answer.

"You can figure it out, if you open up to others" he said.

"If it was a problem that could be discussed from dragon to dragon, I could explain it, but..." he replied, knowing that he had to tell him, "...I'm not exactly a dragon..."

Jhonny told Cyrus everything that had happened to him: from his life and youth as a human to the last few months, since he woke up as a dragon in that kingdom. After hearing everything, the old dragon said:

"With that past, it's not surprising that your spirit and will are so low," Cyrus told him, "If Ignitus, the other guardians and your friends trust you, why can't you trust yourself? Don't you have any ambitions?"

"None, I just want to help others. Be someone important to them..."

"Be the hero, huh?"

"Yes..." he sighed, knowing that he couldn't hide it, "While I was growing up, I felt like I didn't belong anywhere. I was with my people, I know, but I felt empty inside."

That was the reason why he admired Spyro: the purple dragon was destined since birth to mark his story; on the other hand, Jhonny had been one more, but he wanted to give meaning to his... to be something different and special at the same time.

"You must learn to overcome those memories. They told you that there are no heroes, because a human being can't transform into a dragon either, but here you are. They told you that you are useless and you can control fire, do you think those comments can affect you now?"

"Deep down, I still believe that... maybe I should never have enlisted as a guardian apprentice."

"If that's how you feel, why did you want to become a guardian?"

The young dragon felt himself blush, something that the adult noticed.

"I understand," he said, "It was a female"

"What? How...?" the apprentice asked.

"You don't live that long without knowing the acts that are done for love..." he said as he returned to the cave, "Rest for now, tomorrow you must show how powerful your feelings are to set her spirit ablaze."

Jhonny approached the cave still somewhat discouraged. However, his new master smiled at him.

"You may not believe in yourself yet, but there are others who do believe in you. And I believe that tomorrow will be a different day."

A little more encouraged, Jhonny returned the smile.

(The next morning...)

Jhonny had taken his training more seriously: before his new master woke up, the young apprentice had gone back to the lava pillars, to reflect on his decision again:

"Okay, maybe I had been a nobody in the past, but now I'm different" he thought, "And that goes literally too: I'm a dragon and I must focus on returning successfully to my friends; I can't let them down"

Being in a meditation position, he could slowly feel that the place was starting to feel cozy: he could clearly perceive the heat of the lava bubbling beneath him.

"It's quite comfortable..." he said to himself as he breathed.

Lava began to gush out and form small columns of at least half a meter. At the same time, the young apprentice's body glowed, covered with a small scarlet red aura.

"You're useless..."

That phrase repeated itself again in his head, making him lose concentration and causing the lava columns to fly out like a small eruption. Disappointed, he lowered his head while looking at his dragon's paw, believing for a minute that he saw his former human hand.

"It seems that you're progressing," said Cyrus, who was at the other end.

Jhonny stood up and flew towards him, still with his head down.

"The day has changed, but I feel the same... I'm clumsy, I don't think I can do it..." he said.

"Why do you keep thinking about that?" asked the master, "What about your desire to be a hero?"

Sighing, the disciple replied,

"My entire human life was filled with tasks, and many expected profitable things from me... They expected me to be a successful man, but, I made mistakes that made me look clumsy, which became mockery and destroyed my confidence... a man without confidence cannot do his job properly for fear of failure. Now, those feelings continue to haunt me when I try to improve, even if I am a dragon: How can I be a choice for guardian?"

"If you were not, Ignitus would not have trusted you," Cyrus replied, "We all make mistakes, but that does not mean we should throw everything away."

"What if the life of a loved one is in a decision that I cannot make a mistake in?"

"You will know what to do then. Now let's continue your training."

First, he returned to the subject of the rolling rocks; For this, the young dragon had not only improved his reflexes, but also his ability to perceive the heat of his targets: he could perceive a heat wave approaching him, combined with the rocky sound, he managed to dodge and even ride on each rock.

"You're progressing," Cyrus told him, "The sixth sense is growing more and more in you."

"Sixth sense?"

"Intuition, young dragon. The lucidity that the heart knows and the mind ignores. In a warrior or hero, it is the power of intuitive understanding that will protect you from any harm until the end of your days."

The second training was a little more complicated: it involved jumping a river of lava to the other end and clinging with his claws to a rock wall at the other end. Then, climbing without using the wings except in the case of falling.

"I can do it..." Johnny repeated to himself over and over again while climbing. More than once, a rock broke from pressing it too hard with his claws.

"Don't be afraid," Cyrus shouted, "If you don't relax, you'll put too much pressure on your body. Keep your balance: you may be afraid, but you can face it."

"Yes! Thank you, master!"

When he finally reached the top, he found old Cyrus waiting for him, who held out his hand to the exhausted apprentice.

"I think you could use a break," he said.

"Don't worry, I can handle this," the young dragon replied (even though the traces of dirt and some scratches showed otherwise), "Just tell me the next exercise."

"Balancing your life is important, you shouldn't put too much pressure on yourself or be too confident. Otherwise, you would literally be playing with fire."

With that said, the old dragon made a flame appear on his right paw, from one moment to the next, it grew or shrank with the dragon's energy.

"Controlling fire depends on your emotions and discipline because it, like electricity, is alive" explained the master "If you are angry or furious, the fire will spread and destroy everything in its path. However, it is possible to control it if you are willing to control emotions as well: express them in your flames, but focus the energy in one direction"

With that said, he handed him that flame. The young apprentice took it in his claws, feeling the heat of that flame. And, trying to focus his energy on it, he made the flame grow to twice its size.

"As I thought" commented Cyrus, "You have full control of your emotions and discipline. But you still have a little more to learn. Come now, you need a bath"

"Tell me it won't be a lava bath, right?"

(A few minutes later...)

Both dragons were taking a moment of relaxation in a thermal lake. It was the first time that Jhonny did something like that: he had never been to a spa or anything like that.

"This is something else..." he said as he breathed in the steam from the lake, "I thought it was all lava."

"Because we're in a volcanic area, it's normal for there to be hot springs," Cyrus said, as he also relaxed.

The water not only relaxed and healed the young dragon's muscles, but also relaxed his mind, wondering once again if he could make it in just three more days.

"Maybe I need to stay for several weeks," he muttered, "I don't think I can make it in just three days."

"Even the older ones had a hard time finding that inner flame" Cyrus replied, "Boy, you know a lot, but you still don't understand"

"What should I understand?"

"That you have more than you imagine, you must trust what you feel, more than what you think"

(The next day...)

The training continued in the same way that day, only Jhonny's meditation was not lost this time: the columns of lava that formed ascended to the stone pillar on which the young dragon sat.

"Finally his mind is much clearer, but... will he have what it takes for his next test?"