Cold gusts of wind howled through the cave, carrying with them a faint, almost metallic scent, as if the very air were whispering of secrets long buried. Inside, perched on a pedestal of jagged stone as if nature herself had decided to make a shrine, lay a single egg. It was a strange and beautiful thing—sleek black and white, as though the cosmos had dipped it in the inkwells of day and night. Tiny golden speckles, like fragments of a shattered sun, freckled its shell, catching the slivers of moonlight that managed to squeeze through a crooked crack in the cave wall. The beam of light seemed deliberate, purposeful, as if the moon had said, "This one deserves a spotlight."

And then came the growl.

It wasn't just a sound—it was an event. A seismic tremor in the fabric of the cave itself. The walls seemed to shrink inward, the air suddenly thick enough to chew. The shadows rippled and shifted, and two eyes, burning like twin coals in a hellfire, flickered open. They stared unblinking from the abyss of the cavern's belly, glowing with an unsettling combination of ancient wisdom and far too much sass for comfort.

A scaly muzzle followed, poking into the moonlight. It sniffed disdainfully, then parted its jaws just enough to reveal a row of teeth that sparkled like diamonds at a gangster's convention. Behind it came the rest of the creature, unfurling itself from the darkness with the slow, deliberate movements of something that knows exactly how terrifying it is. Its scales shimmered like oiled obsidian, rippling with the faint hues of a rainbow when the moonlight caught them just right. The creature coiled protectively around the egg, one clawed paw resting delicately against it, as if to say, "Mine. Touch it, and you're toast—probably literally."

Then, to make matters worse (or better, depending on how you feel about dramatic flair), the creature smirked. Yes, smirked. Its lips curled into a sly grin, one that spoke volumes: "Oh, you poor, unfortunate souls. You came all this way, and for what? To stare at my egg? Pathetic."

Before we could even think of a response—because honestly, what do you say to a smug dragon guarding a cosmic egg?—it lunged forward with breathtaking speed. Its maw opened wide, the darkness of its gullet somehow darker than the cave itself.

And then... nothing. Total, consuming blackness.

Somewhere in the void, a voice—silky, teasing, and unmistakably draconic—whispered, "Come back when you've brought snacks."