The Hero You've Always Wanted to Be: (Celestial Forge/Grimoire/Menagerie/Dojo)

The Journey Begins

Jaune's eyes fluttered open to an impossible sight: a translucent screen, shimmering with an ethereal glow, hung suspended inches from his face. He choked back a yelp, his heart leaping into his throat, desperately not wanting to rouse his teammates. A quick sweep of the room confirmed his suspicions—Pyrrha's bed was empty, the tell-tale hiss of the shower echoing from the adjoining bathroom. Ren and Nora, bless their heavy slumber, remained oblivious, lost in the quiet depths of their dreams.

"Hello, and welcome to the Celestial Gacha! User: Jaune Arc has been noted in the database! One free pull available! Do you wish to pull now?"

The words, alien and yet strangely familiar, imprinted themselves on his mind with an uncanny ease, as if he'd known their meaning his entire life. "Free pull?" he whispered, confusion clouding his thoughts. This had to be a dream, a lingering fragment of delirium. Too much chocolate, definitely. Yet, even as the thought formed, the words on the screen vanished, replaced by a new, startling pronouncement.

"Understood. Beginning free pull!"

A jolt of unease prickled down Jaune's spine. Gacha games? He'd dabbled in those predatory mobile apps, designed to suck the lien out of you like a vacuum. Was he truly hallucinating something so scummy?

"Roll Complete! Received Dragon 'Memorazor' from Series 'How to Train Your Dragon'. Bonus roll! Received Power 'Exchange Positions' 'You can exchange your position with one of your creatures. Or you can exchange the positions of two of your creatures.'!"

None of it made a lick of sense. Dragon? Power Exchange Positions? The absurdity of it all began to sink in, a cold, hard truth settling in his gut: this wasn't a dream. This was terrifyingly, undeniably real. He absently mused that he didn't see a dragon, and in that same instant, a creature materialized before him, a spectral form coalescing from the very air. This time, the scream ripped from his throat, raw and involuntary. Mercifully, Ren and Nora remained undisturbed, but the sudden silence from the bathroom confirmed Pyrrha had heard him.

"Jaune? Are you okay?" Her voice, tinged with concern, cut through the surreal tableau.

Jaune was frozen, caught between disbelief and terror. A literal dragon, shimmering with an otherworldly presence, floated mere feet from him. It bore no resemblance to the grotesque Grimm he'd seen in the forest or in combat videos. Its head, disproportionately large, was dominated by enormous, intelligent eyes and a peculiar, bulbous nose. Two rows of jagged spikes, like the teeth of a saw, traced a path from its crown to the midpoint of its back, where its tail, a long, tapering whip, ended in a prominent, pointed tip. Four impossibly long legs supported a surprisingly compact body, each foot terminating in four clawless toes. Its wings, remarkably clear, seemed to ripple with an almost invisible transparency. The Memorazor's underside was a striking white, a stark contrast to the mesmerizing yellowish-green that speckled the rest of its body with dark green dots. Its feet, a vibrant, almost neon yellow, completed the bizarre spectacle.

In a surge of panicked desperation, Jaune focused, picturing the dragon gone, willing it to dissipate. Just as the bathroom door clicked open, the creature shimmered, its form blurring, then dissolving into nothingness as Pyrrha emerged, dressed in her school uniform, her hair still damp from the shower.

"Jaune? I heard you scream. Is everything okay?" Her brow furrowed with genuine worry.

"I'm fine. I just had a... nightmare. Real scary stuff," Jaune stammered, the lie tasting like ash in his mouth. How could he possibly explain this? Hey, Pyrrha, guess what? I'm hallucinating a floating screen that gave me a dragon! That was a one-way ticket to the crazy house.

Pyrrha, bless her trusting heart, seemed to buy it. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks. Are you done with the shower?" Jaune replied, desperate to change the subject.