Chapter Text
As always, the sky of northern Europe is as clear as a blue gemstone. When the sea wind breeze on the cheeks, the moist wind imperceptibly affects his thoughts which haven't fluctuated for a long time.
Too long that even he himself couldn’t remember how long time he had spent in a mess like this.
The young man in black is standing on the tallest cliff of the island, watching peacefully at the sea stack in front of him. The look in his turquoise eyes was so deep that no one could understand.
Until the sound of sluggish footsteps behind him becomes closer.
The young man in black doesn’t look back, and there is no need to look back, he just still looks at the unfamiliar but familiar scene quietly, quietly waiting for the owner of the footsteps to come closer.
He knows, the owner of those footsteps knows, that’s the distance between them that could never be crossed.
Sure enough, the footsteps finally stopped, when it was only about 2 meters behind him.
“You are leaving, right?”
Ancient voices sounded slow, with a hint of wistfulness in his tone, but mostly with understanding.
The young man doesn’t look back, the sea breeze ruffles his short black hair, deep gaze still doesn’t spare a look at the man behind him, just responds with an extremely indifferent “hmm.".
The man behind him doesn’t seem surprised by his indifference, pauses for a few seconds and sighs, softly asks:
“Where…are you going?”
Seems to be stunned by this question, the young man in black, staring blankly ahead at the sparkling sea under the magnificent sunlight, after a very very long time, softly uttered a word, almost like a whisper.
“Berk…”
The man behind finally smiles helplessly bitterly after hearing the answer, he gazes at the figure of the person in front of him, after a long time, he sighs softly, almost choked.
“You really…will go back to there, even though now…it has become an uninhabited island, in the end, you still couldn't let go of that place…”
“He rests there, and there is absolutely my final destination, and you…”
A mocking smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and for once, the young man in black let a touch of malice seep into his usually disdainful gaze.
“Humans and dragons are extinct. You are the last human, and I am the last dragon. Although I still have a very long life ahead of me, I have no desire to see you enduring in this world in such a withered state…What has destroyed humans is not dragons, but your greediness. Since you have obtained the lifespan of dragons, which you have desperately wanted, then enjoy this gift that has brought extinction to both our races, bear this curse and live on, forever…alone, continuously living in loneliness.”
With those words, he no longer spared a glance at the suddenly pale, aged face behind him. Enormous black wings unfurled from his back, and in an instant, he transformed into a massive black dragon, soaring into the sky. He looked down one last time, casting a final, disdainful gaze at the now white-faced human below. As his wings flapped, a fierce gust of wind arose, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from sight.
The desolate, despairing cries echoed and faded away in the sea breeze, leaving nothing but emptiness on the high cliff.
Flying away from the island that had repulsed him for so many ages, the Night Fury's bat-like wings seemed to carry the essence of the wind. He had no desire to rest, nor the will to stop, relentlessly following the sea and land pathways etched in his heart through countless years. Only when the familiar, barren island reappeared before him did he finally let out a soft sigh, releasing centuries of buried sorrow and resolve.
Berk was no longer the vibrant, orderly place it once was. The former human village had long been overrun by grass, trees, and flowers. Ruins were entwined with vines, quietly submerged in the river of time. Seagulls sang in the forest groves, and other sea creatures gradually claimed the beaches, erasing traces of human existence bit by bit.
Quietly landing beside the familiar mountain pond, the black dragon breathed in the fresh scent of mountain springs, yet could no longer find that once-familiar fragrance. He took to the sky again, flying along the familiar yet alien paths, slowly entering the now desolate village.
He found the familiar house, stepped lightly on the decaying wooden stairs, and entered the dilapidated room. Never had he felt the absence of that person more acutely than in this moment.
It lowered its head and gave a bitter smile, the teeth hidden. The disappointment in its eyes quickly dissipated. Then, it stood up again, flew towards the nearby seaside, and searched among a group of towering sea stacks. After a long while, it finally found the one it was looking for and landed quietly upon it.
Lowering its head, it gazed at the shimmering sea surface below. After a long, long time, it suddenly leaped down, just like the time when that person, covered in blood, had fallen rapidly yet slowly from there, crashing into the seemingly calm waters.
It kept diving deeper and deeper into the sea, descending until the light from the sky was swallowed by the dark depths, until the once warm waters turned bitterly cold, even for it.
What have I done?
It thought this as it swam downwards even faster, its mind a hazy blur with only this single thought remaining.
Thor... what have I done... how could I have let him stay alone in such darkness and cold for hundreds of years?
Perhaps the gods heard its lament, for in the pitch-black depths of the ocean, a small light suddenly appeared, illuminating its eyes. It had finally found the treasure it had longed for over centuries.
The most important thing to him, even more than his own life... his human.
At this moment, his human lay within that faint, ethereal glow, his face as serene as it had been hundreds of years ago, eyes closed, resting peacefully before him. He looked as if he were merely asleep. Though the wounds from centuries past still marked his body, his expression remained as calm and content as it had been back then.
A low dragon's roar escaped softly from its mouth. The black dragon slowly approached the ethereal glow, extending its four claws and spreading its wings. Tenderly, in the protective manner it had always reserved solely for him, it gently embraced its human's body.
"My Hiccup... I have finally... returned to your side."