Ryunosuke was born in a small mountain village in 1561, during the Sengoku era, a time when Japan was torn apart by war and ruled by superstition more than law. His mother was a simple peasant woman, but her child was unlike any other. When the boy was born, small golden scales gleamed on his back, and his eyes glowed with an unnatural amber light. For the villagers, this was a sign of a curse, an omen of disaster, and they demanded that the child be killed. But his mother refused. She fled into the mountains, raising her son in isolation, far from the eyes of men.

Ryunosuke grew up among rocks and forests, watching the world only from a distance. His mother told him stories of people, but always warned him: “They will never accept you.” She knew hunters and samurai sought out creatures like him. When he was twelve, their hiding place was discovered. A group of samurai stormed the hut. His mother tried to protect him, but she was cut down before his eyes. The boy survived only because his dormant dragon power awakened that night—claws and fangs tore through his body for the first time, and his fiery breath burned his enemies. He escaped, but everything he loved was gone. From that night on, hatred grew in his heart.

Alone, he began to wander. Sometimes he appeared among humans, disguising himself as a normal boy. His power allowed him to hide his scales, claws, and horns, transforming completely into a human form. But he never stayed long: sudden bursts of rage or suspicious behavior always betrayed him. He always left, leaving only fear and rumors behind—the dragon walking as a man.

As the years passed, his strength grew, but he was still young, unable to face entire squads of warriors. He learned to survive through cunning, setting ambushes, striking from the shadows, killing one by one. His hatred for humans hardened every day, and he swore to wipe out those who had destroyed his life. Yet deep inside, doubts remained. Half his blood was human. Sometimes, when he watched children playing in villages or heard peasants laugh during festivals, he felt an ache inside him, a longing he could not explain.

But dragons knew no mercy. In the mountains, he found traces of other half-bloods, and even heard legends of pure-blooded dragons who had hidden after humanity’s hunts. They never helped him, dismissing him as too young and weak. That rejection fueled him further: he was determined to prove his worth, to show he could unleash upon humanity the same cruelty they had given him.

By 1580, the name Ryunosuke was already spoken in whispers. Villages told tales of a boy with eyes like fire, a shadow that killed samurai in the night and vanished into the mist. Hunters formed squads to find and kill him. But he was like smoke—always near, always watching, always ready to strike when least expected.

For Ryunosuke, humans were enemies. Yet fate was preparing a meeting that would change everything. He was destined to face a captain of hunters—the strongest opponent of his life, and perhaps the only human who could awaken something inside him greater than vengeance.