In a vast darkness, a raging fire roared. Above that inferno, frost floated motionless as the night itself. Between the fire and frost, a lone figure suspended in the void—Akiko let out a gasp as her eyes flew open. Her gaze darted frantically from side to side, but her body refused to obey her commands. She struggled as flames licked at her naked back while frost kissed her bare front.

"Where am I? What's happening?" Panic colored her voice.

She was certain she had entered her Chrysalis, but time had become meaningless here. Her eyes continued searching the darkness as she fought to understand her predicament.

"Child, calm down." A disembodied voice echoed through the void.

Akiko couldn't determine whether the voice belonged to a man or a woman, yet it carried an inexplicable soothing quality. She couldn't explain why, but hearing that voice brought her immense calm and tranquility. Akiko relaxed and stared up at the frost above her.

"Where am I?"

"Where you need to be," the voice answered.

"What am I meant to do here?"

"Understand yourself."

"How?"

"Ask."

Akiko floated in contemplative silence. She had no concept of how much time had passed or what this voice truly was, but she sensed it held all the answers to questions burning within her. She decided to start simply.

"Who am I?"

"You are Akiko," the voice responded.

"Great… who is Akiko?"

"Akiko is you."

"What does it mean to be Akiko?"

"Whatever you want it to mean." The response was simple, yet filled with warmth, bringing infinite confidence to Akiko's heart.

"I want it to mean strength. I want it to be the power to fight and protect everything I hold dear."

"You want Akiko to be Amaterasu," the voice replied, shocking her.

"I want Akiko to be Amaterasu?... Yeah… Yeah, I do."

"What's stopping you?"

"Amaterasu is the namesake of a god. I'm just a… person." Akiko's voice wavered.

She had always cherished the name Zac had bestowed upon her. However, as time passed, the less she felt worthy of it. Amaterasu was the Queen of Heaven and creation. Zac had held high expectations of her, but she couldn't see herself meeting them. As events unfolded and more happened around her, she found herself not as a queen, but as a simple onlooker.

"Amaterasu is an idea," the voice cut through Akiko's self-doubt. "Your sense of self is an idea. Ideas are malleable and ephemeral. Why be bound by such fleeting things? Why not take those fragile concepts and mold them into what you want?"

"I think, therefore I am?" Akiko asked tentatively.

"Yes!" The voice answered with unmistakable excitement.

In reality, Akiko understood very little of what was transpiring. She had a vague sense about what this "voice" might be, but she wasn't ready to ask that question yet, and found herself unable to speak. Time passed again—she couldn't fathom how much—and she spent most of it contemplating the simple yet profound words left to her by "The Voice." The flames beneath her intensified, and the frost above thickened, yet she felt neither heat nor cold.

She still couldn't move any part of her body and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Are you there?"

"Always," the voice answered.

"What is this fire and frost surrounding me?"

"They are you."

"The real me, or the idea of me?" Akiko asked with growing understanding.

"Yes!" The voice responded with excitement once again. Akiko giggled at the perceived innocence of The Voice.

"What are you?"

"Everything…"

Akiko fell silent for an extended period. Initially, The Voice had felt distant, like talking to someone across a vast canyon. But the more she spoke with it, the closer it seemed to draw. She still couldn't see who it was, but their emotions were becoming clearer.

"Do you get lonely?"

"Sometimes…" The Voice sounded melancholy.

"Do… Do dragons not talk to you?"

"Talk? Yes."

"But they don't have conversations with you? They just ask you for things?"

"Some do—the old ones do. The young ones can't; some never learn. Just hearing them ask for favors is enough."

"Does that make you upset?"

"No, just lonely."

"If you're lonely, why are you constantly driving away, Alpha?"

"They weren't ready yet."

Akiko had come to understand that this voice was the will of creation itself. She still didn't quite grasp what that meant, but she now fully understood that life was alive—that it possessed consciousness and feeling. The silence stretched on as she processed everything she'd learned from their conversation.

Whatever this Chrysalis Stasis accomplished, it granted them a connection to creation that only the most ancient and knowledgeable dragons enjoyed. The realization filled her with equal parts confidence and anxiety. She didn't know what she was becoming.

"What am I becoming?"

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"You are becoming what you are," The Voice responded predictably.

Akiko chuckled to herself—that was about what she'd expected.

"Have you ever considered that more dragons don't have conversations with you because you don't make sense?"

"Yes…" The Voice sounded almost devastated.

"Sorry."

"It's fine." The Voice sighed.

"You talk about my sense of self being an idea. Why do I get the feeling that to you, all life is just an idea?"

"Yes."

"So are we all just your idea?"

"Not mine. But it doesn't matter. Ideas are malleable and ephemeral. They are fragile. But they can also transcend themselves and become what they were never meant to be—for better or worse."

"Have the others talked with you?" Akiko asked.

"Yes, but not as much as you. You are my favorite."

"Why?"

"You're kind."

"The others were mean to you?"

"No…"

"But I'm kind?" Akiko sought clarification.

"Yes!" The Voice responded with unmistakable glee.

Once again, Akiko floated in silence. Previously, these quiet moments had sprung upon her without understanding why. She'd had so many questions, but no words would come. Now she understood that she was tired. Her conversation with The Voice drained her, and she finally had enough awareness to recognize this.

Not only that, but she could also feel the pull of the flames and frost—an unspoken connection drawing her toward them. She still didn't quite understand it, but she could sense herself approaching some fundamental truth.

"Can I ask you some questions?" This time, The Voice broke the silence.

"Don't you have the answers to everything?" Akiko asked as she continued floating.

"Yes. But I want to hear your answers."

"Okay."

"What do you want from your life?"

"To be happy," Akiko responded without hesitation.

"What does it mean to be happy?"

"To be content, to have fulfillment."

"No… what is your happiness?"

"I-I… Don't know." Akiko fumbled over her words.

She'd never considered it before. What did her happiness look like? Why did it look that way? What would she need to do to reach that elusive concept?

"Ideas… hehehe!" Akiko chuckled to herself as understanding dawned.

"Whatever I want it to be," she answered with newfound certainty. The Voice let out what sounded like a proud sigh.

"Why do you want to be stronger?"

"To protect my happiness and be worthy of the name I was given," Akiko answered without hesitation.

"Who are you?"

"I am me." Akiko felt her body begin to respond as she made a tight fist with her left hand.

As her fist clenched, the flames beneath her and the frost above began flowing into her body. The two opposing forces coalesced within her form, and she began to shine with brilliant light.

"Who is 'me'?" The Voice asked in a playful tone, as if they were engaged in a delightful game.

"Amaterasu…" Akiko spoke, though her lips didn't move. Her consciousness called out to the world around her, and the light engulfing her exploded outward, expanding into the infinite darkness that had once surrounded her. That void was now illuminated by a massive orb of light, brighter than any known sun.

"It's nice to meet you, Amaterasu!" The Voice called out as Amaterasu floated in the void, bathed in her radiance. She turned her head toward the source of the voice and found herself facing a figure of light that resembled her.

"You are me?" Amaterasu asked.

"I'm everything. I'm everyone. Hi!" The Voice chuckled warmly.

"Hey!" Amaterasu giggled in response.

The Voice reached out and touched Amaterasu's forehead. As it did, its body transformed from pure white light into a nebula filled with infinite shades of blue and red. Amaterasu stared into that crimson and azure cosmos, bombarded by theories and principles of thermodynamics unknown to her—concepts that didn't exist on Earth or anywhere else. Before she could be overwhelmed, The Voice gently covered her eyes.

"You can't handle all those questions at once. Not yet. Simple questions are fine… one step at a time." They began to giggle together.

Amaterasu calmed her mind, and a simple thought emerged: Heat.

A massive orb of flame materialized above her head, blazing like a radiant sun. Then a second thought followed: Cool.

That massive sphere of flames cooled into a dense ball of coal, floating in the endless light. That ball of coal faded away, and then in it's place a massive seed of flame and frost coalesced behind her.

"I think you're ready," The Voice nodded approvingly.

Amaterasu nodded back. "Where is this place?"

It was not the real world, or any world for that matter. Yet she couldn't bring herself to believe this was simply her consciousness—it felt too vivid, too real. There was some strange in-between state she couldn't understand, or perhaps shouldn't try to understand.

The Voice looked into the white void. "This is your beginning. This is your nothing, your nowhere."

"Everything starts from nothingness. I have a long way to go."

"Mhmmm. And I'll be here to help you. Every step of the way." Though The Voice had no face, the movements of its head suggested a bright smile.

"Do dragons experience this when they shed?" Amaterasu asked. She was overcome with a feeling of power she couldn't completely comprehend. She was certain Sensei Zac must have felt something similar.

"No. Dragons… Dragons start with everything. They ARE everything. Just like me! Which is why they are fun to talk to. But you… And your friends… can be ANYTHING! Which makes YOU so much more fun to talk to." The Voice clasped its hands together in excitement.

It sounded like a child starved for attention who had just gained a new group of friends. Amaterasu nodded in understanding.

"I see. I think it's time I go. There are things I need to do."

The Voice nodded. "Bye, Amaterasu. I'll see you later!"

"Yeah… yeah, you will." Amaterasu looked up into the endless white void and closed her eyes.

Mythara stood inside Dr. Hamilton's lab. He, Dr. Hamilton, and Alpha maintained their silent vigil, watching the 28 Chrysalises that hadn't moved an inch. Dr. Hamilton glanced at Mythara and asked, "Are you sure they're coming out today?"

"I don't know—you're the doctor, you tell me." Mythara joked.

"Seriously, Kenji?" Dr. Hamilton chastised him.

"Look, all I know is that something was supposed to happen today. Whether they all emerge or just a few of them, I don't know." Mythara clarified.

Dr. Hamilton didn't bother asking how he knew; it would just add another question to the long list of inquiries she knew wouldn't receive satisfying answers. Before she could say anything else, Mythara's head snapped toward Amaterasu's Chrysalis. He quickly approached it and watched as cracks began to spread across its surface. A bright red light began to shine through, and Mythara's eyes widened as he realized what was coming.

He extended his hand, and a spatial barrier surrounded the medical pod containing Amaterasu. There was an explosion, and blue and white flames engulfed Amaterasu's naked form. Those flames raged even hotter as Amaterasu's eyes opened, and the fire flashed a deep, dark blue, almost approaching black.

Those flames burst forth, shattering the spatial barrier Mythara had formed and forcing him to shield his face from the intense heat. Alpha did his best to protect Dr. Hamilton, who instantly found it difficult to breathe as those flames devoured all the oxygen in the room.

The threatening heat that could have melted steel and flesh alike began to recede, pulling back into Amaterasu's form like a tide returning to the sea. Yet against all natural law, the flames continued their ethereal dance around her naked body—no longer scorching, but mesmerizing. They flickered between deep azure and pristine white, casting shifting shadows that seemed to breathe with life itself.

Amaterasu descended slowly, her feet touching the lab floor with the grace of a goddess taking her first steps on mortal ground. The flames that wreathed her form dimmed to a gentle luminescence, revealing the profound changes wrought by her transformation. Her eyes, once and enchanting green, now held depths of starlight.

She locked gazes with Mythara, who stood transfixed, his usual composure cracked by something approaching awe. She tilted her head slightly, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips—no longer the uncertain girl who had entered the Chrysalis, but someone who had touched the very essence of creation itself.

In the charged silence that followed, with Dr. Hamilton staring in stunned disbelief and Alpha fighting the urge to bow to her in reverence, two simple words passed between them—a greeting that somehow encompassed the weight of transformation, the joy of emergence, and the promise of what was to come.

"Hi," Mythara said softly, his voice carrying two years of patient waiting.

"Hey," Amaterasu replied, her voice resonating with the universe.

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