This is a followup to Last Dragon

Kuro wandered the now desolate world, desperately trying to find any source of life besides himself. After spending years exploring hundreds of different cities thoroughly and finding nothing but empty, dilapidated buildings, the dragon started to lose all hope. He felt his sanity beginning to drift away, as the stygian suit refused to remove itself from the dragons body, ensuring he cannot pass on into the Afterlife. Kuro eventually stopped in an empty field, just outside the last ruined city he explored. The dragon collapsed to the ground, landing on his back. He looked up at the grey sky and thought about everything that has happened during his extremely long life. He remembered the times spent with Shiro; the adventurers they had been on and the intimate moments they shared together. At this moment, the desire to be reunited with his true love was at its strongest. Kuro also recalled the synth he became close with. Thanks to the technology advancing far enough, synth memories could be transferred to new bodies once their old ones were about to expire. This allowed the two to spend hundreds of years together, in a loving, platonic relationship. He continued to think about the amazing sights he had seen and the knowledge obtained from all the different eras he had lived through. He wanted to share everything with Shiro; it was the griffons dying request that he do so after all. Kuro was ready to terminate his life, but it appears the stygian suit requires Kuro to continue living. Apparently, there is still more for the dragon to see and learn.

The dragon did not move; he continued looking up at the sky, waiting for death. Years passed, nothing changed.

Years turned into decades.
Decades turned into centuries.
Centuries turned into millennia.

Something had changed! The air had a different scent to it.
Kuro arose from the ground and looked at his surroundings. The world was still in ruins, clearly uninhabitable, but something nearby was causing a slight distortion in the air. After carefully smelling the air some more, the dragon could tell the source of this change was coming from the north. After a relatively short journey, Kuro arrived at something he was not expecting. What once had the appearance of an endless sea of black tar, was now a clear blue ocean.

The sight excited the dragon so much, that he plunged into the water without hesitation. While swimming downward, Kuro could feel an unusual sensation around his feet. He looked toward them and saw a transformation taking place. The stygian suit had been a part of Kuro for so long now, that it acquired the ability to alter the appearance of the dragons body. For the time being, it changed his feet to something more appropriate for underwater traversal. A transparent film then covered the dragons eyes, to ensure he can see clearly. Kuro quickly noticed that he also had no issues breathing. In order the prevent the dragon from drowning, the suit occasionally absorbs the oxygen from the surrounding water and transfers it into Kuro's body. The dragon had never actually attempted underwater exploration since obtaining the stygian suit, so this was a new experience for him. It was exhilarating!

Kuro spent some time swimming toward the bottom of the ocean and saw something he had not seen in thousands of years: life. Coral of various colors was growing all along the bottom of the ocean. He moved his hand through the coral, to make sure he was not hallucinating. After confirming that this was not a dream, Kuro began to cry tears of joy. The world was beginning to heal. Perhaps there was hope that humanity may return to this world at some point. The dragon wanted to observe how things progress in this new ecosystem, so he decided to stay underwater for an indefinite amount of time. There was nothing for him on land and the suit seemed willing to make the necessary adjustments to ensure living underwater was viable.

Over time, Kuro watched as things evolved. Living creatures came into existence and slowly developed into small fish. More species came into existence, while others occasionally became extinct. Much larger fish began to populate the ocean, some of which were able to breathe the air above water. This was certainly a positive sign for life returning on land. Kuro developed a bond with several of the sea creatures. Some of the larger mammals would allow him to hold on to their body, while they provide the dragon a faster method of traversal. It was particularly thrilling when a creature would jump out of the water for a few seconds. While Kuro could not communicate verbally with any of these creatures, he was still ecstatic to be interacting with the living once again.

As time moves on, Kuro continues to enjoy spending time with all of his new friends. However, he frequently finds himself checking above water to see if any new life can be found. Perhaps there is a certain species Kuro is waiting for?

This art was inspired by ABZU; a cool underwater exploration video game.
Note: I may make minor changes and additions to the story, as I am not 100% satisfied with it. ^^;

Illustration by   akineza

Commissioned by myself.

Kuro and Shiro are © Kuromino
Artwork is © Akineza