The return to the Cloud Temple after the ice caves is bleak. Tao, Linh, and Kai are exhausted and frozen, but they made it. Two out of three eggs are now safe.

Master Shen greets them with relief. But his face shows concern.
"The Order of the Chain is actively pursuing you now. Bo has had a new dream. At the volcano, they will be waiting for you. This will be your most dangerous test."
"We have no choice," Tao said resolutely. "We need the third egg. Without it, the other two are useless."

"I know. That's why I'm coming with you this time."

"Really?" The three children are surprised.

"The volcano is too dangerous. You will need my help."

Two days later, they set off south. Master Shen accompanied them. The journey lasted a whole week. Each day, it got hotter.

They cross deserts, rocky plains, lands where nothing grows. The air becomes dry and scorching.

Finally, they see the Mount of Eternal Fire. It is an enormous black mountain whose summit smokes. Sometimes, red glows shine from within. The volcano is not truly dormant.

"The egg is at the bottom," said Tao. "In the fire chambers."

But when they arrive at the foot of the volcano, they see that someone is waiting for them.
Six men in black robes are there. The leader is a tall man with cold eyes.

"End of the road, children," he said. "You have been brave. But now, give us the two eggs. We cannot leave you to find the third."
"Why do you want to stop the dragons?" Tao asked. "What did they do to you?"

"Dragons are too powerful. Too dangerous. The Order exists to protect the world from these creatures."

"You're wrong! Dragons aren't monsters!"

"It's not up to you to decide, child."

The men advance. A fight breaks out. Master Shen confronts three men with surprising agility for his age. Kai creates whirlwinds of wind. Linh summons eagles and desert snakes for aid.

Tao understands that he must take advantage of the confusion. He must go and get the last egg now.

"Master Shen!" he shouts. "I'm going to the volcano!"

"Go! We've got your back!"

Tao runs towards the entrance of the volcano. Two men try to pursue him, but Kai creates a wall of wind that blocks them.

Inside the volcano, the heat is incredible. The air burns your lungs. Rivers of lava flow down the sides. Everything is red and orange.

But Tao feels that his dragon blood protects him. The heat doesn't really hurt him. He can breathe the hot air without any problem.

He descends deeper, following the call of the egg. The path is dangerous. Several times, he has to jump over rivers of lava.

Finally, he arrives in a large chamber in the heart of the volcano. There it is. In the center, on a pedestal of black rock, shines the red egg.

It is magnificent. Red like flames, with veins of golden light. It pulses like a heart of fire.

Tao approaches. When he touches the egg, he feels an immediate connection. Stronger than the other two. The red egg vibrates, happy to meet him.

The egg shrinks and Tao puts it in his bag.

But at that moment, something changed within him. He felt the dragon's power explode throughout his body. The three eggs together created a reaction. Golden scales covered his arms and neck. His eyes shone brighter. He felt incredibly powerful.
He runs out of the volcano. Outside, the fight continues. His friends and Master Shen are tired.

But Tao is no longer the same. He raises his hands and, for the first time, breathes true dragon fire. A torrent of golden flames erupts from his mouth, forcing the men in black to retreat.

They look at him with fear and surprise.

"A true dragon child," the chief murmured. "The master was right. It's more serious than we thought."

The men retreated. But the leader shouted as he left: "This isn't over! The Master of the Order will come himself! And no one can stop him!"
They disappear into the desert.

Tao falls to his knees, exhausted. Master Shen approaches and places a hand on his shoulder.
"You have the three eggs. You have completed your quest. Now we must take them back to the temple and protect them until they hatch."

The return to the Cloud Temple after the ordeal in the ice caves is fraught with tension. Tao, Linh, and Kai arrive exhausted, frozen to the bone, but alive and victorious. Two of the three eggs now rest in Tao's bag, balanced in their opposing forces—fire and ice, green and blue.

Master Shen greets them with visible relief, but his expression remains grave. He immediately leads them to his private study, closes the door, and activates a protective spell that makes the walls glow with a pale blue light.

"No one can listen to us now," he said. "We need to have a serious talk."

He sat down, suddenly looking older, more tired. "The Order of the Chain is actively pursuing you. They know everything—your names, your powers, your quest. Worse still, Bo had another dream last night. A very dark dream."

Bo, who was waiting in the office, nodded. His eyes had that distant, troubled quality they take on after his most intense visions. "I saw the volcano. I saw fire and blood. The Order is waiting for you there. Not three men this time—six, maybe more. They're determined to stop you before you get the third egg."

"We'll go anyway," Tao said without hesitation. "We can't stop now. Two eggs without the third are useless. The dragons won't be able to come back."

Master Shen observed Tao for a long time, then smiled slightly. "I knew you would say that. That's why I made a decision. This time, I'm coming with you."
The three children look at him in surprise.

"But master," Linh protested, "the temple... someone must stay to protect it."

"Jun and Ming are competent enough to watch over the temple for a few weeks. No, this mission is too dangerous. The volcano itself is deadly to most humans. And with the Order waiting for you... you'll need all the help you can get."

Two days later, after resting and meticulously preparing their equipment, the four travelers set off south. The journey to Mount Eternal Fire takes a full week, and each day the environment changes.

They leave the cool, temperate mountain regions and descend into warmer, drier lands. Forests give way to grasslands, then to arid lands, and finally to vast rocky deserts where almost nothing grows. The air becomes increasingly hot, dry, and difficult to breathe.

The sun beats down relentlessly during the day. They must travel mainly at dawn and dusk, resting during the hottest hours. At night, strangely, it's almost cold in the desert.

Master Shen teaches them techniques for conserving water, finding shade, and reading the signs of the desert. Linh communicates with the few animals that live here—snakes, lizards, scorpions—who show them where to find water hidden under the rocks.

On the fifth day, they began to see Mount Eternal Fire on the horizon. At first, it appeared as a dark shadow against the sky, then gradually grew larger and more imposing. It was a massive mountain of black volcanic rock, its summit constantly surrounded by gray smoke and ash. Even from a distance, they could see red glows inside the crater—the lava bubbling in its depths.

"He's not really asleep," Kai murmured, impressed and worried. "He's still active."

"Yes," confirms Master Shen. "The Eternal Fire Mountain erupts approximately every hundred years. The last eruption wasninety years old. He could wake up completely at any moment."

"Great," Kai muttered. "So not only do we have to face the Order, but the volcano could also erupt while we're inside."

Tao feels the egg's pull now, stronger than ever. It's a call of fire, of pure heat, of volcanic power. Its pendant is so hot against his chest it almost leaves a mark. But strangely, the heat doesn't hurt—it's comforting, familiar.

On the seventh day, in the late afternoon, they arrived at the foot of the volcano. The earth here was black and cracked. Fissures released sulfurous steam. The air smelled of sulfur and ash.

And there, just as Bo had predicted, someone was waiting for them.

Six men dressed in black robes stand before the volcano's main entrance—a large fissure in the mountainside from which a constant red glow emanates. These men look different from the previous ones. More trained. More dangerous. They carry fighting sticks and have hard, determined expressions.

In the center stands their leader - a tall man with cold, steely grey eyes, a face marked by numerous scars. He radiates authority and danger.

"End of the road, children," he said in a deep, relentless voice. "I must acknowledge your courage. You have succeeded where many adults would have failed. You have found two of the three eggs. But this quest ends here."
Master Shen stepped forward, standing in front of the children. "Commander Voss. I suspected the Order would send its best."

The man smiled coldly. "Master Shen. It's been a long time. Ten years? You haven't changed."

"Do you know each other?" Tao asks, surprised.

"We have... a history," Master Shen said cautiously. "Commander Voss and I were once allies. Before he joined the Order of the Chain."
"I chose the right side," Voss retorted. "The side of safety and order. The dragons are too dangerous to be allowed back."

"Dragons are not monsters," Tao said passionately, stepping forward despite Master Shen's hand trying to hold him back. "They were imprisoned and nearly exterminated out of fear and ignorance. They deserve a second chance!"

Voss looks at him with something that almost resembles pity. "You're young. You don't understand. Five hundred years ago, when dragons were free, the world was in chaos. Entire villages burned. Wars started by dragons taking sides. Too much power in the hands of creatures we couldn't control. The Order was created to protect humanity from this danger. And we succeeded. The world has been at peace since the dragons disappeared."

"You imprisoned them, tortured them!" Tao shouted, feeling anger rising within him. "Long has been chained in a cave for five hundred years! How is that justice?"

"It's a necessity," Voss said coldly. "Now, enough talk. Give us the two eggs you have. Do that, and you can leave. Refuse, and we'll take them by force."

"Never," said Tao with iron determination.

Voss sighed. "I hoped so. The men - take them."

The six men stepped forward. Master Shen assumed a fighting stance, suddenly clutching his bamboo staff. "Children, stay behind me."

But Kai and Linh don't back down. Kai raises his hands, summoning the wind. Linh whistles, and desert creatures begin to emerge—snakes, scorpions, even a great eagle thatdescends from the sky.

The fight breaks out. It's chaotic and violent. Master Shen faces three men at once, his staff moving so fast it's almost invisible, blocking attacks, striking with precision. Despite his age, he moves like a young man, using a form of martial arts the children have never seen.
Kai creates whirlwinds of wind that lift sand and stones, temporarily blinding the attackers. He repels them again and again, but they are drawn in and resist.

Linh coordinates the animals, creating distractions, tripping the men, but she cannot really stop them.

Tao looks at all this and suddenly understands something: they can't win this fight. They are outnumbered. The Order's men are too well-trained. Even with Master Shen's help, they will lose.

But there is another option. While the others are fighting, while all the Order's attention is on them... he can go and retrieve the last egg.
"Master Shen!" he shouts over the din of the fight. "I'm going to the volcano!"
Master Shen blocks an attack and glances quickly at Tao. He understands immediately. "Go! We've got your back! But hurry!"

Tao runs towards the entrance of the volcano. Two of the men try to pursue him, but Kai creates a wall of wind so powerful that they cannot pass.

Voss shouts: "Stop him!"

But Tao is already inside the fissure, running through the tunnels of black rock.

The volcano's interior is a world of fire and molten rock. The heat is indescribable—intense enough to kill a normal human in minutes. The air is thick with smoke and sulfurous steam. Rivers of orange and red lava flow down the walls, creating a terrifying, dancing light. The constant roar of fire echoes everywhere.

But Tao discovers that his dragon blood completely protects him. The heat that should burn him is simply... comfortable. He can breathe the scorching air without difficulty. When he accidentally touches a white-hot rock, his hand doesn't get burned.

He descends deeper, following the call of the egg which is now almost deafening in his mind. It is like a song of fire, calling him towards the heart of the volcano.

The path is dangerous despite its protection. He has to jump over fissures from which lava gushes, climb on unstable rocks, and avoid jets of scalding steam.

Finally, after what seemed like hours and minutes, he arrived at a massive magma chamber in the very heart of the volcano. It was a colossal cavern, its walls pulsing with flowing lava. At its center was a lake of boiling lava, glowing with an intense orange that hurt the eyes.
And there, on a black rock pedestal in the middle of the lava lake, accessible only by a narrow stone bridge, shines the red egg.

It is the most magnificent of the three. Red like the hottest flames, with veins of golden light pulsing like arteries of living fire. It radiates warmth and power. Tao can almost feel the little dragon inside, dreaming of fire and flight.

Tao carefully crosses the stone bridge. Even he feels the heat here—not painful, but intense, almost overwhelming. Every step is calculated. A fall into the lava lake would mean death, even for him.

He reaches the pedestal and extends his hands toward the egg. The moment his fingers touch it, a burst of energy surges through him. It's completely different from the other two eggs. This one resonates deeply withits dragon essence. The connection is immediate, intense, almost overwhelming.

The egg vibrates beneath his hands, and Tao senses something extraordinary happening. The three eggs—the green one in his bag, the blue one in his bag, and the red one in his hands—suddenly resonate with each other. They react to one another, forming a triangle of power.

And with this resonance, something in Tao is unlocked.

His dragon blood, partially dormant until now, awakens fully. Golden scales spread across his arms, neck, and cheeks. His eyes gleam with an intense golden light. He feels his strength multiply tenfold. His senses become ultra-sharp. And for the first time, he feels wings—not physical, not yet, but energetic—unfurl from his back.

The egg shrinks and Tao carefully places it in his bag with the other two. He can feel all three of them now, beating in unison like three synchronized hearts.

He runs out of the volcano, feeling more powerful and alive than ever. The transformation isn't complete—he hasn't become a dragon—but he has become something between human and dragon. A true dragon child.

When he emerges from the volcano's fissure, the battle is still raging. Master Shen is exhausted, bleeding from a cut on his forehead. Kai is on his knees, having used too much power. Linh tries to protect them both.

The men of the Order advance for the final attack.

But then Tao arrives.

He stands there, transformed, shining with a golden light. The men stop, surprised and frightened.

"Impossible," Voss murmured. "A partial transformation? At her age?"
Tao felt the dragon's power flow through him like a river of fire. He raised his hands, opened his mouth, and for the first time in his life, breathed real dragon fire.

A torrent of golden flames erupts, not to harm but to repel. The fire creates a wall between them and the Order, forcing the men to retreat.

Voss looks at Tao with a mixture of fear and... respect? "A true dragon child," he says softly. "Not just someone with a little diluted blood. You are the true heir."

He signals to his men. "Retreat. For now. But listen to me, child!" he shouts as they begin to leave. "The Master of the Order knows now. He will come himself. And he... no one can stop him. Enjoy your victory while you can."

The men disappear into the desert, leaving the four travelers exhausted but victorious.

Tao falls to his knees, the transformation slowly dissipating. The scales disappear, his eyes return to normal. But he feels changed forever.
Master Shen approaches, places a hand on his shoulder. Despite his injury, he smiles.

"You have the three eggs. You have completed your quest. The hardest part is over."
"But it's not over yet," said Tao, thinking of Voss's words. "The Master of the Order is coming."
"Yes. But now we must take the eggs back to the temple. There, we will protect them until they hatch. And when the baby dragons are born... Long will be freed. That is what the prophecy says."

Tao gazes northward, toward the distant temple. The return journey will be long. And somewhere, the master of the Order is preparing.

But for now, they have won. The three eggs are reunited. The dragons' hope lives on.