A/N: This is my first ever requested story, so I am going to try and do it all the justice it deserved. Feel free to comment with ideas, feedback, and reviews! Here we go!

Chapter 1: Prologue

A child was sitting on the banks of the lake, sniffling with tears running down his three year old face. His stomach growled in protest at another night without food. He was determined not to die in the forest alone, as he had been as long as he could remember, but what was he to do? He'd tried five times to steal food from the nearby village and all the times had been unsuccessful. Just thinking of it made fresh tears pour down his face.

"Why are you crying?"

The child turned slowly to face the tone as cold as ice on exposed skin.

The speaker was a rather muscular young man with long, dark blue colored hair and a sharp accusing gaze. His skin was tanned with black circles around his eyes and a light blue marking on his arms and face. He wore a high collared black cloak with sharp red claws around his neck, a sash around his waist, a gold arm ring tightened around his right upper arm, and baggy pants. The man ran his dark cruel eyes over the child's face again and repeated himself.

"Why are you crying?"

"I'm hungry," the child replied.

"Get food," the man commanded.

"I tried but," the child sniffed, rubbing his hand under his nose. "N-n-n-no one would share."

"Pathetic," he observed, staring at the child as if unmoved by tears. He reaching into his pocket pulled out an apple, tossing it towards the child's general direction.

The child caught it, surprised by the man, the interaction, and the world as it was. He took a bite the apple. It was sweet, though its skin had a scorched taste to it- like no apple the child had ever tasted. He gazed at the man as he chewed, stomach growling with happiness. Who was this man with such apples in his pockets?

The man turned without another word and began to walk away from the lake, into the forest near by and the child, for reasons that he could not explain to himself, stood and followed. They walked in silence for a long time, long after the apple had finished. As the sun moved across the sky the child followed the man, who did not the man not provide a single glance to acknowledge his new shadow. It wasn't until sunset began to fall that the man stopped at the mouth of a cave and finally turned to the child behind him.

Without a word the man transformed into a large black dragon decorated by spiraling, blue markings. His lower body, specifically his chin, chest, stomach, inner tail, thighs, and arms, were gray in color. The dragon had white and beady eyes that watched the child's surprised face, though there seemed to be no fear in the child's eyes. The Dragon opened his mouth, revealing razor-sharp teeth, and spread his almost feather like wings. Lifting his snout towards the sky he roared with so much ferocity that for a moment, the child thought his heart had stopped beating. Still, the child remained standing and motionless, a small three year old child in the shadow of such a beast.

The dragon transformed back into the man, watching the child with his unreadable expression.

"What is your name,boy," he asked coldly.

"I don't have a name."

"Don't have one?"

"No one gave me one."

The man looked at the boy distastefully. "You remind me of a boy I once knew. He was also weak and crying. Still, he did what he needed to survive, until the dragons took away his choice in the matter. I will call you Riku."

"Riku," Riku repeated, tasting the name on his tongue.

"You are weak, Riku, but I will make you strong."

Riku nodded.

"I am Acnologia, King of the Dragons, destroyer of dragons."

"Acnologia," Riku repeated.

"Now go get yourself fish for your dinner." Acnologia turned away and disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Riku watched him leave, wondering if this new feeling was what it meant to exist in the world.

...

The next few years flew by in a scattering of colors and noises. Acnologia taught him magic and helped him train, promising "one day we'll use your dark dragon slayer magic to destroy the last dragons- the god dragons who escaped me once before." Sometimes, Riku was sent into nearby villages or cities to gather information. A few cities were destroyed, though Riku couldn't explain how. Some city-dwellers, now refugees in their own lands, muttered about a dragon of chaos and destruction, but Riku paid them no mind. Acnologia seemed unworried and so Riku was sure there was no concern to be had. As far as he could tell, he was a shy, quiet boy living a shy, quiet life.

Until Acnologia went away.

It had started as any other day. Riku had risen with the sun and trotted over to the small pond near the cave Acnologia had chosen for their home. His blue eyes peered into the pond, using some water to try and stick down his wild dark brown hair. It rebelled, as always, until the eight year old sighed and gave up, setting up his fishing line and tossing the hook in. He propped the line against a rock, wedging another behind it to hold it in place. He waited patiently for a tug on the line, using the time to focus on his meditation for his training. Closing his eyes, he attempted to take in as much power as he could.

"The more ethernano, the more power," he muttered, repeating the mantra Acnologia had taught him. A tug on the line pulled his attention away and he continued on with his day.

By noon, Acnologia had still not appeared from the cave, so Riku ventured inside to find it empty within. Riku scratched his head in thought. Perhaps he'd gone on a quick trip? "He usually takes me if he goes somewhere," Riku replied to himself. Perhaps it was extra dangerous? The last piece of intel Riku had provided hadn't jarred any reaction from Acnologia, but perhaps he'd decided it was important and went to investigate. "He'll be back by nightfall," Riku said with a sigh. He shivered from the cold of the cave and moved back outside, where the warm sun felt much nicer.

Nightfall came, but Acnologia did not. He didn't return the next day or the next week or the next month. By the time the cold breeze of autumn began to blow, Riku had to come to face the facts. Acnologia was not coming back.

Riku feel onto his knees next to the pond, staring at a passing fish. He'd been abandoned. Left again to be alone, for good. This time, though, Riku did not feel tears of sadness prickling his eyes. Instead, staring at his reflection with its wild dark brown hair and blue eyes, he felt a rage bubbling in his stomach. It seemed to move into his chest, forming into a ball tightly against his heart. His ears were pounding with fury, it felt like his chest might combust from the rage within it. He leaned forward, holding on hand to his chest and using the other to hold himself up. He squeezed his eyes close, willing the rage to go away and for the pain to release.

Then suddenly, it did. Riku opened his eyes, letting out a ragged breath, feeling more tired than angry or sad. He sat up again to look at the pond, but it was gone. The dried soil was cracked, leaving only a few flapping fish in the crevice of the once pond, others lay dead already. Riku looked over his shoulder to the forest behind him, but found it had also disappeared. In its place were dead and knocked over trees, some trunks that looked as if a creature had torn the rest of the tree from its place.

What had happened? Riku stood and looked from the forest, to the pond, to his hands. Was this from that rage that had come and gone so quickly? Had he released it to destroy the nature around him when he urged it to leave before he exploded?

He moved into the dried pond and collected three of the still flopping fish for dinner. He'd worry about all of that later. Right now he needed to focus on his own survival.

He was Riku, son of Acnologia, dark dragon slayer, and he would survive no matter what.

Thanks for reading & I hope you enjoyed this intro! Review if you feel inclined!