Hollow

You've never been a believer. Magic? God? That's all hocus-pocus and lies made up by people who're afraid of dying. And you're not afraid of dying.

To you, there's only one god: power. To live in total and complete control of everyone else, well, that's Nirvana, and you're the boss.

At least, that's what you thought. You knew the "New Atlas" ruse was fake. You knew what Atlas was doing, or rather, who she was when she was doing it. Hopping from body to body, killing every dragon she deemed unfit, you refused to let her take your body for a spin. You joined for the power, the potions, and the gold. Gold in droves, in piles, in heaping mountains, enough to build yourself a house and your pet parrot an ornate cage and enough to bring back your family from the demons in the hills. You didn't sign up for possessions, no matter how persuasive, charming, and beautiful she was.

Then you found it. It was just supposed to be a biannual trip to the swamp to gather the materials needed for your extra rare potions, ones that gave your family back to you in your dreams and made you big and strong and not so hopeless.

Then you felt it, and you'd never felt more helpless in your life.

It was miles away, but you could feel the pure energy thrumming from it anyway. The power was so suffocating, you could barely breath. You wanted that power. You needed it. So you ran to it, and you saw it. A corpse, still on the forest floor as flowers bloomed on top and rabbits burrowed under. eyes open but unfocused, your desperate questions were unanswered. It seemed as though she couldn't see or hear you.

You're a scientist and a healer, aren't you? It's your duty to nurse and study this specimen. So you dragged her back to your home. You spent weeks walking on foot, much longer than it usually would've taken you. She didn't resist or anything, it's just that you couldn't risk anybody happening upon her immense magical signature, and your usual chauffeurs refused to house the creature out of fear. You didn't really mind, though. For a dragon weighed down by taint crystals, she was immensely fast, practiced, her lithe body avoiding the narrowest deaths despite being unable to see. It seemed as though she was using the rope you attached to her feet and mimicking your movements exactly depending on the tugs she had felt. Luckily, you didn't get attacked, not even once. her aura radiated power for miles, scaring off all wild beasts and feral dragons in the vicinity.