* * *
The Grand Duke lowered his gaze briefly before raising it again.
He spoke carefully, addressing the dragon.
“May I ask why you sought me out?”
“You came here to meet me, yet you ask why I sought you?”
“I found it strange that the late Emperor entrusted the Empress Dowager with an orb connected to a northern ruin, a place known to no one else. That led me to this thought—”
The dragon remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
“What if the late Emperor’s illness wasn’t an illness at all, but rather a symptom caused by communing with a dragon while his body was unwell?”
Recalling the heat he had felt when he first awakened, the Grand Duke concluded his thoughts.
“A wise and perceptive child,” the dragon said.
“Yes, I showed him the future he so desperately wished to see after his passing.”
“….”
“But it was the late Emperor’s choice to pass the orb to you and lead you to meet me.”
“….”
“And it was the Empress Dowager who carried it to the distant north to place it in your hands.”
The dragon’s gaze softened.
“I can show much, and grant great power, but in the end, the one who accepts it, creates with it, and builds upon it is—”
The dragon paused, looking kindly at the Grand Duke.
“The will of those who carry even a fragment of my blood, those who wish for a better world. All I do is support them and grant a little strength.”
When the dragon finished speaking, a silence fell over the space.
The Grand Duke, deep in thought, examined his surroundings closely.
Legend said the dragon who founded the Empire, after driving out the evil beings of the land and passing the throne to its child, had vanished to spend its days with its mate, whose lifespan was unlike its own.
“So this is the place.”
The nest of the dragon and its beloved.
After its mate’s death, the dragon had fallen into slumber, awakening only to bestow blessings and miracles upon its descendants before returning to rest.
“The murals must capture their memories together.”
Recalling how he and Ed had fallen into this place, the Grand Duke looked again at the mural, this time at the depiction of a black dragon.
The dragon’s gaze followed his.
“You’re wondering why a black dragon is painted in my golden lair.”
“….”
“Before I met my mate, my golden form was tainted by the curses of the vile beings I fought, darkening me.”
“….”
“But thanks to my mate, who used his abilities to lift that curse, I was restored. Without him, history would have remembered me as a black dragon, like the flag of the northern territories.”
The dragon smiled gently, almost as if withholding the words, ‘Just like you and Ed.’
“Even a dragon’s strength fades and weakens with time.”
“….”
“After my mate’s passing, and after granting power to my child, I fell into slumber again. Upon learning that my child’s child had been born, I bestowed a blessing before falling asleep once more.”
The Grand Duke listened intently.
“With each blessing passed to my descendants, my power waned, and my slumbers grew longer.”
“….”
“That’s why, when you awakened the dragon’s power, there were deficiencies.”
The Grand Duke glanced at his fingertips.
“After granting several blessings, I fell into another deep slumber, but I awoke when I heard voices nearby.”
“Was it Ed and me?”
The dragon nodded subtly.
“I can’t tell you how ticklish my ears felt listening to the two of you talk,” the dragon remarked softly.
“While you were chatting away about this and that while looking at the mural, I wondered if you might start badmouthing me. I almost decided to show myself then.”
The Grand Duke recalled the conversation from that time, thinking of Ed.
Noticing his expression, the dragon chuckled lightly before continuing.
“While I listened to your words, my heart stirred as well. Memories of my mate came flooding back.”
The dragon’s voice, filled with nostalgia, reverberated faintly in the cave as if recalling cherished moments shared with his partner.
“And when the two of you placed your hands on the orb at the entrance, I felt it—the power surging through my body.”
The Grand Duke looked up at the dragon.
“As I mentioned earlier, my seemingly eternal strength had waned over the centuries. When the energy returned, I thought it was because your words reminded me of the time I spent with my mate.”
“…”
“But that wasn’t it. It was because the two of you touched my orb together. Since then, the strength has not returned.”
The Grand Duke silently gazed at the dragon.
“And that, I believe, is because you and your partner, Ed, are destined mates.”
“…Did you say destined mates?”
“Yes, Asnel Lyndon.” The dragon, who had been quietly watching the Grand Duke, finally spoke again.
“You are ready to face the truth.”
“You are ready to face the truth.”
As the dragon’s words echoed, the Grand Duke nodded.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the space.
He felt the weight on his shoulders increase, and when he looked down, a small lizard sat perched there.
The lizard opened its mouth with a hiss, releasing a tiny flame.
In an instant, his vision was engulfed in darkness, and the scenery shifted.
Before the Grand Duke’s eyes appeared the former emperor in his forties and the high priest of the past, deep in conversation.
“A prophecy has descended?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It foretells that the scar plunging the empire into suffering will be healed through the meeting of the power of the northern dragon’s blood and the light imbued with the spirit of the frozen lake.”
The emperor questioned, “A scar?”
“Perhaps it refers to the rift,” the high priest suggested.
“Ah, I see. But if it’s about the one bearing the spirit of the frozen lake…”
“Based on our investigations, it likely refers to the Zelda clan.”
“The Zelda clan?”
At that moment, the Grand Duke’s attention shifted elsewhere.
A murmured “The Zelda clan?”—from a voice unfamiliar to him—broke into the scene.
He spotted someone eavesdropping on the conversation from the corner of the temple hall.
It was Fez, who was still the crown prince.
Suddenly, the scene changed again.
The darkness deepened into the night.
Rustling noises accompanied two figures pushing through the underbrush, climbing a mountainside.
“This way! They fled this way! Find them!”
Behind them, horses neighed, their hooves striking relentlessly against the earth.
The man running ahead, holding a woman’s hand, glanced back.
“Hang in there, Bey.”
But the woman shook her head.
“If we keep this up, we’ll all die.”
Below the mountainside, their village—a settlement built by the frozen lake—burned.
Flames devoured the homes of their people, turning everything into ash.
Bey tried to pull her hand away, but the man holding her hand, cradling a child in his other arm, refused to let go.
“I’ll distract them. Run, Bey.”
He moved to hand the child to her.
The baby, swaddled in blankets, shifted slightly, and for a brief moment, the Grand Duke caught sight of the infant’s face.
“…Ed?”
His eyes widened.
He was certain.
The pale blonde hair and fair complexion—it was Ed, mere days after his birth.
The realization struck him like lightning.
Unconsciously, he reached out, desperate to help.
But his outstretched hand passed through them as though he were nothing but a ghost.
“Hurry, Bey,” the man urged, his hands trembling as he held out the child.
However, Bey stood firm.
“You know we can’t do that, Den.”
They had managed to buy a sliver of time, but Bey knew it wouldn’t last.
Den’s face contorted with anguish.
He noticed the blood seeping through her hand, pressed tightly against her abdomen.
Overcome with despair, he wanted to hold her, to comfort her, but she pushed him away.
“We don’t have much time,” Bey reminded him.
“The way they’ve brought so many mages—it’s no ordinary band of thieves.”
Her gaze lifted to the sky.
Den’s heart sank as he guessed what she intended to do.
* * *
