Chapter 622: Choice and Decision (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 622: Choice and Decision (3)
The man who had only ever worn a faint smile or a stoic mask…
…showed a look of genuine surprise for the first time since hearing the word ‘pureblood.’
“Huh.”
“Am I right?”
“How did you know?”
“It was mostly a hunch.”
I had simply voiced the hypothesis that seemed most plausible among several. It just happened to be a lucky hit.
“I was about to tell you anyway. Now that you've guessed it, the fun is gone.”
It was absurd that he was still looking for amusement in a situation like this.
[Isn't it boring?]
That bastard Yuseon was always looking for "fun," too.
Anyway.
‘…So that’s why.’
Listening to the Lord, I finally understood something that hadn’t made sense before.
If there was an Ice Crystal holding back the severe cold, and if the Lord’s life force was what sustained it…
‘…then it’s not strange that the Ice Palace's bloodline has been preserved for the sake of the North.’
A doubt arose—couldn't someone else have seized power, kidnapped the native bloodline, and imprisoned them solely to use them as a battery for that life force?
But the fact that it didn't happen meant there was a reason for that, too.
“Just as you predicted, Young Master. The Lord is required to maintain the Ice Crystal. To be precise, for the safety of the North.”
I looked at the Lord as he spoke.
The Lord, who was already half-transformed into a dragon.
After hearing his story, I thought I could vaguely understand the reason for his appearance.
‘Dragons possess a tenacious life force.’
The reason the curse bloomed and triggered dragonization…
Could it be a forced shedding, meant to sustain the Ice Crystal?
If so…
‘What a fucking bastard.’
I was beginning to understand just what a son of a bitch that Dragon Emperor really was.
On one hand, he installed a device to unleash a lethal cold. On the other, he created a contradiction where that cold had to be held back using a living sacrifice's life force.
It meant they had to forcibly prolong their lives just to maintain the balance.
He even planted a power in the name of a curse to make the whole system run smoothly.
‘…Does that mean the Ice Crystal is that necessary?’
Or… was there another reason?
I didn't know which it was, but the fact remained: he had plunged the North into a frozen hell for centuries for his own purposes.
‘To wait for the one called ‘pureblood’.’
The curse was planted for that reason.
And that pureblood…
‘…is me.’
Now, it has become me, and I have found my way here.
Regardless of what it all meant, it was true that I was the one standing in this situation now.
‘Wait a minute.’
As I was thinking, a question arose from the Lord's words.
“Your son, that bastard Yuseon, was also a dragon. Does that mean he is the next Lord?”
Dragonization, just like the Lord.
No, he was even more clearly draconic.
Since he was in a dragon state, if the Lord was right, didn't that mean he was the next in line?
When I asked about this…
“That is correct.”
“…!”
My eyes widened at his words.
“The formal procedures were not followed, but that is what would have been.”
“…Not followed?”
“Originally, when the position of Lord is passed on, the curse is lifted.”
The curse is lifted when the position is passed on.
This…
‘…seems like a similar rule to the Yeon Clan's curse.’
Theirs was lifted upon having a child.
This way seemed better, but…
“And the one who was the Lord, upon the curse being lifted, dies on the spot.”
…I was about to think that, but this seemed just as fucked up.
You become the Lord, endure having your life force drained, and then die the moment you pass on the burden?
Isn't that too miserable a life?
‘So that's why it's a curse.’
Hearing the Lord's words made the reality sink in. However…
“But how are you still alive?”
It might be a cruel question, but I had to ask.
If that bastard inherited the position, how could you still be breathing?
If the Lord's condition is still like this, then what does that make Yuseon?
At my question, the Lord fell silent for a moment, his expression grave.
Was he choosing his words, or was he lost in thought?
I couldn't tell.
I endured the silence and waited for an answer.
Finally, the Lord looked at me and began to speak.
“The position of Lord has been passed on. My gradually collapsing body is proof of that.”
Hearing this, I examined the Lord's body again.
A body that was slowly crumbling.
‘So his physical condition is a side effect of the position being passed on?’
I heard death was supposed to be immediate. Contrary to his words, the Lord was slowly approaching his end.
“The reason for this is likely a complication that occurred because the procedure was not followed correctly.”
The Lord immediately followed up with an explanation for my unspoken question.
“It was not a succession, but a usurpation. A problem must have occurred with the rules of the curse.”
He forcibly took the position.
In that process, the curse glitched.
‘So his slow death is also because of that.’
That means…
‘…that bastard Yuseon forcibly seized the Lord's position.’
What reason could he have had?
‘What's so good about it?’
From what I've heard, there doesn't seem to be a single advantage to being the Lord.
Not only does the curse activate and turn you into a dragonoid the moment you take the seat, but even if your body becomes stronger, your life force is sucked away by the Ice Crystal.
Was there any need to go out of his way to steal it?
‘If he had kept this a secret from his children, it might be possible.’
But from what Yuri mentioned, they knew about it to some extent, even if not perfectly.
Given the situation, I still couldn't understand Yuseon's motive.
Just then.
“The position of Lord…”
The Lord added, speaking to me as I was lost in thought.
“…is a position one obtains only by being chosen by the Ice Crystal.”
Chosen by the Ice Crystal?
“Normally, the Lord makes the choice, and the Ice Crystal accepts the result.”
Ssk.
The Lord reached out and stroked the spherical Ice Crystal.
“The fact that things turned out this way means the Ice Crystal chose that child.”
The Ice Crystal chose Yuseon.
What difference would that make?
I had no way of knowing.
The important thing was…
“So, what is his goal, and what am I supposed to do here?”
What was Yuseon trying to do by obtaining the Lord's position, and what was the Lord's purpose in bringing me here?
And on top of that…
“What is a pureblood?”
The most important question.
What on earth was a pureblood?
What was it that made the Dragon Emperor place the Ice Crystal here and wait for the arrival of a pureblood?
‘And why is that role now mine?’
It was time to solve all these mysteries.
The Lord smiled at my question.
“A pureblood is one who has ascended through their own enlightenment, not through the transformation brought by the blooming.”
“...”
“A being who shattered their own vessel and ascended to dragonhood with their own power. That is what is called a pureblood. So the legend goes.”
I had to frown at his words.
‘Shatter the vessel with my own power?’
Ridiculous.
That was the furthest thing from what I was.
A being who became a dragon not through a curse or a blooming, but by shattering their vessel…
If that's what they called a pureblood, it might be correct in meaning, but…
‘…that's the complete opposite of me.’
I was a mongrel who had swallowed all sorts of fortunate encounters and lived with unknown beings inside my body.
I was the one least suited to the words 'by oneself.'
‘And I'm the pureblood?’
That couldn't be right.
“In the first place, one cannot become a dragon just by shattering the vessel… Young Master Gu. There must have been a bloodline hidden within you that made it possible.”
Hearing that, I thought of the Blood Demon and my mother.
“I believe you finally reached it because you possessed the talent to shatter your vessel.”
‘Bullshit.’
I almost cursed at the Lord's words but managed to hold it back.
Something was wrong.
In my past life, I never became a dragon, nor did I ever reach the North.
That meant I would never have found this place.
Unless he predicted my regression, there's no way he would have created this situation.
This means…
‘…someone else was supposed to come here, not me.’
I recalled it as I listened to the Lord.
Wasn't there someone who left the Ice Crystal here in the first place?
The Dragon Emperor.
No.
‘The Blood Demon.’
The Ice Crystal was his.
I don't know if he was a pureblood or what.
But if…
‘…what if he anticipated his own resurrection and placed the Ice Crystal here in advance?’
Or, if he intended to send someone else to see this.
‘He couldn't have made this expecting me to come. That's the most likely possibility.’
Which means…
‘…is it right to think of this as a failsafe left by the Blood Demon?’
The Blood Demon was, in fact, already pulling strings by borrowing someone else's body.
It would be more correct to see it that way.
‘Maybe he didn't know either.’
That someone would meet the conditions and become a pureblood dragon.
That they would end up arriving here. Maybe he didn't know that either.
That's what I thought.
This was a complicated path.
Since these thoughts wouldn't lead to a proper conclusion…
“…So, what is Yuseon's goal? You're saying it's not simply a rebellion, right?”
I decided to ask about Yuseon first.
“He obtained the Lord's position, and you are dying from the aftermath. It can't be just a simple rebellion, can it?”
“...”
It wasn't an act to gain the Lord's position.
I could tell from the current Lord's explanation.
Then what is it?
The reason Yuseon, who became a dragon, is doing this.
“That is probably…”
The Lord pointed to the Ice Crystal with his hand again.
“…because he wishes to obtain that Ice Crystal.”
“What?”
I had to express my doubt immediately.
“He wants the Ice Crystal?”
“If he became a dragon by being chosen, he would need this to become more complete.”
What does that mean?
He needs this Ice Crystal to become more complete.
Besides…
“Then, shouldn't you be the last person to be here?”
I found something strange in the Lord's words.
“If he wants this Ice Crystal, you shouldn't have chosen this place as a hideout…!”
Ah.
I realized it as I was speaking.
No way.
“You…”
The Lord, from the very beginning…
“…have you been waiting?”
Here.
Was the Lord waiting for Yuseon?
He didn't flee to a hideout; he was waiting for him?
The Lord neither confirmed nor denied it, but I was already certain.
I was right.
“For what…? Why are you waiting?”
“Because what has been twisted must be set right.”
“Then you should have accepted my treatment.”
His deteriorating body.
I wasn't sure if I could lift the curse, but I should have at least tried.
But the Lord had clearly refused my treatment back then.
He said he had no intention of receiving it.
“If I accept that, I cannot stop that child.”
The Lord admitted he was waiting for his enemy here.
“What do you mean?”
“When one becomes the Lord, one learns many things.”
A faint tremor ran through the Lord's hand as it touched the Ice Crystal.
“What lies within this Ice Crystal. Why it is called both an egg and a heart.”
Also.
“And what will happen if this Ice Crystal hatches as an egg.”
“Hatches…?”
At the Lord's words, I too looked at the Ice Crystal.
Hatches? Does he mean it's really an egg?
If that's true, what's inside it?
“If that child's goal was simply the position of Lord, I would have given it to him anytime. However.”
The Lord's vertically slit eyes gleamed as he spoke.
“I can tell. That child's goal is not the position, but the hatching.”
Yuseon's goal is to make the Ice Crystal hatch.
And he will come here for that purpose.
“So, you're saying you'll stop Yuseon when he comes? With that broken body of yours?”
“Because that is the surest way.”
Not refuge, but waiting.
That was why the Lord was waiting in the hideout, right in front of the iron door.
Then.
“What is the reason you brought me here?”
In the end, what was the reason for bringing me to the Ice Crystal?
After all was said and done, this was the most important question.
What I have to do here.
What did the Lord want from me? When I asked that…
“That, I do not know.”
“What?”
I was momentarily dumbfounded by his answer.
“You don't know? Then why did you bring me here?”
“I simply brought you here according to karma. I know nothing beyond that.”
“This is another headache.”
He brought me here because he knew I was a pureblood, but he doesn't know what I'm supposed to do?
Just as I was wondering what the hell I was supposed to do…
“The fact that I do not know means that you do.”
The Lord said to me.
“If I knew, why would I be asking you, my Lo—”
“You simply do not know because you have not yet decided.”
“…!”
“Is that not so?”
I had to shut my mouth at the Lord's words.
“It means you cannot see because you have not found your way.”
[I see. So that's why.]
Yuseon's words overlapped with his.
‘I don't know the answer because I haven't decided?’
Am I a dragon?
Or am I a human?
Because I haven't decided, I don't know what I'm supposed to do here.
Could that really be it?
Even now, the situation was pressing me to make a choice.
It was a damn nuisance, but…
I already knew.
That it was long, long overdue.
Whether the Lord's words were true or not, regardless of all that…
[How pathetic.]
Even though I failed to choose and had something taken from me…
…it meant I was still standing at a crossroads, harboring this foolish hesitation.
“…Do you also wish for me to choose?”
“I do not know. I do not know your life, so I cannot offer advice or meddle. All I know is this.”
His vertically slit pupils turned to me.
“That as you are now, you seem to be lacking a great deal to achieve anything.”
“...”
Just failing to make up my mind.
Why was it such a problem that it made everything so difficult?
I didn't know.
I didn't want to know.
But.
‘Damn it.’
It was something I had realized right after meeting Yuseon.
The feeling I had at that moment—limp and powerless—as Woo Hyuk was taken from me.
The anxiety I felt later, when I woke up and embraced Namgung Bi-ah, that someday she too might be taken from me.
Feeling that, I understood.
That I was far too lacking to be greedy on my own terms.
‘I said I wouldn't care about the means, but I didn't follow through.’
The reason was simple.
—I want to live as a human.
That one, pathetic desire.
In my past life as a human, I couldn't live like one, so now that I had regressed, I wanted to live differently.
Even with the body of a dragon.
I wanted to be human.
It was that kind of longing.
A pathetic, miserable hesitation.
It was holding me back, dragging this out until now.
‘...’
I thought as I looked at the Ice Crystal.
My gaze was on the crystal, but my mind was picturing others.
A few faces flashed through my mind, and then I closed my eyes.
“…Can you give me a moment?”
No answer came.
It would be more accurate to say I wasn't listening for one.
I kept thinking.
The hesitation of wondering what would change even if I erased my doubts and reached a conclusion.
I still held onto it.
Funnily enough, I had known how to choose for a long time.
I had just been looking away.
Pretending to agonize over it, pushing it back, and then pushing it back again.
I just wanted to postpone it for even a moment longer.
Whoosh—!
When I closed my eyes and opened them again…
“...”
I was standing in a world scorched black and turned to ash.
There was no need to wonder where I was.
‘Because I already knew.’
This was my inner world.
A place I could have gone to at any time, a place I could have faced at any time.
This was the hesitation that had stopped me.
In a world where everything had burned away, leaving nothing behind.
A tiny space that had barely survived the flames.
I walked toward it.
[Hic... Hooooo...!]
I could hear crying.
[Hwaaaaaah....]
In a world where only flames blazed.
The sound of a child's cry echoed.
Crunch.
I stepped on the ashes and walked toward the sound of crying.
[…Mooommy… Mooooommyyy!]
In the ruined world, a place that had barely escaped the fire.
A child was wailing for his mother, terrified that if he moved even a little, he would burn up and disappear.
I stood on the burnt ground and looked at the child.
[Hwaaah... Waaaaah... I don't want this....]
Eyes that looked fierce for a child.
Eyes and nose red and swollen from crying so much.
A body curled up and trembling in fear.
It was what I looked like in my childhood.
And also.
It was the form of my last remaining hesitation as a human.
[Mooommy……!! I'm scared…!! Where did you go…!]
“...”
I had to give a bitter smile watching him cry so sorrowfully.
“Nice to see you.”
And then I said.
“Wanna have a little talk with your big brother?”
It was time.
Time to finally end this.