The Ancestors' Gaze
The body tied to the Beginning—the evil dragon Ditronos, who once brought calamity across the entire Drango Continent. Using the demonic power he had accumulated through forbidden means, he sought to engulf the whole continent in darkness. He aimed to cover the land with corrupted spiderwebs and turn it into his own lair. Yet his ambition could never be realized. The other primordial dragons had stepped in to stop him. And what unfolded in that struggle was the First Evil Dragon War.
The primordial dragons who led the charge in that war were none other than the “ancestors” now enshrined in the Temple. The First Evil Dragon War ended in victory for the ancestors. But it was not a perfect victory. Ditronos’s power had proven far stronger than expected, and sealing him away was the best they could manage. Six ancestors in total succeeded in sealing Ditronos. They were beings born from the elemental forces that shaped this world—Water, Fire, Wind, Ice, Light, and Lightning. These were the attributes each of the six ancestors governed. With their respective elements, they ruled the continent with godlike authority.
After sealing the evil dragon atop Mount Desperino, the continent seemed to regain its peace. It was not complete peace, of course, but there was enough time to raise the next generation and prepare for whatever threats might come in the future. During that peaceful era, the six attributes of the ancestors gradually diversified over successive generations. By the time they reached the later descendants, the number of attributes had split into dozens—some even diverging entirely from the original six elements the ancestors had governed.
Among them, the Dawn clan to which Sofia belonged had preserved the bloodline of the ancestor who governed Light more faithfully than any other. That was why they had long been entrusted with conducting the academy’s pilgrimages. The customs of the Dawn clan, the only ones permitted to enshrine a primordial dragon in the Temple, were extremely strict and closed off. Sofia herself had grown up in that environment. The rules were so rigid that she had once found her reason for living in the taste of mint candy.
“…I saw it this afternoon. The face of our clan’s primordial ancestor, gazing at you, Breeder, and offering a fervent prayer.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
Sofia questioned Breeder’s identity, deliberately recounting the continent’s history in the process. That was how much his true nature had weighed on her mind all day. Even during the solemn pilgrimage, thoughts of him kept intruding. Until now, she had simply accepted things as they were. When she saw that he could read and understand Dragon Speech, she had merely thought it was an impressive talent for a human and let it pass. Back then, she never imagined that a short-lived being like Breeder could have such a profound impact on her life, so she had felt no particular interest.
But now he was more precious to her than anyone else. She had already formed a pact with him, shared her first kiss in the process, and even tried to hand over her Dragon Heart without hesitation. Though she had been unable to give it to him for reasons she did not understand, from that moment on, his identity had never left her thoughts. Was it truly because he was a weak, short-lived being that the transfer had failed, or was he hiding something?
Sofia had spent the entire day deeply contemplating his identity. Yet there was a limit to what she could learn through speculation alone. In the end, unable to suppress her personal curiosity, she had borrowed the authority of a primordial dragon to catch a fragmentary glimpse of Breeder’s past. The result had been astonishing. She had witnessed something she could scarcely believe.
In the portrait of the ancestor passed down through her clan for generations, a figure identical to the one depicted had been looking up at Breeder and praying. Not only that—the other ancestors besides her clan’s founder had also appeared to be channeling their power toward him. Breeder himself had been shrouded in dazzling light, making it impossible to see him clearly. That was all Sofia had witnessed—a fleeting, fragmentary scene. But what it implied was enormous. Those transcendent primordial dragons, offering prayers and gazing up at a mere human… It was an unbelievable sight.
“I’ll ask you again. Breeder? What exactly is your identity? What were you doing in the past?”
“……”
Breeder could not give any answer. He merely lowered his head, avoiding Sofia’s gaze. His lips refused to part. What was he supposed to say? He did not even know the truth about his own body. Aside from the fact that it was of the Beginning grade, he knew nothing!
Breeder was just as frustrated as Sofia. With no information about his own body, fabricating a plausible story was difficult.
“Breeder oppa~? You should tell us without hiding anything-!”
“That’s right, Whitey! You can tell us! Don’t you trust your big sis?”
“I really don’t know anything……”
“Breeder? Are you planning to keep denying it to the very end?”
The three girls stepped forward, closing in on Breeder and pressing him.
“…It was suspicious from the moment you could read and understand Dragon Speech. No matter how much you deny it, you know it’s no longer possible, don’t you, Breeder?”
Sofia stood at the forefront, taking the lead in cornering him. Breeder had nowhere left to retreat. No more excuses to make… and no more ground to give.
—Thud…!
Having successfully driven Breeder against the outer wall of the Temple, Sofia suddenly pressed her face close to his.
“Look me in the eyes and answer, Breeder.”
Sofia stared straight into Breeder’s pitch-black eyes, as if trying to pierce through his thoughts with her own bright light.
“Um… Sofia?”
“Hehe, have you finally decided to speak?”
“No, it’s just… that thing you said you saw this afternoon… Could it have been a memory related to my ancestor instead of my own past?”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Think about it. How could an ordinary human coexist with a primordial dragon who lived tens of thousands of years ago? Isn’t it a stretch to simply dismiss it as my own past?”
Breeder desperately tried to deflect. Rather than lying to deceive Sofia, he was offering the most plausible hypothesis he could think of. Since even he could not understand the situation, all he could do was present assumptions instead of definitive answers.
‘Ah, now that I think about it, I do have six Dragon Hearts. Does that mean I really lived alongside the primordial dragons?’
The moment he voiced the thought, an even more convincing theory took shape. After all, his grade was called “Beginning,” was it not? It was not entirely impossible—
“Are you trying to talk your way out of this again with clever words? I won’t let it slide this time.”
“Huh…?”
“Breeder? What kind of life did you live before coming to the academy? I don’t think there’s any harm in telling us, since we’ve already formed a pact with you.”
Sofia lightly dismissed Breeder’s hypothesis and continued pressing for the truth that only he could know.
“That’s right-! Derke wants to know too-!”
“Whitey? I haven’t made a pact yet, but… I’m curious too! Your black eyes—does that mean you’re from the eastern continent?”
Derke and Raylin also closed in behind Sofia, surrounding the cornered Breeder. All of them bombarded him with questions about his identity.
‘This is bad. If I don’t say something, this atmosphere won’t end… But what am I supposed to answer to get out of this situation?’
Breeder racked his brain while maintaining as neutral an expression as possible, trying to figure out how to explain a past even he did not know. His head felt like it was about to split from the complexity. No answer came to him. No matter what he made up, it felt like this situation would simply repeat itself.
“Breeder? If you’re not going to tell us even now—”
“I’ll speak honestly.”
“Oh…? Have you finally made up your mind?”
Under the relentless pressure, Breeder finally made his decision.
“Yes. But I don’t think I can give you the answer you want. To be completely honest… all my memories before being brought to the academy are gone.”
Rather than spinning meaningless lies, he had chosen to be honest. This was all he could tell them. He believed that speaking the plain truth was the proper courtesy toward those he had formed bonds with.
“What do you mean? Are you saying you’ve lost your memories?”
“Yes, I suppose you could see it that way. It seems like a fitting description for the current situation.”
“Breeder? You’re not trying to brush this off with such a simple excuse, are you?”
“It’s not an excuse. It’s the truth. Look into my eyes.”
—Rustle…!
Breeder appealed with sincerity, meeting Sofia’s gaze. This time, he stepped forward and brought his face close to hers—so close their breaths mingled. If either of them tilted their head slightly, their lips would touch.
“……”
Startled by Breeder’s sudden closeness, Sofia fell silent, her golden eyes trembling faintly.
“…And earlier, when you told me the story, you said six ancestors sealed Ditronos. But you mentioned seeing only five in what you witnessed during the day, didn’t you? Doesn’t that seem strange?”
Breeder questioned her in a serious tone while maintaining the close distance.
“Huh? Now that you mention it…?”
Sofia hesitated and took a small step back, a faint blush rising on her cheeks—though it was mostly hidden by the red moonlight.
“…N-now that I think about it, you’re right.”
After securing some distance, Sofia spoke again. She calmed her half-racing heart and nodded.
“Could it be that you were mistaken, perhaps?”
“Mmm……”
Sofia carefully retraced her memories at Breeder’s question. What she had seen were five figures and a human shape presumed to be Breeder. Upon reflection, she truly had only seen five. Yet the records spoke of six ancestors. It seemed difficult to hastily guess Breeder’s identity.
“…But one of them was definitely our clan’s founder. Even if you’re not connected to ancient events, there’s still plenty of reason to be suspicious.”
“Is that so……?”
“It’s not ‘is that so.’ Do you really have no memories at all? You’re not hiding something from us?”
Sofia asked one final time, her eyes glowing with a subtle light. She had already concluded that further questioning would only yield the same answers.
“…Yes. I truly don’t know anything.”
“Haa… I see. All right. If that’s truly how you feel, Breeder……”
The light faded from Sofia’s eyes. She then turned her gaze away, her expression carrying a hint of disappointment.
“Sofia? It really isn’t a lie!”
Breeder, noticing her look, emphasized his words out of concern. He worried that her favorability toward him might drop.
“Yes, I know. I believe you, Breeder. You must have your reasons. It’s possible your memories really aren’t intact.”
“Thank you for believing me.”
“But that doesn’t mean there’s no way at all. If you can’t remember, there’s a method I can use to find out myself.”
“What? What do you mean……?”
Sofia, having taken a step back, let her eyes gleam once more. This time, however, her gaze was not directed at Breeder’s eyes. Her narrowed eyes were fixed on his chest—as if trying to see through his clothes to something hidden beneath.