The Mandate of the Primeval Father
His name was Nuru.
"Where... am I?"
"This is... your inner self. Or, in other words... the Mental World."
"Why on earth am I here..."
Come to think of it... After the battle that had staked the fate of the First Sea, he had lost consciousness. What had been the outcome...? "He transformed into a single wisp of energy and seeped into you." That meant... "Your victory." Then.........
"Who is this 'you' that speaks?"
A thunderous roar shook the void. Light flared, and his eyes snapped open. Above him stretched a majestic sky. If one word could capture the sight, it would be dreamlike. Pastel clouds brushed across an endless expanse where galaxies swirled from horizon to horizon, a universe laid bare. Dawn or dusk? The direction refused to declare itself. Sunlight shimmered on the clouds, yet the sun itself remained hidden. Beneath that fantastical heaven lay a deep sea, its abyssal darkness rising all the way to the surface, rejecting even the blessings of stars and sun.
He existed between them. A sliver of the horizon, he savored both the absolute sea and the deep cosmos at once. Perhaps the butterfly dream of Zhuangzi had looked like this. He became part of the scenery, and the scenery became him. And in the midst of it all, it cruised serenely across the water.
.........A sea turtle?
But colossal. The one-horned whale he had fought moments ago would have looked like an ant at its feet. He remembered an old science-fiction film where protagonists visited a planet beset by towering waves. This distant turtle could have turned such waves into mere splashes with a flick of its flipper. Was this the very turtle from Hindu myth that bore the world called Akupara on its back? One thing was certain: the being that had spoken to him earlier was this turtle.
"........."
"I am... Nuru. The primordial water that aided in the restoration of the world."
The voice resonated directly inside his skull with the weight of mountains. He instinctively moved to cover his ears before noticing his current form. He was human again. The sea turtle who had named itself Nuru tilted its mountain-like head toward him.
The voice that called him Primeval Father carried an unmistakable note of sorrow.
****
Nuru. According to Jonon, the Water Spirit King who had embraced the First Sea. The being who had widened the ocean until it wrapped the continent. The origin of all waters. That enormous sea turtle was indeed Nuru.
"........."
Meeting a creature so close to a creator god, he remained astonishingly calm. It had not been intentional. He had fully intended to demand answers aggressively from anyone who knew the reason behind his transformation. Yet the moment he saw Nuru's condition, those words died in his throat.
The Water Spirit King's body was covered in wounds. Light scars and scabs were the least of it. There were deep gouges that looked like bite marks, sections of shell burned pitch black, hide pierced clean through, and one eye completely shrouded in dark crimson energy.
"...Are you all right?"
The first words that left his lips were ones of concern. No matter how vast and powerful the being, it was a miracle it still stood.
For eons in which stars died and worlds fell, all he could do was wait. He had endured. Waiting. Nuru had remained standing despite those terrible wounds, holding on to complete some mission of his own. Instinctively, the Azure Dragon within him understood that the object of that waiting was himself.
The instinct was correct. Even as dark red energy rotted its body, the wisdom remaining in that single eye gazed at him with perfect clarity.
"Who am I, that you would wait for me?"
He asked. Nuru answered readily, as though the entire exchange had been part of the long wait. The ancient being had stayed silent until the question was voiced.
The words were far too grand to be aimed at him. He instinctively glanced behind him, wondering if someone else stood there. But the space held only Nuru and himself.
Primeval Father. The title Nuru kept repeating. Why did it feel as though the Azure Dragon itself had been invoked?
"Do I resemble the Primeval Father?"
He wanted further explanation, but Nuru's mouth remained closed.
"Then why did you wait for the Primeval Father?"
Nuru had called him by that name, yet claiming it himself felt awkward. To the Water Spirit King, however, such details seemed trivial.
A complete mandate... Once again, everything was unknown. This time Nuru continued without waiting.
The corruption of the world. The annihilation of the spirits who maintained its balance. The resurrection of 'that'... All of it had to be prevented, countered, stopped.
"........."
This, at least, he could grasp. The only difficulty was how distant it felt from his own existence. The corruption and destruction of the world. The resurrection that would follow the spirits' extinction. Preventing the return of an unknown horror. Wasn't this the exact sort of destiny given to a hero in some fantasy tale? To lay such a burden on him, a being who could easily be classified as monster or spirit beast, felt absurd. He could not fully accept it.
Yet Nuru's quiet tale continued.
At some point the spirits who regulated the world had begun to die. Not only the Spirit Kings besides Nuru, but even the lesser spirits had buried their souls beyond the stars. The world produced new spirits to maintain its cycle, yet no high-ranking spirit of sufficient caliber remained to guide them. In the end the spirits degenerated again and again until they merged with nature, leaving only faint voices behind.
What came to mind then was the emotion of water. It had never been the true emotion of water, but the feeling of a degraded water spirit. Nuru neither confirmed nor denied the realization.
"In other words, the mission you have given me is..."
By the time Nuru finished speaking, its complexion had worsened several times over.
"......"
"...Forgive the words to one who is dying, but this mission is far too heavy for me."
Even with the body and power of the Azure Dragon, saving the world was an entirely different matter. Was he truly a figure capable of such a feat?
Sometimes, while reading fantasy or martial novels, he had marveled at the protagonists. So this is why they're the main character. No matter the suffering or the temptations of evil, they upheld boundless justice. They worked alone in the shadows for the happiness of their friends and the peace of the world, possessing values and resolve ordinary humans could never match.
The mission Nuru offered was exactly the kind given to such protagonists. Did he possess the same mindset? No. He did not.
"...However."
He had something they did not. They had been protagonists, but they had also been human. He too had once been human. But he was no longer.
Dragon.
An imaginary being crafted from features of countless animals. A sacred creature that, should an imugi cultivate for over a thousand years, would obtain a Yeouiju and ascend to heaven. A godlike guardian of nature that commanded the weather itself. Furthermore, the Azure Dragon, an eastern sage that even other dragons must attain further enlightenment to become. The blue-scaled dragon. Azure Dragon.
That was who he was now.
The protagonists who achieved their goals through countless trials had ultimately remained human. He, however, now held potential that dwarfed theirs many times over. If that were true, perhaps this body and these abilities could bridge the gap between him and those heroes.
"If, while walking the path I have already chosen for my own growth and repayment, I am able to fulfill your request... I will do so. Without fail."
His goals were growth and repayment. Nuru's request was to prevent the world's destruction. He could not devote himself solely to Nuru's mission for now... but if he continued to grow and one day sought to repay his debts, surely somewhere along that road he would be able to answer Nuru's plea. That was his conclusion.
This time, too, Nuru did not deny it.
His eyes slowly closed. When they opened again, what appeared before him was...
Rachel...
A black-haired girl, drenched in seawater.