Another Truth
The Dwarves' eyes, a mix of mourning and hatred, fixed on Perdikion. They were steadily feeding the hatred toward this young Red Dragon hatchling that had been planted in him from childhood.
“Did… did my father… lie to me?”
“Truth isn’t always the truth.”
Darkness veiled truth, but sometimes it even revealed it from within the shadows.
Perdikion, who had believed Pasiyas’s words, had never properly conversed with any Dwarf.
‘Pasiyas… I see now that he simply could not accept when his children didn’t follow his will.’
He was even greedier than any Dwarf.
Perdikion’s face, which had turned pale upon learning the truth, began trembling.
Lune found it difficult to guess how his sworn older brother felt, having believed Pasiyas’s words for so long.
‘Pasiyas’s own doing.’
Perdikion had likely realized this later, but by then the Dwarf’s hatred had grown too deep for anything to be done.
Perdikion had been the enemy of the Dwarves for a long time.
Lune looked up at the enormous door at the end of the hallway.
A slight tension rose within him.
Hallucinations would never end comfortably like this.
‘That’s fine. Even if Perdikion doesn’t understand, the verdict has already been sealed by the point where I can no longer deceive him.’
KABOOM!
Lune’s eyebrows furrowed as he gazed at the scene beyond the opened door.
The acrid stench of blood filled the air.
Three Dwarf corpses lay prostrate before Pasiyas, forming a pool of blood.
Thick blood dripped from the monstrous claws that had sprouted on his transformed body.
[Like a bastard who knows nothing, you behave this way? You swagger into your father’s workshop without so much as a knock.]
Fwoosh!
The Dwarf’s corpse began burning.
Perdikion, watching it, felt his head boiling with rage.
“Look. Is this truly your father?”
When anger surged to the very top of one’s head, only the father’s voice could be heard. But this little fairy’s words were crystal clear.
Regaining composure, Perdikion looked at Pasiyas and startled.
Lune was right. The pure Fire aura of the Seal of Fire was nowhere to be felt.
The Pasiyas before his eyes was a messy, twisted monster of inky black light.
“It wasn’t… my father.”
[How dare you entertain such disrespectful thoughts toward your father!]
Lune activated the power of the Darkness Jewel in Perdikion’s grip.
Perdikion, who could temporarily see through the darkness, witnessed Pasiyas’s true form.
The shape he took was filled with the fear and terror Perdikion had felt toward Pasiyas. And the hatred most of all.
“That’s right. It wasn’t my father.”
The most painful memories flashed past as pitch-black fragments.
In the swirling confusion, past and emotions tangled together.
Pasiyas’s form flickered, growing clearer and then blurring again. It was a clear sign of shock.
“Heh heh.”
Perdikion laughed, his image of his father already cracking.
Then, boundless rage erupted.
“That… that was me controlling you while acting as my father.”
A deep, thick voice filled with shame and malice rose. Sensing something strange, Lune called to him.
“Perdikion.”
“I’ll kill you.”
Perdikion gripped the hilt of the rapier that had been displayed on the wall as decoration.
The shadow that took Pasiyas’s form chuckled mockingly.
[Would you really draw your sword on your own father without a moment’s hesitation? You fool. I told you not to get swept up in emotion, but I wonder what use that useless head of yours is for.]
His gaze trembled, and a sudden cry tore from his throat.
“I wanted… to be a son like you, filthy as you are!”
The rotten heart that had rotted for too long spewed poison toward the form of his father.
When he was beaten with a stick.
When he was tossed into a dungeon that might have killed him as a test.
When his mother passed away and every memory was forcibly burned.
Perdikion had had to cut away the parts of himself that Pasiyas didn’t want and hide them.
Even the parts Pasiyas didn’t want were part of him, yet he had to kill them so they wouldn’t even make a sound.
Even if it was a way to vent his anger, he couldn’t stop.
[You pathetic thing! I never expected anything from you as a son. You were a defective product anyway.]
“I don’t want to hear it!”
The veins on Perdikion’s neck stood out as he roared. All the suppressed emotions erupted at once from the depths of his heart.
Meanwhile, Lune felt a flicker of surprise at how excessively Perdikion was reacting.
‘Is this because of the Scent Box?’
The box that increased the chance of being consumed by Darkness power.
Its original purpose had been to reveal the true form of the massive Darkness entity that Pasiyas resembled, to help the viewer recognize it as an illusion.
Then, even with instinctive repulsion, one would not be affected by the hallucination.
Lune planned to absorb the Darkness that could no longer parasitize Perdikion’s memories.
And then he would explain the truth and be done with it.
However, because he had often used the Scent Box, his affinity for Darkness had grown too strong, and he was immersing himself excessively in the hallucination.
‘There, the hatred I originally held toward my own father has erupted.’
His eyes, surging with murderous intent, were ferocious.
Gripping the sword, his body was dyed in black flames like Pasiyas’s, and vertical slits appeared in his pupils.
Although the blade in his hand was dull, it was sufficient as a weapon, given that it was crafted by a Dwarf master.
Lune sighed inwardly.
“Calm down.”
Lune flew in front of Perdikion.
If he let his anger take over and lost his reason, he would be completely captured by this Darkness and unable to escape.
“Stand back!”
“Killing that guy won’t do anything but vent your anger. He’s not even your real father.”
“Then killing him is fine.”
His firm grip on the sword radiated killing intent.
A calm darkness spread around Perdikion and Lune.
Fortunately, even though the tone was rough, he didn’t completely ignore Lune.
‘Even if there’s no memory of me, if my dominance and affinity have risen.’
The Darkness-staining Scent Box showed effects far beyond expectations.
If he couldn’t control the anger, Lune’s influence as the owner of the box would be immense.
Tuck.
Lune reached out and gently placed his palm on Perdikion’s forehead.
“If you still want to do that after hearing me out, I won’t stop you.”
Lune restrained Perdikion, who was showing hatred and wanting to devour both himself and others.
Watching the red eyes filled with the urge to swing a sword immediately, Lune spoke calmly.
Pasiyas, trying to interrupt, let out a scream and shot out massive flames in succession.
But he couldn’t pierce the Darkness Lune had wrapped around them.
“As you give, so you shall receive. The actions you’re taking now will definitely return in the future.”
“Whether you’re a fairy or what, all you wanted to say was that? I can say something like that too.”
“Then, I’ll tell you your future.”
Perdikion’s gaze fixed on Lune.
He frowned, but didn’t refuse to hear the story.
“You will safely become the Elder of the Fire Clan. But through the violence and anger you learned from the murderer father, you will control your subordinates. The Dwarves under your command will accumulate anger, and although they bow and grovel, they will hate you to the point of no return.”
“Do you really think I’d be afraid of that…!”
“The image I just described looks exactly like your father, doesn’t it?”
“……”
Perdikion could say nothing.
The way he moved, without hesitation, in the exact manner of the one he hated most, with blood-stained hands.
A chill ran down his spine from the contempt behind him.
The Fire aura swirled, and inside the thin black curtain blocking him, Lune continued quietly.
“Don’t use the method that wrong person used. You’ll only meet the same result.”
“Then, should I just endure this anger?”
Lune shook his head. Looking at the child whose blood had turned into flames of anger, Lune spoke with a calmer voice.
“The method you’re about to try is unreasonable violence, character defamation, and what you learned under the murderer father. So I’ll tell you something else.”
Repeated verbal abuse and physical strikes had naturally become oppressive violence.
The result of growing up in that wrong way was already known.
Tyranny toward the Dwarves, and later, Perdikion became the target of their hatred.
Therefore, Lune told Perdikion where his anger should rightfully go.
“Teach even the child how to speak for justice. Even for a child, if the words are right, you can speak to parents or adults. You can always speak and raise your voice.”
Even as an adult, one makes mistakes.
Even parents can’t be perfect.
In fact, wishing for perfection is just a dream. All living beings make mistakes and live.
At least if you know that and have the courage to accept the correct words.
And if you can set an example for the child, that child will grow up into an adult and act the same toward the next generation.
“It might get a bit noisy, but you should be able to freely tell your own story and be recognized for it. Build a lair where someone like your father can’t even set foot.”
The surroundings were slowly crumbling.
The boundary between reality and hallucination was slowly softening.
It was proof that Perdikion’s killing intent was calming.
Gradually growing quiet, right before the surrounding illusion completely disappeared, Perdikion asked quietly.
“You think I can do it?”
“Of course.”
The echo transmitted through Lune’s palm reached Perdikion without being swept away by the heat of rage.
Listening carefully, Lune told him his true future and about the current Perdikion.
“You will meet very good connections in the future. There will be hardships, but before you become Elder, many Dwarves will recognize you as the ruler of the Fire Clan and buy your heart. You’ll treat them to delicious meals, protect their pride as a good lord, and show benevolence.”
Perdikion’s eyes began to change gradually.
Memories were slowly returning.
“Sometimes you can talk about good memories while singing your mother’s songs and spinning wool.”
Lune smiled faintly without realizing it.
Perdikion’s gaze, facing that face, shifted.
He felt certainty. Despite never having seen the appearance before, he already knew someone more trustworthy than anyone else.
“……Lune?”
Grin.
Perdikion, who had been staring at the smiling Lune with a strange look, turned his body.
The last act of desperation, the black, sticky form that revealed claws from within the Darkness.
The image he had thought was Pasiyas distorted, and the adult Perdikion smiled with a slaughter-hungry grin.
And then it collapsed.
“That’s right, brother. I’m Lune Eclipse. Your younger brother, right?”
A black hatchling with sharp red eyes filled with clarity.
Hearing the True Name, Lune’s true appearance was revealed.