#007

“A trade, you say?”

The Dragon raised an eyebrow. The soft air suddenly began to grow heavy. The being who had smiled like a flower while speaking his mother’s name had vanished without a trace. His body stiffened.

“Yes.”

Cullen replied quietly, enduring the suffocating pressure. With his characteristic silent movement, the Dragon instantly approached Cullen. Leaning his upper body forward slightly, he tilted his head.

He smelled of lilies, a clean scent. Cullen involuntarily held his breath. His toes stiffened. Staring intently at Cullen’s face, the Dragon remained silent. No one’s breathing could be heard.

“Why should I trade with you? You are human. Humans can offer me nothing.”

The Dragon closed his mouth. As if he had swallowed some words, he suddenly fell silent.

“That is correct.”

Cullen didn’t even possess rare jewels that humans might desire. All he had was his body.

“But I can do anything you wish. Though I am merely a human compared to you, I am a rather useful mercenary.”

Cullen stated his objective assessment of himself. He and Gale’s mercenary group had never failed any request until they were annihilated five years ago. Cullen was also someone who didn’t shy away from any means.

“Anything?”

The Dragon hummed, stroking his chin. Cullen’s gaze was briefly drawn to his round, pinkish fingernails, but he refocused his eyes.

“Anything.”

A searching gaze continued. There was clearly no change in the Dragon’s expression, but Cullen felt a multitude of emotions.

“You remind me of Ria.”

Ria?

An unknown name. What could he possibly know about the Dragon?

“Do you know my story, Larkan?”

“I am Cullen.”

Cullen stated his name calmly. The Dragon’s expression changed again. In a positive direction. That is, he seemed more interested than before.

“According to the laws established by humans, you have the name of a commoner.”

“That is correct.”

The Dragon straightened his body. Cullen answered the Dragon’s question.

“All I know about you is that you knew my mother and that you are a being who has killed many humans. And that you seem to cherish the egg of a beast yet to be born more than humans…”

A low laugh escaped the Dragon. However, it was anger masked by laughter.

“It was humans, like you Larkans, who wanted to kill humans. But, yes. I dislike humans. So I refuse your trade. Because your kind made me this way.”

The Dragon’s voice held a quiet loathing.

“So do not dare to propose a trade.”

Cullen fell silent at the resolute tone that left no room for argument. He had never thought of it that way. To people, Dragons were merely symbols. Who would idly ponder the emotions or thoughts of such a being? Cullen was no different.

However, he couldn’t back down like this. Cullen thought of a compromise.

“If I were to learn about you, would it be acceptable to make my proposal then?”

“Perhaps.”

The face that had shown interest for a moment quickly became bored.

“You will not be able to learn about me.”

“What if you told me your story?”

“You seek it too easily.”

The Dragon erased all expression and waved his hand.

“Leave now. Zigmund would be horrified if he knew you were here.”

A voice with a faint smirk urged him to leave.

Cullen swallowed the words he was about to say and uttered only one.

“I will return.”

The Dragon turned his body. His back was resolute, as if his business was concluded. Cullen slowly turned and asked.

It was more of a sudden question than a calculated action.

Unlike himself.

“May I ask your name? Surely you can tell me at least that much.”

The Dragon’s form was not visible. However, an answer returned.

“Dragon.”

Cullen squinted slightly and asked again into the darkness.

“Is it a language humans cannot utter?”

“Literally, I am Dragon. There is only one being like me in the world. The word that represents me will eventually be me.”

…Strange.

Cullen felt an indescribable feeling.

“Do you mean you have no name?”

The supreme being spoken of by the world,

“Yes. I have no name.”

He was like someone worse off than a commoner.

He had a dream. A dream he hadn’t had in a long time.

The day was beautiful from the morning. Despite it being midwinter, the sun shone brightly, warming the surface of the snow enough to melt it slightly.

Cullen’s Wolfdog, Roach, excitedly dug through the snow, and his father, who had gone hunting at dawn, brought back a Toucan Rabbit. It was called a rabbit, but the rabbits of the north were about the size of a wildcat, enough game for a family to eat for three days.

To celebrate Cullen’s birthday, his mother baked bread from the morning. His father skinned the rabbit beside her, and the children went outside to avoid getting in the way. Sasha, carried on Cullen’s back, chased birds.

‘Ren, Ren, what gift do you want?’

To his younger sister, who was as excited as if it were her own birthday, Cullen said he didn’t want anything. He had wanted a new dagger, but his current one would last a few more years.

Despite her brother’s uninteresting answer, Sasha giggled and began talking about her own birthday gift, which was still months away.

‘I want a necklace like Mom has! Do they sell things like that in town? Have you been to town, Ren?’

‘No.’

His father taught Cullen many things, but he never allowed him to even attempt going down to the village. When his father went to town to trade game and grain, Cullen stayed home with his mother, and only the mountain keeper Yulek and his father went down to the village.

‘Why doesn’t Dad let us go to town? It would be nice if we could live down there too.’

‘I suppose so.’

Cullen replied quietly. He hadn’t thought about it either. His life was confined to these vast yet narrow mountains.

He wanted to meet peers his age and was curious about where the strange things his father brought back came from. Forgotten things resurfaced at Sasha’s words.

‘It would be nice to go out and play together on a day like today, wouldn’t it!’

‘Do you want to go to town that badly?’

‘Yes!’

At his sister’s innocent reply, Cullen smiled faintly. Gazing down at the endless mountains for a long time, he nodded slightly. His birthday gift was decided.

When Cullen said he wanted to go to town for his birthday, Ella and Russ wore troubled expressions. Russ, with a rather serious expression, went into the room with Ella, and they had a long discussion. Sounds of arguing could be heard.

Sasha, looking anxious at the sight of her parents she had never seen before, stayed close to Cullen. While brushing her sister’s hair, Cullen listened intently. Ella occasionally uttered words like ‘dangerous’ or ‘them,’ while Russ said, ‘It might be okay if we go down and come back quickly.’

He was curious about his parents’ conversation, but he couldn’t hear anything else.

After a long discussion, his parents came out of the room just as the freshly baked bread was cooling. Ella still looked anxious, but she quietly nodded.

Sasha let out a scream-like cheer and hugged her mother. His father added that they would leave right after breakfast and return after a short visit. By this point, even Cullen, who had been indifferent, began to feel excited.

The family quickly finished their meal and packed their belongings. They tightened their fur coats, made preparations, and gathered the collected hides.

According to Yulek, the beasts their father hunted were always free of blemishes and clean, so people lined up in the village to buy the processed hides. The demand was so high that even large nearby territories were interested, so their father’s skill must be truly great.

They descended along the mountain path that Yulek and Russ had made invisible. Despite carrying Sasha on his back and the hides, Russ descended the path skillfully. It took them four hours to reach the village.

Not wanting to leave Roach behind all day, Cullen decided to take his Wolfdog only to the outskirts of the village. Roach, intelligent and understanding, obediently stopped at the foot of the mountain.

It was late lunchtime, but the village was bustling with activity. The cluster of houses had walls made of dull stone and long roofs, lacking any particular beauty, but to the eyes of children who had left the mountains for the first time, it seemed magnificent.

Sasha, exclaiming in wonder, her eyes lit up at a carved wooden ornament on a small stall. The child tugged at Ella’s hand.

“Mom, let’s go look at that!”

“Yes, Ella. I’ll go get the price for the hides, you can look around for a bit.”

“Is that okay?”

Ella nodded, but asked with a hint of unease. Russ smiled and whispered.

“A few hours should be fine. They haven’t shown themselves for a long time, just like us. Let’s return as quickly as possible.”

“It’s been 15 years… so, I suppose so?”

Ella and Russ, who had been speaking words without meaning, soon hugged each other tightly. Sasha, eager to run to the stall, stamped her feet. After their affectionate embrace, Russ met Cullen’s gaze and said.

“While we’re gone, you protect your mother and sister well.”

“Yes, Father.”

Russ ruffled his hair as if proud, then walked away. Ella watched Russ’s retreating back before finally taking Sasha, who had lost her patience, to the stall.

The hide transaction seemed to be taking a little longer than expected. Even after looking at the ornaments for over 30 minutes, Russ hadn’t appeared. Ella bought Sasha a bag of sugar-coated peanuts to eat, as she had grown tired.

Cullen, using the excuse that he wasn’t hungry, asked Ella if he could go look for his father. In reality, he wanted to check if Roach had perhaps come down to the village.

Roach, being a Wolfdog, was incomparably larger than an ordinary dog. He was concerned about his father’s warning that unfamiliar people might find him frightening. He worried that Roach might be attacked if he came down.

Ella stroked Cullen’s hair, much like Russ had. A smile that seemed to see right through him flickered in her eyes.

“Go ahead, Ren.”

And foolishly, Cullen was reassured by his mother’s smile and turned his back. Forgetting the single role his father had entrusted him with, he left his mother and sister behind just to see his dog.

His task was simply to stay by his mother and sister’s side.

Misfortune descended upon the village without even casting a shadow. There was no sound, like a hunter pursuing prey.

Everything happened in an instant. The menacing sound of hooves suddenly struck the innocent, remote village. There was no time or system to prepare for the invasion. Even if there had been, the outcome would have been no different. It was an overwhelming disaster.

Cullen was at the foot of the mountain when the men on horseback trampled the village. Contrary to his worries, Roach remained quietly where he had first stopped.

But something was wrong. His Wolfdog was extremely tense, constantly pricking his ears. He pulled on the leash, trying to calm him, but it was no use. Roach whined and pawed towards the village.

As a sense of unease made him turn his head, Cullen spotted gray smoke rising from the village. It wasn’t just one plume. Thin wisps curled and overlapped, eventually transforming into a black cloud.

It didn’t take long to recognize the danger. The boy, frozen in shock, started running blindly. Instinctive fear gripped his heart. The ominous premonition met him in a form he could not have imagined.

The color of the earth he had trod an hour ago had changed. The dry ochre ground revealed red soil. Fear washed over him.

His mother’s slightly crooked purple eyes, which had smiled while stroking his hair, and Sasha’s face waving with her braided hair, filled his vision terrifyingly.

But Cullen couldn’t head straight for the stall. Something caught his feet as he ran. A young man, only a few years older than him, lay there with his eyes wide open. There were too many people lying in the street.

This was the first time Cullen had seen a dead person.

The shock was different from when he first witnessed an animal’s death. Half his throat was split open, revealing raw flesh, and the blood that flowed from severed vessels soaked his clothes and the ground.

The moment the foul smell of blood rose, Cullen gagged and collapsed. All strength left his body.

“What are you doing here!”

A middle-aged man snatched Cullen as he stumbled and fell. Instinctively, he swung his arms, trying to escape, but the man dragged him with rough force. The man, whose chin was covered in dark stubble and bore a white scar, covered Cullen’s mouth with his other hand and whispered.

“They’re still here. Follow me immediately.”

He shook his head. He had to find his family. His teeth chattered uncontrollably.

“I, I have to find, my family.”

“It’s too late.”

“Over there, at the stall, my mother…”

The man lifted Cullen as if to throw him and began to flee the village urgently. Cullen hit him with all his might but had no chance of winning. The man only spoke when they reached the foot of the mountain where Roach was tied.

“I’m Russ’s friend. He asked me to look after you before he died. If the boy with purple eyes is alive, make sure to entrust him to me. I’m sorry, kid.”

The man spoke quietly, his voice buried in sorrow.

“There is no one left alive in that village but you and me.”

“No! Father is the strongest in the world. He’ll surely save Mother and my sister…!”

“Russ is dead.”

The man’s words struck Cullen. His trembling arms gained strength, and fear turned into rage. The man, who threw Cullen to the ground as he struggled and screamed, struck his head with his scabbard. Without even a moment to resist, Cullen lost consciousness.

When he came to, everything had changed.

The world he knew no longer existed. The man took Cullen back to the village a day later.

In the once vibrant village, nothing could be heard but the cawing of crows. The corpses had begun to decay, emitting a foul odor. It was a more potent and horrific smell than that of long-rotted animal carcasses.

Swarms of black flies buzzed all around. Through the strange buzzing sound, Cullen wandered the village, unable to breathe. It didn’t take long to search through the less than forty corpses.

Cullen found his family after two hours.

His father lay dead, covering his mother and Sasha with his entire body. So many knives were embedded in his father’s back that he looked like a hedgehog. His stiffly hardened arms showed no sign of letting go, as if to signify his will to protect his children and wife.

The moment Cullen saw his mother’s face, her head lolling in his father’s embrace, he experienced firsthand how a person could go mad from shock.

Cullen liked his eyes the most. He had inherited his mother’s clear purple eyes.

The purple eyes were a beautiful mark that made it obvious to anyone that they were mother and son. Sasha often told Cullen she envied them.

But those eyes were gone.

Only there, uniquely, his mother’s corpse had no eyes.