#167

The Dragon, who had been scrutinizing the life form that dared to trespass here, froze upon seeing the fully revealed opponent. For the first time in a while, a hint of blue appeared over his golden eyes, which had been flashing with wariness.

“…High Priest.”

It had only been three years, yet the word he uttered felt unfamiliar. As if it were a very long time ago. Perhaps it was because he had buried his past along with the human’s death, it felt distant and remote.

“It’s been a while since I’ve heard that title.”

The man laughed at the call that echoed in the air. The man who walked out of the forest looked slightly different from his past self. Instead of the familiar silver hair, long black hair cascaded behind his shoulders, making his red eyes seem particularly deep. His white skin remained the same, but his slender jawline and neck were noticeable.

Moving away from the man who had emerged, the Dragon reached out and pulled Gold to his side. Startled by the sudden appearance of the stranger, the young Dragon forgot his tears and observed the man.

As if drawing a clear line, the Dragon sent Gold behind him. Then, he advanced to where the child had been standing. He did not want to face the man. More precisely, he did not want the words about the being hidden beneath him to be spoken.

He felt dizzy. As if the situation was unfolding in an unwanted direction, the man seemed determined to make him recall the memories he was desperately trying to avoid. Originally, the young Dragon should not have come here. Like Black or White, he should have listened to his words. Not only that, but he should never have encountered that man either.

“Who is Kiyen?”

At that moment, the young Dragon, who had been behind him, peeked out and asked. The man’s crimson eyes briefly gazed at the young Dragon before returning to him. The man tilted his head with a smiling face and asked.

“Have you found a new name?”

The man’s words struck a nerve. That was the limit. The Dragon no longer wanted to converse with the man. Spreading his wings wide, he warned in a low voice.

“Leave now. This is not a place for you. Considering what you have done, you must know that it would be natural to tear you to shreds immediately.”

After saying that, the Dragon remembered that he was in a position to harbor anger towards the man. Many things had stemmed from the man. The situation that led to Kia’s death, and the fact that he had to carry out another massacre. All were the results of the man’s choices.

However, the burning anger did not bloom. His heart was filled with only one emotion, leaving no room for others. The Dragon decided to show mercy. To make him retreat instead of killing him.

“Leave without saying anything. Then I will spare your life. I do not wish to stain my hands with your filthy blood.”

At the chilling voice, Gold, who had been showing curiosity, shrunk back. The child seemed surprised by this unprecedented side of the Dragon. However, the one who should have been frightened did not retreat. He stood there with a smile, even in the face of death’s threat.

“Actually, I thought Kiyen-nim would kill me the moment you saw me. I’m glad I’m still alive. Because I can keep the promise I made with Arne.”

At the name Arne, the Dragon paused. The man spoke as if Arne were no longer alive. Though confusion surged, the Dragon ignored it. He wanted to know nothing connected to them.

“I told you to disappear. I will count the time. If you do not leave within that time, I will kill you.”

The Dragon spoke with sincerity. A powerful energy began to gather in his hands. Yet, the man did not move. He simply smiled quietly and murmured.

“Will you do that? If I die by Kiyen-nim’s hand, I don’t think Arne would resent me.”

The man was indifferent to death. He could tell. The emptiness he felt from his voice was somehow familiar, which made it even more so. Rather than him leaving, the Dragon could not bring himself to do so either. He knew he would inevitably be forced to look at the scene beneath him, which he was trying not to see.

“Selfish to the end.”

The Dragon forced anger and whispered. At the word “selfish,” the man smiled bitterly.

“Yes, it’s true, though it’s not new. That’s why I’ve shamelessly appeared before Kiyen-nim like this.”

Instead of acting as he wished, the Dragon decided to change his approach. If he wanted to die, he would not let him do so.

“Why did you appear? Who told you about this place?”

He opened his mouth for an unwanted compromise.

“I came for atonement.”

At the Dragon’s words, the man slowly let his smile fade. The man’s white face, devoid of its smile, was filled with fatigue and pain.

“I don’t know what your atonement has to do with me.”

“I don’t know either. I simply headed to the place the goddess spoke of. And then Kiyen-nim appeared.”

Then the man looked around. Regret and longing flashed across his face. The man spoke slowly.

“This was also the place where I first met Cullen-nim. The goddess really seems to favor this place…”

The moment the name Cullen was heard, the Dragon’s eyes narrowed. His fingertips trembled. Before he could show any reaction, Gold stepped forward.

“Cullen?”

The man turned his gaze in the direction of the small voice.

“I’ve heard of it. That’s what the Guardian called us at first.”

Gold looked up at the Dragon and said. His golden eyes, filled with pure curiosity, took in the Dragon. He could see his own expression reflected in the clear pupils.

I had a pained expression. An expression undeniably filled with anguish.

As soon as the topic of Cullen arose, the man asked with a puzzled look.

“Speaking of which, where is Cullen-nim? Kihelene-nim is still looking for his whereabouts, but surely Kiyen-nim and…”

The man began to speak as if he knew nothing, as if the human were still alive. Does he truly not know? Did the Princess think the human was alive even after seeing that blood? Even in a place where so much blood had flowed?

The human’s innocent assumption pierced Kiyen’s soul. The moment the human’s name was mentioned, the Dragon rapidly crumbled. His limit was reached quickly. Despair and pain that churned his insides washed over him. He could not bear it.

“Stop.”

He held out his hand, stopping the man. He felt dizzy. Following his agitation, his power began to fluctuate. Uncontrolled force created a wind that threatened to blow away all the Kiercharus Flowers. In the strong wind, Gold tightly gripped the Dragon’s robe.

“Stop, speak.”

The moment he heard the question, which assumed the human was alive, it was truly… truly, to the point of going mad…

“Do not speak.”

It hurt.

“Do not utter that name.”

It hurt so much that he tried to avoid it at all costs. He had avoided everything that might remind him of him. While lingering in places that bore his traces, he had tried not to come to the lake, not to encounter humans, not to think of him.

Because, because…

“He… is dead.”

When he thought of him, he had to face this reality that inevitably followed—

“So do not ask.”

That was why he could not avoid experiencing the pain of never being able to see him again.

The Dragon had endured countless despair and pain, but strangely, he could not shake off the pain left by the human. His eyes turned red. His chest heaved. His nervously flickering gaze finally lowered.

Beneath the ice, where the flowers had been disturbed, lay the human, unchanged from the day he was buried.

The moment his lips, faintly smiling, came into view, the Dragon let out a watery breath. The ground he stood on felt like it was collapsing. He felt an endless despair, falling into an endless darkness.

Cullen.

The Dragon called his name inwardly. His vision blurred. His eyes ached. His stiff neck could not utter a sound.

He stared blankly at the human at his feet, like a petrified stone. He was just as he was. The sharp facial lines, the dark eyebrows, the dark purple hair, all the same, yet the human did not move.

He did not call me.

The voice that followed with “Kiyen-nim” was gone. Even though I was right in front of him, he did not run to me. I could not feel his warm body temperature, nor could I touch him. Because if I took him out from there, he would crumble and disappear. Yet, the moment he saw that form, the Dragon desperately wanted to touch him.

That was what he had endured to avoid coming here.

He had endured it because he knew he would miss that innocent human too much.

“…I didn’t know.”

After a long silence, the man’s low, muffled voice was heard. The Dragon no longer had the strength to care about him. He collapsed as if giving up and hunched over. He reached out and touched the ice. As his palm met the cold, tears welled up on the Dragon’s face. The tears that flowed down pooled at his chin. Opening his mouth silently, he trembled slightly.

I felt like I was going to die from missing him.

I couldn’t understand why. He had deceived me, Larkan, and was just a human, and we had only spent a very short time together. Why, why, why, can’t I forget him?

“I am truly… sorry, Kiyen-nim.”

The moment he heard the name Kiyen, he completely broke down. He shook his head. He didn’t want to hear it. He had deliberately not told the young Dragon his name either. Because hearing that name would inevitably remind him of the days that followed.

“It is… Eyerkiyens…”

The night the human gifted him his name.

“Can I use that as my name, and perhaps shorten it?”

Because the Dragon now understood the weight that the meaning of the name he had given him carried. The human, who had spent a long time pondering, spoke the name with flushed cheeks. Tension was evident in his purple eyes.

Thinking back, it must have been from then. That the human had taken him into his heart.

Otherwise, he would not have given me such a name.

“Kiyen.”

Eyerkiyens meant the most precious being in ancient language.

“I will call you Kiyen.”

And the Dragon was truly the most precious being to the human.