By Zephyria 
It was not out of generosity that he had saved the monster of Hanul Mountain. In the moment he restored the mountain god to its true form, a human was created—one who could not ignore the suffering of another being.
Just as one who enjoyed the midday sun becomes captivated by the night sky; just as one who liked the rose of sharon comes to love the wind flower; just as a mere human dares to harbor a divine beast in their heart. It was his own footsteps that had shaped Young-pa.
‘I am the only one in the whole world who has walked this path. That is who I am.’
The future unfolded before Young-pa’s eyes like a revelation. It was a terrifying path that neither the Yeongparang of three hundred years ago nor the reckless, swindling youth who loitered in the valleys would have chosen. Yet, Young-pa desperately, fervently wished to walk upon that destiny.
A mirror containing the heat of the sky, a sword possessing the firmness of the earth, a bell steeped in the darkness of the underground, and a ring imbued with the light of the heavenly realm. Young-pa felt the powers of the four divine artifacts surging within him. He gathered his own essence and the four powers into one, starting from the crown of his head.
‘Please, let me reach him. Let me ensure I do not have to hear his screams.’
Crack!
With the sound of something solid splitting, the surrounding space distorted. He was enveloped in a dazzling radiance. Space that had seemed impossibly distant now felt as short as a hand’s span. Moving from one place to another felt like nothing at all. He could go anywhere he wished. Just as White Tiger or Immortal Flower had done.
‘If there were one thing I desired… I wanted to live with you in a small cottage.’
Riding through the light, Young-pa closed his eyes tightly.
At dawn, he would pick fruits and wild greens and prepare clean water for him to drink. Since they already had a cute dog, it would be nice to raise a few chickens or goats. When he woke, they would lock eyes and smile, and he would spend his time watching the sleep-heavy man drift back into slumber.
‘Why is a simple life, which everyone else leads, so difficult for me?’
Young-pa let out a small chuckle, but the smile quickly vanished.
He was facing death. The fate that humans have no way of avoiding, which had repeatedly receded and approached before him.
Young-pa was someone who had died once three hundred years ago. Thus, he believed death was nothing special. Yet, why did his heart ache so sharply?
‘After I am gone, how long will you suffer?’
Tears streamed down Young-pa’s cheeks.
The man he adored was now within arm’s reach. He saw the beautiful dragon look back with a bewildered expression in slow motion. Young-pa was satisfied that he could see him up close one last time. If he could be just a bit more greedy, he wanted to lie down—even on a filthy mat—and gaze at his face for a few sijin. That was his only wish.
Young-pa smiled at Biryoo and then whipped around. He watched as the sharp Golden Needle pierced through his chest. Black Tortoise’s arrow tore through Young-pa’s skin and muscle as softly as boiled radish, its speed not slowing in the slightest. Young-pa mobilized all the spiritual energy and essence of his body, along with the special ability of the heavenly gift of four gods, to stop the Golden Needle.
“Ah… aaah…”
As he opened his lips, blood trickled out. Young-pa was dying before he even had time to feel the pain.
He blinked slowly. His vision shifted into kaleidoscopic colors, and unknown objects flashed frantically before his eyes.
A terrible scream echoed from afar. Once, hearing that sound had been his goal in life, but now he felt not the slightest interest.
“Bi… ryoo…”
A flowing waterfall, soaring wings, a beautiful current of air stretching powerfully forward.
Before he knew it, Young-pa was cradled in the arms of the one he loved. That fact alone brought a smile to his lips. It didn’t matter that there was little essence left in his body, nor that his blood-soaked clothes had become incredibly heavy. He wished he could smile, but Biryoo’s face was grave, as if he had absorbed all the sorrows of the world alone.
Young-pa reached out and caressed his cheek.
“Now you know… I am not… a being consumed only by revenge.”
Biryoo shook his head. He tightened his grip on the shoulder holding Young-pa.
“Not someone’s doll… either…”
By deciding to sacrifice his life to save Biryoo, Young-pa became a different person. It was something the past version of himself could never have done. It was a choice that only the person who had walked this path—the one who passionately loved another—could make.
The dragons were noisy, arguing over ways to save Young-pa, but Young-pa knew. His life had already departed; the only reason his breath had not yet ceased was due to the remaining power of the heavenly gift of four gods in his body.
Biryoo held Young-pa’s hand with a stiff expression. He seemed to know that Young-pa was already dead. Young-pa had learned how to read his silence while staying on Asadal Mountain.
“The heavenly gift of four gods… they are all yours…”
Even then, Young-pa let the tiger tooth severing sword, which he had been gripping tightly, slip from his hand. The strongest divine beast in the world would now become a terrifying existence that no one could challenge. Young-pa was happy that he could leave Biryoo with a gift.
And there was one more thing. As soon as the thought occurred to him, tears flowed.
“The place where the somyeonghwan… is, you know… right?”
He wanted to say it lightly, as if it were no big deal, but the tears would not stop. Biryoo, looking down at him, appeared more magnificent than ever despite his disheveled state. Young-pa grimaced, barely managing to continue.
“Not yet… don’t take it out now. For now… please only… think of me.”
Swallowing a surge of sobs, Young-pa pulled Biryoo’s hand toward him. His fingertips traced down the long fingers before interlocking them deeply.
“I dreamed… a vain dream… of living osundosun… with you. Though things turned out like this…”
He could feel the end approaching. Young-pa looked into those blue, jewel-like eyes and forced the corners of his mouth upward.
“To be the divine dragon’s Jeong-in… it was a hell of a life.”
The image of the man he longed for even while looking at him began to fade. Though he was clearly before his eyes, he felt him slowly drifting away. The same went for the rustling sound of the dragons’ scales.
The strength left their clasped hands, and their fingers slowly slid apart. He didn’t care about meeting the end of a tedious life. Young-pa was terrified of the fact that he would never see Biryoo again.
But where there is a beginning, there must be an end. It was the moment the last light of the heavenly gift of four gods, which had pooled in his life, was about to vanish.
Young-pa discarded the desire to live longer and closed his eyes. The pressure of Biryoo gripping his hand once more was the final sensation he experienced.
Somyeonghwan
The war between the dragons and the serpents had ended. The King of Serpents had lost his life, and thus the dragons were victorious. His death was caused by breaking an oath written in his own blood.
As the divine beast, half-tortoise and half-serpent, collapsed with a monstrous shriek, the earth shook as if struck by an earthquake. The dragons flew toward him, tearing at his neck and belly, cementing the defeat of the underground.
The serpents, who had resisted fiercely, quietly vanished. Under the guise that the living must survive, they hid in the underground. The dragons cheered, chasing and mocking them. Left on the mortal realm were countless corpses of serpents and dragons, and the torn body of a giant divine beast lying on its back.
Meanwhile, the King of Dragons held the hand of the pitiful human who had died protecting him and listened to his final words. After four or five dragons helped the heavily injured Jeok-nyong up, the remaining dragons watched the scene from a distance.
The atmosphere between the two was so sorrowful and quiet that everyone held their breath in unison. Even the monster dog, as large as a house, lowered its tail and shed tears without barking.
When all became silent, Biryoo knew that life had departed from Young-pa’s body. The eyes that had sparkled like morning stars were hidden behind tightly closed lids, and the lips that had chattered away with charming smiles had lost their color.
The jacket, which Biryoo had internally cursed as being closer to yellow than white, had become a red garment stained with blood. A Golden Needle, as thick as a fist, protruded from his chest. It had pierced through the heart and extended a foot beyond.
An indescribably unpleasant smell emanated from both the Golden Needle and the straw rope hanging from the end. When he brought his fingertips close, the skin sizzled and burned.
Ignoring this, Biryoo gripped the Golden Needle and pulled. The heavy object rolled away, injuring the divine dragon’s hand. As the blood-stained needle rolled, the nearby dragons gasped and backed away.
Through the hole in Young-pa’s chest, things that should not be seen were visible. The internal organs were consumed by poison, and the skin was stained black. The blood, which had already formed a pool, threatened to expand into an ocean.
Biryoo let out a trembling breath. He reached out with a hand blackened by pollution and stained with blood, pulling Young-pa into his embrace. Burying his nose in the man’s hair and inhaling, the uncontrollable rage and sorrow calmed slightly.
‘Why did you do it?’
Biryoo gazed intently at the lips that would not open.
From beginning to end, he was a man who was presumptuous and willful. Biryoo could not understand Young-pa’s actions at all. Had he not said that revenge was his everything and that he could not give it up no matter what? The fact that he abandoned the bond of the wish-fulfilling orb, which could control the power of the heavenly realm, and the fact that he took the Golden Needle in Biryoo’s stead and died—these were events whose intentions were difficult to fathom.
‘Do you not believe that a human can change?’
The voice of the dead man lingered in his ears. Biryoo tightly squeezed Young-pa’s hand, which had already grown cold.
He could only guess that the time they spent on Asadal Mountain had changed Young-pa. Just as the affection that had seeped into his own heart during that time had fundamentally changed Biryoo.
‘Just as I did not know you, you did not know me.’
Biryoo stroked Young-pa’s cheek with the back of his other hand.
To steal another’s heart and then simply die—how insolent. Biryoo would have chosen his own death a hundred times over rather than watch him die.
‘Foolish thing, what use is it to live in a world where you are not?’
For thousands of years, Biryoo had been crushed by a boredom that had piled up like dust. He had known long ago that his end would be a conclusion of committing suicide after spending endless, tedious days. But that was before he met Young-pa.
This eccentric human had changed everything root and branch. He had made Biryoo laugh, made him despair, made him love, and made him want to live.
Biryoo lowered the human he had been embracing to the ground. Internal organs spilled from the hole in his chest, and the pool of blood surged. With a grim expression, Biryoo opened the front of the jacket.
A blue light emanated from his fingertips and dug into the corpse’s abdomen. It was not a caressing touch. His hand sliced through the skin like a knife and entered the internal organs. The dragons began to whisper, asking what Azure Dragon was doing. Even as blood surged and the wound widened, the expression of the one rummaging through the intestines remained unchanged.
After some time, when Young-pa’s abdomen looked like nothing more than blood-soaked porridge, Biryoo withdrew his hand. Something faintly glowing was caught at the tips of his fingers. The ring he had extracted from the upper abdomen of the corpse was simple in appearance and transparent inside.
“I cannot endure even a moment in a world without you.”
Crack!
The somyeonghwan shattered in Biryoo’s grip. The power of the heavenly realm, which had been trapped in the divine artifact for ages, and the blue, surging life swirled powerfully between his fingers. Biryoo pushed that power into the corpse.
“Awaken by the divine power of the heavenly realm.”
The power of the divine artifact covered the breathless body in a blue energy. Life flowed back into the body. It spread through the internal organs and blood vessels to every corner.
The bloodless flesh, the heart and intestines that had turned black, emitted a brilliant light. What was torn was reattached, and what was broken was restored. The wide-open wound closed, and the gaping hole was filled. Vitality returned to the pale cheeks, and the lips regained their color.
Finally, Young-pa’s body shuddered, and he took his first breath. His ragged breathing gradually became steady.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes.
“Ah…”
Young-pa blinked a few times and looked around. He saw the thick pool of blood, the hushed dragons, and Biryoo sitting beside him.
His eyes widened, and he bolted upright.
“What happened?”
Young-pa looked at his own hands as if he couldn’t believe it. He then felt his chest to confirm it was intact and saw the fist-sized hole in his blood-red jacket.
When their eyes met, Biryoo smiled faintly. Despite having been separated for only a short while, he was profoundly glad to see the man again.
Young-pa did not smile back. He gazed into Biryoo’s eyes for a long time. Doubt and wariness flickered in that gaze. Then, as if he finally understood the situation, Young-pa let out a sharp breath.
“Did you… not want to save Yeon-hwa?”
“There was a time when I did.”
“Then, why…”
Biryoo smiled readily at the one he loved. He knew nothing. That was simply a misunderstanding born from the fact that they hadn’t been able to speak openly due to distrust and wariness. Now that nothing stood between them, they could slowly fill in the missing stories.
Biryoo took Young-pa’s hand and pulled it to his lips.
“I did it because I missed you, my love.”
Young-pa acted shy, his cheeks flushing like plum blossoms. He was a man Biryoo had once considered brazen, lewd, and devoid of shame. Biryoo kissed the back of his hand and brought his palm to his own cheek.
“You are not a human I want to follow in death. You are a human who makes me want to survive somehow, to roll around with you whether it be in a snake cave or a field of dung.”
Biryoo was a dragon who had lived for thousands of years and a divine beast of the heavenly realm. Thus, it was natural that he had lived listlessly, believing there was nothing new in the world. However, upon meeting Young-pa, he learned that beauty exists not only in order and light, but also within chaos and darkness.
Young-pa was the mountain breeze that scattered contempt, the flame that melted coldness, and the wave that shattered boredom. He was the light of life that made Biryoo want to live. It felt as though nothing would be fearsome as long as he was with him.
“If you died and vanished, I would pine away in sorrow, and wouldn’t that be a loss for the dragons of the heavenly realm as well?”
“You wasted a divine artifact for a mere reason like that? What kind of deity are you?”
“You know I am a lazy fellow.”
Young-pa’s face crumpled as if he were about to burst into tears, then shifted into a distorted smile.
As he threw himself into Biryoo’s arms, Biryoo embraced him as if he had been waiting. The onlookers, who had been holding their breath, began to murmur and let out pleasant laughter. Cheongsim barked loudly to express its joy.
“O Azure Dragon, before your divine power and nobility, I am but a mere speck of dust. I beg of you, please return the conscience, shame, and elegance I lost while staying in the underground.”
Young-pa sobbed while buried in Biryoo’s embrace. Biryoo smiled and shook his head.
“Why should I? I like you just as you are now.”
A human who bore the sins of his own race. Biryoo had his heart stolen by a person who had transcended his birth. He was not perfect, and that was why he sparkled like a star.
Biryoo came to realize that perfection never existed in the first place. Another name for obedience was submission. Another name for defiance was courage. The experiments of White Tiger and Black Tortoise had, in a sense, failed.
Biryoo returned to his dragon form and lowered his head so that Young-pa could easily climb on. Young-pa stood up awkwardly, still wearing an expression of disbelief. Despite his tattered blood-red jacket, grimy bare feet, and disheveled hair, he was so lovely that Biryoo could hardly bear it.
“Where… are we going?”
Biryoo was immersed in a fluttering emotion, imagining the days he would spend with Young-pa. From now on, this person would be by his side when he woke in bed, when he soaked his body under a cool waterfall, and when he sipped wine in a pavilion where the Pure Wind blew.
And not only that. The unknown stretched out before them. The eccentric dust devil who had always mocked Biryoo’s expectations and twisted his hopes. The gentle breeze that would lead him to a future he couldn’t even imagine. As a dragon who had lived for thousands of years, the sensation of looking forward to tomorrow was unfamiliar, but he knew he would experience it often from now on.
“Are you not curious about how magnificent your room will be?”
“I really have my own room? In the heavenly realm?”
“Go and see for yourself.”
Young-pa laughed brightly, like shattering sunlight, and leaped up. Biryoo felt him settle between his mane and rub his cheek against his scales. Biryoo soared into the air.
The dragon’s body swirled rapidly, flying across a sky where the sunset had shattered. Within the sensation of ascension, Biryoo felt an unfathomable sense of detachment. Both the pain of the flesh and the ache in the chest felt as distant and vague as dust washed away by a sudden rain. On the other hand, it all felt like a cluttered, frantic midday dream. If so, what a sweet daydream it was.
“Come to think of it, I was curious about what a dragon’s cock looks like… will you show me today?”
But this was stark reality. The weight of the person riding on their back reminded them of it. The black hair fluttering in the wind and the low laughter were not the products of a dream.
“I knew you’d say something like that.”
Biryoo flew, immersed in a deep sense of happiness.
≋ ≋ ≋
Long ago, the four spirits had created four divine artifacts for the benefit of humans.
The artifact forged from the heat of the upper air was called the changjingyeong. It was a mirror of insight; whoever looked into it would come to know the truth.
The divine sword forged from the hardness of the mortal realm was called the tiger tooth severing sword. It was a masterpiece of a blade that would not break, no matter what weapon in the world it faced.
The artifact created by permeating the darkness of the underground was called the annihilation command. It was a secret bell that allowed one to move without a trace or presence.
The artifact crafted by basking in the light of the heavenly realm was called the somyeonghwan. It was a mysterious ring imbued with the life force to revive the dead. However, after losing the divine power of the heavenly realm, this artifact came to be called by another name.
A human hero who once made a name for himself in the divine realm. One who was hated and loved by the gods at the same time. The Prisoner of Hyeonmu, who had been trapped in the deepest snake cave. A fearless human among humans who freed himself to mock and judge the gods. The partner of the eastern azure dragon and the master of the cloud palace.
All these referred to one person, and his name was Young-pa.
Side Story: Ji Seo-gu
These were days when wailing echoed through the underground. Everywhere he looked, his subordinates were suffering. Even when he had entered hibernation, the underground had never been so ravaged; it was a wretched insult. In the darkness, Ji Seo-gu’s scales trembled.
—Master.
A metallic hissing grated on his nerves. He whipped his head around to find Chilno, a white snake with mottled patterns.
—Please forgive me for daring to disturb your rest. The Heavenly Crow Temple has arrived.
Ji Seo-gu felt like tearing apart everything in front of him. However, this ugly snake was the most brilliant among his subordinates, making him too valuable to use as a vent for his anger. Suppressing his rage, Ji Seo-gu barely managed to answer.
—Let them in.
Chilno bowed his head and slid away. He returned with a steel-scaled snake trailing behind him. As Chilno stepped aside, a snake with greenish-brown scales crawled before Hyeonmu and bowed its head.
It was the Heavenly Crow Temple, who possessed a picky diet of eating only human children. The snake, who had once been plump with glossy scales from eating well, now looked as though only skin remained over bone.
—A humble servant greets the Master.
The distance from his base at Toham Mountain to this place was not a journey that could be easily traversed, even for a snake with special abilities. Furthermore, the Heavenly Crow Temple feared his master greatly and rarely came of his own accord. Since Ji Seo-gu already knew the reason for the visit, he felt like yawning before the story even began.
—Wise and powerful Hyeonmu.
The Heavenly Crow Temple flicked his tongue nervously.
—Please have pity on us and save us.
He continued his tale through tears. The gist of it was that there was nothing to eat on the surface. Ji Seo-gu looked into his eyes and let out a wide yawn.
In the past, no matter how weak a snake was, it could devour humans. Shabby merchants traveled mountain paths even in the middle of the night, and exhausted parents didn’t even think to protect their children. Small villages were essentially larders filled with various flavors of prey. Snakes would pick out villages and eat humans according to their taste. All of that had become a thing of the past.
—It is all because of that human.
The Heavenly Crow Temple lifted his watery eyes.
It was true that everything had changed after that human ascended to the throne. In the land that person ruled, high walls were built, and humans living in remote areas were called to gather and sleep within the city walls. When they went out, they formed groups and carried torches, and large-scale snake exterminations were carried out every year.
The disaster did not stop there. The king began to subjugate neighboring countries. Friendly small-to-medium states were absorbed through marriage alliances with siblings, and aggressive large states were crushed by war. As a result, a unified human kingdom was born in less than a hundred years.
‘It’s not because of that human. It’s because of the one who gave that human everything, heart and soul.’
Ji Seo-gu quietly gnashed his teeth. Just thinking of the Azure Dragon made him feel as if his scales were being turned inside out.
Ji Seo-gu’s subordinates had originally been unable to establish themselves in that country to an unusual degree, and it turned out the Azure Dragon had been backing Yeon-hwa. He had intervened in the process of Yeon-hwa ascending to the throne and had participated in the wars.
‘The Azure Dragon follows and obeys a human without any regard for the dignity of a divine beast, and so the world has become a mess. I consider this a serious problem.’
Ji Seo-gu had tried to rally the other divine beasts to resolve this. However, he was the only one who viewed it as a problem.
‘It was beyond unbearable to watch humans fight and bleed among themselves for so long. I actually like that it has become peaceful.’
The weak Vermilion Bird naturally took the Azure Dragon’s side.
‘While we must be wary of human power becoming too strong, it is also true that the order of the mortal realm has stabilized due to the unified kingdom. I shall observe without intervening for the time being.’
The White Tiger took a neutral stance, but in effect, it was the same as siding with the Azure Dragon.
When the four symbols agreed to recognize the unified kingdom, Hyeonmu had to retreat and swallow his feelings of betrayal and rage.
—Great Hyeonmu, at this rate, we shall all starve to death. Please have pity on us.
The Heavenly Crow Temple wailed, slamming his forehead against the ground. Ji Seo-gu emerged from the darkness and revealed himself before him.
—Do you think I am merely idling?
—T-t-t-that is not what I meant….
—And yet you dare to rush your master!
As Ji Seo-gu shouted, the Heavenly Crow Temple trembled like an aspen leaf. As Ji Seo-gu lowered his body, a thick shadow enveloped the Heavenly Crow Temple.
—Since you are a servant I cherish, I shall tell you a secret.
Pale with fear, the Heavenly Crow Temple looked as if he might stop breathing at any moment. Ji Seo-gu whispered with a cruel smile.
—You must have seen that human acting arrogant while riding on the Azure Dragon’s back.
—Yes…. J-just a few days ago… I was spotted by the Azure Dragon flying low… and almost died.
—I arranged for that to happen.
—Pardon?
—I personally wove the sorcery. I gave that human the power to manipulate the Azure Dragon.
Seeing a snake as clever as the Heavenly Crow Temple wearing such a stupid expression made Ji Seo-gu feel pleased.
No one knew that Ji Seo-gu had met Yeon-hwa in secret. Not even that arrogant Azure Dragon. This was because no one knew the form Ji Seo-gu took when he used his disguise as a human.
—W-why would you give such immense power? If so, will Yeon-hwa not try to kill all the snakes in the world?
—You cannot understand it right now. This is a seed of conflict, so wait.
The Heavenly Crow Temple looked confused.
He knew one thing but not two. However, a subordinate who knew even one thing was a rare find these days, so he could not let him starve to death. With a careless gesture, Ji Seo-gu gave an order to Chilno.
Soon, Chilno dragged over a fainted human child. As soon as the Heavenly Crow Temple saw the child, his body coiled and he began to drool.
—This is a gift for the sincerity you showed in coming all this way. Take it and go.
—It is very, very plump! I do not know how to repay the Master’s grace—
—I said disappear this instant!
The Heavenly Crow Temple quickly slid away, wrapping his body around the prey. As soon as he vanished from sight, the sound of human bones crunching and shattering could be heard. Ji Seo-gu clicked his tongue.
—Chilno. What do you think?
The white snake lifted his head. He answered without a hint of hesitation.
—Human greed has no end. Yeon-hwa will seek out the Master, desiring even greater power.
Ji Seo-gu laughed involuntarily. Chilno’s answer felt as if it had come directly from his own mind.
—Huhu, if it happens as you say, what should I do?
—When that day comes, Master, please promise to lend Yeon-hwa power by making a contract similar to the one with the Azure Dragon. And then, demand a price.
—A price….
Ji Seo-gu murmured softly.
Then, an answer came to him. There had been something he wanted to steal from the Azure Dragon for a long time.
—That will suffice. You may leave.
Once Chilno bowed politely and disappeared, Ji Seo-gu relaxed his body leisurely. He opened a gap in the floor, revealing the prey hidden beneath. It was trembling violently with wide-open eyes. Since Ji Seo-gu was not in the mood to hear something like a human scream, he blocked the throat with a shadow.
Stroking the prey with his tail, Ji Seo-gu imagined the day the audacious woman would come to him of her own accord. With her fine golden crown and official robes, head held high, swaggering as if she could manipulate the entire world.
As Chilno said, humans were beings who knew no satisfaction. This would be even more so for a power-hungry ruler. Ji Seo-gu believed he only had to wait for the day that haughty human found the Azure Dragon insufficient and required even greater power.
On the day Yeon-hwa visited the underground, Ji Seo-gu intended to demand a treasure of the heavenly realm. And when that person brought the divine artifact….
Crack!
As Ji Seo-gu applied strength to his tail, the prey’s neck snapped helplessly.
“Haha, haha, ahahaha!”
The sound of laughter echoed through the Black Temple.
Side Story: Biryoo
Dragons hardly needed a leader. The same went for birds, tigers, snakes, and aquatic creatures. The problem was the humans who covered the mortal realm.
The more he looked at humans, the more loathsome they became. This was true of individuals, but the process of swarms, like ants, repeatedly perishing and recovering was difficult to watch. They would stretch out as if they were different from before, only to fall into corruption without a second thought; they would emerge anew, only to lose all their initial resolve; they would seem prosperous, only to become as weak as straws.
Biryoo was not the only one who felt disillusionment at their meanness, violence, and foolishness. But why had the Azure Dragon, a king of dragons so wise and strong that none could compare, been captured by a mere human?
‘I am worried because you spend too much time with that human.’
‘Azure Dragon, the dragons are concerned that you are intervening too much in the human realm.’
‘Fighting a human war on their behalf—have you lost your mind?’
Biryoo wanted to stop him every time. Sometimes subtly, sometimes strongly, and sometimes with a roughness that bordered on the lawless. However, he tried to trust that the Azure Dragon must have his own intentions.
Biryoo was the only one who endured. For example, Jeolgon reacted with a violence that was almost excessive. He had even fallen out with the Azure Dragon after being caught badmouthing Yeon-hwa.
Setting aside the fact that Jeolgon had always been eccentric, no horned dragon liked Yeon-hwa. Dragons were willful beings who usually could not agree on anything, but on this one matter, they spoke with one voice.
Not only the dragons of the heavenly realm, but also the wandering dragons scattered across the rivers and lakes of the mortal realm expressed concern. Even the Sea Dragons, who had little to do with this, stepped forward in absolute opposition. But the Azure Dragon paid no heed to any words. It was as if he had turned his back on the entire world.
‘Just give it up, Biryoo. The Azure Dragon has changed. He’s become a dull dragon who knows nothing but that human.’
‘Watch your tongue, Jeolgon!’
How could Jeolgon turn away so coldly? As the Azure Dragon’s kin, they had a duty to assist him by his side. Moreover, the Azure Dragon was the benefactor who had allowed them to live, the teacher who had passed down everything to them, and the closest friend they had shared a long time with.
Furthermore, the Azure Dragon was a perfect dragon. He was strong and wise, yet merciful. Despite possessing a powerful special ability that could manipulate the world, he exercised restraint and used it only where necessary; he was a sage who did not treat life lightly and listened even to the smallest voice. In all his life, Biryoo had never seen him commit even a trivial mistake.
But this time was different.
‘That human is the problem.’
That human, Yeon-hwa, was a trivial princess of a small kingdom whose survival was precarious. When the two first became close, Biryoo thought the Azure Dragon simply pitied him. Just as he had picked up and raised himself and Jeolgon, just as he could not easily pass by any life in danger, whether it be a tiger, a bird, or a human.
However, the two built their relationship steadily over ten years. During that time, Yeon-hwa worked relentlessly to gradually approach the seemingly hopeless position of king, which left a deep impression even on Biryoo, who had no interest in humans.
‘There are times I marvel at how strong that will is. That child has the qualities of a king; if they ascend to that position, the mortal realm will find peace.’
‘I wonder. I must admit they are tenacious and ruthless.’
‘You are too much, Biryoo. I will be right, just you wait and see.’
It must have been from then that a certain sense of crisis bloomed in Biryoo’s heart. Biryoo did not understand that sensation at the time. He only hoped that the identity of the something shining in the Azure Dragon’s eyes whenever he spoke of Yeon-hwa was pride or curiosity.
The human revealed their true colors after ascending to the throne. They boldly summoned the Azure Dragon to their bedroom and did not hide it. When ministers advised that they must marry as a king, they dismissed it by stating they had a lover and acted as they pleased.
What was more appalling was the Azure Dragon’s reaction. Not only did he keep that person closer and cherish them more than ever, but he also gave them life and let them sleep in the cloud palace.
‘Humans need a king who is like a god. Snakes and aquatic creatures have Hyeonmu, land animals have the White Tiger, birds have the Vermilion Bird, and dragons have you. Since we have no god to look after us, I must do that work.’
One day, Biryoo saw them together in the Azure Dragon’s bedroom. The human was lying comfortably, and the Azure Dragon was holding a comb by their head, brushing their hair like a servant. The Azure Dragon had an expression as if he possessed all the happiness in the world.
While thinking that something was wrong, Biryoo still tried to understand the Azure Dragon’s heart.
‘The reason the Azure Dragon was fascinated by Yeon-hwa must be because of that person’s ambition and will. These are traits dragons do not possess, so he may have been strongly drawn to them.’
The world of dragons was stable with few conflicts. This meant it was peaceful, but it also meant there was nothing to improve. Biryoo guessed that the progressive nature unique to humans—hoping for a today better than yesterday and a tomorrow brighter than today—must have looked admirable in the Azure Dragon’s eyes.
Up to that point, it was fine. What flaw was there in the king of the heavenly realm having a lover? Moreover, if that person ruled the human world peacefully, it would not be bad for the heavenly realm either.
However, Yeon-hwa’s greed grew steadily. He actively used the Azure Dragon in his politics. He summoned the Azure Dragon to ceremonies for the purpose of intimidating neighboring countries, and when fighting wars, he borrowed the Azure Dragon’s power to bring wind, rain, and lightning strikes upon the enemy camp. It was a natural sequence that neighboring countries knelt one by one.
By the time Yeon-hwa became the king of the unified kingdom, the dissatisfaction of the dragons reached its peak. Rumors spread that the Azure Dragon had devolved into a human’s puppet. It was around this time that Jeolgon severed ties with the Azure Dragon. Biryoo thought it was time to step forward.
‘Azure Dragon, Yeon-hwa’s greed is excessive. He only seeks to use your power for private ambition; he is a person not worth giving your heart to.’
‘It is not private ambition. It is a great cause for the peace of the mortal realm; how can even you speak so?’
When Biryoo made a determined warning, the Azure Dragon dismissed him, sounding hurt. Even as he retreated, Biryoo was concerned that he looked exhausted.
It was a few days later that the Azure Dragon and Yeon-hwa had a great argument. Biryoo did not want to eavesdrop. It was simply that Yeon-hwa’s voice was so loud it rang through the palace, even piercing through the cloud walls.
‘It’s not like I call you every day; is asking you to appear on time such a big request?’
That insolent person dared to throw a tantrum right before the Azure Dragon’s eyes.
‘It’s not even a difficult task…. You don’t know. You don’t know at all! Do you know how much power is needed to rule such a vast kingdom…. You know better than anyone how hard I worked to get to this position. Do you actually love me?’