#189

Cullen froze at the sight, which seemed to speak of death. For a moment, Cat’s words didn’t register. Kiyen couldn’t be felt?

…That’s impossible.

Strong denial immediately followed. Kiyen, who was not human, couldn’t die. Not by a mere Demonic Beast. Even though he knew Cat understood things about races far better than he did, he held onto that certainty.

“Please check again, Cat.”

The child was likely mistaken due to immaturity. It was understandable, given the shock of what had just happened.

Seeing Cullen’s stiff face, Cat sniffled and looked towards the place where the light had vanished. However, no words came from Cat. Watching the child’s lips move, Cullen turned his head. He looked around, seeing the faces of Black and White. He believed Cat must have felt it wrong.

But Black and White, instead of denying it, looked at Cullen with frightened eyes. Their expressions held a clear meaning. They kept assuming an impossible premise.

Even if Kiyen was not as he was before, he could not die. That was the foundation of Kiyen. The reason he could love him without worry in the past. The reason he could cherish him without fear of losing him. Didn’t all of that stem from Kiyen’s immortality?

For some unknown reason, his pulse quickened. Even though the threat had disappeared, the nerves throughout his body were on edge. Instead of pressing for answers, Cullen took a large step forward. With a heavy movement, he walked to where the bound figures were and picked up his bow. Lasano did not try to stop him this time either. The faces beneath the fallen darkness were grim.

Ignoring the ominous markings, Cullen began to walk in the direction Kiyen should be. He heard footsteps following him. He tried to be conscious of them, walking slowly, but his steps gradually quickened.

His strides grew longer, and the grip on his clenched fists tightened. Before he knew it, he was running.

Rushing madly through the quiet forest, unbelievable for a night where such a tragic event had occurred, Cullen was returning to Kiyen. He ran in the exact opposite direction from the night he had fled from him.

Running frantically, he returned to the site of the brutal battle. The branches the children had gathered were gone without a trace, and broken tree trunks and huge craters were scattered everywhere. It was a scene where the existence of any living creature seemed miraculous.

Stopping abruptly, Cullen surveyed his surroundings. His eyes, accustomed to the darkness, scanned everywhere relentlessly. He expected to see the bright golden hair at any moment. But there was nothing to be seen.

As he ventured deeper into the site of the incident, his body stiffened. It was a familiar sensation he didn’t want to feel.

This was the fear of loss.

Cullen knew it better than anyone. Hope, following denial, always lost to this fear. As if mocking his foolish naivety, despair weighed down on his shoulders. He had felt it too much and didn’t want to go through it again.

His stomach churned. Suppressing the urge to vomit, Cullen began to rummage through the surroundings like a madman. He searched the entire forest, which had turned into a clearing, and even entered the nearby bushes where Kiyen wouldn’t be.

“Cullen-nim.”

Someone called him from behind as Cullen entered, not caring that his body was being scratched. With a flicker of hope, Cullen quickly turned around. However, Lasano’s face, gazing at him, only hinted at what he didn’t want to hear.

Breathing heavily, he stared at him. Lasano’s lips moved, and finally, he spoke a single sentence.

“It’s getting dark… it would be better to search after dawn.”

His voice, tinged with faint resignation, sounded strange. As if he truly believed Kiyen was dead.

“Why that expression?”

Unable to understand, Cullen approached Lasano. Standing close in front of him and looking down, he asked in a low, chilling tone.

“Are you perhaps having strange thoughts too?”

Before Lasano could answer, Cullen refuted himself.

“He is a Dragon. Didn’t you see? Nothing could defeat him, and he never gets hurt. He…”

He couldn’t possibly have died.

The last sentence caught in his throat. He felt a revulsion even at uttering the word ‘death’. As his throat tightened, he gasped for breath, and Lasano’s face contorted. He stared at Cullen with a pained expression for a long time before speaking.

“You asked me what price Kiyen-nim paid to save your life.”

This was not the time for such a conversation. Cullen shook his head. He didn’t know what he was denying. Yet, a chill ran down his spine.

“I don’t know why you’re suddenly saying that. Later…”

He forced out his voice to stop Lasano. But his throat kept getting choked. Lasano remained silent, looking at him. It was as if he was giving him time. By then, the Young Dragons who had followed them were also staring intently at Lasano.

A dreadful silence stretched on. Lasano opened and closed his mouth several times before clenching his fist and saying.

“To save a life, such a price is necessary.”

“Lasano.”

He didn’t want to hear it.

“No matter how great a Dragon, they cannot cast magic to save a life. The price Kiyen-nim paid to bring you back…”

“Stop it.”

He stopped Lasano with a voice that unintentionally carried killing intent, but he finally spat out the words.

“Is Kiyen-nim’s immortality.”

The words he had denied, thinking ‘no way’.

Listening to Lasano’s pained voice, Cullen swallowed. His blood vessels expanded, and he felt his heart stop. His blinking eyes froze. A churning sensation, incomparable to before, struck his stomach. His throat tightened.

As silence pressed down on Cullen, a faint trembling breath could be heard. White, who had been holding back tears all along, finally had moisture gather on her white eyelashes, and Black’s expression became blank. Staring blankly at the scene, Cullen replayed the words he had just heard. He didn’t quite understand.

“No!”

At that moment, Cat shouted.

“No, that’s impossible. Kiyen-nim is the Guardian. Dragons don’t die!”

Cat cried out in a frightened voice. Her voice, full of moisture, felt like it was trembling. Lasano looked down at Cat.

“It’s a lie. Humans can lie!”

Cat tugged frantically at Lasano’s clothes with her small hands. Lasano ignored the child and just bit his lips tightly. A faint sob finally began to escape Cat.

Silence was more brutal than words. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard as they were engulfed in darkness. Cullen stood there, dazed, watching the entire scene unfold.

He should be fine.

Since he couldn’t feel, he shouldn’t be in pain, but it hurt. Since he no longer loved Kiyen, he shouldn’t be agitated, but he couldn’t think of anything. The goddess’s words, that emotions couldn’t be completely erased, flashed through his mind. Yes, that was possible. He had known long ago that the Golden Seal was not perfect.

Still, he didn’t love him, so there was no reason to be this surprised.

Standing blankly, Cullen tried to understand the incomprehensible phenomenon. He even forced himself to think that it would be better if Kiyen, who agitated him, was gone, but it was useless.

His heart ached as if it had shattered into pieces. Despite being quite skilled at enduring pain, he let out a groan.

He exhaled a thinly trembling breath. His ears buzzed. Trying desperately to endure the feeling of going mad, he tried to move. He couldn’t just stand there.

“……I see a light over there.”

At that moment, Black, who had been standing expressionlessly, spoke. Cullen’s head snapped around. He saw Black gazing eastward. Although human eyes couldn’t see anything yet, White and Cat, who had been crying softly, also narrowed their pupils, looking in that direction.

Without asking further questions, Cullen immediately started running. Pushing through the bushes frantically, Cullen moved without even breathing properly until he saw the light.

And indeed, not long after, a faint light came into view. It was a small firefly. The firefly, appearing out of nowhere, gave him a strange hope.

The fireflies swarmed, circling in the air. As if wanting someone to discover this place. Instead of scattering when Cullen approached, the fireflies twinkled their lights. Where they finally stopped, Cullen found the golden color he had been searching for so desperately.

However, it was not the golden color he remembered. His golden hair, buried in darkness, had lost its usual radiance and was faint, and his elegant golden wings were terribly mangled. The moment he saw the appearance, as if torn by something sharp, Cullen collapsed beside him.

“Guardian-nim!”

Cat, who had followed Cullen immediately, called out to Kiyen, sobbing. Black and White, who had rushed over together, also sat beside Kiyen. Cullen touched Kiyen with trembling hands. His white robe was stained a deep crimson, almost blackish-red, as he had witnessed earlier. It was covered in blood.

But he would be alright inside. Cullen thought as he gently pulled down his robe. He recalled Kiyen, who would heal without a trace even when his neck was cut by a sharp sword.

Beyond the robe, there would be unblemished white skin. Although he seemed unconscious, he was sure of it.

He absolutely had to be.

As if forcing Kiyen, Cullen thought so alone. Gritting his teeth, Cullen slowly observed his exposed upper body. He kept whispering to himself that it would be alright.

But as the world had always been to him, Cullen’s expectations were not met.

Kiyen’s exposed upper body was a mess.

“……His heart is beating.”

A faint pulse could be heard. His body was cold, but not deathly cold. That was enough. That would be enough. Cullen hastily raised his head and looked at the Young Dragons.

“He will regain consciousness soon, and his wounds will heal. Won’t they?”

Cullen asked as if speaking to himself. Cat and White nodded, but Black did not. Black, looking at Cullen with a blank expression, soon lowered his head.

“……I don’t know.”

“Why, Black. He’s alive, so he’ll recover soon.”

White said, as if chiding Black, which was unlike her. But Black did not retract his words and looked at Lasano.

“The infinite life that envelops Dragons makes us immune to any illness and prevents us from getting hurt. That is why Dragons do not die. But you said earlier that Guardian-nim gave up his immortality. If so, that means…”

Lasano did not refute him. Black, trailing off, made eye contact with Cullen. His blank expression seemed to signal the end. As he looked at it, something surged within him.

“We must find a priest.”

Cullen acted as if he hadn’t heard Black. Then, looking alternately at Kiyen, who was breathing faintly, and the Dragons, he said.

“I will carry Kiyen-nim down the mountain, so please help me. Immediately.”

Lasano moved, following Cullen’s cool command.

His body trembled for a moment at the thought that his wounds might worsen, but he couldn’t stay like this. He had to move as quickly as possible with him. The fact that he was still breathing, even after blocking such an attack, meant Kiyen still possessed a life force different from humans. There was still a chance.

“We’ll do it.”

White suggested cautiously, but Cullen shook his head. More than the thought that he couldn’t entrust it to children, it was due to an obsession that he himself had to feel Kiyen’s breath.

With Lasano’s help, Cullen hoisted Kiyen onto his back. His long wings dragged limply on the ground. Ignoring the ominous assumptions that threatened to arise, Cullen said with a firm expression.

“We will go without rest until we find a priest.”

No one dared to object to Cullen’s voice, which sounded almost frightening.