Chapter 625: Authority/Power (Authority/Power)

‘What was I doing?’

That was the first thought the moment I opened my eyes.

What had I been doing until now?

‘Clearly….’

‘I went into my mind, eliminated my hesitation, and came back.’

How much time passed after I closed my eyes thinking that?

Leaving my somewhat dazed head as it was, I turned my gaze.

The environment hadn’t changed much from before I closed my eyes.

I could still see the ice crystal.

‘Palace Lord.’

As I looked around, I also saw the Palace Lord looking at me.

But.

‘What is it?’

Why is he making that kind of expression?

Surprise and bewilderment.

He was the Palace Lord, known for his chillingly cold impression.

The expression he was making was truly multifaceted.

Why would he have that kind of face?

Just as I was thinking that.

“Why are you crying?”

At the words the Palace Lord uttered, I had to tilt my head.

Crying?

I raised my hand and touched the corner of my eye.

‘Huh?’

Upon checking, tears were indeed flowing.

What is this?

‘What the heck.’

Why am I crying?

‘What is this.’

The sudden flow of tears slowed down my understanding of the situation.

Putting aside how long it had been since I last shed tears.

I needed to figure out why I was shedding them.

I hadn’t really experienced anything particularly significant…

‘Hmm?’

I tried to recall the previous situation.

Strangely, I couldn’t remember anything.

‘Clearly….’

Right after entering the mental space and trying to kill my younger self.

After that.

What was after that…

‘What was it?’

I can’t remember.

I feel like something definitely happened.

It was as if my memory had been smeared thickly with ink; I couldn’t recall.

‘This is unsettling.’

And it’s daunting.

I tried hard to recall, scowling deeply, but…

Only a blurry something brushed past.

The shape of someone holding a child.

That was the limit of what I could barely recall.

‘I don’t know.’

What did I see? What did I see and experience to feel this unsettled?

“Goo Gongja? Are you alright?”

“Ah….”

At the Palace Lord’s words, I first wiped away my tears.

“…How much time has passed?”

“Only a few seconds have passed.”

“…Hmm.”

A few seconds.

Has only that much time passed?

‘With just that much time having passed…’

I thought, looking at my clenched fist.

‘My cultivation has increased this much…?’

I observed my physical condition with surprised eyes.

It’s overflowing.

My energy was filled to the point of overflowing.

The vessel containing it had grown even larger.

‘This….’

If my previous state was far inferior to my past life,

Then now…

‘It’s well over half.’

I couldn’t say I’d reached it completely, but I was very close.

I could say I had clearly changed this much.

‘…Ha.’

A hollow laugh escaped me.

To think I could change this much just by shedding hesitation.

This, in other words…

‘It’s more accurate to say it’s something I originally possessed, rather than something I obtained.’

This wasn’t newly acquired power.

As my level changed, it was the energy that had originally formed within my body,

but it’s right to see it as power bound within my body because I couldn’t stabilize my mental state.

I vaguely knew this.

‘I just didn’t know it would be this much.’

If I could, I’d want to check what my current state is like,

‘For now.’

I turned my head and checked the ice crystal.

‘This first.’

The Palace Lord had said.

That I would surely find out once I made a choice.

‘Hmm….’

Recalling that, I looked at the ice crystal.

I realized the Palace Lord’s words were half right and half wrong.

The reason I came here.

I still couldn’t know that,

But at least.

‘I know what this is.’

The identity of the ice crystal before me.

I felt like I knew that much.

I reached out my hand.

Swoosh.

As I placed my palm on the surface of the ice crystal.

Woongwoongwoong—!!!

The ice crystal suddenly started vibrating madly.

“…!”

Seeing this, the Palace Lord behind me flinched and trembled,

But I ignored him.

Focusing, I could see.

The ice crystal, which had only looked like a round lump of ice,

Now looked different.

I focused on the myriad sensations felt through my fingertips.

After touching the ice crystal here and there like that for a moment,

“Hmm.”

Drip.

I wiped the flowing cold sweat with the back of my hand.

Is it sweat from being hot?

That’s impossible.

How cold this place is.

This sweat was simply shed due to the energy felt within the ice crystal.

Things unseen became visible,

And things unfelt became perceptible.

As the Palace Lord said, I could now see and feel much more than before.

‘…He did say it was an egg.’

This time, the Palace Lord was right. The ice crystal is an egg.

An egg containing something damn terrifying, no less.

‘I don’t know if it’s a heart.’

But I felt like I knew something immense was inside.

Moreover.

I even knew that not much time was left until that existence hatched.

It’s absurd that the Northern Sea has possessed such a crazy item until now.

“…”

Looking at the ice crystal, I pondered whether I should try exerting power into it.

Exerting power.

What does that mean?

Even if it was a sudden thought, my body already knew.

Right after opening my eyes.

My cultivation rapidly changed, altering my body and energy.

This was indeed an unbelievable change,

but there was an even greater change.

I could sense it instinctively.

That a power I didn’t possess had emerged.

‘To be precise.’

It’s a forgotten power, but setting that aside,

Only after barely realizing it could I understand the words the Dark King had spoken.

The power obtained upon becoming a dragon.

Different from martial arts that grow steadily through training.

An ability possessed from birth.

Authority/Power (Authority/Power)

How to use it.

Whether it truly held power. What its principles were.

Such explanations were unnecessary from the start.

My body already knew the answer.

Rather, it was astonishing how I hadn’t known until now.

It was integrated into my body so naturally.

As if I had possessed it from the very beginning.

‘Will it work?’

So, I momentarily considered trying to use it on the ice crystal,

But after pondering for a moment,

Rustle.

I withdrew the hand that was touching the ice crystal.

The reason was simple.

“The order is wrong.”

Because ‘this’ wasn’t the first step.

I checked the palm that had been touching the ice crystal.

Though I had been touching the lump of ice for so long, not a drop of moisture clung to it.

“Palace Lord.”

I turned my gaze to the Palace Lord and asked.

“About the reason you considered this a heart.”

The conversation from earlier.

Just as I was about to continue the conversation about the bothersome topic,

“Ah.”

I momentarily stopped speaking and recalled something.

“This is also out of order.”

“…What?”

“I’ll listen after I go and come back. That should come first.”

“Goo Gongja? What are you suddenly talking about-.”

The Palace Lord tried to call me back, looking incomprehensible,

But I turned my steps and walked towards the exit.

There was no need to grab the doorknob.

As I approached, the door moved on its own, just like before.

“…Where are you going now?”

Seeing that, the Palace Lord asked, so I slightly turned my head and said to him.

“It’s nothing much. A realization from something I learned just occurred to me.”

Yes, something I learned.

It was something I had clearly learned recently.

-You know, right?

-We never let anyone take what’s ours.

A voice echoed in my mind.

I wondered why those words were surfacing now,

‘It’s not surfacing now. It’s closer to the truth that I had forgotten it all along.’

I had forgotten what I should have remembered from the start.

That’s why I’m thinking about it now, even if it’s late.

‘It’s true.’

Never letting anyone take what’s theirs.

It’s a statement highlighting arrogant yet powerful possessiveness.

And it was absolutely true.

‘I shouldn’t let it be taken.’

If I considered it mine, I shouldn’t let it be stolen.

Those words resonated throughout my entire body.

This is an action the original me wouldn’t have taken.

I would have repeatedly hesitated, looking for plans and justifications,

But I decided not to do that now.

There’s only one thought that comes to mind right now.

If it was taken.

“I must take it back.”

It was merely simple logic.

The Palace Lord frowned slightly as if he couldn’t understand my words at all,

But I simply turned my gaze away again.

“It won’t take that long.”

“Seol-.”

Before the Palace Lord could even finish his words,

I was already grabbing and opening the door I had entered through.

Kkiiiyik-!

Opening the door and stepping out, I encountered someone waiting.

It was Black Lion.

Seeing me open the door and come out on my own, Black Lion scowled for a moment.

Looking at him, I said.

“I’m done with my business.”

As I said that, casually waving my hand, Black Lion spoke to me.

“Perhaps you haven’t committed another discourtesy towards the Palace Lord, have you?”

Was it because of the friction earlier? Black Lion’s attitude felt much sharper.

Hearing that, I replied.

“I don’t think I did anything particular. Did I?”

I don’t know.

I said that because I couldn’t quite remember,

Grind.

Thinking I was teasing him, Black Lion emitted hostility.

“…If you continue to show such an attitude, you’ll truly have to see blood.”

I don’t know if I slightly touched a nerve, or if he was about to explode after holding back,

Black Lion blocked my path, seeming genuinely angry.

Seeing that, I said with a smile.

“I wasn’t trying to tease you. I genuinely don’t know. I apologize if you were offended.”

After apologizing with a smile, I tried to casually walk past,

“Playing games like that again-!”

Black Lion tried to grab my shoulder,

“If your hand touches me.”

I erased my smile and said to him.

“You die?”

Flintch-!

At my words, Black Lion flinched and stopped his hand.

My eyes stared at the frozen Black Lion.

I could see Black Lion’s eyes waver.

No further conversation ensued.

As we just kept staring at each other,

Swish.

Black Lion withdrew his hand first.

And then.

“…Something has changed.”

Black Lion said to me in a voice mixed with trembling.

Changed?

As I heard his words, I nodded.

I don’t think he meant just my cultivation level.

As for me, I couldn’t feel it yet.

Even though I had shed something.

I was still me.

But.

“Perhaps.”

I couldn’t know for sure yet.

Answering, I gave a slight smile.

“See you next time. I have business to attend to now.”

Leaving the still-frozen Black Lion, I put strength into my steps.

What would I have done here originally?

Would I have headed towards my companions?

Perhaps I would have.

But now, there’s something I need to do first.

At least, that’s how it was for me now.

I turn my gaze.

I was already outside the hiding place.

It was like this from the start, and it wasn’t difficult to get out of the cave this time either.

I looked up at the sky.

Swaaaah-!

Outside, snow was still falling.

Looking at that snow, I recalled something.

“Hmm.”

It’s still an unpleasant land.

The ground I’m stepping on. The air I feel.

Even the falling snow.

Everything felt unpleasant.

I didn’t know at first, but now I can understand.

The reason this land feels so unpleasant isn’t because another dragon is on it.

The reason is precisely…

‘Because it’s land dominated by someone else.’

Not simply because a dragon is on the land,

But because that guy dominates this land.

That’s why it feels foul.

The vague sensation I felt from the beginning now feels distinct.

‘Ah, that’s why I felt so bad.’

Because it’s someone else’s land.

Just for that reason alone, it’s so irritating.

What an arrogant and greedy race they are.

Or perhaps.

‘Maybe I’m the one who’s particularly greedy.’

I chuckled as I thought that.

Maybe that’s really the case.

“Is that why?”

I said that, recalling the thing called Authority that had emerged.

Because I am particularly greedy and arrogant,

I wondered if that’s why I possess ‘this kind’ of Authority.

Thump.

I relaxed my hand.

“Whatever.”

Let’s think simply. It’s better than hesitating.

‘For now, at least.’

Get back what was taken.

I wanted to prioritize that one thing.

I shifted my gaze from the snow and looked beyond the front.

Though I couldn’t see it,

I felt what I hadn’t felt before.

Hwareuk.

I enveloped my body in flames.

And then I took a step forward.

And then.

Hwaaaaaaaaah–!!!

Light exploded,

Swaaaah… Tudududududuk–!

The snow falling from the sky turned into rain.

---

Northern Sea Ice Palace.

It was the space where the clans of the Ice Palace resided, a castle once renowned as the center of the Northern Sea, wielding great influence,

But its current appearance was rather dilapidated.

Due to the aftermath of the rebellion, various parts of the buildings had collapsed,

and because the debris from the chaos wasn’t bothered to be cleared, it looked even more disastrous.

In the inner area of such a castle.

A man patrolling the surroundings near the entrance leading to the main palace spoke up.

“I don’t know what General Bi-oe is thinking.”

To this, the man next to him startled and said,

“Watch your words. What if someone overhears?”

“That’s not it.”

The man continued, his expression full of discontent.

“I hear they know well where the Palace Lord is hiding. I don’t understand why they’re just waiting like this.”

Where the fugitive Palace Lord and his forces were hiding had already been ascertained.

Moreover, since they had already succeeded in seizing the palace,

It was essentially a war that could be ended if they just decided to.

But why isn’t there any further progress?

That’s the only question the man had.

“There must be a reason for everything. We just need to follow, right?”

“If we fail like this, it’ll all be a dog’s death, that’s what I’m saying.”

“The war is already tantamount to victory, do you think we’ll fail here?”

The Palace Lord, who reigned as the absolute ruler of the Northern Sea, was defeated and fled.

The Ice Palace Lord was a powerhouse whom even the combined forces of the five Great Generals couldn’t budge,

Yet, every warrior saw him flee, defeated by the sword of General Bi-oe’s forces.

“Furthermore, they even won over the clans. This is no different from victory.”

“…Hmm….”

Even after hearing that, I still had my doubts.

“Do you really think the Palace Lord used sorcery to sacrifice people?”

The cause that started the war.

It was said that the Palace Lord was killing people to satisfy his own greed.

At the man’s words, the other person sighed.

“We’ve already found all the evidence, haven’t we?”

Traces were found in the Palace Lord’s chambers and the palace’s basement.

Seeing that, how could one not believe it?

“The Palace Lord has fallen. He’s no longer the person we knew.”

The clans have lived sacrificing themselves for the Northern Sea until now.

It’s thanks to them that humans can barely survive in the Northern Sea,

But the Palace Lord, unable to handle it, had fallen.

“…It’s fortunate that the Princess Consort, shocked by this, sided with us. Otherwise, it would probably have been difficult to start this war.”

“…”

The man merely wore a displeased expression. A few days ago. One of the clansmen held captive in the palace, a supporter of General Bi-oe’s forces.

Not the First Young Master or the Second Young Master,

It was around the time it was revealed to be the First Princess Consort, causing quite a stir.

Although it was confirmed that the clans were indeed supporting General Bi-oe’s forces, it was still equally incomprehensible.

‘Indeed.’

Indeed.

Is it really like that?

With all the evidence out and the rebellion successful,

It doesn’t seem like there’s anything more to argue about,

But I just can’t believe it.

The man looked up at the sky.

The sky where snow kept falling.

The unending severe cold. Despite being called a cold and cursed land,

I heard it was the clans, and particularly the Palace Lord, who prevented it from being swept away by the severe cold.

As a low-ranking man, I don’t know the details of why they protect us from the severe cold,

But the claim that the Palace Lord did it for eternal life was hard to believe.

‘Not for his own eternal life, but rather…’

To erase this severe cold.

If he had done it for that reason, I might have believed it.

As I was looking up at the sky thinking that,

Drip.

“…Huh?”

The man, who had been gazing blankly at the sky, uttered a single exclamation.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“…This.”

The man held out his hand, palm facing the sky.

“This snow….”

Seeing that, the other person had to tilt their head.

Isn’t it just snow, which always falls?

So he reached out his hand. Just then.

“…Isn’t that rain, not snow?”

“What?”

At the man’s words, he too quickly looked up at the sky.

At that moment.

Drip-!

A drop of water fell onto the man’s cheek.

“W-What is this…?”

The moment he was flustered by the cold sensation.

Drip-! Ddududk-!

The drops, which gradually began to fall one by one amidst the falling snow,

Tududududuk-!

Soon expanded their range and began pouring down rapidly.

It was rain.

This was definitely rain.

Rain falling in the Northern Sea, where only snow fell year-round due to the severe cold.

What this signified was by no means trivial.

“W-What in the world is happening-!”

Just as he was about to shout with a surprised expression,

Hwareuk-!

A brief spark flew beside him.

Sensing something strange, the man shifted his gaze, and someone was standing where the spark appeared.

A dark-colored robe fluttered in the wind.

Swaaaaaah….

For some reason, the falling raindrops seemed to bypass the figure alone.

It was a mystical sight.

That was why.

I watched him, mesmerized, rather than taking a defensive stance.

As the two men stared blankly at him, the figure who appeared lifted his head and looked at them.

It was a young man.

His age seemed to be just past the age of twenty.

However, he was by no means ordinary.

With slit pupils of blue, difficult to perceive as human,

And his indifferent expression, the man felt himself involuntarily shrink back.

Towards such a man.

“Since I ran into you, I might as well say this.”

The figure removed his expression, smiled slightly, and spoke.

“Could you relay a message to the boss here?”

My body trembled at the smile the young man wore.

It was the first time in my life I had seen such a terrifying smile.

“I’ve come to take back what was stolen.”