Ch.191Chapter 191: Dragon Heart (1)

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After passing through a chaotic moment.

After wandering beneath an unknown night sky.

I met my ancestor, Master Lumen Ranos.

Just as I was trying to move past the incident caused by her hastily labeling me as a demon’s pawn.

My mind, which had gradually become confused when my ancestor suddenly produced the Dragon Heart.

Reached its peak when my ancestor realized I was her descendant.

Though I should have somehow managed the situation, I ultimately failed to handle it properly.

In the end, I returned after my ancestor made a one-sided request of me.

Back into the Sword Tomb where I had been undergoing my trial.

When I first returned, I was momentarily disoriented by the brighter environment compared to when I was wandering under the night sky.

[Hey now? Called you but got no response. Shouldn’t you greet me after completing your trial?]

Fafnir’s frivolous voice, displeased with my dazed state, echoed mercilessly through my mind, making me realize I had truly returned.

Normally, it would have been proper courtesy to offer some greeting to Fafnir who welcomed me like this.

“…So you knew from the beginning.”

But the best I could manage was to voice the thoughts related to what my ancestor had said during my final moments beneath the night sky.

Perhaps surprised that I, who he expected would welcome him in some way, showed only a bland(?) response.

[Hey? Kid? …Where did you go that made an already strange kid even stranger?]

Fafnir’s voice echoing in my head grew increasingly louder.

From his tone, it seemed he didn’t appreciate me standing still, continuing with my muttering without showing any reaction.

Seeing how he was deliberately provoking me with inflammatory remarks, I could be almost certain of it.

“I see you were bored while I was away.”

So I decided to play along with Fafnir’s provocation.

[Of course. Do you know how bored I was here alone during the days you were gone?]

Fafnir insisted on how bored he had been.

…Wait.

“Did you just say days?”

[Yes, about two days, I think?]

…I only wandered there for a few hours at most, but two days have passed in the place I came from?

Where exactly did I go?

Was it really the past?

Or was it some strange place completely disconnected from the flow of time in this reality?

And which era did my ancestor, whom I met there, live in?

All sorts of questions bloomed and withered in my mind, but.

[Judging by your expression, you must have gone somewhere with a distorted flow of time. Must have been quite an ordeal.]

Right now, I had more important matters to attend to than satisfying my personal curiosity about the questions in my mind.

“Fafnir.”

[Yes. Seems you finally have the will to talk to me. How nice it would have been if you had answered when I called earlier….]

“Please summon me to where you are for a moment.”

I needed to return the absurd item my ancestor had given me to its original owner.

[What?]

Needless to say, Fafnir’s confused voice, unaware of my intentions, echoed in my mind.

[No.]

The initial response was, naturally, a refusal.

[If you disappear during your trial, regardless of the arrangements here, it could completely ruin the trial you’ve been working on. I don’t know why you’re asking, but just bear with it for now.]

He gave an extremely rational and valid reason.

His argument was so persuasive that under normal circumstances, I would have followed Fafnir’s instructions without question, but.

Now I had a powerful “reason” that could push aside even Fafnir’s logical coherence.

“Even after seeing this?”

Without hesitation, I presented the strongest reason why I needed to go to where he was by taking out Fafnir’s Dragon Heart that I had received from my ancestor.

The Dragon Heart, which until just now had contained the immense fighting spirit emanating from my ancestor’s body, left my possession and upon contact with the outside air.

*Thump-!!*

It began to pulse like a real heart, emitting a soft red glow.

[….]

Seeing this, Fafnir filled my mind not with words but with increasingly rough breathing.

Though I couldn’t see him face to face, the fierce breathing disturbing my mind indicated that he was extremely shocked.

From the atmosphere, it seemed it would take quite some time before Fafnir could speak properly in my mind, but.

[You, that… where on earth…?]

Having barely regained his composure, Fafnir’s trembling voice quickly asked about the source of the Dragon Heart in my hand.

So I answered.

“I received it.”

[From whom? Someone just handed over something this precious to you?]

Fafnir’s voice, seemingly unable to easily accept my answer, reverberated accusingly in my mind, but.

“From the person who received this from you.”

When I finally clarified the source of who had given it to me.

[Impossible….]

The most deflated voice I had ever heard from him during our acquaintance echoed in my ear, then.

[Tell me everything in detail.]

He immediately proceeded to hear my account.

So I answered sincerely.

I told him about how I had wandered through an unknown place with a brilliantly starlit night sky after being guided by the sword.

How I had moved toward artificial lights.

And about the various happenings that occurred when I met my ancestor there, who was performing a sword dance under the night sky that would overwhelm any sword dance I had ever seen.

And how after it ended, she handed me this Dragon Heart, saying everything had been a test, and that she had known my identity.

“My ancestor said she had something to tell you, Fafnir, along with this.”

[Lumen, that woman?]

“She asked me to tell you that she’s very sorry.”

I conveyed my ancestor’s final request that I had heard as my consciousness was beginning to fade as I left that place.

[….]

Once again, my mind was filled with Fafnir’s heavy silence.

During the first silence, I could still easily discern his psychological state just from his breathing, but.

[….]

In the silence Fafnir was now creating, I couldn’t perceive anything at all.

Just as I was about to nervously swallow in a situation I couldn’t even dare to guess.

[…I see, so that’s how it was.]

At last, Fafnir’s voice broke the brief but seemingly eternal silence in my mind.

[She kept it all this time without using it… Holding on without using what was given to be used, only to return it. Lumen, you fool.]

His voice conveyed a deeply sorrowful emotion that contradicted his words calling my ancestor a fool.

Seeing this, I became confident that I could entrust this burdensome item to its original owner.

“Now that I’ve given you a valid reason, please guide me to where you are. It’s difficult to keep carrying something this burdensome.”

I again requested Fafnir to guide me to the mist-covered world where he resided, but.

[There’s no need for that.]

Betraying my expectations with his words, I was about to reflexively ask why, but.

[That thing, you take it.]

With Fafnir’s subsequent words, I forgot what I was about to say.

“What?!”

I couldn’t help but express my surprise with an exclamation.

How could I not be surprised?

The Dragon Heart, filled with a dragon’s essence, is as precious as life itself to a dragon—if not more so.

Such a precious item, which he hadn’t encountered for a long time, now had the chance to return to its owner.

Yet the original owner wasn’t taking it back but was offering it to me instead—how could I not be surprised?

But I needed to make a good judgment here.

I shouldn’t foolishly accept it just because it was offered.

Moreover, judging by how Fafnir’s voice had returned to its usual frivolity when he told me to take it, I was certain it was just a light joke.

“That’s quite an excessive joke.”

I lightly deflected Fafnir’s suggestion to take the Dragon Heart.

While the Dragon Heart, containing the essence of a legendary ancient dragon, was certainly tempting.

I had experienced more than enough of the self-destruction that comes from coveting what isn’t mine during my foolish days before regression.

Having died twice and experienced the miracle of turning back time.

What more could I possibly desire?

Even if Fafnir sincerely offered this to me, I shouldn’t accept it.

“It’s a timeless truth that possessing something beyond one’s station only brings misfortune.”

Therefore, I politely rejected Fafnir’s offer more explicitly than before, but.

[Hahaha!!]

Hearing my words, Fafnir suddenly burst into hearty laughter, then.

[Well. Lumen made a good judgment. Did she think you were worthy and hand it over without hesitation?]

He muttered quietly to himself, then.

[I can’t use that thing anyway.]

Making an incomprehensible statement.

[So you take it.]

Once again, as he urged me to take the Dragon Heart.

Woong-!!!

The Dragon Heart in my right hand began to shine brilliantly like when I first saw it under the night sky, breaking free from my hand.

“…!!”

Before I could react, it shot straight toward my chest.

[You take it. The current me can’t use it anyway.]