622 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

**Chapter 622: Choices and Decisions** The man who usually bore a faint smile or an indifferent expression. For the first time, he displayed surprise upon hearing the term "pureblood." "Heh." "Is it true?" "How did you know?" "It was half a guess." I spat out what seemed most plausible from various hypotheses. It just happened to be correct by sheer luck. "I was planning to mention it anyway. But since you've guessed it right, it's no fun now." Even amidst the seriousness, he found amusement. [Isn't it boring?] Yuseon also always sought excitement. Anyway. '...So that's why.' Listening to the lord's words brought clarity to things that hadn't made sense before. If the ice palace resisted the severe cold and it was the lord's life force that maintained it. 'It isn't strange for the lineage of the ice palace to continue for the sake of the Northern Sea.' Although doubts arose that someone within might seize power, kidnapping and imprisoning their line to use solely to maintain life force, they didn't do that. Which means there is indeed a reason for it. "Just as you predicted, the lord is essential to maintain the ice barrier. Precisely, for the safety of the Northern Sea." I looked at the lord who spoke. Half-transformed into a dragon. Now hearing the explanation, it vaguely made sense why he appeared that way. 'Dragons have a tenacity for life.' The reason for becoming dragon-like as the curse flourished. Wasn't it to forcibly metamorphose to maintain the ice barrier? If that's the case…. 'What a damn bastard.' I realized how despicable this so-called Dragon Emperor was. On one hand, he implanted devices to unleash severe frost. On the other, he created a contradiction where to fend off that frost, one has to exhaust their life force. Forcing existence for the sake of preservation. He even embedded power under the guise of a curse to facilitate it. '...Does the ice barrier matter that much?' Or perhaps. Was there another reason? I couldn't ascertain which, but. Surely, he had enveloped the Northern Sea in several centuries of harsh winters for his own goals. 'To await what they term as a pureblood.' That curse was sown for that purpose. And that pureblood is. 'Me.' Now, in this time, I've returned to this place. Regardless of what it is. It means the current situation involves me. 'Hold on.' In my contemplation, questions arose from the lord's words. "The child of the lord, Yuseon, was a dragon. Does that mean he is the future lord?" Likeness to the lord's draconic form. No, even closer to being a dragon. Considering his state was dragon-like. If the lord's words were true, doesn't that mean he is the future lord? Upon querying this. "That's correct." "...!" I widened my eyes at this answer. "Though the formal procedure was not followed, that's indeed the case." "...You mean he hasn't undergone the proper procedure?" "When the lordship is transferred, the curse is intended to be lifted." When the position transfers, the curse is lifted. This was. '...Similar to Yonga's curse.' Where the curse lifted upon having children elsewhere. This place seemed a tad better, though. "And once one vacates the lord's position, it's life-ending once the curse lifts." It seemed, however, even more cruel. Enduring by leeching life force only to die upon passing the position? Isn't that a tragically brief existence? 'So that's the curse.' The lord's words greatly impressed upon me the sense of it. However. "Then, lord, how are you still alive?" Cruel as it may have been, it needed asking. If he took the lordship, how is he alive right now? Given that the lord's state remains unchanged. What does that make Yuseon? The lord solemnly fell silent upon my question. Was he choosing his words? Or contemplating? I couldn't discern. As I bore the silence, awaiting his answer. Finally, the lord spoke as he met my eye. "The lordship has passed. My gradually decaying body is proof." Upon hearing him, I scrutinized the lord once more. A body gradually deteriorating. 'So, his body breaking down is due to the transition of the lordship?' Though it was said to result in immediate death. Contrarily, the lord was slowly approaching death. "The cause of how things are is perhaps due to not undergoing the procedure properly." The lord swiftly explained my puzzlement. "Not bestowed, it was seized, which caused an issue with the creed." The position was forcibly taken. That disrupted the curse. 'So the gradual dying is caused by that.' Meaning. 'It means that Yuseon forcibly assumed the lordship.' Why would he have had to do that? 'What's worthwhile there?' Hearing about it, the lordship doesn't seem to offer any advantages whatsoever. Sitting on that throne activates the curse, turning one dragon-like. Even as the body strengthens, life force gets mercilessly sapped by the ice barrier. What was the need to forcefully take it? 'Could it be he kept such matters secret from his children?' Considering what Yuri mentioned. Even if not completely, they apparently had some understanding. Given the circumstances, I remained unsure why Yuseon felt compelled to act thusly. Then. "Being chosen as lord." As I pondered, the lord added words. "The seat is obtained by the choice of the ice barrier." The choice of the ice barrier? "Normally, the lord chooses, and then the barrier acknowledges that choice." Smoothly. The lord reached to caress the circular ice barrier. "The current developments suggest that the barrier chose that child." The ice barrier chose Yuseon. What significance would that hold? I couldn't comprehend it. What mattered was. "So, what’s his aim? What am I supposed to do here?" What does Yuseon intend by assuming the lordship, and what should I do here? **What purpose did bringing me here serve?** And. "What exactly is a pureblood?" The most crucial question. What exactly constitutes a pureblood? What was it about purebloods that led the Dragon Emperor to establish the ice barrier here? What was he waiting for until a pureblood emerged? 'Why is it that I am the one in that role now?' It was time to unravel all these mysteries. Upon this inquiry, the lord smiled. "A pureblood refers to one who ascends not through transformation, but through their own enlightenment." "..." "Breaking the filled vessel and reaching the state of a dragon with their own power. That's what's been passed down as a pureblood." I frowned at his words. 'Break the vessel with one's own strength?' Ridiculous. It was the furthest concept from my own experience. Not someone who became a dragon through curses or transformation. Instead, someone who ascended by shattering their own limits. If that’s what a pureblood is called, on a conceptual level it might be accurate, yet— 'It's quite the opposite of me.' I am but a hybrid, living by absorbing various fortuitous events and housing entities unknown. I was the furthest thing from "self-made." 'And yet they're calling me a pureblood?' It seemed implausible. "After all, just enlightening oneself doesn't lead to becoming a dragon.... Gu Yangcheon, there must have been latent potential within your very bloodline capable of achieving it." Otherwise, it means I wouldn't need to be here in the first place. If they hadn't anticipated my return and reincarnation. They wouldn’t have set up such a scenario. This implies. 'Someone other than me should have reached here.' I pondered as I listened to the lord's words. Isn't there someone who left the ice barrier here in the first place? The Dragon Emperor. No. 'The Blood Demon.' The ice barrier was his creation. I’m unsure if he was a pureblood or whatever, but— If. 'If he anticipated his resurrection and placed the ice barrier here for that reason?' Or intended for someone else to discover it— 'I wasn’t the one he expected to return; that possibility seems most probable.' Which means. 'Perhaps this is a safeguard left behind by the Blood Demon.' Indeed, the Blood Demon has already been scheming by taking over another's body. It made sense to view it in that light. 'The Blood Demon might not have known.' That someone would fulfill the conditions to become a pureblood dragon. And unknowingly reach this place in the process. He might not have known, either. It seemed plausible. A complicated trajectory that doesn't easily lead to a resolution. As I reached this point in my thoughts— "...So, what is Yuseon truly after? You're suggesting it's not just a simple rebellion, aren't you?" I decided to inquire further about Yuseon. "He took over the lordship, and if you are indeed dying from the repercussions, it must be more than mere rebellion, right?" "..." It wasn’t just an act to acquire the lordship. This was evident from what the current lord had explained. So, what is it? Why is Dragon-transformed Yuseon doing this? "This might be." The lord once again motioned towards the ice barrier with his hand. "To acquire that ice barrier." "What?" I couldn't help but express my confusion. "He wants the ice barrier?" "If he became a dragon through choice, to become complete, this would be essential." What did that mean? Why is the ice barrier necessary for him to become complete? Moreover. "Then shouldn't you not be here if he wants the ice barrier?" I noted something strange in the lord’s words. "If he's vying for this place, shouldn't it not be a refuge...!" Ah. I suddenly realized mid-sentence. Was it possible... "You mean..." The lord had always— "Have you been waiting?" Here. Was the lord waiting for Yuseon, rather than hiding from him? Even though the lord didn’t affirm or deny it, I was quite convinced. That I was right. "For what purpose...? Why are you waiting?" "To correct what is twisted." "Then you should have accepted treatment from me." A body worsening over time. I wasn’t sure if I could lift the curse, but I should have at least attempted to. The lord had once refused my treatment. He mentioned he had no intention of receiving it. "If I received that, I wouldn't be able to stop him." The lord acknowledged that he was waiting for his foe. "What?" "When one becomes a lord, they gain much knowledge." The lord's hand, which had been touching the ice barrier, began to tremble subtly. "The contents of this ice barrier, why it’s called an egg or a heart." And additionally. "What happens when this barrier hatches as an egg." "Hatch...?" I also turned my gaze upon the ice barrier, considering the lord's words. Hatch? Did he mean it could serve as an egg? If that’s truly the case, what could possibly be inside? "If his goal was simply the lordship, I would have willingly relinquished it. But." His eyes gleamed vertically, shining with determination. "I know. The boy's objective isn't the seat but the hatching." Yuseon’s motive is to awaken the ice barrier. And to achieve that, he’d eventually come here. "So, you're planning to confront Yuseon when he arrives? With that failing body of yours?" "It's the most certain method." Not seeking refuge but waiting. That was why the lord stood by the iron door as a guard. Then. "What's the reason you brought me here?" Ultimately, why did he bring me to this ice barrier? Given the nature of these spiraling questions, it was the most important one. What I was supposed to do here. What the lord wished for by bringing me along—when I asked this, he said. "I don't know." "What?" His response left me momentarily speechless. "What do you mean you don't know? Then why did you bring me here?" "I summoned you here purely due to duty, beyond that, I am not privy to any other motives." "That's an insane, puzzling answer." They recognized me as a pureblood and brought me to this location, though they didn’t know what I should do here. And I found myself bewildered by such an answer. "I am unaware because it means you know," the lord said to me. "If I were aware, why would I be asking you—" "It's simply that you haven't decided yet, so you don't know." "...!" "Isn't that so?" I had to clamp my lips shut at the lord's words. "It's only because you haven't found your direction that you cannot see." [Ah, I see. So that's it.] The words echoed those of Yuseon. 'Is it because I haven't decided that I do not know the answer?' Am I a dragon? Or am I a human? Because I couldn't decide, I didn't know what my purpose here was. Could that truly be the case? Even after coming this far, the situation continued to press me to make a choice. What a damn predicament. Yet, this, I already understood. That it's far too late—a realization that came to me long ago. Whether the lord's words held truth or not was irrelevant. [What nonsense.] Despite losing because I could not choose. I stood at this crossroads, harboring foolish hesitation. "...Are you saying you want me to decide as well, lord?" "I don't know. I do not know your life, so I cannot give you advice or intrude. The only thing I know is—" His vertically split eyes fixated on me. "You seem to lack much to achieve something." "…" A trivial state of mind being such a problem. I couldn't fathom why it was so difficult. Nor did I wish to comprehend. However. 'Dammit.' It was something I'd realized just after meeting Yuseon. That helpless feeling when I lost Woo Hyuk. Then, opening my eyes and holding Namgoong Bi-a, an unease that she might also be taken away. I realized through such emotions. I was full of deficiencies to desire anything for myself. 'I said I'd use any means necessary, yet I haven’t.' There was one reason. —To live as a human. That meager longing. My previous life as a 'human' was anything but human, so I wanted to live differently now in this reincarnation. Even as one's body morphs into that of a dragon. I wanted to remain human. Such was my longing. A pitiable, wretched hesitation. That tethered me, dragging everything out to this point. '…' I reflected upon the ice barrier. Though my gaze was upon the ice barrier. My thoughts lingered upon others. As fleeting memories brushed past, I closed my eyes. "...Could I have a moment, please?" No response reached me. Perhaps it was more accurate to say I didn't hear. Still, I continued thinking. Hesitant to erase doubts and reach a conclusion; questioning if anything would change even then. Although I harbored such reservations. Ironically, I'd always known how to choose. Merely, I'd been ignoring it. Feigning indecision, continuously postponing it further, wishing for momentary delay. Whoosh—! When I reopened my eyes after closing them. "..." I stood atop a world reduced to ashes, charred and blackened. No need to wonder where this was. 'I've already known.' This was within my heart. A place I could visit at any moment. A confrontation I could have faced at any time, yet had not. This world left barren, with not a thing remaining amid scorched remains. I walked toward the small portion that hadn't burned entirely. [Huuuuh... Huuuuh...!] Cries reached my ears. [Waaaah... noooo....] Amidst a world engulfed in flames, A child's sobs echoed through the desolation. Crunch. I stepped upon the ash, moving toward the sound of weeping. […Mooooom...! Mooooomy!] In a world that had succumbed to ruin, in a space barely unburned, A child lamented in dread, fearing they might incinerate with any movement, calling desperately for their mother. Standing upon the scorched earth, I gazed at the child. [Heeeehh... Noo... I don't want this...] Eyes fierce beyond a child's years. Swollen red from tears, nose flushed. A body shivering in fear, hunched over trembling. It was the image of my younger self. Likewise. It was the form of my lingering human hesitancy. [Mo-mmy...!! I'm scared...!! Where did you go...!] "…" Watching the sorrowful wails drew a bitter smile across my face. "Nice to see you." I spoke. "Shall we have a chat, little brother?" It was time. Time to put an end to it all.