367 – Black Dragon ■■■’s Preparations

Once, a descendant of a ruined ancient kingdom embarked on a long journey to reclaim what was rightfully his. He crossed mountains, traversed rivers, made countless friends and enemies, and lived desperately for his purpose.

His path could only be called an epic. He had already overcome eight unbeatable foes and insurmountable challenges. All the world praised his fortitude.

The hero, bearing the blood of a fallen kingdom, wielded a sword like a demon! His swordsmanship was so sharp, it could cut even the un-cuttable!

“…Hah… huh… cough.”

But his final moment was so wretched. Look. He was drenched in cold sweat, his expression twisted horribly, trembling like a babe, utterly lost.

This young man was none other than the founder of the empire who, in the distant future, would be called the Black Dragon Emperor.

He stood on the precipice of his final gamble with the Black Dragon.

—

How did that saga begin? Ah yes, all the tales start from the betrayal.

His uncle became a spy for the enemy nation, opening the gates from within, and severing the neck of the kingdom’s ruler—the descendant’s father—to offer it to the enemy. The young descendant had to watch this with open eyes.

Why? Why did that faithful, trustworthy uncle turn traitor? It was unbelievable. No one could have foreseen it.

Amidst the chaos, a servant cried out.

“Quickly, quickly, Your Highness! Flee from here, preserve your life, and plan for the future!”

The screams of those who served the dynasty echoed, and blood splattered. Ruffians, with muddy feet, stormed the sacred palace, mercilessly killing anyone who stood in their way.

“Find him, find the Prince!”

Hoo-ye eventually managed to escape. But that was all. His hands were empty, and his feet bled from being scratched by sharp stones. What was he to do with his young body, and what should he see and walk towards in this despair?

He could only crouch by the river, staring blankly at the burning palace. Thinking about the countless deaths that would occur in those flames.

At that moment, a witch passing by whispered.

“There is a dragon in this world who grants the wishes of people. He is a dragon with black scales. And, he is very fond of betting. It’s not a fantastical tale. I too made a wish, and finally achieved it!”

So, what did you wish for, he asked?

“I wished for the kingdom to fall! Hahaha! See, the rumors were true. That kingdom, which was so strong, has crumbled in an instant like this!”

And then, she laughed madly.

In that instant, the young prince gained a purpose. Find the dragon. Find the dragon, and if it was an entity that could be killed, kill it for revenge, and if it was an entity that could not be killed, then make a wish.

The beginning of a long, long journey.

It was also the beginning of a long, long game.

—

He had weathered many trials and tribulations. The trials were timely, the tribulations surmountable. It was absurdly convenient, but no one knew it, least of all himself.

So what became of him? He failed to achieve his initial goal of finding the Black Dragon, but, ironically, he succeeded in rebuilding the royal palace.

He took a beautiful maiden as his wife, and they had children. He bestowed titles and power upon the friends he met during his adventures. Ah, he was happy.

And gradually, he forgot the tales of the Black Dragon whispered by the witch.

But some fates are unavoidable.

One day, as rain poured down as if to drown the world, the founder of the empire sought shelter in a cave… and there, at last, he met a Black Dragon.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

It was, to put it mildly, a monstrosity.

It wasn’t his first time seeing a dragon. He had seen honorable dragons with scales of pure white, and dragons with scales of languid blue, lost in endless dreams. But… the black dragon before him was different.

The two pairs of wings attached to its back resembled primate hands. Its forepaws, stretched forward, possessed strangely slender fingers. Its hind legs were nonexistent, replaced by a serpentine tail.

A sign of modification. The Black Dragon had kneaded its own body, changing its form time and again.

But the dragon’s appearance didn’t matter. He spoke. “Are you the Black Dragon from the stories? The one who grants wishes?”

So I said. That’s not what you should be asking.

Aren’t you curious? Why your once-infallible and loyal uncle turned against you. Why your enemies stopped their pursuit whenever you were injured. Why your life has been so smooth sailing.

I gifted you this wonderful life. Because you made a wish back then. I could tell without you even uttering it. I have very good hearing, you see.

If it is a being that can be killed, kill it for revenge, and if it is a being that cannot be killed, let’s make a wish too.

Let me be restored to the throne once more.

So I granted it. Do you like it? Was the sweet life enjoyable? Now you have two choices left.

One is to return your brilliant life. Abandon everything I have gifted you, and return to being a boy with nothing. If you do that, I won’t demand a price.

The other is to gamble with me. If you want to keep my gifts, you must give me equal amusement.

Have you decided?

Yes.

A wise choice.

—

The first wager ended in his defeat. I set a very simple condition. Go to the royal palace and kill your pregnant wife. Only then would this entire life truly become yours.

But he couldn’t do it.

“—It’s unfair!”

He seemed wronged. He shouted, arguing that it was unfair to decide the terms of the wager arbitrarily. So I gave him a second chance. I even let him decide the terms.

“Let’s wager with your scales. If I can cut one of your scales, I win!”

I generously permitted it.

Whish. Whirr. Whish.

He swings. Keeps swinging. But nothing meets the edge of his blade. Though he swings and swings until he’s exhausted and collapsing, my scales remain unbroken.

How could one cleave what doesn’t exist, an illusion?

Then, once more.

‘Unfair!’

Doesn’t he cry out like that? I laugh inwardly, feigning anger. How do you figure? I was eminently fair.

‘I am but a man, with a lifespan laughably short compared to yours. My life is but a fleeting moment to you. Had I the lifespan of a dragon, I would have won this bet!’

Hahaha.

I laughed magnanimously.

Yes. Truly, undeniably unfair. How thoughtless of me. Very well. So amused am I by your defiance and struggle that I cannot resist granting you another chance.

You shall repeat your life. Endlessly. When you grow old, you shall become young again. You shall endlessly traverse the extremes of boy and elder, never to be buried. Rejoice, for by your own tongue, you have achieved immortality.

The stakes of our game: tag.

Within this endless expanse of time, if you find me within that labyrinth and speak my name, you win. Deceptively simple, yet undeniably clear, is it not?

He rejoiced greatly at my proposal. How could I not laugh and wait for such foolishness? His life, in that moment, became wholly mine.

A creature is not designed to endure infinity. Even I am not. To withstand infinity, one must transform oneself entirely. As I have done.

Ah. He will lose himself dozens of times over.

His heart will die and be reborn, crushed by the weight of ages.

Perhaps he will even forget this wager.

If so, he will drift forever in the palm of my hand, devoid of life’s purpose!

Truly…

Amusing.

—

By creating and testing new species, I have come to deeply understand how to transcend the limits of life. Now, I can remove my heart, separate my soul, and yet not die. The benefit of long research.

Someday, when I break free from all restraints and achieve completion, even the goddess in the heavens will be unable to oppose me.

I am becoming skilled at tilting the world. Now, changing someone’s story is a simple matter. There have been so many games.

Meanwhile.

The Black Dragon Emperor, the personality of the progenitor known by that glorious name, died and was reborn repeatedly. Sometimes mad, sometimes regaining himself, but he too was merely part of a great attrition.

He suffered from the immortality granted to him and sought dragons to kill him. His once-glorious life had already been tattered by the flow of time.

Around that time, an amusing tale circulated through the empire.

For reasons unknown… the ‘Imperial Sword’ dedicated to the imperial family kept reappearing in the empire. Even when the previous Imperial Sword died, the next generation always emerged from somewhere.

It was all the same being. The Black Dragon Emperor, gone mad, his husk aged completely until he returned to a boy’s form once more. He would appear as a new person, taking the seat.

Some even called it a blessing from the gods, watching over the Empire.

Not so different, is it?

And…

Midway, a peculiar and interesting phenomenon could be observed. The Black Dragon Emperor became so fixated on finding me that he forgot his own name. He even began to mistake my name for his own.

Then… I could feel him.

Connected.

I observed this ‘Name-Eater’ phenomenon with interest, even conducting experiments.

I could manipulate those who had eaten names directly. No need for the tedious method of guiding fate; I could handle them like puppets in a cupboard.

‘Where, where in the world are you…? Let it end. Please!’

Behold. He is standing right before me, yet the Black Dragon Emperor cannot see himself. I could distort his vision with sheer will.

Now, his chance of winning has fallen to 0%. He can never find the Dragon, never end the wager.

Yes. In that case, let us call them ‘Avatars.’

—

I am ■■■, My…

Name…

Gone, disap-

peared.

⋯⋯⋯⋯.

—

The moment a boy from a rural village sealed the Black Dragon’s spirit within his body.

The Black Dragon ■■■, who had kept his body separated, lost his connection and control upon losing his namesake, the central point. No consciousness to issue commands to the authority, the body, the heart.

This was the same for the Dragon’s ‘Avatars.’

The Black Dragon Emperor, who flitted between the forms of an old man and a boy, had long considered the Black Dragon’s name as his own, and so the loss of it eroded away even his essence along with his name.

The personality born from this was the young knight.

Remaining faint loyalty to the Imperial family due to the lingering consciousness of the founding Emperor, but only the goal of finding the Black Dragon remained, chasing it blindly.

However…

The Black Dragon cast a spell just before losing his name. It was a desperate struggle, a delightful gamble. The success was unknown. The result, dependent on the future.

Without anyone noticing, not even the one who took my name, he proclaims three propositions.

One, Black Dragon Emperor. Let him be entangled with the Imperial family.

[The boy wrote on high-grade parchment: ‘Imperial Support for the Violet Magic Tower: Increase by 30 times.’──]

Two, those who serve me. There is a mage here worthy of our attention.

[“I am certain. He is a genius who could reach Transcendence even without suffering and despair in his life. We must kill him now.”]

Three, boy. Does my heart not tempt you greatly?

[“His name is… Heart. This virtual idol’s name is Heart.”]

[If you want the next session, threaten them to hand over the Dragon Heart.]

[“…Dragon Heart!”]

This was all. Now, only waiting remained.

The Black Dragon had already flicked the first domino with its finger. From the story’s starting point, one by one, step by step, it tilted slowly.

And, moved forward, moved forward, and reached.

He comes. The boy will come to where my body resides, with my heart and spirit, with the access rights to unlock my authority. He comes to the Eastern Front. Now, there.

The Black Dragon prophesied to reclaim his name.

—

Lion Calendar 453, present day.

Inside the Eastern Front Gate.

The Black Dragon, having recovered only a fragmented part of its consciousness through ‘Nightmare Summoning’, lifted its massive eyelids and gazed at the boy knight before it.

The ‘Lamb’ asked, startled.

“How… did you notice the Evil God resides here? Sword Saint.”

” ‘Mad Mage’, was it? That young man is preparing to conquer the Eastern Front. Only a fool would not understand the meaning. I have not aged that far.”

*Shwing*.

The boy knight drew his sword. He didn’t know why he had to find the Evil Dragon. However, an unerasable hatred lingered in a corner of his heart.

For this, he had wielded his sword, using any means necessary, until now.

And finally, he had found it.

The boy, born from the body of the Black Dragon Emperor, spoke.

“Today, I will achieve the great deed of Dragonslaying. And I will put an end to this yearning of mine as well…”

In response, the Black Dragon’s incomplete form opened its mouth and spoke.

Do you remember the wager?

“…What wager are you talking about?”

Do you remember the conditions for winning the wager?

“Do not think you can dissuade me with empty words!”

“You do not remember, I see.”

Then.

That means you are still stuck, going nowhere.

“Sublimation──”

Before light could explode from the young knight’s sword, the black dragon’s decree took precedence.

『Cogwheel: Avatar』.

Pitch-black turbidity, a tidal wave of darkness capable of shattering existence, swirled within the young knight’s mind. How could one without a name refuse the commands of the name’s master?

In an instant, consciousness sank, control of the flesh was lost.

A snickering laugh. The black dragon’s long-standing pawn was now, of his own volition, gripped in his hand. Now, the Empire’s Sword Saint would fight the Empire, for the dragon’s sake.