〈 Miscarriage (1) 〉
That day was like any other day.
An ordinary time, with a cool breeze blowing in a clear, sunny sky without a single cloud, and the sound of waves crashing gently on the beach.
however-.
[Horus.]
Change began with a single word calling him.
“Yes?”
[Come here.]
Horus, who had been confining himself to the magic lab as usual and working on his own training, tilted his head as the serious voice of his guardian, Elder Dragon Shreehartgen, echoed in his head.
‘What’s going on?’
These days, he doesn’t say anything and just watches me quietly.
However, Horus, who blinked his eyes a few times for a moment despite his puzzlement, immediately stopped what he was doing and turned around.
‘You’ll find out when you get there.’
Immediately after, a slight magical power occurred and the stocky body of the blond child floated into the air.
Huh—
and in an instant, the body was cut through the wind and shot into the lair.
In the blink of an eye, Horus crossed the residence and arrived at the place where the person who called him was.
Without any exaggeration, what appeared before his eyes was a golden creature the size of a garden.
‘…As always, that thing is amazing every time I see it.’
A gigantic fuselage that combines an intimidating feeling that makes you bow your head and a beauty that leaves you spellbound.
Golden scales covering a mass tens of meters long scattered the surrounding light, spreading its overwhelming presence in all directions.
One thing about jade is that the luster of its scales, which once shined brilliantly, is now somewhat dull and dull.
Horus looked at the figure from the corner of his eye, then moved at a quick pace to where Schrihartgen’s head was and opened his mouth.
“I’m here, what’s going on?”
Perhaps because my tongue was short, it was inevitable that the end of my words would leak out whenever I wasn’t conscious of it.
I’ve tried to fix it several times, but I still see things like this, and until my body grows, I can’t help but think of it as Horus’s personality…
[I’m going to die soon.]
“Huh?”
However, as if to dispel those seemingly good thoughts, the huge old dragon in front of me inadvertently made an explosive statement.
Horus, who had paused for a moment at the content that did not match his calm tone, gradually began to widen.
“Uh…”
I guess it’s not a joke.
Of course, I always assumed that that day would come someday.
Didn’t he say it himself on the day he first came to see him in the first place?
He says his lifespan is not long left.
‘No, no matter what, that’s true.’
However, I never expected that the notice would be announced so suddenly and as if that day was not that big of a deal.
Although we’ve been together for quite some time, he doesn’t show much, so I thought it was because he was a long-lived dragon and had a different sense of time.
“…When exactly do you mean soon?”
So Horus had no choice but to open his mouth like that, even though he knew it was a pathetic question.
Maybe you don’t know?
That ‘soon’ may be in years.
[Right now. Right here.]
However, his cautious doubts were immediately swept away by Schrihartgen’s firm words.
I couldn’t bear to say anything to the answer, which was so refreshing that it made me question whether it was right to talk about his own death.
[To be more precise, I should say that I am finally ready to die. If I could simply hold out for a long time, I would be able to live on for a few more years, but it would be pointless to try to survive like that.]
At that point, I was able to understand how he was able to predict his own death with such confidence.
In other words, he gave up holding on to life any longer and declared that he would end his life here and now.
Should we say that it is indeed an old dragon that has lived for thousands of years?
“No, I have cancer, but I have to try my best to survive!”
In response, Horus frowned and protested in protest, feeling an instinctive repulsion that came out without him knowing.
No matter how much you want the clan’s legacy that will be inherited after his death, how can you just let someone you have been in a relationship with for more than a year try to voluntarily choose to die?
[Horus It would have been like that if it weren’t for you.]
“…Yes?”
However, despite that reaction, Schrihartgen just looked down at him calmly and with a hint of pride, and spoke calmly.
[Forcing myself to endure more here is the same as twisting the power of cause and effect to cut down everything I have and burn it as fuel. Not only the magic and vitality within my body, but also the status and karma I have accumulated over the years, and even the fate given to me.] A
quiet explanation as if a grandfather is telling a story to his grandson.
He spoke calmly so that Horus could understand why he made that choice.
[However, even if you try to gain longevity like that, there is nothing left. It literally becomes nothing. Of course, if the destruction of the clan was certain, he would have held out as long as possible without worrying about such things…]
And then, as he stopped talking, he lowered his huge golden pupils to focus on the small boy standing right in front of him.
[Now that there is another method, we should choose the most efficient method for the current situation.]
To end this, shouldn’t I leave at least a proper gift?
After looking down at Horus like that for a moment, his eyes gently opened and a smile formed in his pupils.
“……”
Horus couldn’t bear to say anything due to that one-sided favor.
What more can he say here?
He’s not a ‘real’ dragon worthy of your expectations?
If I leave something to you like this, does that mean I’m just a stranger who can leave this world at any time?
…No, that was not something to say to the old dragon who had made up his mind and was preparing for the end.
I knew very well that this was also a deception, but now it just seems new to me.
‘Because my very existence in the first place is no different from a fraud…’
When I first heard about the miscarriage, I was just excited and happy, but as we ended up together for a longer time than expected, I think I developed some affection for it.
If you think about it, it’s not like our bond was deep enough to fall into this sentiment, but seeing something so disturbing.
In the end, Horus, unable to find anything to say, sighed and muttered softly as if complaining.
“…Then what should I do next? “To be honest, I have no idea what to do.”
[nothing. The current situation cannot be resolved by leaving it to just one hatchling. Until the time comes, you can just live the way you want. As a result, it would be inevitable even if our clan were to be exterminated with you, Horus.] These
were extremely irresponsible words compared to the expectations he had placed on himself so far.
Surely that would be realistic.
[First of all, since we have succeeded in buying time by passing on the generations, we will have to follow Dracalion’s wishes for the future. You are a smart child, so it won’t be that difficult to seize the opportunity when the time comes.]
After saying those carefree words, Shurihatgen gently closed his eyes.
It seems like that’s all there is to say.
“I…!”
The moment Horus, who had hesitated, opened his mouth again.
Change began as if it couldn’t wait any longer.
Hwaaaak—
an enormous magic circle appears as if filling all sides of a wide cavity, and a dazzling golden light illuminates the room in response.
At the center was a huge old dragon lying on the ground.
Each of the dull golden scales covering his large body began to glow, and soon his entire body was engulfed in light, emitting enormous energy.
[Have fun so far, Horus. Let me give you a parting gift. You’ll probably like it. [It will be more helpful to you now than anything else.]
Just in time, Schrihartgen’s voice echoed in my head again.
And the moment Horus heard those words, he could sense that the biggest reason he made his current decision was because of that ‘gift’.
‘What on earth is going on like this?’
He cried out to himself as he struggled to control himself in the swirling storm of energy, but the situation was already spiraling out of control.
It didn’t take long for Shurihatgen’s body, which resonated with the rare magic circle, to transform beyond the frame of a living being into a mass of mana in the shape of light.
[Ah—Drakalion.]
A conglomerate of energy the size of a garden that is slowly collapsing.
At the same time as it was oxidized in the atmosphere with a brilliant light, its parts began to coalesce and compress into one point.
The lump of light, which shrunk from its volume that filled this space to the size of a small hill and then to the size of a large rock, finally—.
[Horus Then this….]
“Shrihatgeang!”
I couldn’t finish it like that and ended with scattered voices.
A golden crystal the size of a child’s head appeared in the air in the middle of an empty cavity.
A crystal that shines beautifully and is several times larger than the hatchling’s dragon heart, which served as its medium to reveal its presence against the backdrop of the still luminous communal magic circle.
…No, it was not just a dragon’s heart, it was the culmination of power created by an elder dragon who had lived for a long time by processing his own spirit and body.
Although significant losses were incurred in the process.
‘That’s…’
Horus, who had been staring blankly at the figure shining with light as if to tempt him, swallowed his saliva without realizing it.
I shouldn’t be like this, but for some reason I couldn’t take my eyes off that thing.
Boom!
Meanwhile, what was floating quietly in the air soon began to pulsate violently with an enormous flow of energy.
And then—.
“Huh? “Wait a minute…!”
The crystal that flew towards Horus in an instant penetrated into his chest and was absorbed as if seeping into him.
Still pulsating with enormous energy.
‘Ugh! This…!’
Horus, who had been staggering, sat down on the spot and clutched his chest.
Even though a crystal the size of his head had penetrated his body, it was not noticeable on the outside, but such a physical phenomenon was still good.
As he clutched his chest, he realized instinctively.
He said he was still far from prepared to fully handle its power.
His body, with all its modifications, had already surpassed the limits of a hatchling, but even in that state, it took a lot of mental energy to bring out even a small portion of the power contained in it.
‘…It’s absolutely impossible to absorb everything right away. First of all, we have to put this to rest somehow…’
Was this a reaction to Horus’s embarrassment?
Even after entering the body, it showed off its fierce presence by spewing energy everywhere, but it gradually quieted down, and soon began to calmly obey control by gathering the energy it had been leaking.
As expected, it was a gift prepared with great care, and it seems like this level of consideration had already been thought of.
‘Wow, I was surprised. Still, if you’re going to give me a gift like this, at least let me know in advance.’
I grumbled for a moment, but it was only a brief complaint.
Perhaps Shurihatgen was also in a hurry to avoid further affection.
Horus remembered how he had always treated him harshly, and felt a faint feeling, so he gently stroked his chest, which felt heavy and strong, several times.
‘I had no idea things would happen so suddenly.’
Does this mean that we will live together in our hearts forever?
Although his soul left as soon as the ritual was over and there was nothing left of him, he felt reassured, pounded his chest, grinned, and jumped up from where he had fallen.
And that moment.
《The potential of the individual is forced to bloom. Limits expand and growth accelerates.》
《An entity grows by achieving conditions. Obtain the special skill “Heart of the Elder Dragon.”》
《You will be given the authority to become the last Gold Dragon. Acquire the special skill “Golden Treasure.”
Messages began to appear before his eyes.
Changes resulting from the last gift left by Shreehartgen and the authority to head towards the clan’s pre-ordained legacy.
Still, I had expected this to some extent….
《Achievement achieved! I have become the ‘last gold dragon’ left in this world.》
《I have become the one and only gold dragon in the Outerica dimension. As a reward, the special “Dragon Rare” will be given.》
《You have achieved an achievement and made a great impact on the world. Your karma will increase further.》
The contents of the next message were things that even he had not thought of.