From the Beginning.
The Dragon Half-Blood threw Choi Han when he saw Neo starting to lose control and headed towards him.
'Rampage!'
No one here understood better than the Dragon Half-Blood what that meant. Because he was the only one who had experienced it. He knew the moment he saw the difference between the one-star dragon, Ryan, and the Dragon Lord, Neo.
'That bastard has decided to die!'
Neo.
That guy had already decided to die.
'It can't be.'
There was only one thought in his mind.
'It can't be.'
He didn't know exactly what couldn't be. But the Dragon Half-Blood just moved. Even without thinking, his body made of black bones had already thrown Choi Han and was hastily moving.
The Dragon Half-Blood.
What he saw with his eyes was Cale and Raon.
And then, time slowed down.
Neo's rampage had begun.
'Ah—'
And within that chaos, the Dragon Half-Blood couldn't even let out an exclamation. But slowly, he began to see clearly what was happening.
'It can't be.'
Yes. It simply couldn't be. This couldn't continue.
He had to do something. But…
'What can I do?'
He couldn't do anything. He couldn't properly use either magic or Attributes. The only thing he had left was this body made of black bones. Even that, if not for the help of Necromancer Mary, he wouldn't be able to use its strength properly.
Even at that moment, he saw it.
'Damn it!'
Raon.
He could see that young dragon clinging to Cale's back. He could see how, somehow, he was trying not to move.
'Damn it!'
He was very angry. Seeing and being unable to do anything was such a great torture.
The Dragon Half-Blood deeply hated the remnants of the dragon within his soul at that moment.
In a time that seemed frozen but continued to flow, only the light kept shining brightly over everything.
Even though the sky was filled with gray clouds due to the cataclysmic weather and mana was going wild, the light filtering through those gray clouds enveloped everything.
Only the light didn't stop. That's why the Dragon Half-Blood could see the things touched by the light.
It would have been better if he couldn't see...
'No, it's not like that.'
The Dragon Half-Blood remembered.
The moment when he couldn't see anything clearly.
In an underground cave as deep and dark as an abyss, not knowing if he was human, dragon, or what.
Receiving treatment no living being should endure.
Living in darkness as a mere living test subject.
At those times, he longed for the light.
But now that the situation had changed, wishing for the light not to be seen seemed absurd.
'How ridiculous.'
And so, that was him.
Yes.
His essence was so ridiculous.
The Dragon Half-Blood had seen many things while living near Cale and in the black castle.
There was no easy life for any of them. Each carried their own burden.
So, what burden should he carry?
The lives of the many he killed?
Or the pain, sorrow, and anger of the families of the dead?
The countless things he destroyed?
What should he carry?
But the Dragon Half-Blood couldn't face it.
Yes.
'I'm a ridiculous being.'
He had no courage.
This moment of peace—
'Yes.'
He enjoyed this peace. Although he felt guilt and thought about how to repay it, he enjoyed this peace.
'Where—'
Wherever he looked, a bright world. Like this world bathed in light. The moments in the black castle, the peace, he liked them. Of course, the Dragon Half-Blood also knew that the situation was desperate and dangerous as they faced the hunters, and he felt it.
Even so, he thought it was peaceful.
Because—
'I don't know.'
He didn't know why he thought it was peaceful.
But now—
'Ah, it can't be.'
He couldn't continue thinking.
"Interesting."
He found out.
Neo had discovered Raon.
'It can't be.'
What to do?
Should he stand still and watch?
No. I—
'I don't want to see this!'
It was horrible. The current reality was too horrible. And he had made a promise to himself.
Raon.
'I want to help this child.'
No.
'Protect him—'
The Dragon Half-Blood couldn't even complete that thought. He remained paralyzed.
How could the light shine so brightly?
If he possessed the Light Attribute, why couldn't he move under this light?
I want to go.
"Child, you're crying."
The moment Neo looked at Raon. The moment he reached out his hand towards Raon.
'I want to go to Raon.'
Crack—
The Dragon Half-Blood didn't think about the consequences. He only thought that he had to move forward. He had to be in front of Raon. That was his only thought.
'I don't want—'
He didn't want to keep ignoring what he was seeing.
'Like this light!'
Like the light that illuminated everything around. Me too, I too want to reach those I want to reach.
If I could do that—
He could do anything.
He could give up anything.
But he had nothing to give up.
Even this body wasn't entirely his.
The only thing left was—
Crack—
At that moment, he heard a sound.
Crack—
The sound of something breaking.
And then he realized.
'Ah.'
At the center of the black bones.
In the place where the soul of the Dragon Half-Blood resided.
The core was breaking.
'There's still something left.'
Yes. He still had his soul left.
That was all he had.
The only thing he could move by his own will.
And—
'The reason I can see this light.'
The reason he could see in this frozen time.
It was thanks to the dragon remnants that still remained in him.
And those remnants were "light."
Ah.
What a relief.
He had found a way.
There was light within him,
'I can reach it.'
The Dragon Half-Blood had never felt such great joy in his life.
Although he had always longed for it, finally, the hated dragon's power had a purpose.
Crack—
The Dragon Half-Blood felt his black bones cracking.
He didn't care.
Instead, he looked at the light.
Thump, thump, thump.
He had no heart.
So why did his body beat as if he had one?
No. This was his soul vibrating.
He felt the light hidden behind his black bones.
For the first time.
Since he became this Bone Dragon, since he acquired this body of bones.
For the first time, he felt a pain as if his body was being torn apart.
A pain incomparable to what he felt when losing control or to what he felt living with limited time before losing his body.
This pain came from his soul trying to escape from this body.
Crack—
Probably, once he left this body, he couldn't return.
Yes.
Just as the light disappears when night falls.
His light would also shatter once it reached its destination and illuminated those it touched.
Yes.
That would be enough.
Thump, thump, thump.
The Dragon Half-Blood moved forward. His body, which seemed frozen, his bones, were breaking. Even so, he moved.
And he saw Raon, Cale. The light falling over everything.
'Light.'
Yes...
The light he desperately wished for in the darkness.
I don't know what's happening to me now. Even so, the light within me, the dragon's blood within me, is drawing it in.
'The light—, it gathers.'
The light was coming towards him.
Yes...
Crack, crack, crack—
Between the cracks of his bones, the light seeped out. The light even enveloped his black bones. The light gathered in his core, his soul.
It wasn't much.
However—
'It's possible.'
With this light—
Thump, thump, thump.
Feeling the light seeping into his agitated soul. The Dragon Half-Blood didn't look away. He saw everything. That's why he coldly judged the possibilities.
'Yes. This is possible.'
Crack—
Everything broke. The things that protected, or rather, contained his soul disappeared. The things that Cale and his companions had prepared for him shattered.
Whoosh—
And the light approached him. His body grew.
'No.'
His soul was still black and dirty. It remained hunched over. Even so, the bright light enveloped him. That's why he could reach his goal. Now he had become light.
'How ridiculous.'
Finally, he had become a dragon.
Yes.
Only now had he become a true dragon. The Dragon Half-Blood felt fortunate to have understood it in time. At least he realized it when he needed it most. His body, or rather his soul, moved forward.
The light didn't stop in time. It was still fast.
'Cale.'
Even covered in blood, he saw Cale unfolding his silver shield towards Raon. He passed by him. And finally—
'I'm in front.'
He was in front of Raon. Would Raon be seeing his back, or rather, his pathetic figure?
Boom—
The light collided with the purple mana.
'Agh!'
It felt as if his soul was tearing apart. The impact of the attack hit him completely. Even so, the light didn't die.
'Still—'
Still, he had something to do.
"Hey—!"
He heard Cale's urgent voice. He couldn't believe that guy was calling him like that.
He wanted to laugh.
But there was no time to laugh.
The Dragon Half-Blood moved.
No, he advanced as light.
Without realizing it, his body had taken the shape of a platinum dragon.
He didn't know that the way he advanced was like the flapping of a dragon's wings.
He just moved forward.
"Don't do it!"
He heard Raon's voice.
He grabbed Neo.
He bit him by the nape.
'Mouth?'
Do I have a mouth?
Aren't I just light?
Before he could resolve that doubt.
"Ha."
He saw Neo's astonished expression.
The Dragon Half-Blood flew as far as possible from Raon and Cale, from the black castle, taking Neo with him.
Yes.
The black castle.
He couldn't let the explosion reach that place.
"Anyway, it's too late."
The moment he heard Neo's voice.
"—!"
"—!"
The Dragon Half-Blood felt time flowing again.
And he heard Raon's voice.
"No!"
At the same time, he heard Neo's voice, filled with laughter.
"Explosion."
Neo's heart exploded. At that moment, the Dragon Half-Blood felt for the first time that time was stopping. And he understood that it wasn't truly stopping, but rather the air around was agitated by the explosion of great force.
'It can't be.'
Yes, it can't be.
'This great explosion must not—'
The Dragon Half-Blood, without realizing it, spread his two wings and wrapped Neo. He embraced him with his entire body. Then he understood.
'Ah.'
He had taken the form of a dragon. As soon as he realized it, he involuntarily moved his head. As soon as he realized where he was looking, he knew where he wanted to go.
In the distance—
It was very far away.
But, why did it look so clear?
It was so sharp.
Like the light.
"It can't be!"
The black castle. He saw Sheritt, the former lord, who was trying to run towards him from there. It was the place he wanted to reach. And what he wanted to protect.
'Ah.'
He was going to die as a dragon.
The Dragon Half-Blood smiled.
Boom—
He felt his light disintegrating in the explosion. Even so, he shrank as much as he could. Like his pathetic and grotesque black soul. Because he had to contain the explosion as much as possible.
—!
A great roar devoured even the sound. The Dragon Half-Blood felt how the light was being devoured by the explosion.
Crack—
Ah.
Even his black soul was breaking.
Even that pathetic soul had an end.
The Dragon Half-Blood heard the sound of the last thing he had breaking.
Even so, he tried to hold onto the light while wrapping the explosion.
He instinctively knew that nothing could save his shattered soul.
So, before dying, he had to do his last job.
'Yes.'
As a great dragon. No, because he too was a great dragon.
Crack—
At that moment.
'Huh?'
He didn't hear the sound of his soul breaking anymore.
The Dragon Half-Blood immediately knew why.
Because he felt it.
'Huh?'
He felt something wrapping his pathetic black soul.
It was a shield.
A black shield.
'Ah.'
The Dragon Half-Blood had never felt anything like that before.
Yes.
It was a feeling that made him want to cry.
In this cataclysm, the only one who could use magic was only one.
No, the only one who could use a black shield like that was only one.
A black shield appeared.
Another shield appeared.
One after another, nonstop.
Constantly, black shields appeared.
And those shields wrapped the pathetic soul of the Dragon Half-Blood, the only black entity in the light.
Even so, the Dragon Half-Blood wanted to say something.
'Stop it!'
The shield already had more than ten layers.
If this continued—
'Raon!'
It would also be difficult for him.
The Dragon Half-Blood wanted to scream, but he couldn't.
Even at that moment, more black shields kept appearing.
Drip.
Raon's nose started bleeding.
But Raon didn't stop.
Thump, thump, thump.
The heart was beating.
No.
It felt as if the world was pulsating, as if life felt so vividly.
Thump, thump, thump.
The world beat in rhythm with his heart.
"Ah."
The Ancient Dragon, Eruhaben, let out an exclamation.
He had witnessed Raon's first stage of growth.
Eruhaben had been by his side at that moment.
Raon had escaped the dream or trial, surpassing the adult dragon, taking his companions with him.
His future self and his past connections.
The future and the past.
Raon, who had already overcome that, didn't care about time.
Because Raon was a dragon who had escaped fate.
And what remained was the present.
"The Plate—"
Yes.
The Ancient Dragon, Eruhaben, realized once again what he had felt at that moment.
Raon didn't have a Plate. During the first stage of growth, when the Attribute and Plate size is determined, Raon had even removed the Plate while using mana.
That's why the world was Raon's Plate.
Thump, thump, thump.
Raon maintained his concentration with a clear mind.
Thump, thump, thump.
And in his small chubby paws, he felt the world approaching him.
A being who had escaped fate existed in the present.
The young dragon thought.
He could overcome and escape anything.
His family had taught him that.
As he had experienced in his first stage of growth.
Yes.
The Present can be changed.
Thump, thump, thump.
The world, all the mana in the world, responded to Raon's heart.
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