The Foreigner on the Periphery

Dell had remained in the same spot for days. She couldn't take her eyes off the magic projection displaying the Mother King.

Much of her body had already returned to its original bronze hue. Her recovery speed was miraculous.

However, unlike her physical wounds, her shattered mind could not be easily pieced back together.

"Mother."

A voice came from behind her.

Having noticed his presence long before, Dell replied.

"Has he returned?"

"Not yet."

Asiph-1 stepped up to stand beside her.

"I see. Thank you."

Her gaze remained fixed on the screen.

Asiph-1 found it difficult to fathom her feelings.

"Do you regret it?"

Dell had contributed to the King's demise. She was the savior of the Endelion race, but also its betrayer.

If she had begged Minjun for mercy as her 'wish,' the outcome might have been slightly different.

But Dell answered simply.

"No, I don't regret it."

Her voice rang clear.

"It was what I wanted to do, and it was necessary."

Something she wanted to do.

Something she had to do.

"I just feel sorrow and pity. You can call it hypocritical to mourn a situation I caused, or condemn it as a contradiction. I can't help it. That's honestly how I feel."

Asiph-1 asked carefully.

"I heard you gave Asif-500 a name."

"Because he is not a sinner. There's no need for him to keep being called by a prisoner number."

Asiph-1 had heard the details of their conversation separately from the dragon. Since returning from the data base, Dell hadn't been in a state of mind to discuss trivial matters.

"He mentioned you told him there is no sin one must bear simply for being born."

"I did."

Asiph-1 confided his concerns.

"If having no choice is not a sin, what about the responsibility for what one could not choose?"

Only then did Dell turn her head.

"According to the doctrine of those I rule, sin is a debt. And debt shares many similarities with responsibility. I received my spirit from my father and my flesh from my mother. Thus, it seems I harbored a sense of indebtedness toward you both. A debt proportional to the weight of my existence. The responsibility to unconditionally execute what you two desired and commanded. The mission that I could not defy my creators was the guiding milestone of my life."

Asiph-1 asked.

"What do you think about such a responsibility?"

Dell cast her gaze back to the projection and replied.

Her voice was tinged with self-mockery.

"I think the scenery over there is answer enough."

"Yes, I guessed as much. You defied your creator, Mother."

She had even repudiated the greater cause of a community broader than her family.

She had broken out of the fence called 'us,' joined hands with those outside it, and destroyed the existing community to rebuild it.

"Do you have any commands for me, Mother?"

"Well, maybe a favor later on."

"Not a trivial favor, but something concerning my life."

Dell smiled faintly and shook her head.

Asiph-1 realized it was the first time he had seen her smile in a very long time.

"No. I have no intention of deciding how you should live your life."

"I thought as much."

"But... Cain might have a different opinion."

Dell stared quietly at Asiph-1.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about the purpose of my life."

"Becoming God's proxy? Do you not want to do it?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. My belief that it's a job someone has to do remains unchanged. And I know I am the only one who can do it. So, I will do it."

"That means you're making a sacrifice."

"Pardon?"

"It means you're doing it because you have to, not because you want to."

"I wonder."

Asiph-1 scratched his head.

"Calling the role of a king a sacrifice is a bit of a stretch. If the people of the world heard that, every single one of them would look at me with disgust. Besides, once I actually do it, I might find myself satisfied with the position of the universe's administrator, couldn't I? 'Ruling' people might just be my true calling. Haha!"

Considering Asiph-1's abilities, that last sentence was hard to dismiss as a mere joke.

Though he tried to lighten the mood with a soft laugh, his eyes grew deep again as he spoke.

"Yes, I will become the king of humanity. Partly because I was chosen, but also because I have chosen this path. I couldn't choose what I was born as. Life is absurd and unfair."

In fact, someone out there might even envy Asiph-1.

"Because the ingredients each person is given to complete the dish called life are different. In someone else's eyes, mine might look far better, but I didn't decide what I was given. However, I want to choose how to combine and cook those ingredients myself. Yes, my current dilemma is more about the methods and procedures than the task itself."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know why Father got caught on purpose?"

He suddenly changed the subject.

Dell had also guessed that Minjun's own intentions were involved in him becoming a prisoner.

"Wasn't it to gather the fragments on the frontier without the Committee's interference?"

To achieve Minjun's grand design, Asiph-1's soul fragments were essential. And the Committee had also formed a plan to gather the fragments through him.

It was a plan to let himself serve as a tool for the enemy's goals while simultaneously pushing his own will through.

By erasing his memories, he had even deceived himself.

"There was one more reason. It was so the Kavite who captured Father would experiment on his body, thereby convincing them that his statements were true. I'm referring to the correlation between the primordial race and dragon blood."

"W-wait a minute. Dragon blood? Kavite? What does all that mean?"

Dell wore a confused expression.

Only then did Asiph-1 bring up the main point.

The events that would unfold on the path to becoming the king of humanity.

However, in his view, it wasn't something that had to be done, but something that must never be done.

"I agree with your statement that being born as someone cannot be a sin."

A person born with free will distinguishes right from wrong and speaks for themselves.

"Regarding the Kabite Concentration Camp currently under construction, there is something you need to know, Mother."

   *

Exhausted, Jenkinson pondered.

Just how long would this chaos and confusion last?

Was this the end of the beginning, or the beginning of the end?

He couldn't remember when he had last slept since waking from the former Rod's dream. Thanks to stress-induced binge eating, his weight had increased by several tons.

He spoke to the personality within his brain.

"Minjun... do you think he's found it by now?"

'Well, considering we don't even know what he came looking for in the first place, who knows.'

Jenkinson let out a deep sigh and sent a telepathic message outside. A reply returned immediately.

"They say the Space Mothership is still floating over the Pacific Ocean. This is the first time it has stayed in one place for so long. Then perhaps..."

'If he had already found it, he would be preparing to leave soon. But the prophecy is a concern.'

Jenkinson looked out the window. The snow from yesterday had not yet melted, blanketing the streets in white.

"Isn't there a high probability that he'll stay on Earth until the day mentioned in the prophecy? The end of the year is just around the corner, anyway."

'I'd like to ask the prophet if anything has changed. It's a shame.'

When Minjun visited Jenkinson Tower, he had taken Choi Seona and her Orc father away with him.

The former Rod's personality brought up the events of that day.

'I should have wished for something else.'

   *

A few days ago.

After hastily cleaning up the mess caused by the spaceship that appeared in the middle of the city.

Returning to the room where Minjun was, the Red Dragon felt flustered by the strange atmosphere.

His friend had turned to him and said:

"Jenkinson, you too. If you have a wish, would you tell me?"

Surprised by the sudden offer, he still knew he couldn't miss the opportunity.

So, after sending the Elf, the human, the goblin, and the Orc out of the room, he faced Minjun alone and pleaded.

He declared that the story he had been rambling about just moments ago was, in fact, his wish.

But Minjun firmly shook his head.

"I don't think that will work."

He explained that he couldn't be certain of the outcome, even with his own abilities.

To Jenkinson, who already knew about the primordial race, Minjun revealed a secret that the other four had not heard.

It was about a plan to sustain the universe far into the distant future.

"...My god!"

Jenkinson felt his mind literally go blank.

It was a plan on a scale even a Dragon had never imagined.

And Minjun told him that Dragons would be needed as nutrients for the universe that had gained life.

"It's something only you can do."

"Is there truly no alternative?!"

"Then we would have to spend a long time modifying another organism. In the end, someone else besides you would just be sacrificed. We no longer have the time or energy for that."

Minjun advised him to choose a different wish, and Jenkinson agonized over it. The words Callieter had spoken at the meeting floated through his mind.

He could have asked Minjun not to eat the Dragons of Earth, at the very least. Or, broadening the scope a bit, he could have begged him to spare his own relatives.

But instead of doing that.

Jenkinson said this:

"The Legacy of the Former Dragon Lord... that Cube-shaped item. Do you still have it?"

   *

The perspective returns to the present.

The Rod's personality asked.

'Was it really a good idea to tell the truth?'

"He has already regained his memories and abilities. A clumsy lie would have been seen through, and our trust would have been shattered."

Jenkinson's wish was for Minjun to take out and open that Cube on the coming day.

He didn't lie about the artifact's true nature. He honestly confessed that the former Dragon Lord's memories were stored inside it.

Minjun had looked slightly surprised and remained silent during the ensuing explanation.

Jenkinson's two personalities had waited for his response with burning anxiety.

Ultimately, Minjun consented.

'You didn't necessarily have to choose that as your wish, did you?'

"Rod, I know you were confident in your Magic skills during your lifetime, but you made that assuming it was the past Minjun. With Minjun's current abilities, he could sense the anomaly when the Magic activates on December 31st and destroy the Cube entirely. The spell would just be canceled in vain. So, it's better to tell the truth. To beg him to please look at the memories inside. And to verify the message the Rod wanted to convey."

If Jenkinson was still his friend, the former Rod was as well.

Minjun would read the will the Gold Dragon had written with his 'life.'

"That is our last hope."

After making the promise to Jenkinson, Minjun had left, taking the prophet and her father with him.

Bearing the wishes spoken by the Dragon, the Elf, the human, the goblin, and the Orc, one by one, in his heart.

"Now then, let's get back to work. Just look at the paperwork piled up over there."

'...No, but I'm already dead. Why do you keep working me to the bone on trivial administrative tasks like this?'

"Because your experience is useful. And strictly speaking, you're not dead; you're my other personality. Now, take a look at this. This is a matter you approved when you were the Rod..."

Right as he was conversing with the personality in his brain...

— !

Jenkinson froze as if he had sensed something.

And immediately after, RUMBLE!

Jenkinson Tower shook violently. A massive earthquake with no prior warning.

However, a dragon's senses could pinpoint the direction of the source. He crossed the violently shaking office without difficulty and stood before the window.

And he stared beyond it.

"That's...?"

His sixth brain grasped the phenomenon beyond what was visible.

"The distance is roughly 5,000 kilometers! It's the high seas of the Pacific Ocean!"

'The Pacific Ocean? No, wait. Just a moment ago, surely...'

"Damn it, these coordinates are...!"

A massive wave of magical power so tremendous it could chill an Ancient Dragon's blood.

Its epicenter was the exact location where Minjun's Space Mothership was stationed.

Jenkinson couldn't determine what was happening.

Whether this was a natural phenomenon following the discovery of what Minjun had to find. Or if...

"I'll check for myself."

He sent a telepathic message to the place where Minjun would be.

'Minjun! What happened?'

The dragon's expression froze once more.

He felt the mental wave he sent out get deflected and bounce off mid-flight.

And then.

"...!"

Glaring at a single spot in the empty air, he emitted a dreadful killing intent.

"These greedy, foolish... reckless fools!"

His voice was mixed with anger and frustration.

Then, into Jenkinson's ears,

"This is our first time speaking face-to-face. Dragon Lord of Earth, it is a pleasure to meet you."

A voice seeped through.

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