The Foreigner on the Periphery

Crack!

Minjun saw cracks forming on the surface of the Cube.

The Gold Dragon, perhaps worried about it being stolen by the wrong hands, had designed it so its contents would vanish if broken, borrowing Endelion's technology to do so.

‘There is no need to look at the memories inside.’

He did not want to expand his boundaries any further.

Because of his experiences as a prisoner, he already had too many precious people and cherished objects outside his own kind. His compassion and empathy for them alone were overwhelming.

Furthermore, reading a testament written with a Gold Dragon's life might expand that scope significantly. The bonds the dragon had built over thousands of years. The countless people existing within those memories.

It would be one thing if he remained ignorant, but the moment he acknowledged them, those figures wouldn't just be numbers in his head; they would become living, breathing people with thoughts and desires.

Minjun did not want that.

C-crack! Craaack!

So, would he let the Dragon Heart be destroyed like this?

Minjun had no intention of doing that either.

Flash!

After a flash of light.

The Cube no longer existed in Minjun's hand.

The artifact that manipulated probability to allow a single object to exist in two places had vanished. Moreover, the primordial race had meticulously dismantled and neutralized Endelion's trap—without damaging the contents in the slightest.

As a result, the Dragon Heart now existed in only one place.

‘Jenkinson.’

He murmured his friend's name.

‘It is right that you take this heart. It will extend your lifespan.’

Minjun remembered the Red Dragon's appeal on the day they last faced each other.

From a certain point on, the dragon had been treating him not as a friend, but as someone who stood above him. He had been respectful, humbling himself in earnest desperation.

His voice rang out like an auditory hallucination.

“There is something I haven't told you yet.”

At that time, Jenkinson had brought up a story from the distant past.

It was something even Minjun had never expected to hear from his mouth.

“Right after you woke from your slumber, you were imprisoned on a certain planet.”

That planet was now called Yongreung.

It was purely by chance that the Gold Dragon, who had infiltrated to rescue his imprisoned kin, ran into Minjun, who had transformed into a Kavite.

The dragon mistook him for a high-ranking Kavite official, kidnapped him, and fled. For Minjun, who had been plotting an escape, it was a stroke of unexpected luck.

“The Dragon Eater Tribe. No, even you, a member of the primordial race... received help from a race that was originally nothing more than livestock. Because you became entangled with a single dragon, you were able to escape that planet.”

If the Gold Dragon hadn't turned Yongreung upside down back then, it would have been impossible for Minjun to escape the planet on his own.

Because it was the truth, he had been even more bewildered. How did he know?

Jenkinson already knew things Minjun had never told him.

He was also quite shocked by the explanation that followed.

“The man who infiltrated Yongreung disguised as an elf. You would cross paths with him again in the future. The dragon recognized you, but you did not recognize the dragon.”

That Gold Dragon was the previous Rod.

Jenkinson bowed his head deeply. Between his horns, one could see scales that had turned cloudy, sparsely flaking as if on the verge of shedding.

“Even after reuniting with you on Earth, the previous Rod never let on that he knew you. But he did not antagonize you either. Judging you to be a dangerous entity, he never laid a hand on you. He merely left behind a few arrangements in preparation for the day you would regain your memories. He treated you with nothing but goodwill when you reappeared as a prisoner. Thus, he accumulated good karma.”

This, too, was true.

As an Immigration Office agent, Minjun remembered him as a good friend. He was also a dragon who had genuinely helped him a lot.

“I, too, have exchanged help with you, and I believe those complex chains of cause and effect ultimately served as a stepping stone for your goals, rather than an obstacle.”

A sorrowful tone.

“It is tragic. Tragic that these two are the only dragons I can present as evidence. However, if we two have built up karma entwined with yours, there will be other dragons in the future who do the same.”

He emphasized that existences do not influence each other in just one direction.

“For the sake of the dragons who might make that choice of their own free will, I ask that you open even a small door for them. I am prepared to dedicate the rest of my life to widening that path. This is my new wish.”

Present day.

In the empty room, Minjun recalled Jenkinson from his memories.

A voice that wouldn't reach him.

“It is a vain dream, Jenkinson.”

Minjun would grant his wish.

However, when he made the promise, Minjun did not specify the details. Only a vague agreement had been forged: an equal exchange of one blood donor dragon for one sinner.

It was not an attempt to exploit a loophole. He had no intention of stabbing his friend in the back later on.

Even if left alone, Minjun believed his friend's dream would crumble to dust. That was why he hadn't established the details.

“No matter how diligently you offer your blood, or how loud you shout your convictions across the entire universe, the other dragons won't move. A dragon who would promise a lifetime of blood donation just to save a single sinner... Well, I doubt it.”

Minjun predicted that a future where all dragons became people, just as his friend dreamed, would never arrive.

Of course, he could be wrong, but right now it was almost a certainty.

“The freedom they enjoyed is effectively over.”

True freedom entails responsibility, and the pain of duty inevitably follows.

Minjun was well acquainted with the pain of bearing duties in life.

“And even with their last remaining sliver of freedom, they will use it to strip away their own liberty.”

By refusing that pain, the Ancient Race and the dragons had sealed their future.

Karma is completed through action; consciousness and desire alone cannot constitute a sin. Only when one acts on free will does karmic retribution tangle together like a spider's web. Good karma and bad karma are distinguished by the impact actions have on one another.

Ever since waking, Minjun had been observing and experiencing them. And now, he was building a scale to measure the weight of the bad karma they had accrued.

Having reached that thought, Minjun suddenly had a question.

Then who will build the scale to measure my karma, our karma?

   *

—A week, you say?

Spirit Realm Communication. Data transmitted from the center of the dimensional system to its periphery formed a string of text.

It was akin to chatting, but Asiph-1 felt as though he could hear Del's voice clearly and see her expression right before his eyes.

He replied vocally.

“Yes. Father gave me a week. In that time, I must uncover the true nature of Divine Power and prove that this power is a viable alternative for him.”

The communication device recognized his voice, converted it into text, and transmitted it.

After a slight delay, a message sent by Del from a distant planet popped up.

—That's practically a rejection.

No new messages appeared for a while, as if she were pondering something.

—I will look for data on my end, too. Endelion might have more knowledge and experience with Divine Power than the primordial race.

“That makes sense. It is a new supernatural ability that appeared while Father was asleep, after all.”

Before the message was sent, he added one more thing.

“Thank you, Mother. For helping me.”

—Cain might be angry if he finds out... but I believe this is the right thing to do.

“I think so, too.”

—That's why it was so unexpected. You seemed like someone who would obey Cain unconditionally. Yet here you are, trying to go directly against his will.

“Actually, I am not even sure if this is truly Father's will.”

—What do you mean?

He searched his memories for a moment, choosing his words carefully.

“Back when I was a Frying Pan, Father, whose memories were incomplete, was burning with a desire for revenge... I probably shouldn't put it this way, but he was akin to a vengeful ghost. Within that imperfect assembly of memories, his most desperate desires and willpower must have been ablaze. I remember it clearly. The day he declared, ‘Kavites will go extinct,’ Father smiled with pure joy.”

His creator was inherently a man stingy with smiles.

But that day, he had smiled radiantly, as if he couldn't bear the anticipation.

To the point that the Frying Pan was startled.

“Now that the execution of his plan draws near, Father should be happy. But lately, he has lost his smile once more. In fact, it almost looks like he lost his joy entirely after fully recovering his memories.”

He wore an agonizing expression, as if something were bothering him.

It was an irony.

“So, I started to wonder. Perhaps even the massacre of the Kavites... has become something Father feels he has to do, rather than something he wants to do. If that's true, then it is my job to give him a reason not to go through with it.”

—...

After a slight delay.

Del suddenly sent back a completely unrelated reply.

—...Even now, I am not comfortable with the priests calling me the Holy Mother. To be honest, it was awkward when you first called me Mother, too.

“You didn't seem to like me very much back then, Mother.”

He spoke in the past tense.

—You don't share a single drop of blood with me. Naturally, we look nothing alike. Even your mind stems entirely from Cain, doesn't it? And yet...

Even though it was nothing more than a string of text, Asiph-1 felt like he could see Del's faint smile.

—If I had to pick the person in the world whose way of thinking most resembles my own, it would be you.

Del ended the communication after a brief goodbye. It seemed she was heading straight to the database.

Even though no new messages appeared after that, Asiph-1 stared quietly at the communication window for a long while.

   *

“Ugh, things never go as planned.”

A short time later.

Asiph-1 sat on top of a tall building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, looking down at the city center.

“And time is running out, too.”

He lamented, scratching the back of his head. His long hair swayed wildly with the motion of his hand.

The priests of the Elahu-Praga order were currently evangelizing on Earth more actively than any other order. They collected rumors circulating among the sick who came to visit them.

According to their reports, there was a Divine Power user on this planet whose abilities defied all common sense.

Asiph-1 thought he could be the Key. If he was such an incredible ability user, peering into his mind might reveal what made Divine Power so strong; they could break down the elements, analyze them, and theorize the process.

Ultimately, it could even be cultivated in others.

That was why Asiph-1 had headed straight to Jenkinson Tower. Rumors were widespread that this user was working under his father's friend.

However, Jenkinson himself was absent. Without hesitating any further, Asiph-1 began reading the memories of the people coming and going from the building.

The result was...

“You should have kept a closer eye on him. You just let him run away?”

The secretary managing the ability user—an elf named Blair—was in a state of near panic.

Her mind was filled with guilt for failing to properly execute her boss's orders and sorrow over presenting him to the public in a ‘hideous state.’ It was so overwhelming that Asiph-1, who was peering into her mind, felt dizzy and had to pull out.

“A mixed blood of a dragon, a spider, and a half-elf. That is certainly a unique background. Is that the Key? Then reading his mind isn't the issue; I might need to mess with his genetics...”

That would make things much more complicated.

He prayed that wouldn't be the case.

“So, where the hell is this guy?”

Looking down at downtown Seoul, he expanded his senses.

It was as if a storm of Divine Power was currently raging across the city. This was due to the Elahu-Praga priests spread out everywhere.

Finding the runaway in this place was literally akin to finding a needle in a haystack...

“...”

Right then.

Asiph-1's gaze locked onto a single spot.

“...Huh?”

He tilted his head slightly.

Then, he glared in that direction more intensely, as if trying to confirm what he was seeing.

“No way, could it be?”

Things never worked out this easily.

Even as he muttered that, Asiph-1 had already jumped to his feet. Standing at the very top of Jenkinson Tower, the Pope curled the corners of his mouth into a smirk.

“The needle...”

He murmured as he activated Teleport.

“...has been found.”

   *

Dong-cheol collapsed, clutching his eyes with both hands.

“Ugh... Urgh! My eyes... My eyes...!”

The suspicious man supported him, entirely at a loss for what to do.

“Whoa! Bro, I'm sorry. Are you okay? I didn't know it would be this intense...”

The gazes of passersby lingered on them for a moment before drifting away one by one. Nobody paid much attention to a street goblin and a man of unknown race who appeared to have a sunlight allergy.

“Ah... I-I'm okay... Just give me a second...”

The goblin wiped away his tears. As he blinked, his vision returned.

“I thought... I was going to... die...”

Just a moment ago, when that man had unleashed his Divine Power to show proof...

Dong-cheol felt an agonizing burning sensation in his eyes. The man had literally become a blindingly intense flash of light that swallowed everything around him, making it impossible to look at directly.

However, other people didn't seem to notice the anomaly. Even the alien priests inside the tent right in front of them showed no reaction whatsoever.

Whatever trick he had used, the man had just revealed that colossal amount of Divine Power... exclusively to Dong-cheol.

“How... is this... possible?”

“How? I don't know either. I just tried to do it, and it worked.”

Dong-cheol kept glancing nervously at the aliens' tent.

The man laughed, as if to say he was worrying over nothing.

“Don't worry. I made sure nobody else noticed, didn't I? Now, shall we continue where we left off? Actually, I haven't even picked a name yet. I figured if we brainstormed together, we could come up with something good...”

The man's words cut off right there.

The moment the air warped bizarrely, the goblin's head whipped to the side as well.

“...!”

In that split second, the two of them saw a man standing there who hadn't been there before.

It was a truly bizarre outfit. Ceremonial robes that would be hard to find in any of Earth's cultures.

Dong-cheol only thought it was strange, but Fourth, who had been observing the Elahu-Praga order, noticed that the attire shared similarities with the clothes worn by those alien priests.

The suddenly appearing man swept back his messily hanging long hair. That motion revealed a pair of eyes brimming with vitality and curiosity.

His gaze swept over the goblin and Fourth in turn.

He smiled.

“I found you easier than I expected. So this is where you were?”

Did Chairman Jenkinson send him? How did he find me? That burst just now... I definitely controlled it so no one else would notice.

And the goblin was just as confused.

“Uh... Eh?”

It was definitely their first time meeting. He could be absolutely certain they had never crossed paths before, based on both his appearance and his attire.

And yet, the goblin couldn't shake the feeling that this man was somehow familiar.

While the two were lost in their confusion, Asiph-1 reached out a hand to Fourth.

“Want to come with me for a bit? There's something I need to look into.”

The head of the universe's greatest order, a man who possessed not a single ounce of Divine Power himself, and...

The man who possessed the universe's greatest Divine Power, yet had not a single follower beneath him.

The two men's gazes tangled and intersected in the air.

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