The Dragon King.
Once claimed to be the protector of the continent, he was a being that tore apart his own existence and erased records for the sake of the world’s balance.
However, his identity was uncovered by Shir, the spirit who has lived since the Mythical Era.
Yet, people only know that such a being existed, and countless questions about him still remain.
Even I, who am called a descendant of the Dragon King, do not know anything.
After all, I was abandoned by my parents from a young age, a memory I can hardly recall.
So.
“There’s nothing you can ask me that will yield any answers, you know?”
Somehow, I returned to reality and found myself facing the three time gods who were present in the previous space.
Epherna is bewildered by the sudden appearance of the Gods of Time and Space in the carriage, but the gods appear unconcerned.
“Maybe if you hit your head until you remember something, it will jog your memory?”
“I did a divination, and it seems I might remember in three minutes.”
“Hoho~ Just try your best.”
They pressed me while revealing their individual traits and personalities.
But, what can they find out from me by doing so?
“Why are the gods so curious? Aren’t you gods supposed to know the happenings in the mortal realm effortlessly?”
“If we had that ability, wouldn’t we have cleaned up those Evergreen pests first?”
The one-eyed, bespectacled time god snorted, huffing out a breath.
“Evergreen is still just human, right? I understand the gods aren’t what they used to be, but in the end, they’re still humans.”
“Their boss isn’t just human, you see.”
“…”
I know the name of the boss ruling the Evergreen.
The Cult Leader.
The fanatic who tried to imprison me for a week referred to their master that way.
They say he’s the last legacy of the Mythical Era and the agent of the divine kings, a being that cannot be judged by human standards. I’ve heard such stories, but I didn’t quite understand them.
So, I asked the time gods about it. What exactly does it mean to be the last legacy of the mythological era and the agent of the Divine Kings?
“…”
“…”
“…”
At that, the three gods seemed to have made a pact and shut their mouths tightly.
They exchanged glances, looking for cues from one another… gesturing, ‘You say it.’ and pushing the response onto someone else.
Finally, the one who took the lead and spoke was the elderly god who looked like a witch.
“The last legacy of the Mythical Era… did the Evergreen that attacked you say that?”
“Yes, they also mentioned being agents of the Divine Kings.”
“Ho…”
No matter how I look at it, it’s not a lack of understanding. It seems they are reluctant to speak because there’s something they feel guilty about.
“Should we call this fate… or karma?”
The witch’s white pupils shone dimly as her expression hardened. The atmosphere shifted 180 degrees from the earlier lightheartedness, and the other two time gods emitted soft sighs.
“How unfortunate. It is indeed regrettable.”
The witch hesitated, mumbling.
“Surely, not even the Dragon King would foresee that an intention started with good will would lead to such results.”
*****
I simply wanted to leave a little story behind.
I knew it to be true.
Even if they see themselves as omniscient and omnipotent now, there will come a day when an end will come to this era they govern.
Living beings, not gods, coexist, and sometimes fight, but there will come a future where they love and are loved in return.
Thus, I merely wished to indulge in a bit of greed.
The World Tree that governs the world of fresh weather.
The Divine Beast that governs the world of hot weather.
The Spirit King that governs the world of cool weather.
The Demon King that governs the world of cold weather.
Although they harbored hatred for each other, still, they joined forces in the hope that there would be beings on the continent who would remember them.
This was not a summoned beast created by the Spirit King that dwells in the imaginary realm.
It was not an animal crafted by the Divine Beast of Summer.
It was neither a shaman born from the World Tree of Spring.
Nor was it a monster nurtured by the Demon King of Winter.
There were neither furs to protect against the cold nor sharp claws for hunting, nor even a massive body that would lend strength by its sheer size.
However, there was one thing that surpassed any species of living beings.
That was an exceptional brain.
The Divine Kings pooled their power to create an immortal being with superior imagination, memory, and arithmetic skills.
They called him the first human (Adam).
Under the meticulous care of the Divine Kings, the boy grew up and studied the legends of the birth of the Divine Kings, the Gods of Time and Space, and the Dragon King, along with many other tales.
As he matured, the boy began to realize the mission that the Divine Kings desired of him.
He understood that it was merely to remember.
They didn’t need him to leave behind records or to carry on this era; they simply wanted him to remember and live.
When the boy reached adulthood, he pondered what he wanted to do.
Up until that point, he had merely studied the era as the Divine Kings wished, but as his intellect grew, he became aware of the feeling of desire and ultimately discovered what he wanted to do.
He yearned for a being like his parents.
The Divine Kings.
The boy admired them and loved them.
It was similar to the maternal affection that the Divine Kings had for him.
The boy loved the Divine Kings as their child and hoped to live happily with them for a lifetime.
The Divine Kings knew that their era was nearing its end. The boy, who spent all day with them, also realized that an era was waning.
Afterwards, the Divine Kings whispered into the boy’s ear.
“…”
What they said, I can’t even recall now after so much time has passed.
The surroundings were an entirely white, round temple.
In the center stood an old man draped in a silver robe.
Using the wooden staff he held, he walked around the temple step by step.
The worshipers watching his actions had no way of knowing what significance it held.
However, they knew that behind this mysterious behavior, divine words would descend to the earth, so the worshipers clad in white robes all knelt in reverence.
It was when the old man stopped walking that he suddenly looked up at the sky and exhaled the breath he had been holding.
“At last…”
It had been a long wait.
Ten thousand years had passed since witnessing the end of the Mythical Era.
The young man, who could only watch the end of his parents with his innocent eyes, had become an elderly man with a thick gray beard.
Though he was immortal due to the warm grace of his parents, he had grown old because he wished for it.
If he could grow old, if he could die, wouldn’t he also be able to go to heaven where his parents were?
Yet the grace instilled in him by his parents was warmer than the brightest sunlight.
The blessing of immortality etched into his soul could not be undone by any means.
Ultimately, he chose to forgo his desire and make a resolution.
Choosing one’s own death is a lower path. It is merely a struggle, not wanting to live, flailing one’s arms and legs in the air.
The boy, who had once been a child, recalled the reasons he did not want to live.
Parents.
Those who created him and made him the father of all humans.
As time passed, he too became a parent and the progenitor of millions of humans existing in the present, yet he still longed for them.
The sky that was blue and beautiful, pure and not vile.
The three Gods of Time and Space who were prickly yet devoted themselves to the world.
The Dragon King, whom he had never seen but who sacrificed himself to maintain the balance of the world.
And the four parents who always looked at him with warm eyes.
The day to return to that time was now drawing near.
The old man sat in the center of the temple and recited words.
The worshipers, still kneeling with their foreheads to the ground, were overwhelmed with emotion.
Many wept.
What pitiful beings.
Seeing such worshipers, the man thought.
The worshipers here, praising him and the ascended Divine Kings, were weak individuals who chose to escape from a harsh reality.
They were pure fools who could not discard their ugly desires and sought to rationalize themselves.
He was the one who gathered them to establish a single religion, but he never expected it to become this easy, not even as the progenitor of humans.
And as his descendants exceeded expectations, his goal became more resolute.
A world like this would be better off nonexistent.
Returning to the time when everything was beautiful and radiant would be beneficial for the continent and the world.
“My parents….”
The old man murmured briefly before looking up at the sky and offering a faint smile.
“Soon, we will meet again.”
The man’s face appeared serene like that of a child.
Just as it had been during those always happy and pure days.
