That was all Safas could say, and he waited with Bella for Lilith to wake up.
When Lilith opened her eyes, there was nothing around her, only a vast pure white space. She looked at herself and found no obvious changes, except that her state felt strange, like a drifting spirit. What felt different were the Crystal and the Magic Staff in her hands.
She had sensed an unusual mental fluctuation from the Magic Staff and tried to resonate with it, only to have her awareness pulled into this space. If that fluctuation had not felt like it came from Belial, she would already be looking for a way out.
"So where is this?" she muttered. "It feels strange… huh?"
A golden wall suddenly rose before her. Lilith froze for a moment, then noticed scale-like patterns arranged across it. This was not a wall at all.
It was a dragon, a golden Great Dragon. Its body extended from somewhere beyond this space, its long neck reaching inside. Two pairs of horns crowned its head, gleaming with silver and gold Gold Rank light.
The golden Gold Rank radiance spread like a solar crown, ancient yet elegant, with sacred patterns forming a burning halo behind it. The presence felt vast and old, heavy but not oppressive, inspiring only respect, like standing before a towering mountain. Its existence was like a star that never stopped shining.
The slightly unreal golden Gold Rank dragon lowered its head to look at Lilith. The familiar blood-red eye film, the aura, the way it existed, and the strange feeling rising from her chest all pointed to one word.
A god.
"You are… the Black Dragon?" Lilith asked.
The being nodded and opened its mouth as if speaking, and meaning flowed directly into her mind.
"It's me."
"Can you understand?"
"Hey… whoa?"
The familiar feeling returned, along with that half-crazy mental state. Lilith quickly understood after just a few exchanges.
"So you didn't review your language lessons at all while sleeping," she said. "You keep using the same few words. This is no different from speaking to me directly."
She relaxed after confirming that this golden Great Dragon was just that foolish Black Dragon with a coat of gold paint. The meanings reaching her mind were still broken, loud and soft at random, with static mixed in, and her mind felt under pressure.
It was not much better than when Belial used to try speaking before, but the meaning came through more clearly this time. Using the Magic Staff, Lilith sensed a faint mental link forming through it, and she sent a message back.
"Long time no see. Are you doing well? What are you doing now? We've known each other so long, but what is your name?"
"It should understand," she muttered. "Even if it's rough, the meaning should be clear. Oh, there's a reply."
Realizing the connection was with the familiar Miss Witch, Belial was pleased and sent a message from his personal space. When the reply arrived, he was even happier, since it proved the translator actually worked.
"You… long time… see? Know… name?"
He frowned. It seemed his System still needed more work, but he understood the intent. Asking for a name was a good start, since they had known each other for so long without names, which was strange.
He hesitated over whether to send a full name or a short one, then gave up thinking. From the many Shard-scattered Dragonkin true names in his memory, he picked the one he commonly used and sent Belial with emphasis. He also asked for her name and sent his coordinates and route markers, but frowned afterward as he felt time running out.
"The distance is still a bit far," he thought. "And is my friend above the place I once visited with Clone?"
After struggling to receive all the information, Lilith blurred and was forcibly logged out. Belial could only feel regret.
"If only I knew how that light built such a clear channel," he muttered. "If it's tied to the nature of that space, this will be troublesome."
"Maybe I should find another way," he added. "I need to make use of this thousand-year dragon king's abilities. It's a template, not something to waste as a relay."
With a headache that felt ready to Rend, Lilith opened her eyes in the real world. Bella and the others crowded over at once.
"How was it? Are you okay? What just happened?"
"Lilith, was a god communicating with you?"
She rubbed her head and used Magic to sort out her chaotic thoughts. The communication had worked, but the burden was heavy.
"I'm fine for now," she said. "The one who called me over was that black… dragon."
She paused, then asked with a complex look. "Let me ask you something. If a being could turn stone into gold at will, control all forces, create any matter, reverse time, recreate life through souls, and have its own Divine Kingdom…"
"What would you call such an existence?"
Bella blinked and searched her database, her expression turning strange. "Are you sure you're not just reciting the human definition of a god? What nonsense is this? Did you go to the God of Light's Divine Kingdom? I thought you meant that Black Dragon."
"…Not exactly," Lilith said. "Just pretend I said nothing. Think of it as me having a special way to communicate with that Black Dragon. I asked a few things, including a name."
"A name? Hurry up and say it. So it really has a name!"
Bella shouted excitedly, and Safas leaned in as well. But when Lilith spoke, their expressions turned odd, because it was not the common tongue of The Continent.
It was a very familiar Dragon Tongue. The original form of Dragon Tongue from ancient times, first spoken from the mouth of BaHamt, and even Safas, who had spent years in the Bronze Dragon library, could only grasp bits of it.
"So it has a lineage and can speak Dragon Tongue?" he thought. "Then why didn't it speak before?"
"…Cior-denora… Nokdiush… Belial."
The broken, awkward words poured out, hard even for Lilith to pronounce. She cleared her throat. "It seems to be a long name tied to the Dragonkin. But it calls itself Belial."
"…Can you say that again?" Safas asked. "What did it call itself?"
"Why repeat it?" Lilith frowned. "I don't think your memory is that bad, unless there's some hidden meaning."
Safas went still. "That is BaHamt's full name."
"Or rather, the other half of a name that was torn apart. The true name of the Dragonkin may be a form of inheritance, but its meaning to the Dragon God is far greater."
"I thought what that bastard Edward stole was just the last part, the name Belial. But now there's a problem."
"Belial is not Edward, and BaHamt's name is still incomplete. The implications are huge."
He muttered to himself, then suddenly started laughing, almost crazed. Bella looked ready to punch him to stop it, and he quickly restrained himself.
"I get it now," Safas said, smiling thinly. "No matter what that bastard tries to do, he always runs into this Black Dragon."
"So that little help from the other goddess back then was for this," he continued. "To rebuild Fate, you also need to rebuild the true name of the Dragon God. That means no matter how BaHamt tries to avoid it, under the push of Fate, he will meet Belial."
Fate played a joke on itself. It was almost funny.
A true name itself does not represent Fate, but a complete true name represents BaHamt. And BaHamt is the Fate that has not fully died.
Which meant that if Edward wanted to become Fate, he would have to reclaim the name Belial.
Faced with the rambling riddles of this half-crazed old man, the rational Bellary used her fists as a translator and finally understood the rough process. It was actually very simple when broken down. First, I cannot beat the Black Dragon, so I need the Black Dragon Set. But I can only get the Black Dragon Set after beating the Black Dragon, so I go beat the Black Dragon.
Edward wants to become the Dragon God of Fate by seizing the name of Bahamut, but part of the complete true name ended up with Belial. If he wants to take the true name back, he has to first kill the original the Lord. Just adding a few names to an identity record is useless, because this true name is officially recognized by the Fate godhood. The simple problem is that Edward does not seem strong enough.
So in the end, everything gets stuck in the middle. "In other words, that true name now has three parts. One is with that Edward, another is with the original Bahamut, and the last part is with that Black Dragon… I mean, Belial?" "That is correct."
"Then what are we even worried about? Just let Belial charge in and kill them all." Bella felt everything suddenly became clear. Kill them all and it is done, that was too easy. The whole becoming-a-god step was already stuck, and they wanted to fight an invincible Belial with just flying heads?