The endless army gradually disappeared into the darkness.
Legion after legion...
Division after division...
Until the vast plains became empty once again.
It was as though nothing had happened.
Only the countless footprints left upon the black earth proved otherwise.
A cold breeze swept across the Shadow Realm.
The drifting particles of Shadow Energy danced silently through the air.
I remained where I stood.
Looking toward the endless horizon.
For seven years...
This Realm had forged me.
Not simply my body.
Not simply my cultivation.
But my heart.
My resolve.
My understanding of strength itself.
Strength...
Was never merely the ability to destroy.
Strength...
Was responsibility.
Discipline.
Restraint.
The ability to protect what mattered.
Only now...
Standing at the end of my journey...
Did I finally understand what Nyxaroth had been teaching me all along.
Not Shadow Energy.
Not techniques.
Not combat.
He had been teaching me...
How to carry power.
"...Young Sovereign."
The leader of the Seven spoke quietly behind me.
His voice broke the silence without disturbing it.
I slowly turned.
The Seven stood together.
Father remained beside them.
Watching me.
Waiting.
I smiled faintly.
"I'll be back."
Father raised an eyebrow.
"Going somewhere?"
I nodded.
"There is..."
"Someone I have to meet."
The Seven exchanged knowing glances.
Their leader gave a slight smile.
"So..."
"The old dragon finally decided."
I looked at him in surprise.
"You know?"
He chuckled softly.
"We have known for a long time."
"The Patriarch knows as well."
"He simply never interfered."
Father folded his arms.
"I figured."
"Every time you disappeared..."
"You returned..."
"...slightly different."
He laughed quietly.
"I thought you were secretly training."
"I was."
I answered honestly.
"Just not alone."
Father nodded.
"Go."
"We'll wait."
I gave a small nod before turning around once more.
Then—
BOOM.
The ground beneath my feet shattered.
My figure blurred into a streak of white lightning.
The surrounding darkness folded around me.
Within moments...
The Shadow Legion...
The Seven...
Father...
Had all disappeared behind me.
...
I ran.
Not because I was in a hurry.
Because my body naturally carried me there.
Toward the place where I had spent countless silent hours over the past seven years.
A lonely cliff overlooking an endless sea of darkness.
The place where I came whenever I wished to think.
To breathe.
To escape.
Perhaps...
That was why he chose this place.
My feet gently landed upon the cliff.
Silence welcomed me once again.
The wind flowed peacefully across the endless abyss before me.
Nothing moved.
Nothing spoke.
I closed my eyes.
"...I'm here."
For several breaths...
Nothing happened.
Then—
The surrounding shadows rippled.
Not violently.
Not with hostility.
They simply...
Moved.
Like calm water disturbed by a gentle breeze.
The darkness gathered together.
Slowly.
Naturally.
A familiar silhouette emerged.
Tall.
Majestic.
Elegant.
White scales shimmered faintly beneath the eternal darkness.
Ancient horns curved gracefully toward the heavens.
Golden whiskers drifted lazily through the air.
The White Dragon.
Or rather...
His Shadow.
He looked exactly as he always had.
Yet...
Something was different.
His body had become more transparent.
The edges of his figure dissolved into drifting wisps of Shadow Energy.
Even his scales...
Appeared less solid than before.
I quietly observed him.
"...You're fading."
The old dragon smiled.
"I have been fading..."
"...for tens of thousands of years."
"I simply chose not to notice."
His voice remained as calm as ever.
"So..."
"You're leaving."
I smiled.
"It looks that way."
He slowly nodded.
"Good."
"There is nothing more this Realm can teach you."
His silver eyes quietly rested upon mine.
"But..."
"There is still something..."
"...I wish to leave behind."
Neither of us spoke.
Words were unnecessary.
We simply stood together.
Watching the endless darkness.
Master...
And disciple.
Not by blood.
Not by race.
But by understanding.
After a long silence...
The White Dragon laughed.
A soft laugh.
Filled with nostalgia.
"You know..."
"When I first met you..."
"I thought the universe had finally gone mad."
I couldn't help smiling.
"I've heard that before."
"Oh?"
"From whom?"
"Myself."
The old dragon burst into laughter.
"Hahaha..."
"Good."
"That means you've learned to laugh at yourself."
His laughter gradually faded.
"So..."
"The eyes have awakened."
I instinctively touched my own face.
"Seraphim."
The dragon nodded.
"The true Seraphim."
"Not an imitation."
"Not a fragment."
"The genuine technique."
His gaze became distant.
"Do you know..."
"How many spent their entire lives trying to awaken those eyes?"
I slowly shook my head.
"I don't."
"They failed."
"Every single one."
"Not because they lacked talent."
"They lacked..."
"The right existence."
He looked toward the endless sky.
"Seraphim was never created for mortals."
"It was merely borrowed by them."
His voice remained gentle.
"The Aeons never intended for anyone else to completely master it."
"They simply shared enough..."
"...to help the universe survive."
I quietly listened.
"The greatest geniuses..."
"The strongest Sovereigns..."
"The brightest minds..."
"They all made the same mistake."
"They tried to become someone else."
His eyes slowly returned to mine.
"They studied the creators."
"They copied the creators."
"They imitated the creators."
"They chased perfection..."
"...through another person's footsteps."
He smiled sadly.
"But perfection..."
"...can never be copied."
"It can only be understood."
Then...
His expression changed.
For the first time since I had met him...
There was regret.
Deep regret.
The kind that only countless years could create.
"I eventually understood that."
His voice became softer.
"But..."
"Only after my death."
He slowly closed his eyes.
"When I finally stood at the very peak..."
"...none of those thoughts..."
"...were entirely mine."
A long silence followed.
"They felt like mine."
"They sounded like mine."
"I believed..."
"I had chosen them."
"But little by little..."
"I discovered invisible hands."
"Guiding."
"Influencing."
"Shaping."
"My ambition."
"My anger."
"My pride."
"My loneliness."
Until one day...
"I finally asked myself..."
"...which thoughts truly belonged to me?"
The old dragon slowly opened his eyes once more.
"They call us Pure Ones."
He laughed bitterly.
"But..."
"There was nothing pure..."
"...about a will controlled by unseen strings."
His gaze hardened.
"Listen carefully, Velzahar."
"This may become the most important lesson of your life."
"Never become another puppet."
"Never surrender your path..."
"...to another's expectations."
"...Even if those expectations belong to a god."
His voice softened once again.
"And remember this."
"One does not need to stand alone..."
"...to be alone."
"I believed solitude made me stronger."
"I abandoned companions."
"I distanced myself from those who cared."
"I mistook loneliness..."
"...for independence."
"When I reached the summit..."
"I discovered..."
"I had climbed it alone."
His smile carried both sorrow...
And relief.
"You..."
"Still have people walking beside you."
"Protect that."
"Cherish it."
"Because when your journey finally reaches its end..."
"...power will not be the first thing you remember."
"The people beside you will."
The wind quietly swept across the cliff.
Then—
The White Dragon slowly opened both eyes completely.
His left eye shimmered with silver-white light.
Within it...
Two faint concentric circles rotated gracefully.
Elegant.
Balanced.
Perfect.
"The original..."
He whispered.
"Seraphim."
Then...
His right eye changed.
The same silver-white iris.
Yet instead of circles...
A magnificent dragon's head occupied almost the entire eye.
Every scale.
Every horn.
Every contour.
Outlined by faint black lines.
It looked as though an ancient dragon had become one with his gaze.
Majestic.
Dominant.
Unyielding.
The surrounding Shadow Energy instinctively bowed.
A smile appeared on the old dragon's face.
"I stopped trying..."
"...to become another creator."
"I stopped trying..."
"...to see through another's eyes."
"And instead..."
"I looked at the universe..."
"...as myself."
His voice became filled with quiet pride.
"This..."
"...is the answer I found."
"Dracophim."
"My own path."
"My own understanding."
"My own truth."
He looked directly into my eyes.
"And one day..."
"You must do the same."
"Do not stop at Seraphim."
"Do not stop at Dracophim."
"Create..."
"...Velzahar's path."
Because only then...
Will you truly be free.