Chapter 23: The King's Awakening
Quake. Quake.
A violent tremor rippled through the black water of the Inner World.
The entire realm shook with it.
"What's going on?!" Albion was the first to react. He staggered slightly, forcing his footing against the unstable surface beneath him.
Even the water itself no longer felt calm. It churned beneath his feet like a living ocean.
"This world is connected to you," White said, struggling to steady himself as another tremor rolled through the realm.
"So?"
"So obviously it grows and changes as you do."
QUAKE!
High above them, the white dragon appeared.
Its enormous serpentine body coiled through the heavens with slow, majestic movement. The creature resembled a living celestial spirit, translucent scales glowing like pale porcelain beneath the light of the hollow sun.
The dragon endlessly circled one half of the sun's empty center.
Usually, the opposite half remained occupied by nothing more than an unseen presence.
But now, something was changing. The unseen force was beginning to take shape.
"SKRRRRAAA—EEEEEE—GAAAAARRRRHHH!!" The white dragon unleashed a deafening roar.
A deep vibration exploded across the world alongside a visible shockwave that distorted the air itself.
The black water erupted violently.
Massive waves surged upward in every direction, crashing against one another with thunderous force. The once-calm surface had become a raging sea.
The roar alone carried enough force to tear White off balance completely.
"Whoa—!"
His feet left the ground as the shockwave hurled him backward.
"I got you!" Albion shouted.
Without hesitation, he grabbed White by the wrist before he could be swept away. Pulling him back down, Albion slammed both feet against the unstable water and forced them upright together.
"T-Thanks," White muttered.
"Mm. No problem."
Albion slowly lifted his gaze toward the sky.
The white dragon had broken free from its orbit around the hollow sun.
And for some reason…
Albion's eyes sparkled.
"So cool!"
An enormous grin spread across his face, completely unrestrained.
"Hey! Hey, hey, hey!" He grabbed White by the shoulders and shook him violently. "How do I get one of those things?! Come on, you gotta tell me!"
"And how should I know?!" White snapped, visibly irritated. "You expect me to casually speak to dragons or something?!"
Albion immediately stopped shaking him. Then narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Hmmm…"
"What?" White frowned. "Stop looking at me like that."
Albion rolled his eyes. "I knew I shouldn't have asked you."
"Huh?!" A vein pulsed on White's forehead. "Who do you think you're talking to?!"
"And who said that dragon belongs to you?!"
He jabbed a finger toward himself.
"If anybody's getting it, it's me."
"Huh?!" Albion immediately headbutted him. "Why the heck should you get it?!"
"Please. You're just a loser who screams like a monkey."
"I'm not a loser!"
"KHHHRRRAAAAKKKK!!" Another roar split across the Inner World.
"What?!" Both boys whipped their heads toward the sound.
They expected the white dragon.
Instead, a second dragon had appeared.
Its massive wingless body glided through the sky with impossible grace, moving less like a flying creature and more like something swimming through an invisible ocean.
Its form was long and serpentine, yet far more ominous than the white dragon's.
Running along its back were skeletal, vertebrae-like plates that glowed white-hot against the darkness of its body.
Its four limbs were lean and powerfully built, ending in razor-sharp talons like those of a predatory bird.
A chaotic mane of black fur erupted along its spine, tail, and jawline. The strands shifted unnaturally, writhing like ink caught inside a storm.
The rest of its body was covered in obsidian scales so dark they seemed to devour light itself.
Its elongated head resembled that of some ancient predator, built around a crocodilian jaw lined with interlocking fangs.
Thin whiskers drifted from its upper lip.
And crowning its head, a pair of sweeping antler-like horns curved backward elegantly along its skull.
But the most terrifying feature was its eye.
Only one was visible within the darkness of its face.
A single pale-blue iris stared outward from the abyss of its head, surrounding a narrow black pupil sharpened like a blade.
The black dragon moved beside the white one.
No longer orbiting the hollow sun, the two dragons intertwined through the sky together before descending toward the black ocean below.
Then, they landed directly in front of Albion and White.
"…Whoa." The two boys stared in complete amazement. Then, without thinking, they both began clapping enthusiastically.
The dragons simply stared at them.
After several awkward seconds, the clapping slowly stopped.
"Alright," White said first, pointing immediately at the pale dragon. "We already decided the white one's mine."
"Wait!" Albion quickly interrupted. "Before that, we need names."
"Hm?"
"We can't just call them white dragon and black dragon forever."
"…Mm. Fair point." White nodded thoughtfully. He looked toward the white dragon. "How about… White?"
The dragon blinked slowly.
"Sounds perfect."
Then White lazily pointed toward the black dragon.
"I don't really care about that one. You can have it."
The black dragon stared at him in visible disbelief.
"…Are you stupid?" Albion asked flatly.
"Huh?!"
"If you're gonna give names, at least do it properly."
Albion stepped forward confidently. "I'll give all of you names."
"Good ones."
"I'm seriously getting tired of your attitude," White muttered.
An awkward silence fell over the Inner World.
"…Well?" White finally asked.
Albion suddenly stiffened. His fingers twitched nervously at his sides.
"H-Hurry up already," Albion said impatiently. He looked away. His face had turned bright red.
"I said… I was naming everyone…"
"…That includes you too."
White froze. His red eyes widened slightly.
Then, a small, genuine smile spread across his face.
"…Right."
White immediately hurried over to the dragons, planting himself right between them with a smug grin stretched across his face.
He looked excited.
No, more than excited.
He looked like someone desperately trying to act cool while waiting for a birthday present.
Albion watched him for a moment before turning his attention toward the white dragon.
'Hmm...' Slowly stroking his chin, he began studying the creature from head to tail.
'I said I was going to name them, but I don't actually have any idea what to call them...'
The dragon calmly met his gaze. There was no hostility in its eyes.
No aggression, just quiet patience.
'At the very least, I can do better than calling him "White."'
As he thought, fragments of White's earlier words resurfaced in his mind.
[They say all for one and one for all. Yin and Yang.Two halves of the same whole.]
[Humans love their little sayings. They make contradictions sound beautiful.]
'Yin and Yang, huh...'
Albion wasn't particularly knowledgeable about the concept. He only knew about it because he'd spent most of his childhood buried in books.
Still… It felt fitting.
"How about Yang?" Albion said, pointing toward the white dragon. "You know... because you're white."
His confidence immediately vanished.
"D-Do you like it...?"
The enormous dragon lowered its head. A deep vibration rolled through its chest.
"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR..."
The rumble was so low and powerful that Albion felt it through the soles of his feet.
A moment later, the dragon slowly exhaled.
"Pssssshhhhh..."
Thick white steam hissed from its nostrils, curling around its jaws before drifting into the air.
Albion awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Um... I'll take that as a yes."
'Is it just me, or does this thing have an attitude...?'
Leaving the dragon behind, Albion walked over to White.
The moment he stopped in front of him, their eyes met.
White was trying very hard to look composed.
Unfortunately, the constant shifting of his feet made his excitement painfully obvious.
"You were originally born because of me," Albion said. "So in a weird way... I guess it's my responsibility to take care of you."
White immediately folded his arms. "Hmph."
Albion ignored him.
The problem was that he still had absolutely no idea what to name him.
'Maybe Adonis...?' The thought lasted less than a second. 'Albion and Adonis? Come on. That's zero creativity.'
Then suddenly.
"Oh!" Albion snapped his fingers. "I've got it."
A smile spread across his face. "How about Amon?"
White blinked.
"Huh?"
"Amon?" he repeated.
Albion immediately stepped back. "W-Wait, never mind. That sounded cooler in my head."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I can probably think of something bette—"
[You wanna know who I am? I have no name!]
The memory surfaced instantly.
White fell silent.
Then, a slow smile spread across his face. "No."
Albion paused.
"Amon is perfect." His grin widened. "I couldn't ask for anything better."
For the first time, there wasn't a trace of mockery in his voice.
"Thank you, Albion."
Albion looked away. His ears turned slightly red. "Y-Yeah."
Amon immediately spun around. "WHOOO!"
He sprinted over to the white dragon. "Did you hear that?!" He pointed proudly at himself. "Me and you have names now!"
Yang tilted his massive head, the tension in his jaw visibly relaxed.
Slowly lowering his snout to the ground, the colossal dragon released a warm, vibrating rumble.
"Mmmhhhrrrr-uunff..." The sound resembled a gigantic cat purring beneath layers of thunder.
A small puff of harmless white vapor escaped his nostrils before vanishing into the air.
The dragon looked completely content.
And strangely enough… he already seemed fond of Amon.
"Heh." Amon rubbed his cheek against Yang's snout. "Look at you."
"Even if you can't talk, I know you're happy too."
Turning back toward Albion, Amon opened his mouth to say something.
Then froze.
"...Huh?"
Albion was standing in front of the black dragon. Unlike before, there was no hesitation.
No awkwardness.
No uncertainty.
His forehead rested gently against the dragon's enormous snout.
The dragon remained perfectly still.
"Reiga." Albion smiled. "That's your name."
The reaction was immediate. The terrifying black dragon completely shattered its intimidating image.
Its pale-blue eye widened. Its massive serpentine body gave an excited wiggle.
"Kyuuuu-chii!"
The noise that came out was absurdly adorable. A bright, chirpy squeak escaped the giant nightmare dragon.
A tiny ring of steam popped from its nostrils and floated upward like a bubble.
The dragon looked incredibly pleased with itself.
"Okay!" Amon clapped his hands together. "You still want to get out of here, right?"
He turned around with a grin. "Then come on. I'll show you how."
"Before that, let me ask you something."
Amon stopped mid-step.
Albion remained seated beside Reiga, gently scratching beneath the black dragon's jaw. The massive creature practically melted beneath the attention.
"When we first met..." Albion began. "Why did you take my mother's form?"
Amon's smile disappeared.
"You claim to hate her." Albion continued calmly. "You talk about her like she's the worst person in the world."
His fuchsia eyes lifted toward Amon. "So why bother taking her appearance at all?"
To Albion, Amon's actions had never matched his words.
He hated her. Despised her.
Yet the first face he chose to wear had been hers.
Why?
For several moments, Amon said nothing.
Then he spoke. "Because I wanted to understand."
Amon slowly turned around. "I wanted to know why you loved her."
His crimson eyes darkened. "How you could possibly care about someone who treated you with that much cruelty."
The bitterness in his voice was impossible to miss.
"She abandoned us."
His hands clenched. "She threw us away like trash."
His expression twisted. "If she could abandon the child she personally adopted... then she doesn't deserve to be called our mother."
Albion lowered his gaze. "I wouldn't say I love her."
Amon frowned. "What?"
Albion continued stroking Reiga's scales. "It was survival."
His voice remained quiet. "For a long time, loving her was easier than admitting the truth."
"Right now..." Albion said. "I don't think I love her at all."
"Don't you feel the same way?"
No, I want to kill her!" Amon words echoed across the Inner World.
Yang lifted his head slightly.
Even Reiga stopped enjoying his head pats.
"I want her to suffer!" Amon's voice trembled.
"I want her to regret every choice she made!"
"I want her to understand what she did to us!"
Step.
Step.
Step.
With each word, he moved closer.
"She is the reason we suffered!"
Step.
"She is the reason we were abandoned!"
Step.
"She is the reason every terrible thing that's happened to us happened in the first place!"
By now, he stood only a few feet away.
His eyes burned with hatred.
"I hate her." His voice cracked. "I hate her with every part of me."
His fist slowly tightened. "And so should you."
"..." Albion quietly watched him.
Amon raised his arm. "Why don't you?"
He threw a punch.
"Why don't you hate her?!"
Albion caught the fist effortlessly. The impact never reached him. For a moment, neither moved.
Amon's arm trembled in Albion's grasp.
"I don't know." His answer was simple.
Albion gently lowered Amon's hand. "To me, it's natural not to want someone dead."
Amon's eyes widened slightly.
Albion looked toward the black water stretching beyond the horizon.
"You see..." Memories surfaced. The magical beasts his mother had slaughtered.
The blood. The corpses. The countless lives ending before his eyes.
"I've seen what death looks like." His voice grew softer. "I've watched lives disappear."
A long silence followed.
"Back then, I said I didn't like fighting." A small smile crossed his face. "That wasn't entirely true."
He turned back toward Amon. "What I really hate... is killing."
"..." Amon said nothing.
Albion released his hand completely. "Honestly… I don't think we're ever going to agree."
The statement carried no hostility. No anger.
"You embrace everything I dislike." His gaze met Amon's.."Hatred. Violence. Revenge."
"And I reject all of it."
"You are wrong about one thing, Amon. For I no longer have any relation to that woman."
Albion turned his head slightly. For a brief moment, his hand rested against Reiga's scales.
The black dragon met his gaze.
A simple nod passed between them.
Without a sound, Reiga rose from the black water and took to the sky.
"Does that mean you hate her?" Amon asked. The question seemed genuine.
As though he truly couldn't understand the distinction.
He glanced toward Yang and gave a nod of his own. The white dragon unfurled its immense body and ascended into the heavens.
"No," Albion replied, his eyes returned to Amon. "It doesn't."
"What it means is that, from this moment onward..."
His expression hardened.
"...she and I are enemies."
The words carried no rage.
No grief. No hesitation.
Only certainty.
Fragments of the past flashed through his mind.
[[That's what you want, isn't it?]
[[For your guild to become the strongest in the land?]
[Use him however you wish.]
[Someone like you could never be my son.]
[Sometimes I wonder if we're even related by blood.]
[The only reason you ever mattered...]
[The only reason I kept you alive...]
[Was because I could sell you.]
[You make me sick.]
[I curse the day you were born.]
Each memory surfaced. And each one shattered.
Like glass falling into darkness.
A cold menace settled behind Albion's eyes.
"Because I know my life isn't a mistake." His voice echoed across the Inner World. "My dreams aren't a mistake."
Above them, Yang and Reiga circled one another through the heavens.
"This is an awakening."
The dragons accelerated.
"This is an exorcism."
The hollow sun trembled.
"A severing."
The dragons rushed toward the light.
"A curse is being broken."
Albion slowly closed his eyes.
'Go away, Mother. I don't need you anymore.'
Silence followed.
Then Amon spoke. For the first time, there was no anger in his voice.
Only understanding.
"The Albion she once knew is gone." His gaze lowered. "The boy who cried for her approval."
"The boy who waited for her affection."
"The boy who believed things would eventually change."
Amon closed his eyes. "That child died a long time ago."
Yang and Reiga reached the hollow sun.
Together, they began orbiting it.
One white.
One black.
Moving in perfect synchronization.
A proud smile touched Amon's lips. "And yet..."
His crimson eyes opened.
"What made him still remains."
Light spread across the Inner World.
The endless black water began to glow.
"You were nameless. You were powerless."
"You had no destiny waiting for you."
"No hand guiding your path."
"No hero coming to save you."
Amon pressed a hand against his chest.
"All you ever possessed..."
His voice softened.
"...was your will."
"...." Albion remained silent.
Amon continued.
"Every hardship that should have broken you."
"Every wound that should have destroyed you."
"Every despair that should have swallowed you whole."
The dragons spun faster.
The sun blazed brighter.
"You endured."
"You stood back up."
"Again."
"And again."
"And again."
Amon's crimson eyes met Albion's.
"Not because you were chosen."
"Not because fate demanded it."
"But because you refused to stay down."
Blood trickled from beneath the stitches across his lips.
Yet his smile only widened.
"Your will has become absolute."
"A will capable of overcoming the impossible."
"A will that bends neither to fear nor suffering."
"A will that belongs to no one but yourself."
Slowly, Amon stepped forward. Then dropped to one knee.
Not as a servant.
Not as a follower.
But as one king acknowledging another.
"From this moment onward..."
His head lowered. "The throne is yours."
The Inner World erupted with light.
Darkness vanished.
The black waters became an endless sea of radiance.
Even the hollow sun shone brilliantly overhead.
"Rise, Albion." Amon looked up.
A smile rested upon his face.
"You are the King."
Albion understood.
This wasn't loyalty.
It wasn't a submission.
This was an acknowledgment.
Amon was recognizing him.
Recognizing that he had finally become worthy of ruling both himself and the darkness within him.
Albion extended a closed fist.
"You have my thanks, Amon."
Amon stared at it for a moment.
Then laughed. A genuine laugh.
He raised his own fist and met Albion's.."Train hard, King."
Their fists connected.
"Because all that power is going to be mine someday."
Albion smirked. "I'd like to see you try."
The dragons roared.
The light intensified.
The brilliance swallowed everything.
A flash consumed the Inner World.
And Albion Ebonveil began his return to reality.
For a true King does not bend.
A true King does not yield.
A true King does not surrender, no matter how great the burden placed upon his shoulders.
Even when broken.
Even when afraid.
Even when standing alone.
He continues forward.
The chains of the past shattered.
The weight that once bound his heart cast aside.
With every step, his will rises higher.
With every challenge, his existence evolves.
The sleeping potential hidden within him has finally awakened.
The one who transcends adversity.
The one who turns suffering into strength.
The one who stands above despair.
Thus began the Eternal Awakening of Albion Ebonveil.