Youngest 253

Episode 253

The human body is transient and helplessly frail. I must separate this space.

Muttering thus, the god unleashed a mighty power and then fell into a deep slumber within a new vessel.

Time in the cave flowed so slowly, it seemed nearly at a standstill.

Khalid, too, slipped in and out of a profound sleep, together with the divine beast.

Before long, the boy grew into a young man.

Judging by the growth of his body, it must have been only several years, yet Kal realized that the world visible beyond the bars had changed vastly.

It was likely that the dragon, using his power, had severed this place from the outside world altogether.

The two beings slowly merged.

Khalid read all the infinite memories of the dragon god and unconsciously acquired some of the magic the dragon knew.

Summoning spells, oath-binding magic… All had been taught to him by the goddess.

‘Will a good day come for me too?’

Would there ever be a day when he was glad to be alive?

Kal no longer remembered what it was he once longed for.

Now, he waited simply as the incarnation of the dragon, awaiting the return of the goddess herself according to the dragon’s fierce longing.

He felt as if the ancient god-beast with its grotesque obsession was himself, and he was that very beast. They were completely separate beings, yet one and the same. Like light and shadow, like thread and needle.

Endless waiting was now his fate.

Perhaps because the barrier was gradually weakening, from time to time, lost humans would wander in. Whenever that happened, the dragon’s power would stir in his dream and eliminate them, silencing any word. It was not what Khalid wished.

Sometimes, people would approach claiming they could remove his shackles, but every excuse was only a lie to save themselves.

And so another span of ceaseless time passed.

Kal suddenly wondered if this waiting was truly any different from death.

A boy revived by the help of a dragon, only to be confined in shackles as the price.

Avatar of the ancient god, descendant of the dragon, vessel of the first Mage King.

Or perhaps merely,

The lucky survivor of the Alpheon Mercenary Corps.

Kal, who had become someone it no longer mattered what he was called, survived on in this way.

And then…

One day, after countless years had passed.

“…But why are you locked up in a place like this?”

A glimmer of light entered his coffin.

---

The storm was raging again.

“…”

Kal looked back quietly on his own past.

Then, feeling a warm sensation in his hand, he turned his gaze.

“…”

“…”

Eyes blue as destiny met his own.

Rubian tightened her hold on his hand and spoke.

“I…”

She couldn’t even finish her words for her tears. Khalid gazed down softly at Rubian.

‘This is…’

It must be her mana flowing into him now.

Then this place was neither reality nor illusion, but somewhere along the seam—a dream, perhaps.

And yet, Kal wanted so fiercely to speak in this moment.

“You found me.”

A life of nothing but falls, not a single good thing in it.

“You’re the first person to take my hand.”

He smiled, embracing his only light.

Damnable god.

You were right. If you keep living, someday, even just once, a good day will come.

Ah.

I’m glad I held on.

---

“Gasp.”

My body lurched violently.

My lungs ached and swelled as though, after holding my breath forever, I finally inhaled. Yet there was no air coming in at all.

“Ah… Hic…”

“Calm down, please. Ruby. Breathe.”

A hot, broad hand endlessly stroked my back. I clung to Khalid’s clothes and slowly forced myself to focus on breathing.

Tears streamed without end. Overcome with inexplicable pain, I clawed at his chest.

“Easy now… There, you’re doing well.”

As I drew breath, shaking and gasping, only a handful of air finally filled my lungs. Panting, I rubbed my face against his chest.

“Kal… Khalid…”

“Ruby, I’m here. So please, calm down.”

Khalid pulled me gently into his embrace, mumbling to himself, as if to soothe me.

His hand kept stroking me, as if to raise my body temperature, trembling all the while—he must have been just as shaken.

I sat in Khalid’s arms, leaning against the wall, for a long while, concentrating only on breathing.

When I finally regained some composure and looked around, I saw a broken golden ring lying in pieces on the floor. The room itself was in ruins.

“Th-the power…?”

“I don’t know. It went somewhere. More importantly, are you all right?”

“Yeah…”

“What’s with your mana? Why is it like this?”

“You…”

I barely managed to speak before sudden tears overtook me.

“You took it from me…!”

“…”

Khalid’s past, his emotions, washed over me like a surging tide. He was able to accept it all so well—so why was I the one falling apart?

My heart throbbed as if squeezed in agony.

It was difficult to put into words what this feeling was.

Kal kept talking, soothing me. I wanted to calm down quickly, but my body wouldn’t listen.

‘But those last memories…’

Weren’t they a little different from my own?

In my childhood.

After I realized this place was inside a novel, I had taken him out of the cave before he grew up. That is, I found Kal when he was about eleven, and we wandered the battlefield together…

But according to the memories I’d just seen, Kal had grown up into an adult.

And I, too, was an adult.

‘That memory… It felt just like the pair I’d seen in dreams, from the original story.’

Suddenly, the words the dragon god had spoken—‘hidden time’—gnawed at me.

‘So there’s even more yet to see.’

I instinctively sensed it. There were still more memories to come.

“I’m sorry, Ruby.”

Just then, Khalid pulled me softly into his embrace and murmured. As his clear, gentle mana surged into me through every point of contact, my thoughts seemed to scatter.

“It’s my body, so I thought of course I could never do anything rough to you… To think I forced away your mana…”

I wiped my remaining tears and shook my head.

“No. That’s… It’s fine.”

“…That’s fine?”

Kal, his face puzzled, pulled away for a moment and looked at the red marks on my wrist and calf, his expression turning grim.

“Did I… do this?”

“It’s not your fault…”

His face only grew more wretched.

“…God, I just want to die.”

Khalid bit his lip hard and muttered. My heart sank.

“Ah! Don’t say things like that…!”

After all you went through to survive!

As I broke down in sobs again, Khalid frantically wiped my cheeks.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Don’t cry. Why are you the one in tears?”

“It’s because…”

Because I pity you.

A boy who held on with all his might, wishing for just one good thing. That boy who eventually became the vessel of the dragon god and endured countless years alone.

“And all you got was someone like me…”

“What do you mean, ‘someone like you’?”

At that, Khalid cupped my chin. His face was unusually firm.

“Why would you say something like that?”

“Sniff…”

“You’re my only savior.”

Then he pulled me into his lap once more, holding me tightly. Resting his face in the curve of my neck, he murmured in a voice thick with emotion:

“If I hurt you, I’ll accept punishment. But just for now… Let me stay like this.”

I could feel every beat of his heart pounding within him. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

Somehow, a gentle glow had returned to the room. After a long while, he carefully drew back and met my eyes.

His gaze was burning with heat. That look alone seemed to ignite the blood in my veins.

I traced the little beauty mark beneath his eye. Khalid’s eyes narrowed slightly in response.

“And you, Khalid… Are you all right? Do you really not know where the power went? Is there something you need me to do…?”

At my question, Kal looked at me and was silent for a moment.

“I’m fine. I do think we need to figure out where the dragon god’s power went, but right now…”

His arm tightened around my waist. His face abruptly drew close.

A low, sweet breath tickled my skin.

“Just comfort me more.”

Our noses were close enough to almost touch.

He flicked his gaze toward my lips.

That watchful look continued, persistent. And instinctively, I understood.

“Your lips…”

As he murmured with a slight frown—

I realized I couldn’t hold back any longer.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I cupped Khalid’s face and pressed my lips to his.

To my surprise, they were soft and ticklish, grazing once and then drawing back. His high nose pressed against me and I had to tilt my head slightly.

I’d never imagined that in a body so hard and battle-scarred, something could be so tender.

‘I see why he’d want to be comforted with a kiss.’

But does this really bring comfort?

Well, whatever.

A brief, light touch. Our lips met and parted.