Chương 365: Friends of Old

Drago regarded Siegfried with the same detached expression he always wore, barely sparing him a glance from behind the mountain of paperwork covering his desk.

"... Are you going to keep staring at my office," he asked flatly, "or are you finally going to leave?" Siegfried tilted his head, an almost boyish grin spreading across his face.

"Leave? I only just got here." He lifted the two bottles tucked beneath one arm before casually dropping into the couch opposite the desk as though he owned the room.

"Besides, we haven't even had a drink yet." Leaning forward with exaggerated confidence, he rested his elbows on his knees.

"Come on... do an old friend a favor. Just like I did for you all those years ago." Drago's eyes sharpened.

"... The subjugation of Dagon was a mutual effort," he replied evenly, though a trace of genuine anger crept into his voice.

"You did me no favors." Siegfried clicked his tongue.

"Oh? So I should've stood aside and watched the world burn beneath his claws?" That was enough. The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as Drago slowly set his pen aside.

"Watch your tongue." His voice remained quiet.

"You know nothing about that day." Siegfried raised both hands in surrender before laughing awkwardly.

"Alright, alright. I crossed the line." He leaned back into the couch, letting the silence linger before speaking again, this time without his usual theatrics.

"But honestly... It's been hundreds of thousands of years. Why are you still carrying it? That world is gone. Everyone from back then is gone." Drago didn't answer immediately. Instead, he rose from his chair and walked toward the enormous window overlooking Irea. Below, the city moved with the comforting rhythm of ordinary life. Merchants bartered in crowded markets while children chased one another through the plazas, their laughter drifting faintly upward.

Scholars crossed the stone pathways leading toward the Royal Library, books tucked beneath their arms as they debated theories that would probably be forgotten within a generation. Peace. For a fleeting moment, the hardness in Drago's face softened.

"Tell me something." He never turned around.

"Do you have anyone now?" The question caught Siegfried completely off guard. He grimaced before letting out a dry laugh.

"That's cruel. You already know the answer."

"The only people I've ever loved died before I turned twenty." Drago finally glanced back over his shoulder.

"So instead, you've convinced yourself it's safer to never love anyone again." Silence answered him. Siegfried rubbed the back of his neck before sighing deeply.

"No." His smile disappeared entirely.

"It's not that simple." He stared into the amber liquid inside one of the bottles, watching it slosh gently back and forth.

"You're the only person alive who truly understands what it's like." His voice had lost every trace of humor.

"Our powers are different, but the burden they carry is almost identical. We've spent nearly a million years becoming stronger than any mortal was ever meant to become... yet we're still powerless against the one thing that matters." He looked back at Drago. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"So tell me... how am I supposed to love someone when every single day I wonder if I'll be the one who kills them?" The room became completely silent.

"One mistake. One lapse in control. That's all it takes." His expression darkened.

"You understand that better than anyone." Drago slowly folded his hands behind his back before returning to the chair opposite him.

"I do." There was no mockery in his voice now. Only quiet understanding.

"I haven't forgotten your past." His gaze drifted briefly toward the city outside.

"In that regard... You and Sentinel Korin are remarkably alike. Both of you were awakened into tragedy. Both of you watched the people dearest to you die because of power you couldn't yet control."

"A cruel beginning." Siegfried gave a hollow laugh.

"Yeah... I suppose that's one way to put it." The atmosphere softened for only a moment. Then it vanished. Without warning, the pressure inside the office became suffocating. The warmth disappeared from Drago's expression, leaving behind only cold, emotionless silver eyes.

"... However." His voice remained perfectly calm.

"I understood why you tested Vale. I know you never intended to kill him." A long pause followed.

"But understand this. If you ever place his life in genuine danger again... your own life will become forfeit." The words were spoken so quietly they almost sounded gentle. That somehow made them even more terrifying.

"I value that boy no differently than I would my own child." Drago met Siegfried's gaze without the slightest hesitation.

"If he dies... you will learn what a parent's wrath truly looks like." Siegfried stared for several seconds before slowly letting out a whistle.

"... That's terrifying."

"Especially coming from someone who cleared the Fifth Trial." Drago rolled his eyes before calmly pouring himself a drink.

"Don't pretend you're any different." He swirled the amber liquid lazily inside the glass.

"The Fifth Trial stopped being impressive hundreds of thousands of years ago." Siegfried laughed as he filled his own glass.

"Maybe. But I still doubt anyone besides the two of us has ever managed it."

"The requirements are ridiculous." He raised his drink.

"If we hadn't lived for nearly a million years... I don't think either of us would've survived long enough to succeed." Drago nodded faintly.

"The curse certainly didn't help." A rare smile crossed his face.

"I'm simply grateful we eventually escaped it." Siegfried emptied his glass in one swallow before grimacing.

"You can say that again. If it'd lasted another century..." He shook his head.

"I genuinely think despair would've swallowed me whole." A chuckle escaped Drago.

"Gods."

"It truly was unbearable." He poured another drink before looking out across Irea once again.

"But we survived. We conquered the trial."

"And now... we've reached the highest point a mortal can attain." Siegfried grinned.

"The Heir of Steel." He tapped his own chest before pointing toward Drago.

"And the Heir of Storms." His grin slowly faded.

"I assume you already know why I came." Drago nodded once.

"I do."

"I've already instructed Silfur and Maximus not to interfere if Eskar succeeds in Frost's Trial." He rested his clasped hands atop the desk.

"For the first time in more than a million years... an Heir of a Founder has awakened." Neither man spoke for several moments. Eventually, Siegfried broke the silence.

"What about the second one? Do you think it'll awaken as well?" Drago rested his chin against one hand.

"I don't know."

"I believe everything depends on whether he's capable of accepting himself." His silver eyes narrowed.

"And right now... I don't believe he is." Siegfried slowly nodded before another thought crossed his mind.

"What about the Divine One at the Goliath? I've never seen one behave like that before. It looked..." He hesitated.

"... afraid."

"Afraid of Vale." Drago sighed quietly.

"The being sealed inside him. You already know something resides there. My best guess is that its mere presence frightened the Goliath into retreat."

"No matter how powerful Goliaths appear... before something like that, they're insignificant."

"... Maybe." Siegfried frowned.

"But it still hasn't returned."

"What if something actually happened to it?" Drago remained silent for a long while before answering.

"Perhaps." His voice barely rose above a whisper.

"It may have died." Siegfried shot upright so abruptly his chair nearly toppled over.

"You're serious? If that's true, then our guardian is gone! The Deep Dwellers won't stop invading anymore. We'll have to intervene ourselves!" He shook his head.

"And we're talking about a Goliath. I know whatever is sealed inside Vale is terrifying, but he wasn't even physically there. He couldn't possibly kill something like that."

"I know." Drago's expression remained unreadable.

"And I agree."

"But until the Goliath returns... we have to assume the worst." He paused before adding,"Besides, I have a far greater concern." Siegfried frowned.

"What could be more important than a missing Goliath?" Drago slowly rose once more.

"Illu."

"The raven?"

"What about him?" Drago began pacing through the office.

"You devoted your life to combat. I devoted mine to understanding." His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"And after centuries of studying Divine phenomena, I've reached a conclusion." He stopped.

"The creature we knew as Illu was never merely a raven."

"He was always a fragment."

"A fragment of a Divine Beast." Siegfried laughed immediately.

"Impossible, I would've sensed the arrival of anything divine."

"Exactly." Drago met his gaze.

"It wasn't divine... Yet." The room fell silent. Siegfried's expression slowly hardened.

"Explain." Drago nodded.

"The condition placed upon Vale was clear."

"To recover his memories and break the curse placed upon him, he first had to reclaim the mask... then willingly face certain death. Even knowing victory was impossible, he still had to choose to fight." He folded his hands behind his back.

"I believe the beasts carried an almost identical condition."

"They lived ordinary lives."

"They remained unnoticed."

"They believed themselves ordinary." His voice grew quieter.

"But when the appointed moment finally arrived... when they willingly gave up their lives for the sake of the one they recognized as their master... only then would their true existence awaken." Siegfried stared at him for a long time.

"You're saying Illu isn't dead?" Drago slowly closed his eyes.

"No." When he spoke again, his voice carried an almost reverent calm.

"I'm saying something far stranger." He opened his eyes and looked toward the endless forests beyond Irea.

"If my theory is correct, then somewhere in this world a Divine Beast has just opened its eyes." A faint smile crossed his face.

"Born not through conquest, nor destiny... but through the quiet sacrifice of a raven who chose his master over his own life."