Dragon Raja 2; Chapter 186: Jörmungandr (11)

Dragon Raja 2

“Because you bear Odin’s mark.”

“A mark?”

“You have been to Nibelungen, but not this one. There are many Nibelungen worlds, like the Bronze City, like this underground railway. Those who enter are marked, like leading a blindfolded horse to a field of grass. It can always find its way back. You’ve been to Odin’s Nibelungen; you carry his mark, and you can return there again.”

“What exactly is Odin?”

“My Enemy”. Very few people in this world have seen Odin with their own eyes. You are one of them. I don’t know why he chose you, but I’ve been observing you to learn more about Odin,” Xia Mi smiled. “I was willing to go all out for this, even using a bit of charm or seduction on you. But you were like a stone, completely indifferent. It was truly frustrating.”

“So that was supposed to be seduction…” Chu Zihang said softly.

“What’s this? Are you mocking me?” Xia Mi tilted her head, her dark hair cascading like water. “Back then, I hadn’t completely learned human things, so I was pretty clumsy at seduction.”

“You’ve always been learning about humans?”

“Mm-hmm!” Xia Mi nodded. “You all don’t really understand dragons. Dragons are just like humans—they start out as children, entering this world.”

“Aren’t they gods?”

“How stubborn,” Xia Mi gently touched his forehead. “Even gods have a moment when they first open their eyes to see the world, don’t they? At that time, they don’t understand anything—they’re just children.”

“So you had to learn how to play the part of a human.”

“That’s right. I had to observe how people smiled, figure out why they smiled. I had to observe their sadness, so I could mimic it. Sometimes, I even intentionally got close to some boys to observe their desire for me, or what you all call ‘love.’ By gathering all these bits and pieces, I was able to create ‘Xia Mi,’ a person who never existed in this world. Everything about her was fake, but this identity let me live in the human world. I should’ve stayed hidden longer—I wouldn’t have had to sacrifice my brother then. But I ran out of time.” Xia Mi’s eyes carried a sorrowful look—completely unlike a dragon. Perhaps the act had become second nature to her.

“Both times—at South Train Station and Six Flags amusement park—that was you, wasn’t it?”

“There were traces of me left in that data. I couldn’t allow it to fall into your hands. So, I hired that hunter named Tang Wei, hiding in the shadows myself. I wasn’t trying to steal the data, just alter the parts about me. As for Six Flags, that was my test for you. I wanted to see how strong the strongest Hybrids could be, and killing you all would’ve been best. If we all survived, it would be easier for me to gain trust.”

“Then why did you come to save me? Was it still… part of the seduction?”

“Because I suddenly changed my mind. You showed the ability to purify your bloodline. Suddenly, I thought I could shift the focus onto you, and that way, I could hide even deeper. And it worked. I even got permission to visit your hospital room and gained high-level access at Norma. I used that access to get in and out of the cryo-chamber.” Xia Mi bent down, getting very close to Chu Zihang, staring earnestly into his eyes.

Suddenly, she giggled, “Hey, you didn’t think I saved you out of some ‘love,’ did you?”

“That would sound rather forbidden, pretty unlikely,” Chu Zihang replied.

“Exactly,” Xia Mi nodded. “Pretty unlikely.”

“It was ‘pity’!” she suddenly grinned and laughed again.

“Pity?”

“Have you ever silently observed someone in a crowd? Watching them shooting hoops alone on the court, standing at the window for hours just staring at the rain, staying after school to clean, practicing the piano in an empty music room. There are no interesting stories or bright moments in their life—it’s utterly dull. You think to yourself, ‘Damn, if I were him, I’d die of depression! Can’t he be a little less lonely? What’s with the cool act? Would it kill him to smile once in a while?’” Xia Mi paused. “But then you realize you don’t hate him because you’re just like him… Separated by crowds, the observer and the observed are the same.”

“Loneliness?”

“Yeah,” Xia Mi whispered.

“Blood Sorrow? Even pure-blood dragons have Blood Sorrow?” Chu Zihang’s voice grew weaker, his breath flickering like a candle in the wind.

“Yes.” Xia Mi nodded. “Have you asked all your questions?”

“One last one… Are you really Xia Mi now?” Chu Zihang raised his eyes, his pitch-black gaze dim.

Suddenly, Xia Mi felt like she saw the Chu Zihang from Shilan Middle School again—quiet, reserved, polite, distant, understanding everything through books. Back then, he didn’t have the golden eyes symbolizing power. His pupils were this dark, clear as ink, reflecting the sky and clouds, making one want to stare into them. They were mirrors, lonely, reflecting the entire world.

“It’s me,” she tilted her head, smiling sweetly. “I am Xia Mi. Don’t think about anything else—you just had a dream. Everything scary you encountered in that dream was fake. Haven’t I been watching over you all along? Just like when you slept for ten days straight…”

Chu Zihang gazed at her for a long while, then slowly opened his arms and embraced her. Xia Mi didn’t resist. This complex, divided dragon was acting too deeply, feeling that not hugging him in this intense moment would betray the only audience she had. She knelt there, still taller than the sitting Chu Zihang, like a mother cradling a weary child. She pressed her cheek against the top of his head, gently stroking his hair with one hand, while the other pressed four fingers together, forming a greenish-gray blade claw, silently pressing it against Chu Zihang’s back.

She raised the claw high, screaming hoarsely, her pupils igniting with golden flames. Hidden spines erupted from her flesh again, grotesque horns appearing on her head, transforming into a blue-faced, fanged demon in an instant. The bone claw stabbed into Chu Zihang’s body, protruding from his back. They resembled two small birds skewered on a thorny branch, yet Chu Zihang remained still, embracing the girl—or the female dragon—in his arms like a statue, unwilling to part.

Xia Mi, or Jörmungandr, screamed as if thrown into boiling sulfur in Hell, convulsing violently. Her blood vessels swelled beneath her skin, filled with scarlet pigment, resembling blood but a hundred times thicker.

The process of dragon transformation stopped midway. Xia Mi’s sharp, angular face returned to softness—cheeks with a hint of baby fat. The blade claw turned into a slender human hand, dropping powerlessly by her side.

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