Dragon Raja 4; Chapter 46: Journey to the End of the World (46)

Dragon Raja 4

“And what is the sea to you?” Chu Zihang turned to look at her.

“You’re asking a question you could never understand in your lifetime. I came to discuss cooperation,” Xia Mi said. “We’re on the same ship now, but it’s sinking.”

The scene outside the window suddenly shifted to a blood-red deep sea. Bony tendrils stretched out from a pillar of dust, tightly wrapping around the “Jiao dragon”. Although it was a lesser dragon, it still occupied the top of the food chain in the hatchery. For it to evolve into such a massive creature, who knows how many eons it had spent here. As Zu Chongzhi wrote in Shu Yi Ji: “A python takes five hundred years to become a Jiao dragon, a Jiao a thousand years to become a true dragon, a dragon five hundred years to become a horned dragon, and a thousand years to become a Ying dragon.” The Jiao had undergone countless tribulations, possibly gaining high intelligence, and had learned how to escape the vortex of the sea’s eye. Yet it still couldn’t leap through the Dragon Gate to become a true dragon. It let out a silent, pained cry, but could not break free from the bony tendrils.

The sea’s eye had opened, but it wasn’t trying to swallow the Jiao—it was after the highest-grade offering within the Jiao’s belly… the Queen of Earth and Mountains, Jörmungandr!

“Is the thing in the deep sea really the Black Emperor, Nidhogg?” Chu Zihang asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know. To Father, we’re just tools; why would he tell a tool where the hatchery is?” Xia Mi said wistfully. “But it’s just too similar to him. It’s said he wasn’t born from parents but from the Earth itself. From a celestial biology perspective, he’s a planetary-level being. His resurrection is inevitable because without him, the Earth will create another.”

“You hid your core inside my body. If we die together, you’ll die too,” Chu Zihang said. “Isn’t that right?”

“Correct. For Dragon Kings, the core is like a lich’s phylactery. As long as the phylactery exists somewhere in the world, no matter how many times you destroy a lich’s body, it won’t die. But sometimes, unlucky liches bring their phylactery with them into battle,” Xia Mi said. “That’s the desperate situation we’re in. We have no choice but to fight for our lives, but the blood pact is devouring me, weakening me to a juvenile state, while my brother is still at a sub-adult level.”

“Juvenile? Sub-adult?” Chu Zihang asked.

“You humans understand very little about Dragon Kings. You’ve been entangled with juveniles and sub-adults, but you’ve never really had the chance to meet an adult Dragon King, let alone one in its super-evolved form.”

“Super-evolved form?”

“Why ask so much?” Xia Mi shrugged. “You wouldn’t fall in love with the Colossal Earth Serpent, Jörmungandr. What you like is that sweet girl who’s been with you since you were little, hopping around in her school uniform, sharing her lunch with you. That’s the stupidity of you humans—forever deceived by appearances.”

As she spoke, she once again sounded like Jörmungandr. She switched effortlessly between the two personalities, flowing seamlessly.

“But you won’t be harmed by the blood pact. The pact’s backlash affects the spirit, and it’s with me, not you. If I let a puppet take over my body, I could return to a sub-adult level. Though it’s a heretical method, it’s not impossible.” Xia Mi crawled slowly towards Chu Zihang, both hands and feet moving in sync. “But it would be risky for me. I might fall into a deep sleep again, and who knows if you’d try to suppress my consciousness during that time? You could even sell my core to another Dragon King… Chu Zihang, would you betray me?”

Her sharp teeth gleamed faintly, and a subtle glow flickered in her pupils, making her look like a cautious kitten, or perhaps a predator taking the last few steps towards its prey.

She stopped a foot away from Chu Zihang, her wide eyes fixed on him, waiting for his answer.

Chu Zihang raised his right hand. “I can make a blood pact with you if you need it.”

Xia Mi shook her head. “No need! You’re not even worthy! Your life already belongs to me. Why would a slave make a pact with their master? But I have ways to control you. Come closer, and I’ll tell you…”

In truth, she didn’t need him to get closer. The moment Chu Zihang showed the slightest intent to move towards her, she gently kissed his lips.

Her lips were cool, as if she had been walking through the cold wind on her way back. Her breath carried a faint fragrance, enveloping him entirely. Along with it came countless fragments of memory… He and Xia Mi walking side by side on the way home from school, Xia Mi hopping onto the sidewalk, casually extending her hand for him to hold… Walking together under a shared umbrella on a summer night, with Xia Mi in sandals, water droplets dancing at her feet… Memories he hadn’t recalled before, revealing just how much had been erased.

When the kiss ended, the view outside had returned to an autumn scene of falling leaves, beams of light playing between shadows as they stared at each other. Xia Mi was gone, replaced by the golden-crowned Empress with the body of a dragon. Her lips were as red as cinnabar, her breath as rich as musk, and her crimson gown filled the room, half-burying Chu Zihang beneath its folds.

Jörmungandr wiped her lips with a finger. “You may have created Xia Mi, but the final version is with me. She’s my hostage now. If you don’t hand over control to me, I’ll kill her. That kiss you enjoyed so much—you’ll never experience it again.”

Chu Zihang silently gazed up at the magnificent creature. After a moment, he nodded slightly.

He wasn’t sure whether that kiss had come from Xia Mi or if Jörmungandr had been playing a game with him the whole time. Maybe, for a brief moment, the girl named Xia Mi had really been released from within her mind. The kiss had been so cold and fragile, like those melancholy moments of cicadas chirping in late autumn, or a fleeting reflection of spring.

He walked to the door and grabbed the handle, but couldn’t turn it. He looked back at Jörmungandr.

“I didn’t restrict your movements,” Jörmungandr shrugged. “The key’s around your neck. You just don’t know how to use it.”

Chu Zihang pulled out the chain from his chest. At the end of the chain hung a silver key, gleaming brightly. He inserted it into the lock and turned it. With a click, the lock opened. The key had always been meant for this door.

He stepped forward, but tripped on the red gown.

“Watch where you’re going. Don’t step on my tail,” Jörmungandr lazily coiled up in the corner of the bed, watching the falling leaves outside the window.