READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 3
“…Are you really not interested at all? Not even a little?”
“Well, having power would be nice, but I don’t really need it.”
For Yujin, who preferred to live quietly and leave quietly, power wasn’t a necessity.
Die due to lack of power and not even be able to live quietly? That’s just dying.
It’s not like we’re in some chaotic era where living quietly is impossible. In fact, having power increases the chances of getting caught up in big troubles.
“So I’ll pass. I recommend finding someone else instead.”
“Wait, hold on a second.”
Seeing that Yujin was not just bluffing to win a negotiation but speaking sincerely, she urgently stopped him from pulling away.
“Is there really a need to rush? Hoping for immortality as a mortal is…”
“I don’t think it would be that fun to live long. I’d rather be content with the lifespan I have as a mortal.”
“You haven’t lived long enough to judge. It might be more interesting than you think.”
“Hmm…”
With that, Yujin couldn’t help but smile wryly as he spoke.
“Are you perhaps tired of waiting here, Tiamat?”
“!”
The image of Tiamat flinching at his words flashed in Yujin’s mind.
It seems he hit the nail on the head. He smiled broadly and added,
“I understand. If I spent thousands of years trapped in a place like this, I’d probably go mad too. How about this: I’ll take your heart outside, and look for a new owner for it.”
“…That’s impossible.”
“Why not?”
Thinking it was a decent proposal, Tiamat insisted it was impossible. When Yujin asked for her reasoning, she replied,
“Of course, you could take my heart outside. But… just having the heart won’t suffice to change the one who possesses it into a dragon.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. If accepted, you could use a dragon’s powers, but that wouldn’t make you a true dragon. The body needs to be reconstructed from a mortal’s to that of a dragon. To accept the heart, a trained body is essential. To fully unlock the heart’s potential, you would need a fully mature dragon’s body.”
Well, it’s unrealistic to think switching hearts would make one a true dragon.
“So how do you create a body that can accept the heart?”
“Aren’t they right here? My bones.”
“…Bones?”
Yujin looked at the massive bones spread widely around the altar. Tiamat explained,
“Yes, I planned to reconstruct the body of whoever comes here into a dragon using my bones.”
“I see…”
Only then did Yujin understand why she said it was impossible.
Just this massive rib alone seemed endless. How enormous would it be if you combined it from head to tail? Could he really take that out?
Impossible. At least with his own strength, it was beyond his ability.
“Some parts are even buried in the tomb… If you could take my bones, then I’d consider your proposal, but that’s just impossible, right?”
“Yeah, that does seem impossible. I don’t think I could even bring someone back here.”
“Exactly. Once you leave… I’ll probably have to wait a long time again. You are the only one who has come here so far.”
“Hmm…”
Hearing that made Yujin feel a bit sorry for Tiamat. If he had the means, he’d genuinely want to help her.
But…
‘There’s definitely something off about this.’
She said she would give her heart to someone who faithfully follows her, but could he be sure that the person would act as she wanted just because he received her heart?
How could one prove their loyalty to her? Even if they did follow her, how would he know that their attitude wouldn’t change after acquiring power?
She must understand these thoughts. She probably had something prepared as well. And that could potentially shackle his life.
Maybe it was some sort of contract? Like a deal with a demon…
Such thoughts made it hard for him to casually say he’d help.
“Tiamat, let’s go back to that question I asked earlier.”
“Hmm? The question from earlier…”
“I asked if you had any means to force someone who swallowed your heart to follow you. It seems just being faithful isn’t enough.”
“Well… I do have something. I’m aware of the risk of someone changing their attitude.”
“I see.”
This Yujin accepted without question. He figured it wasn’t something she could hide anyway.
“Is it some sort of contract?”
“Yes, it’s a form of a contract. A vow that binds our souls.”
“A vow that binds our souls… Hmm…”
That sounded like something you’d hear at a marriage ceremony. For a moment, that thought crossed his mind, but he shook it off and asked,
“What are the terms of the contract?”
“First, I, Tiamat, will offer my heart to the counterpart. At the same time, both of us will form a fateful community, binding our souls.”
“And when you say ‘binding our souls’?”
“It’s literally a contract binding our souls as one. If I bind my soul to yours, then if you die, I die too. And vice versa. But I’m already technically dead, so I won’t die. Just keep your body safe, and it should be fine.”
Indeed, once he swallowed the heart, he’d essentially be one body with Tiamat, so that wasn’t a big issue. Yujin nodded and continued asking,
“Got it. So what’s the second term?”
“Second, I, Tiamat, will enable the counterpart to reincarnate as a new dragon, while the counterpart must focus their efforts on freeing the dragons trapped in the Maze and restoring the stature of dragons to how it was before the Great War.”
“Hmm…”
Before the Great War… If this was indeed the world of Maze Academy, there should still be gods outside.
But “restore the stature of dragons as it was before the Great War” sounded like a tall order.
“That would anger the gods, wouldn’t it? Honestly, I don’t think they’d welcome it easily. Even if I accepted the contract and tried to fulfill your conditions, to be honest, it sounds difficult.”
“Of course, I’m aware of that too. But if you bow before the gods from the beginning, there shouldn’t be any major problems.”
“Bow before them… it doesn’t seem like they’d accept a retreating position just for the sake of advancing later.”
“Hmm? Why would we need to advance? We’re not going to war with the gods.”
“…Aren’t we?”
Since they had been defeated in the war, he thought they’d want to regroup and avenge themselves on the gods, but that wasn’t the case?
“Think about it. Even when we were a strong force, we lost in the Great War. What do you think would happen now if we rebuilt our strength and challenged the gods who grew stronger over centuries? A more miserable fate awaits us than we have now, right?”
“That… does make sense.”
“I’m not reckless enough to wage a war I’m bound to lose. Besides, what happened thousands of years ago was in the past… It was a war where each side risked their lives and I have no intention of holding grudges now. More than anything, the ones suffering from such wars would ultimately be my children, wouldn’t they? I don’t want my precious kids to die in a war. The Great War wasn’t because we wanted it, anyway. We fought because otherwise, we would die.”
“…I understand.”
She seemed more like a nurturing mother than a leader. Now that he thought about it, the title inscribed on her tomb was “Great Mother,” wasn’t it?
Yujin also nodded again, realizing that she was gentler and wiser than he initially thought.
All she wanted was for her children not to live the miserable lives trapped in the Maze like they are now.
“Alright. Then what’s the next condition?”
“That’s it.”
“…Huh?”
You’re saying those two conditions are the entirety of the contract?
“What I desire is already encompassed within those terms. There’s no need for more.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
Hearing that made him ponder a bit. If what she said turned out to be entirely true, it might not be such a bad deal after all.
To be honest, Yujin wondered if he even needed to make a contract at all. But at the same time, he felt a desire to help her, given how she cared so much for her children. Perhaps it was because it reminded him of his own deceased mother.
Therefore, after a moment of contemplation, Yujin decided to ask one more thing.
“So Tiamat, here’s my last question.”
“Hmm? Is there more?”
“Yes, it’s honestly the most important question for me.”
“Hmm… go ahead.”
At Yujin’s words, Tiamat seemed to listen intently. He continued,
“Is there a separate way to escape from here?”
“Ah…”
Upon hearing that, she let out a voice sounding a bit disappointed. She explained,
“Well, the gods probably didn’t consider the escape of anyone who entered my tomb in the Maze. However, I understand roughly. The gods didn’t grant a blessing that would allow anyone to leave once they entered the Maze, right?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have that blessing.”
“Huh?”
At that, Tiamat briefly seemed startled and asked again. Yujin replied,
“It’s a bit complicated to explain, but I didn’t enter this place through regular means. So, I don’t have the blessing to escape outside the Maze.”
“…Are you serious?”
“Yes. So I want to ask one thing. If I contract with you and become a dragon, will I be able to leave this place?”
After a moment of silence, Tiamat responded with certainty.
“Don’t underestimate the power of a dragon. If I merely make you into a dragon, you can definitely escape from this space, even from the Maze by your own strength.”
“I see.”
So that’s how it is. Then he made his decision.
“In that case, I’ll go with what you say, Tiamat. How do we make this contract?”