Illyan felt shivers going down his spine as he once again stared at the majestic figure.

This time, he was in a much better position and could properly check how the dragon looked.

Just the size alone towered over the Frozen Worm that was as big as a large hill.

Its body was covered in bluish scales that were so polished they reminded one of mirrors.

It had four slender legs with talons as long as trees and a tail as long as the Frozen Worm itself.

The wings weren’t unfurled and seemed to be damaged, but they were still beautiful.

However, it was the head with four crystal-blue horns and eyes that made one freeze both in body and mind that made one worship this regal creature.

In the end, the white stream of small ice shards coming out of the dragon’s maw like white death itself attacked the younger Illyan as the real one watched from a higher point.

The breath instantly covered him up while killing the gigantic Frozen Worm instantly.

But Illyan survived.

“I see.”

He thought of many reasons, but now he knew the truth.

Grey light enveloped Illyan as it protected him when a sudden lightning bolt of immense power struck down from the light, traveling through the dragon’s breath and striking the inside of the dragon's maw almost instantly.

“What… I thought you would help him.”

Illyan frowned as he saw the head melting away without the dragon even making a sound.

“What are you talking about? Just because we have the same enemies does not make us allies. He was a vermin that killed millions of beings for fun. If not for his dragon pride, he would probably work with these false gods too. Not to mention that helping him at this stage was impossible.”

She shook her head in exasperation.

“Then the mission…?”

“It’s the dragon spirit.”

She smirked as the scene finally ended and darkness enveloped them.

That was until she waved her hand and white light suddenly appeared in her palm.

The light moved as if it was alive, the way it twisted around, and the chill radiating from it was something Illyan would never forget.

“While weakened, it is still the transcendental spirit of the dragon, no less.”

“If you have it, then why wait inside me so long?”

He could already imagine she had stored it inside of him during this time.

Although he believed she protected him from the bad influence, he had been suffering from chilling energy for over a decade.

“Don’t worry, this had no effect on you. Else you would die without any chance of surviving. I had to refine this thing. It took a very long time, especially since I was expending some of my energy to help you survive.”

‘So it was not just luck too.’

Illyan had already accepted that while she did some things to him that made his life harder, there was no doubt that she was also the one looking over his life the entire time.

Despite already feeling very complex emotions toward her, he slowly let go as he embraced his past, however bad it was.

‘If she didn’t lie, then only my survival changed. I guess the death of my family was inevitable.’

He sighed as he remembered those distant days.

“It took me a long time, and I would probably still be working on it if you didn’t meet that little miss.”

Meanwhile, Zephyr spoke casually as she mentioned someone.

“Little miss?” As he wondered who she meant by it, only two candidates emerged in his mind.

Vanda and Aurelia.

However, he had a hunch that it wasn’t Vanda.

She didn’t have anything extraordinary enough to be mentioned like this.

And he was right.

“Aurelia was blessed with a gift whose rank could be said to be way beyond mere mortals. When you got in contact with her, I used the opportunity given to me by her to perfectly refine it in a short amount of time.”

Illyan furrowed his brows as she explained this.

“Wait. I don’t quite follow. What do you mean by the opportunity given by her, and what does her gift have to do with it?”

While he understood the implications, it felt ridiculous to Illyan.

‘Taking advantage of her gift? How? And why?’

Zephyr chuckled at Illyan's clueless appearance.

“What you consider ludicrous or impossible may be something easy to do for others,” she said with a soft smile, but he couldn’t help but notice the smug look she gave.

‘She is still the Zephyr I know, alright.’ He almost chuckled as he heard her proud explanation.

“Since she was observing you using her gift, I just stared back at her using her eyes’ reflection to look into your flaws myself. And oh my, oh my~ Who would think that even I could not see as much as her in this specialization? Even while still awakening, her gift is still astounding. But since she is too weak, I simply overtook the flow to look at it myself. And since the Dragon Soul was inside you, it also revealed its flaws. Although the girl didn’t notice it at all…”

While still an ethereal beauty with a magical aura, the grim atmosphere vanished from the air as she basically not-so-subtly bragged to him about her abilities.

Through their conversation, she held a certain distance from him, and he did the same, as they met in different conditions.

Was she still the same person? Or was her previous self just a puppet for her goals to be discarded now that she was regaining her memories?

But now, he felt there was no need to worry.

While slightly different, he could not mistake her for anyone else.

When growing up, Illyan believed that the most important things that influenced one’s character were the environment one grew up in and the inherited traits from the older generation.

However, what did reincarnation mean?

To transcend the body and be reborn in a new one.

The question was: was that still the same person in a different body, or was someone replacing the previous person with only the soul being the same?

From Illyan’s insight at this moment, he believed it was somewhere between the two.

While his physician’s knowledge told him that a person's personality was partly biologically inherent and partly environmental, it was not absolute.

The inner self, hidden inside of the soul, could be different, and unless one awakened their memories, it could hibernate or even be rewritten by the new personality.

As if responding to Illyan’s new insight, the world around them started to vibrate as the memory replay distorted itself and faded away.

Zephyr, who saw his realization, smirked to herself.

‘His future prospects will be steep, considering that he lacked talent in a lot of things, but his comprehension is not bad. If his vessel was better, he would probably be considered a genius in terms of intelligence. Unfortunately, nobody can have a bit of everything.’

She sighed in disappointment as she saw what Illyan’s small enlightenment caused.

The space around continued to ripple heavily as darkness once again enveloped them.

Splash

Water splashed over their legs as they stood once again in the endless emptiness, with swirling waves of water hitting their legs up to the knees.

Illyan, who had already come to his senses, noticed that he was back at the place where he woke up.

He looked up and saw the cracked sky.

This time, however, the cracks were mending before his eyes.

Then, without warning, heavy rain started to fall from the sky.

There were no clouds or wind, just pure raindrops falling from nowhere.

This continued for a while before stopping as if nothing had happened.

“This is really intriguing. This is the real place, right?” Illyan asked slowly.

“That is right.” Zephyr nodded as the water below them started to swirl into the air, taking the shape of chairs before freezing into solid form.

Illyan didn’t hesitate as he sat down.

“This place is your Mind Realm. The place your mind resides. The sky is your mind that became quite broken after all the traumas, but you always managed to persevere, which is admirable. On the other hand, the water underneath us is the Mind Power.”

As Zephyr explained, Illyan looked down with a doubtful expression.

“Isn’t it quite a lot considering that I got dried up not too long ago?”

He asked with confusion as he stared at the clear-like liquid underneath him that wasn’t actually water but the manifestation of Mind Power.

“Mind Power is a very broad concept. There are many disciplines and powers concerning this. That is because the mind is something that touches on the mysteries of the universe. It is one of the most complex things you can learn about, and that makes it a powerful tool.

But that is only if one can fully control it. Most mortals produce Mind Power over decades of their lives, but it dissipates in the air. You are the same. You produce your own Mind Power but ignore the one you already have. Fortunately for you, the Spiritual Origin you awakened will help you quite a bit.”

When she said this, Illyan already could guess what she meant by that.

“So they were truly…”

“Yes. The serpents that you saw are your spiritual origin. They have many names, but this name makes it easy to understand. Without them, you would not be able to perform spiritual arts, nor would you be smarter than mere beasts, as you would not be spiritually awakened and would be considered a fool. They are the beginning of your Spiritual Path and the uncoiling surge that will drive you further.”

Zephyr explained with a soft expression as her face twisted into a slightly teasing smile.

“Well, your serpents were much weaker than someone else’s who hatched their serpents. But hatching them is in itself an achievement not many could do. And considering the karma we share, I helped a bit to awaken their intelligence.”

“Hmm…?”

Thinking a bit, he realized that the act of the serpents he saw before was quite strange.

Obviously, he was not so oblivious as to not realize their spiritual nature and similarity to the two energies swirling around his spine, but he had his own doubts.

Why would they swallow the parts of what was supposed to be his own mind?

It didn’t make much sense. It was as if his body was trying to break down on its own.

But now he knew that it was her doing.

“Since you are asleep, controlling your essences is simple for me. As for why I did it, it is a little gift for you. The mind is like a mirror. It reflects your inner self, but it is also fragile. And yours is already cracked. There is still a remedy for that, but part of your mind was already fragmented. Getting rid of it and compelling it through your gift to heal on its own was a better method.”

“Why use the serpents though? Or…” As he thought of the scene before, he realized that while magnificent, the serpents looked too monotonous before they swallowed the mind fragments.

“The Spiritual Origin gaining spirituality. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it is nothing new in such a strange world. There is a reason why these two energy sources take the form of serpents. The reason for that is—Ugh!”

Suddenly, as Zephyr once again wanted to explain herself, she staggered as her body revealed deep cracks.

Illyan also felt a sudden shift in his gut as grey light shone strongly from him before fading away…

“Agh… I apologize for showing you such a humiliating sight. I guess I am at my limit. I wanted to tell you more, but they won’t let me. They already noticed me quite late since you used my artifact.”

As she explained, her face cracked in the middle, creating a rather horrific scene where her face seemed to be reflected by a broken mirror.

Of course, Illyan didn’t pay it any heed as he focused on her words.

“They?” Illyan asked as he gnashed his molars with strength.

He could already picture who she was talking about.

‘These damn parasites!’

Thinking of these false gods that he heard about every time something went awry, he felt his blood boiling.

“Illyan, listen. I don’t have much time. I wanted to spend more time here with you, but unfortunately, it was not meant to be. We won’t meet again unless you tread the same path as I do. So please, accept the karma I wish to bestow upon you.”

As she said so, she waved her hand, and several blurs flew out of Illyan’s body and shone with powerful light.