"Yes, Your Majesty. I sensed the same."

"What is this? It resembles this one's energy, yet it is not his own."

The energy emanating from the egg within the ranju ought, by rights, to have felt like Yongrin energy alone. But he wondered whether such a clear draconic energy could radiate from a child who had not yet undergone the awakening rite. Hwi turned his gaze to the physician, and she spoke with an expression that was at once bewildered and grave.

"Your Majesty. There was a time when the Empress went out to the Hell's Gate and came into contact with the remnants there. Do you remember?"

"I remember."

"In my personal opinion… I surmise that the Empress was already carrying a dragon-descendant in his womb at that time, and that the dragon-descendant underwent the awakening rite from within the egg."

"Is there any precedent for that?"

"There is none. However, just as there have been many exceptions owing to the exceptional abilities of Your Two Majesties, I can only conjecture that it would be the same for the dragon-descendant."

Hwi looked sharply down at his own fingertips. If the child within that egg was already a dragon-descendant requiring a protective star, it was self-evident that this would have an adverse effect on Yunseo's health. However, the remnants and the energy of the Eternal Spring Flower that the physician had mentioned still remained.

"So then."

"The Empress had hypothesized that the basis of the monster's poison and the Yongrin's poison was the same. If that hypothesis and my conjecture are both correct, then when the remnants entered his body, the dragon-descendant was already residing within his womb — and because of the dragon-descendant's presence, His Majesty's protective star would not have moved to process the remnants."

Since a Yongrin begins accumulating poison from the moment of the awakening rite when power is received, the meaning was that Yunseo's protective star had mistaken the remnants for a part of the dragon-descendant and had not attempted to treat them.

"But the remnants would surely have demanded the protective star — so the remnants and the protective star, in a state of conflict, flowed into the ranju, and reaching the dragon-descendant there… I can only speculate that it settled in a new form."

Hwi slowly chewed over the physician's view. It was not an implausible hypothesis. In truth, if not for this conclusion, the mysterious occurrence within Yunseo's womb could not be explained. In a country built upon the tricks of the Dragon God to begin with, there was nothing strange about yet another phenomenon that was difficult for humans to clearly comprehend.

There was only one thing that mattered.

"And so — what effect will this have on him?"

"Your Majesty. I judge that the dragon-descendant is saving the Empress's life."

"…What?"

"The protective star emanating from the ranju is spreading through his body."

Hwi turned all his concentration back to his own fingertips. After focusing on Yunseo's womb for a considerable length of time, he could indeed feel an energy spreading from the ranju and moving toward the seed.

The moment when Yunseo's pulse, which had clearly been severed and still, had miraculously surged back to life — that memory resurfaced sharply and stung his fingertips. Hwi blinked blankly for a moment, then withdrew his hand from Yunseo and rearranged his clothing and coverlet.

"An Eternal Spring Flower cannot be saved by an Eternal Spring Flower."

"Yes. However, since the dragon-descendant at present cannot be simply defined as a complete Yongrin or Eternal Spring Flower… would it not be that a miracle has descended?"

A distant wonder colored the physician's trailing words. A miracle. A miracle, he said. Hwi turned the word over silently in his mouth.

He had always felt that fate was toying with him. If such a thing as the Dragon God truly existed, then all it ever did from up there in the heavens was to mock and play with him in the most perverse ways. And yet now — a miracle.

"It is wondrous."

A voice tinged with wonder burst from one side, and Hwi turned his head. Yeondeok was staring blankly at Yunseo with eyes that seemed at once glad and sorrowful, and continued speaking.

"When the ranju first appeared, the young master was in terrible pain. He was furious — saying he didn't understand why he had to hurt so much, that there was no reason anything like a baby or an egg would ever come to be… If only I could have told him then that that child would save him. He might have endured it a little better."

No. That was wrong.

If Yunseo had never met him, he would never have had to encounter a miracle like this at all. Instead of barely surviving by clinging to this miracle handed over as though by charity, he could have lived the ordinary life he had so longed for, peacefully.

If there is such a thing as a miracle, it is you.

Not something bestowed by another, but something that bloomed from within you.

And once again, he would live his life leaning on the gift that was Yunseo. His sacred energy surged and clawed wildly at his insides. Hwi bowed his head and pressed his forehead against the bracelet on Yunseo's wrist. The embossed form of a dragon, its edges sharpened to a keen blue, grazed his skin.

* * *

He heard the sound of water flowing in a gentle trickle. Yunseo lay there blankly for a while before turning his head.

It was a somehow familiar sound, but he could not remember why. Only his heart became at ease. It felt exactly like arriving home.

Where had his home been? That too did not come to him, but it did not matter. Having lain there limply without wanting to do anything at all, Yunseo finally managed to raise himself up.

For some reason, it seemed as though crossing that river would finally bring him peace. A yearning of unclear origin drove Yunseo, who had no motivation or will of any kind.

The river was submerged in darkness with no visible end, so to cross it he would have to take a boat. He wondered if there was one. Even a small raft would do. Yunseo walked endlessly along the river.

He did not know why his body was so lethargic. He just wanted to cross that river quickly and rest.

With the single-minded thought of reaching the other side, Yunseo moved his heavy feet as briskly as he could, and at last spotted a ferry resting at the riverbank.

"Ah!"

There it is.

He was glad there really was a boat, and glad he hadn't given up even after such a long walk. With a pleased heart, Yunseo smiled faintly — and was just about to take another step forward.

Something brushed against the back of his hand, and he quickly looked down, but there was nothing there. He wiped the back of his hand to shake off the lingering sensation and was about to walk again when this time, something brushed against his ear.

"Ugh."

A bug? Yunseo furrowed his brow and waved his hand through the air. Nothing in particular was visible, but a bug could simply be ignored. He resolved not to waste any more time and walked briskly, his fist clenched with determination.

As the distance closed, the ferryman on the boat came into view. Strangely, there were no features on the face — it was simply a dark smudge — but…

"Ah!"

Something cut across his eyes and he squeezed them shut. He had no idea what was tormenting him so. Yunseo irritably lifted his eyelids, and spotted something floating in front of his eyes — and reflexively reached out his hand.

Something like a thread of light settled onto his palm. It soon began to wriggle, and the way it moved was somehow reminiscent of…

"An earthworm?"

The earthworm bounced in place as though it were happy, or perhaps throwing a tantrum. It was a truly strange creature. It had no eyes, no nose, no mouth — it was made entirely of light.

Do earthworms originally have no eyes, nose, or mouth?

As the pointless question crossed his mind, the earthworm suddenly rose from his palm and wriggled toward the right. Yunseo watched it for a moment before opening his mouth.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go."

He wanted to go quickly and rest. He didn't know what business this earthworm had blocking his path, but only the urge to rest propelled Yunseo forward.

As Yunseo took a step, the earthworm grabbed at his sleeve — but fell away lightly with the swing of his arm. Yunseo glanced at the earthworm and looked back at the boat, which was now closer. That ferryman's face — still couldn't be seen.

"Ah!"

A sudden stinging sensation on the back of his hand. Looking down, he found the earthworm biting his hand.

It seemed less like it was trying to harm him, and more like it was trying to convey something. Yunseo looked back and forth between the boat and the earthworm, then let out a long sigh.

"What is it?"

The earthworm wriggled toward the right again. At the movement that seemed as though it were pointing the way, Yunseo hesitated, then turned his feet.

"You can't take too long."

Watching that tiny earthworm move with such desperate energy, it was clear that something urgently needed help — so no matter how much he wanted to rest, there was no way to ignore it.

The earthworm headed in the direction away from the river. Every so often it looked back to check that he was following. The sight of it was rather endearing, and a laugh slipped out.

At the place where the earthworm finally stopped, there was nothing at all. Other than the river, this place seemed to hold only darkness. Yunseo looked this way and that, then turned his eyes to the earthworm.

"Why here?"

The earthworm drifted blankly.

"What do you need?"

He pressed it with questions, but the earthworm only gazed at Yunseo with an unreadable stare. Yunseo checked his surroundings once more and urged the earthworm on out of sheer frustration, but he got no answer of any kind.

When he tried to turn back toward the river, the distance felt hopelessly far. He sank down limply, and only then did the earthworm seem to rejoice, pressing its body against the back of his hand. Yunseo stared down at the earthworm blankly and said:

"I have to go."

A sentence bounced around inside his mouth. Yunseo mumbled, then let it out.

"I want it to stop."

Only after saying it aloud did Yunseo understand precisely what he wanted. He wanted it to stop. Whatever it was. Because right now, he was so very exhausted. And so he wanted to rest — forever.