NOVPUBIn this world, dragons and their palaces exist, and I had just recently visited one, so I was quite familiar with them.
However, the combination of the Dragon Palace and the term "moving" felt awkward, and I couldn't easily follow the train of thought.
As I thought about it in my dazed state, a fundamental question rose.
"Move? Can the Dragon Palace even be moved?"
Typically, when we talk about moving, it refers to people or businesses relocating, not the entire location itself. Places, as a rule, do not move.
Moreover, wasn't the Dragon Palace supposed to be deep under the sea?
I recalled how difficult it had been to travel to the Dragon Palace in the first place. The Blue Dragon had drawn on the earth's energy, and the priestesses had used their mystical abilities to assist with the transportation.
Given that the Dragon Palace was so far from land, it didn’t seem likely that it could be moved.
Still, Yeongje-geon wouldn’t lie about something like this, so I decided to think more carefully.
"Considering the phenomenon caused by the interdimensional collision, it's not impossible. The cracks in the dimensions defy the laws of physics... no, that’s not what’s important. How it was moved is irrelevant."
Was it the pain that was clouding my thoughts, or was it Yeongje-geon's strange statement causing the confusion?
I almost missed the crux of the matter.
I should have first considered what the Dragon Palace meant to the dragonkin.
The Dragon Palace is not only a symbol of their power but also a conduit connecting them to the Dragon King.
When the Imugi’s power pressed down on the Dragon Palace, even the Blue Dragon and Yellow Dragon couldn’t use their full strength.
For the Dragon Palace to be moved would indicate a significant shift in the thinking of the dragonkin.
"The Dragon Palace is the boundary between the human world and the gods. Despite choosing isolation to protect that boundary, they have managed to move it."
“That’s something you should know as well, Hwang Ho,” Yeongje-geon said, smiling through his half-closed eyes.
While Yeongje-geon was smiling, he didn’t seem happy at all. It seemed like he was referring to the betrayal of the priestesses.
"From the previous incident, we understood that isolation was more dangerous," Yeongje-geon continued.
In the isolated Dragon Palace, the priestesses had lived secluded lives.
If they had been completely cut off from the mortal world, with no opportunity for the mastermind to manipulate them, this incident would not have occurred.
However, since the priestesses were selected from humans and the dragonkin in the Dragon Palace were connected to the mortal realm, no matter how far they were, the Dragon Palace and this world could not remain entirely separated.
In modern society, it’s nearly impossible to remain fully isolated from everything.
Ultimately, imperfect isolation led to decay, and the Dragon Palace had been on the verge of collapse.
Perhaps, even if they had succeeded in complete isolation, other problems could have arisen.
Yun Yeorang had once spoken about the cause of the priestesses' betrayal:
-“When you become a priestess, you forsake your name and adopt a title, not because the Dragon King forced you, but because of the nature of the position.”
-“When you hide your name and face and live in such a closed society, negative thoughts can easily spread.”
The Dragon King and the dragonkin agreed with Yun Yeorang’s words.
Recognizing that the closed society was the root of the problem, they likely intended to open up the Dragon Palace.
The first step toward this would have been to move the Dragon Palace itself.
"The dragonkin must have realized that isolating the Dragon Palace again would just repeat the same mistakes. That’s why they chose a new path."
Beep!
The air limousine's navigation alerted us that we were almost at our destination.
As Yeongje-geon said, the new Dragon Palace was indeed very close.
Previously, the Dragon Palace had been a place where great power was required, and dimensional pressure had to be endured just to reach it, but now we could drive there.
“I’ve seen this place before. This is where the dragonkin first settled after the interdimensional collision. I visited it when I was writing the barrier.”
Hwang Ji-ho spoke, looking out the window at the west coast.
As Hwang Ji-ho said, the dragonkin hadn’t always lived in the Red Lion Team building. The specific location had never been disclosed, but it was said they had settled on the west coast after the interdimensional collision.
The dragonkin had risked weakening the 12 Zodiac barrier to relocate to the Red Lion Team building, after forming marriages with humans.
This place must have been where the dragonkin had stayed before moving to the Red Lion Team building.
‘Since the dragonkin likely still own this land, it makes sense that they could move the Dragon Palace here.’
Although how they moved such a massive palace was still a mystery.
From a distance, the Dragon Palace was not visible.
I had the impression that the location was shrouded in heavy sea fog.
Just before the air limousine stopped, I felt a familiar energy.
‘It’s the same energy I felt in the Dragon Palace.’
What had seemed like mist surrounding the coastline now looked different as it approached.
The five-colored clouds enveloped the sea.
The area surrounding the land and the sea shimmered in five different colors.
Among them, the sulfur-colored cloud sparkled most brightly.
‘It’s Yun Yeorang’s power. Did Yun Yeorang help with the relocation of the Dragon Palace?’
After all, Yun Yeorang, the most powerful of the Dragon King’s priestesses, wouldn’t have been excluded from such an important plan.
And thinking it over, there were clues in Yun Yeorang’s words and actions.
She had mentioned collaborating with the dragonkin on a project.
When I offered to help, she had been surprised and declined, wanting to keep it a secret.
‘So, the relocation of the Dragon Palace was her doing! As expected, Yun Yeorang, the most powerful priestess in history, could make it happen. If she assisted, moving the Dragon Palace was certainly possible.’
The doubt I had in my mind was quickly cleared.
If my playable character and the Dragon King had worked together, then relocating the Dragon Palace was entirely possible.
That question turned into admiration.
"Seeing the five-colored clouds, your expression has suddenly brightened."
"Because the benefactor of the dragonkin uses the priestess’s power, it must be related."
"A noble’s benefactor can wield the power of the nobles as well."
"You know that a noble’s benefactor can take my form, right?"
"Of course. Didn’t you take that form, only to be pierced by a dragon’s fang? How could I not know?"
While the things Yeongje-geon and Hwang Ji-ho were saying made sense, I couldn’t understand why they were discussing such trivial matters.
Unintentionally, I overheard all of this right in front of me, and it seemed Jeon Mu-yeong was doubting his own ears.
Amid the chatter, the air limousine finally came to a stop.
"Lead the way, Yeongje-geon."
"Sure, I’ll guide you."
Hwang Ji-ho seemed to leave the guidance to Yeongje-geon, but it felt more like he was using Yeongje-geon as a shield.
When we got out of the limousine, accompanied by Jeon Mu-yeong, the scenery before us changed.
Sssss...
The area, hidden by the five-colored clouds, opened up clearly.
It didn’t seem like anyone had used force to move the clouds; it appeared they had shifted naturally.
"We’re feeling the return of the Dragon Palace’s owner. You’ve made it."
"Be thankful that Jeok-ho isn’t here. If you were the opponent, you would have been cursed."
Ignoring the two dragons’ words, I focused on what lay ahead.
Through the gaps in the five-colored clouds, I saw the Dragon Palace, just as I had seen it underwater.
The Dragon Palace had been relocated using the Dragon King and priestesses' powers to distort space, but now it had been moved intact.
The only difference from before was that this Dragon Palace was only half submerged in the sea, whereas the old one had been deep in the ocean.
"To think the Dragon Palace is here...!"
As I walked toward the Dragon Palace, Jeon Mu-yeong gripped my hand tightly, constantly expressing his amazement.
When we passed through the five-colored clouds, Hwang Ji-ho and Yeongje-geon, who had been speaking nonsense, finally turned their attention to us.
Their gazes landed on Jeon Mu-yeong’s hand supporting me, and then moved to my eye patch.
Srrrk.
At that moment, the gap in the five-colored clouds closed.
The two spoke, as if they had been waiting for this moment.
"Joi Shin, it’s time to return to your true form. No matter how powerful your abilities are, you won’t be able to see beyond this point."
"Yes, with the power of the Dragon Palace, you no longer need to mimic Seong Guk-eon."
The two dragons, after stepping out of the limousine, spoke while hiding their mouths or barely showing their lips.
It seemed they were being careful to avoid leaking any information by reading their lip movements.
Considering the possibility of their conversation being detected from a distance, they seemed to have been cautious.
It would have been better if they had just kept quiet instead of saying all that.
‘Anyway, as they said, I can now break the trajectory of the playable character.’
I confirmed that the five-colored clouds had completely closed behind me and deactivated my disguise.
In an instant, I reverted to Joi Shin's form.
The clothes, too large because of the size difference with Seong Guk-eon, felt loose, and my eye patch was a bit too loose now.
It felt like it would slip off if I moved incorrectly.
I wanted to adjust it, but Hwang Ji-ho had used barrier magic to fix the shape of the eye patch, so I wasn't sure if I could fix it just with my hands.
"..."
The surroundings were quiet.
The three of them were just silently watching me. 𝓃ℴ𝓋𝓹𝓊𝓫.𝒸𝓸𝓂
I didn’t know what I should do, as they were staring at me like that.
Though not much time had passed, the silence felt unusually long.
Fortunately, someone came to greet us.
Swoosh!
One of the yellow dragons, Un-ryong, quickly flew toward us on a small cloud.
It seemed like he had hurried here, as his cloud fragments were scattered, and his tail was disheveled.
Upon spotting me, Un-ryong seemed delighted, but then froze upon seeing my left eye.
It had been a while since we had met, but seeing me like this, it would have been better if he had dealt with things elsewhere.
The Yellow Dragon must have sent several attendants to greet us, as more Un-ryong dragons followed, all reacting similarly.
"...Seems like there’s been a lot of cloud action today. Get on with the guide."
Seeing the swarm of Un-ryong, Hwang Ji-ho spoke with a tired expression.
Indeed, there had been a lot of clouds around the garden today.
Un-ryong, as if snapping back to attention after hearing Hwang Ji-ho, gestured and began to lead us.
From a distance, the Dragon Palace looked just as I remembered, but the paths had been altered, perhaps because the Yellow Dragon had reorganized the layout.
‘The information about the Dragon Palace must have leaked to the mastermind, so they must have had to revise the path.’
Un-ryong led us toward the center of the five palaces, to the Yellow Dragon Palace.
Though I still didn’t know the exact destination, I admired the scenery as we walked.
It seemed that they had made the landscape more beautiful, likely in preparation for receiving guests at the relocated Dragon Palace.
Near the Huang Yun-ho, there was a pavilion I hadn’t seen before. Its exterior was beautifully decorated with ebony and pearls, making it hard to look away from.
It was so captivating that I felt it was a waste to only see it with one eye.
"Yellow Dragon was really disappointed and sad. Originally, he had planned to show this place to the benefactor of the dragonkin and guide them to this pavilion."
As I stared at the pavilion, Yeongje-geon spoke with a sharp tone.
It seemed the Yellow Dragon had been looking forward to showing the location to a guest, but my sudden visit had disrupted his plans.
I thought about apologizing to the Yellow Dragon, but before I could, Hwang Ji-ho clicked his tongue, as if he had expected it.
We continued, and soon we reached the underground of the Yellow Dragon Palace.
Un-ryong stopped in front of a giant door, and I felt a powerful energy coming from beyond it.
It felt like a large-scale ritual was being prepared.
Creeeak...
When the door opened, I saw five shadows between the gaps in the five-colored clouds.
Four of them were the Dragon King's priestesses, including Yun Yeorang, and the remaining one was the Yellow Dragon.
The Yellow Dragon, who had been controlling the clouds, stopped and turned to face us.
"You've arrived, I’ve been waiting for you."
The Yellow Dragon’s face was full of concern and sadness.
