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When Chung Myung was twelve, he accidentally stumbled across a dragon's den.
Of course, he did not know it was a dragon den back then. He just knew it was an unnaturally large cave in one of the mountains that looked like it might lead to nice and shiny things. He didn't even remember or know how he got all the way down there, but after a long descend down the rocky steeps, Chung Myung came face to face with a baby dragon, who swiped and hissed but made no real effort to attack him.
Being a innocent troublemaker back then, Chung Myung did not notice the apparent danger and simply reached out a hand towards it's snout, giggling.
The baby dragon had jotled back slightly. The scales around its head bloomed outwards, a tactic to frighten predators, but slowly retracted when it realized Chung Myung wasn't scared at all. Curiously, it used its nose to nudge at Chung Myung's fingers. This caused Chung Myung to start petting it like it wasn't the most fearsome celestial creature in the world, but a little puppy.
That was the start of a friendship.
--
“Dongbyul-ah.”
The dragon, who's gotten quite big in just a few years, bigger than eighteen year old Chung Myung already, raised its head to look at him.
“You never really told me why you stay here in the first place,” Chung Myung guzzled down the liquor. “Don't dragons live in colonies? There's mountains everywhere here but I don't see any other dragons.”
Dongbyul seemed to study him for a bit. Its golden eyes were like pots of molten gold, staring into Chung Myung's soul, before laying down again.
“I was abandoned for being imperfect.”
Chung Myung raised an eyebrow. “What does imperfections look like to dragonkind? Now I'm curious.” He abandoned his bottles to slide closer to the oversized noodle.
“The spots all over my body. They're not supposed to exist.”
Chung Myung had particularly liked those spots too. The patches of bronze scales that stood out from the rest of Dongbyul's white scales was exactly why Chung Myung named it Dongbyul. Bronze star, how fitting is that?
Chung Myung had never once considered it to be unnatural or something as ugly as an imperfection.
“These blemishes are cursed in the eyes of my kind, so I was discarded.” Dongbyul let out a big yawn. “Same old sob story, I'm sure everyone's had them. Did you know dragons are supposed to return to the heavens they've descended from? I can't do that, so I might just stay here and cultivate my dragon core. Forever.”
It was a sad existence, but what could be done? Chung Myung had offered to take Dongbyul out of this cave, but the dragon insisted it simply wished to cultivate peacefully in Mount Hua's mountains.
Dongbyul lifted its head again, this time extending to lay its head on Chung Myung's thigh. Its eyes displayed an extremely rare mirth.
“I don't think that's inherently bad. A cave rich with energy, with no one to disturb me, and some company from time to time. What else can I ask for? And one day when I successfully cultivate a human form, bring me to that Xi'an you talk about so much.”
Chung Myung ran his finger through Dongbyul's mane, careful avoiding its horns. Dongbyul simply enjoyed the attention with its eyes closed and continued to snooze.
“You don't have to tell me twice, Byul-ah.”
--
“Promise me you'll protect Mount Hua with everything you have.”
“Chung Myung,” Dongbyul grabbed his arm, unease written all over the dragon's face, “This war isn't one that can be won.”
Chung Myung gritted his teeth. He would rather fight and die in the process than to sit and perish without a fight. With all the elders and best disciples gone, the demons would no doubt try to destroyed the Mount Hua at their most vulnerable. But if they had Dongbyul as a triumph card.. then Chung Myung had nothing to worry about.
He could fully focus on slaying Cheonma.
“Listen, Dongbyul,” Chung Myung grasped the dragon's shoulders. The flesh was cold even under layers of clothings. “This may be the last time we see each other. When the war ends, I want you to go out there and help rebuild what would he left of Mount Hua. Can you do that?”
“Myung..”
Chung Myung's grasp tightened. “Answer me!”
Agitated by the silence, Chung Myung lifted his head only to came face to face with Dongbyul's fear and devastation. Everything the dragon knew was from Chung Myung, and to hear that his friend had accepted his fate of death so easily, it was like his world was being torn apart right in front of his eyes.
Dongbyul lowered his eyes, a droplet of gold clung to his eyelashes, unwilling to fall.
“..I do not hoard riches or guard knowledge. What use could I be to Mount Hua?”
“You are part of the Mount Hua, and that's enough.”
The tear rolled down Dongbyul's cheek as his eyes flickered up to Chung Myung. Chung Myung's voice was unwavering, he was absolutely sure of what he was saying.
“It doesn't matter where you're from or who you are. The moment you step into Mount Hua, you are part of the Mount Hua sect. So promise me, Dongbyul-ah.”
Dongbyul closed his eyes and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Chung Myung.
“..Okay.”
--
When Mount Hua was inevitably invaded by the demon sect, a miracle happened when all seemed lost.
A dragon, resembling the setting sun in the midst of dark skies, rose over Mount Hua and sent down what all the survivors of the war would call a punishment from the heavens. It saved Mount Hua from total destruction, and disappeared as abruptly as it appeared.
Till this day, no one knows where it came from.
--
Chung Myung returned to Dongbyul's den and found nothing but a small grave with a shrine and burned out candles.
Seems like Dongbyul didn't survive either.
Chung Myung placed a hand on the blank headstone. “You've done well, Byul-ah.”
--
Or so he thought.
“Sahyung, are you alright?” Baek Sang ran forward to check on Baek Cheon, who was kneeling on the ground with a hand over his face.
Chung Myung scoffed internally. Baek Cheon didn't seem that injured though, he just received one whack from Jin Geumryong, don't tell him he's already to give up because of that?
Baek Cheon tugged on Baek Sang's robe in the midst of his shouting, which made him stop and immediately turn to him. And what he saw.. made him scream.
“Get sahyung to the physician now!”
He seemed to be holding his jaw in place, with boils appearing on his skin, blood running down his wrist and soaks his sleeves. Just what did that bastard do to his sahyung?!
Jin Geumryong finally realized something was off as well, and he looks at Baek Cheon. Just to be met with golden eyes that harboured the most intense killing intent. For the first time in his life, he felt a terrible weight on his entire body, like he was in the presence of something he couldn't even fathom.
Jin Dongryong's eyes.. they weren't..
Chung Myung watched as two disciples ushered Baek Cheon away. A dripping trail of blood followed them.
The boils on his hand..
(“Dragon cores usually are scorching, so I can't use it in my human form,” Dongbyul explained. “Since we are cold-blooded, our scales vibrate rapidly to spread the heat of the dragon core throughout our body and expel it immediately. If I were to use dragon techniques in my human form, I would be burnt to a crisp even before any heat can be expelled.
“Similarly, human techniques also generate a lot of heat. I probably wouldn't die from overexertion, but my human body would overheat and collapse. In the worst case scenario, my skin would melt and my flesh would broil.”)
Could there be another dragon besides Dongbyul?
--
Chung Myung fondled with the letter given to him by Baek Sang, no doubt from Baek Cheon. It was probably something about meeting outside at the dead of night. But did Chung Myung want to do that after exerting his body to beat Jin Geumryong?
Bah, let's just see what he wants.
Chung Myung reads the first line. And he dashes out into the mountains without reading the second.
«I'll be waiting where we first met, Myung-ah.»
--
There seemed to be nothing at first. Dongbyul's den was dark and cold and empty, just like how it was when Chung Myung came by before.
Because that was all a trick. A illusion spell put up by Chung Myung himself, to stop anyone from discovering the existence of Dongbyul. It was a spell that only activated when either Chung Myung or Dongbyul, or both of them, were in the cave. So does that mean..?
Chung Myung passed through the illusion spell like it didn't exist.
They stared at each other. Dongbyul, this bastard, was the same as ever— except the luxurious silk robes Chung Myung had gave him was replaced with a Mount Hua disciple uniform; Except his horns had grown and curled and branched out regally; Except his eyes, which had mellowed down from motlen gold to warm honey, welcomed Chung Myung with all the grief and longing unable to be expressed.
Chung Myung's breath hitched. He throws himself at the dragon without a second thought. They hugged, something they thought they'll never do again, for the first time in a long time.
--
When Dongbyul woke up, the first thing he recalled was destroying all of the demon sect invaders with purifying fire.
He couldn't move any part of his body. He couldn't even feel anything. It was like he's awaken in a void, with only his consciousness intact.
It hurts. Everything hurts.
His dragon core was still weak, but he was sure at some point it was depleted of energy, and his body had shut down to focus solely on repairing it.
Dongbyul wasn't sure how long had passed before he was able to move. Even then, his entire body was sluggish and unnatural, like it was trapped in sticky honey. He pulled himself into a lotus position and tried to cultivate. Every drag of breath hurt his chest.
With no other choice, he used some of his energy to shape his body into a child's. Although the initial morph would deplete his energy further, a smaller body meant lower energy usage, which meant more energy would be stored rather than used.
More time passed. Dongbyul does not move untill he was certain his dragon core was stable.
And the first thing he does after going outside? Charm and hypnotize an unfortunate Mount Hua disciple on patrol.
“How many years has it been since the defeat of Cheonma?”
“35 years,” the disciple had said.
“The Mount Hua sect still stands?”
“Yes,” the disciple had said.
“Did..” Dongbyul hesitated. “Did anyone return from the war?”
“No one was left unscathed,” the disciple had said.
(That disciple was, in fact, Hyun Sang.)
--
“..You're telling me, you are Dongbyul and Dongryong at the same time?”
“I won't say that exactly. It's more like, I absorbed his soul, and traces of him live on inside me.”
“What, that's the same thing!” Chung Myung guzzled down the liquor he's hidden in Dongbyul's den almost 150 years ago. Since the dragon doesn't drink liquor, Chung Myung just knew it was still there. Though, he was sure he had hidden more bottles..
“I must.. apologize,” Dongbyul's face turned pink, “For everything I've said and done. When I'm in the form of Dongryong, my impulses and thoughts seem to be more.. brash.”
Chung Myung smiled a demon's smile that made Dongbyul shiver slightly.
“Dom't worry, Byul-ah~ I won't hold it over your head.” But his evil chuckles said otherwise.
Dongbyul cleared his throat and turned away, clearly embarrassed.
“Anyways,” he coughed, “As you can see, I can use human techniques better as Baek Cheon. The dantian I received from absorbing him enables me to take energy from there instead of my dragon core, which means less heat buildup. There's still a limit to it, however.”
Chung Myung thought back to the events that occurred at the conference.
“I had my suspicions after seeing that.”
“I got too excited. I really wanted to win no matter what, and I know that is the very thing Baek Cheon wants. A win against his terrible past. A closure of some sorts.” Dongbyul put his hand against his heart.
The child that had fallen through the illusion spell and landed right in front of Dongbyul. The child that had bruises mottling his limbs and neck. The child, dehydrated and malnourished, on the brink of death. He had taken his last breath in Dongbyul's arms, a stranger that had no relations to him. What a pitiful way to end.
After mulling over his options, Dongbyul decided to continue living Jin Dongryong's life for him. Taking on the child's face and body, Dongbyul officially entered the Mount Hua sect as a disciple.
(Dongbyul had never had any human interactions beyond Chung Myung (and sometimes, Dang Bo), so Jin Dongryong does it for him, every reaction and reply and impulse. He's never done anything to supress the thoughts that weren't his, because this was a consequence of taking on the life of another soul. That, and also because it helped Dongbyul fit in with others.)
“It's unlike you to make such a big decision after knowing a sob story. I thought you hated sob stories?” Chung Myung recalled Dongbyul dismissing his own sob story before.
Dongbyul hugged his knees. “Having a sob story when you're weak and helpless is different. Especially when you don't know if you'll ever be strong enough.”
Well, that was true. It must have been true desperation taking the reins for a child to run all the way to Mount Hua from Zhongnan.
“I will continue to work hard and find a way to break through the limitations of my body,” Dongbyul sighed.
“We could go through the book archives. I'm sure there'll be something there.”
Maybe Chung Myung knew the library better than Dongbyul. Granted he did enter the sect as Baek Cheon about 10 years ago.
“Alright,” Dongbyul agreed. He grabbed a bottle from the table and took a small sip. Chung Myung gawked.
“Our Dongbyul drinks now, hm?”
“Go away,” the dragon swatted at him with a pout on his face. It eventually turned into a small, fond smile.
“I've missed you, Chung Myung. I can't put into words how happy I am to meet you again.”
“I am, too.”
“Say,” Dongbyul slid closer, his eyes turned back to the ink green ones possessed by Baek Cheon. “How did you train the second grade disciples?”
They.. they can change, just like that?!
Baek Cheon's lax sitting position immediately became a rigid kneel as Dongbyul's horns receded back into his skull in a way Chung Myung couldn't wrap his head around.
(It's got to be an illusion spell, right? Or does this mean there's just these two extra horns inside his head? How does that even work?)
“Please, make me stronger.”
--
“What about this?” Chung Myung shoved the book into Dongbyul's face. “This is a heat expelling technique used by people in the desert.”
Dongbyul read the page, unimpressed.
“Myung-ah, imagine a desert, but five times the heat.”
“That's for your dragon core! This could be useful for you to execute the plum blossom techniques!”
--
His wrist was bleeding. Everything was getting too hot. His joints and limbs were getting stiffer. But after so long.. Baek Cheon gripped his sword. I can do it!
In the core of Mount Hua, there is a dragon.
A dragon that only gazed upon the plum blossoms from afar. The same plum blossoms that had survived both the flames of both the demons and the purification.
He had been afraid. But not anymore.
Jin Geumryong watched the plum blossoms intertwined with his white petals. It blooms and blooms like it was made just to do so, to cover the skies and scatter with the winds. No matter how hard he tried to push the red flowers back, they continued to bloom— and in midst of it all, a blaze was set alight.
It does not burn the plum blossoms. No, they became one instead.
Like a sect with its disciples. Like a river with the winds. Like the plum blossoms with the Mount Hua sect.
The brilliant fire, just as splendid as the plum blossoms, resembled the rebirth of a phoenix. One that would burn for eternity, never to be extinguished ever again.
It engulfed Jin Geumryong's body. And scattered like a dream.
“..What was that?” Jin Geumryong asked quietly. His eyes were blank, as if still chasing after the lingering illusion before him.
“Twenty-Four Movement Plum Blossom Sword technique.” Baek Cheon's voice was small and firm, albeit laboured.
“Plum blossoms in full bloom”
Jin Geumryong could only smile. “Plum blossoms in full bloom. Huh.”
He saw it. In that split second as the plum blossoms of fire vanished, he saw those golden eyes that didn't belong to Jin Dongryong.
“But it wasn't just that, anymore.”
Jin Geumryong collapsed.
Baek Cheon pressed a hand against his chest, trying to use the heat expelling technique, but as soon as he drew energy from his dantian, steam started to rise from his skin and he fell to his knees.
“Dongbyul!” “Sasuk!”
Jin Geumryong would barely make out Chung Myung rushing to Baek Cheon. Dongbyul. Jin Geumryong realized as his vision darkened. He should have realized a long time ago.
..You're really not Jin Dongryong.
--
Jin Geumryong found himself walking. It was an unfamiliar place, surrounded by nothing but plum blossom trees and rocks. This isn't the way to the main sect, was his first thought. Why was he here? He's never been to this part of Mount Hua before.
On his way, he saw a small sack sitting on the flat surface of a rock. There was nothing inside but a laquered box. Inside the box was a single earring, a porcelain jasmine flower dangled from it.
Didn't Eunryong find a hairpin with such flowers a long time ago?
He decided to leave the sack as it is. Whoever left it here might come for it soon.
When he reached the end of the road upwards, he saw a little Jin Dongryong, dressed in a Zhongnan uniform that was too big for him, practising his sword in front of a cave. Every swing of his wooden sword was followed by the flap of his sleeves, revealing bruises on his thin arms.
Jin Geumryong took a step forward, and a branch snapped under his foot.
Jin Dongryong startled, looked at him, and fled into the cave.
“Wait!” Jin Geumryong couldn't stop himself from going after the boy. As if there was no choice else but to go into the cave.
The steep rocks that lead downwards was not a challenge to Jin Geumryong. But when he reached the bottom, everything was replaced with a black void. Warm air surrounded Jin Geumryong, and he shivered as a faint fragrance of plum blossoms could be detected.
“Jin Guemryong.”
He had turned around before he even comprehend it. What greeted him was a man at least a feet taller than him, which did not include the horns that glowed crimson at the tips, curving elegantly. And for the third time, gleaming gold eyes stare down at him, with none of the hatred or determination from before but with a cold indifference.
A dragon in Mount Hua. The plum blossoms floating in a sea of fire. Dongbyul.
From behind him, a small head peeked out.
Jin Geumryong knelt down to take a better look at him. Has he always been this small..? His cheeks are sunken and his wrists were so prominently delicate against the black robes of the dragon. Jin Geumryong reached out, but Jin Dongryong shrinks back, eyes wide.
Brainwashed. Coveting something that would never truly be theirs.
His hand dropped, finally defeated.
“..Thank you for taking care of him.”
Little Jin Dongryong looked up at Dongbyul. They had a silent conversation, before Jin Dongryong reached out too, dropping something onto Jin Geumryong's lap.
A Zhongnan forehead ribbon. Jin Geumryong was unable to look away from it for a moment.
The three of them had similar forehead ribbons given to them by their father. To distinguish between the three forehead ribbons, there were different symbols on each. Jin Geumryong's eyes traced over the flower engraved on this particular one.
When he found the strength to lift his head again, he found Baek Cheon in place of Dongbyul and Jin Dongryong.
Baek Cheon looked like Jin Dongryong, but had features of Dongbyul at the same time as well. There was no more rivalry, no hatred, just unfiltered melancholy and sorrow.
They were both free.
Even when he couldn't see it, he could feel the void shake and crumble. Every part of him screamed danger, yet he could only stare straight ahead as Baek Cheon turned, prepared to walk away and ahead on his own way.
“Walk on the right path from now on, big brother.”
Baek Cheon spared him a glimpse of smile before a white glare blinded Jin Geumryong.
--
Jin Geumryong woke up with a start. The entire arena was silent, save for some whacking noises that came over and over. He turned towards the source.
..Lee Songbaek..?
--
Dongbyul soared through the skies with Chung Myung on his neck, holding onto his horns.
Dongbyul's flight cut through clouds and sliced waves into the lakes of Mount Hua. He soared as if he never wanted to land ever again. He felt every brush of the winds against his body as if it would be his last.
Chung Myung pressed his cheek against the crown of Dongbyul's head, fully trusting him with his life.
“Byul-ah, one day when I'm not around anymore, promise me you'll continue to protect Mount Hua.”
Even when Chung Myung couldn't see it, Dongbyul's eyes crinkled with fondness.
“What are you saying? Of course I will. I'm a disciple of Mount Hua sect after all.”
--