Chapter 6: A Name Given by a Mortal

Geuma held out the Dragon Orb respectfully with both hands.

When Jawoon reached out and touched the orb, it melted into his palm and vanished.

Eyes closed, Jawoon gathered the orb’s energy into a light between his index and middle fingers, then pressed them to his chest before raising his hand.

As his fingers moved, the light traced a long tail through the air, following their motion.

Jawoon’s hand moved slowly from the limp snake’s tail to its head, and the light from his fingers seeped into the young snake’s body with each pass.

Where the light touched, the wounds covering its body began to fade bit by bit.

After a while, not only the large and small wounds, but even the deep gash on its head disappeared, leaving only faint scars.

When the light from his hand finally faded, Jawoon and Geuma held their breath and watched the small snake.

How much time passed?

The motionless body twitched, then began to tremble slightly.

Its breath had returned.

Geuma let out a short sigh.

Jawoon lightly clenched his empty hand, then opened it.

There, on his palm, lay the Dragon Orb, its glow now noticeably dimmer than before.

Geuma quickly took it.

“As you said, it holds the energy. If time passes like this, it might become an immortal.”

“Or it might become a demon.”

For non-humans, the path to becoming an immortal and the fate of becoming a demon swallowed by resentment after failing to transcend were separated by a razor’s edge.

And most beings with energy became demons, not immortals.

Geuma looked at Jawoon.

There was no way Jawoon didn’t know something Geuma himself knew.

But Jawoon said nothing, only gently stroking the snake on his hand.

From the snake, which had regained its fading breath through the power of the Dragon Orb, emanated an energy clearer than before.

It was an energy very familiar to Geuma, added to the natural spirit energy the young snake possessed.

The moonlight, briefly hidden by clouds, emerged again and fell over them.

The snake flicked its tail, then slowly opened its eyes.

Gem-like black eyes appeared, and its drooping head lifted.

“Are you all right?”

At Jawoon’s words, the snake seemed to realize it was resting on someone’s hand.

Startled, it twisted its body and bit the finger near its head.

“Master Jawoon!”

Geuma cried out in alarm at the killing intent radiating from the snake.

But Jawoon simply offered his hand, unfazed.

“You ungrateful creature, how dare you bite Master Jawoon…”

Enraged, Geuma shook his sleeve, and a red rod about thirty centimeters long appeared in his hand.

Jawoon smiled at Geuma and shook his head.

“Enough. It just bit me out of surprise.”

At Jawoon’s words, the snake hissed and coiled its body around the arm it was biting.

It seemed to be trying to squeeze and attack its opponent, but the snake was so young that it only looked like another bracelet on Jawoon’s arm.

The snake, which had been making an angry noise, thinking it was about to be attacked, slowly released Jawoon’s hand once it realized its body no longer hurt.

Two red spots on Jawoon’s index finger began to bleed.

Jawoon brought the wounded finger to the snake’s forehead.

The blood that flowed from his finger soaked the snake’s body, then seeped in and disappeared.

Perhaps it felt warmth from that blood.

The snake no longer hissed or showed wariness; it simply lowered its head, letting Jawoon’s touch stroke it.

“May I read your memories?”

The snake closed its eyes as if it understood Jawoon’s words.

Then a blue energy, different from before, flowed from Jawoon’s fingertips and touched the snake’s body.

The snake was being chased by people.

Even when it slipped into the grass or tried to climb a tree, the humans did not let it go.

The loud, chaotic sensations of being pursued furrowed Jawoon’s brow.

The snake ran, chased, until it was cornered at the edge of a cliff.

In the confusion, it forgot that this was Thousand-Li Cliff, and fell straight down.

There was the scent of flowers.

Several blossoms struck its body.

The cold rocks and sharp vine leaves of the cliff tore its black scales.

At some point, the young snake lost consciousness.

And when it came to, it saw, in a hazy world, a red and blue, enormous being holding it.

Jawoon read up to the moment the snake regained consciousness in his hand, then pulled his hand away.

The snake slowly opened its eyes and looked up at him.

Its black eyes reflected Jawoon’s image.

“You went through something terrible.”

The snake flicked its tongue, then rested its head against Jawoon’s hand.

And closed its eyes.

It looked as if it were leaning on his hand to rest.

Then it happened.

Jawoon, who had been stroking the snake, suddenly staggered and sat down.

The snake coiled around his arm fell to the ground with him.

“Master Jawoon!”

Geuma’s voice rang out across Cheonryeongji.

Cough, cough…

Jawoon coughed violently, head bowed.

Blood spilled onto the ground with each cough.

Jawoon reached out a hand as if to soothe the startled Geuma.

But even his fingertips split and began to bleed.

It was the aftereffect of the seal he had barely been holding down.

There was no way the price for restoring a severed life would be light.

The shock that returned as payment raged through his body, and as a result, Jawoon’s energy, which had been maintained only by a thread, collapsed.

After vomiting blood for a long while, Jawoon coughed up a surge of black energy.

It was part of the energy Hyeonmu had given him during healing.

Jawoon was so weakened that he could not even accept the energy of another of the Four Gods.

Geuma desperately supported him.

Red blood spread over Geuma’s red robes, as red as the fabric.

“I will take you into Cheonryeongji.”

Jawoon nodded weakly.

Leaning on Geuma, who came only up to his waist, Jawoon was nearly dragged into Cheonryeongji.

Geuma stepped into the water and shouted, stomping his foot once with a great force.

“Gwimyeong!”

After a moment, a giant turtle approached the water’s edge swiftly from deep within Cheonryeongji.

Geuma laid Jawoon on the turtle’s back, then lightly jumped into the water.

Once submerged, Geuma became a goldfish with red fins swaying, and led the way, with the turtle following slowly behind.

As the turtle moved, Jawoon’s blood traced a red path that scattered into the water.

And the black snake, drenched in Jawoon’s blood, watched Jawoon disappear from the shore, its black eyes glittering.

‘Neungso.’

At the call, Neungso turned around.

The ends of his short hair swayed and bobbed.

Were humans truly such beings?

So beautiful, so radiant?

Though he had stayed long in the lower realm, the Blue Dragon had never interacted with humans.

To the Blue Dragon, humans were nothing more than beings to be guided and led according to the god’s will, to keep the path from straying.

The Blue Dragon did not know the difference between humans and the countless small creatures filling the four directions.

Certainly, not until he met Neungso.

The Blue Dragon found every action of Neungso mysterious: his breathing, speaking, laughing, crying, getting angry.

When he looked at him, he could feel his heart, which had long forgotten its existence, beat.

He had always wondered why the god had created hearts in the bodies of the Four Gods when they were unnecessary.

But after tens of thousands of years, he finally understood the reason.

‘Lord Blue Dragon.’

Neungso seemed to think for a moment, then spoke.

‘Does the Blue Dragon not have a name?’

‘My name?’

‘Yes. I want to call you something closer than Lord Blue Dragon.’

At the words ‘call closer’, the Blue Dragon blinked slowly.

‘Do those who are close call each other by name?’

‘Of course.’

He knew that beings with intellect distinguished each other through names, but that was all.

He had never attached any meaning to it.

The Blue Dragon tried to think of someone he was ‘close enough to call by name’.

Neither the Heavenly Emperor nor the other Four Gods had exchanged names, despite knowing each other for so long.

They were just beings who existed together.

So he had never needed a name, and thus did not have one.

‘…I have no name.’

As he said it, the Blue Dragon hesitated.

Somehow saying that felt shameful.

It was not easy to admit that he, the master of the eastern sky and land, lacked something.

Neungso, too, seemed surprised, his eyes widening.

‘Then what do those around you call you?’

‘They call me Blue Dragon.’

‘Then is that your name?’

Everyone called him Blue Dragon, or Lord Blue Dragon.

But was that a name?

The Blue Dragon was not sure.

If those close to each other called each other by name, then the title ‘Blue Dragon’ was used by everyone to address him.

Suddenly, the Blue Dragon felt displeased that Neungso addressed him the same way others did.

‘I don’t know.’

At the vague answer, Neungso tilted his head, then rolled his eyes as if thinking for a moment.

Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, Neungso spoke cautiously.

‘Then… may I give you one?’

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