Sovereign of the Infinite Clones [Novel] Chapter 446

My Alter Ego’S Path To Greatness Chapter 446

***

The Dragon Pearl of the Yellow Dragon (1)

Deep within a cave, there was a shrine that had been prepared.

“Confession Cave isn’t simply a prison where we lock up yokai who have committed crimes.”

The woman with long blue hair neatly tied up, Azure Dragon, slowly walked forward as she spoke in a gentle voice. Following closely behind her was the small-bodied Horus, who kept turning his head from side to side as he looked around.

Various ritual implements such as sacred ropes, bells, mirrors, and swords had been placed here and there.

Amidst them, the memorial tablets placed at various spots subtly asserted their presence. Azure Dragon eventually stopped and carefully took something out from her robes.

—Taotie, one of the Four Fiends.

She stared at the memorial tablet, from which a powerful energy emanated, for a moment before carefully placing it in an empty space within the shrine.

And after a short while. The newly prepared spot had become nearly indistinguishable from the others around it.

“Yokai are beings who are born with supernatural mysteries within them, using supernatural abilities as naturally as breathing throughout their entire lives. Forcibly restraining beings like that consumes a tremendous amount of energy. The more criminals we imprison, the greater the burden we have to bear.”

“Whoa—.”

It was an incredibly inefficient arrangement.

The moment someone violated the rules and was brought here, they had already caused considerable damage to Geumo Island, yet maintaining the prison required even more resources.

Wouldn’t it be much more efficient to simply kill them all?

‘We’d even be able to obtain rare materials more easily that way.’

The downside was that the organization’s cohesion would inevitably suffer.

Unless someone had committed an incident so serious that everyone could agree they deserved it, it would be difficult for anyone to feel attached to an organization that slaughtered and butchered its own kind.

Fortunately, Geumo Island, which could arguably be called the greatest authority in the martial world when it came to sorcery, had found a solution to that problem.

“The principle is simple. Instead of using our own power, we draw upon the prisoners’ demonic energy.”

The idea was to forcibly drain them of their energy until they were weakened, then use that energy both to suppress the other yokai and to operate the Illusion Formation, a rehabilitation program.

Thus, every yokai sealed within Confession Cave could become one another’s shackles.

“And whatever energy remains after that is stored away and used whenever we need it?”

“As expected of Horus. You’re quite clever.”

Azure Dragon smiled warmly, gently ruffling his hair before taking out a piece of confectionery from somewhere and putting it into his mouth.

In other words, Confession Cave was essentially a prison, rehabilitation center, and power plant all rolled into one.

“And it has been tremendously helpful recently as well. We had to expend an enormous amount of energy just maintaining the balance of a world that was already on the verge of collapse.”

Considering that they could hardly trust those who had already been sealed away for causing trouble, this was the best solution they had.

Most of the energy required to operate the Illusion Realm was currently being supplied from here as well.

“So, Horus? Why did you want to come here? There isn’t really anything here that should interest you.”

After finishing her explanation, Azure Dragon, the administrator of Confession Cave, looked down at Horus with clear eyes as he munched on his confectionery.

Although she had readily agreed to his sudden request, she was clearly curious about why he had wanted to come here.

“Munch, munch— Ah, well…”

Horus scratched the back of his head while looking around at the bleak surroundings.

In truth, there wasn’t any particular reason he had wanted to inspect this place himself.

He simply wanted to see it with his own eyes in case something here might become an unforeseen variable in what he planned to do next.

‘I never imagined the [Yellow Dragon’s Orb] would be something like this.’

He recalled the prerequisites necessary to activate the special reward and carefully chose his words.

The instructions that had naturally been imprinted into his mind alongside the system message contained all sorts of troublesome conditions, but there were three particularly important ones.

The first was Horus himself, the one who had achieved the great feat of becoming the savior of the martial world and had received the special reward as the ‘Last Yellow Dragon.’

The second was the enormous amount of energy they had just confirmed.

And lastly…

“…You want me to bring the Dragon’s Child to the Dragon God Temple?”

Azure Dragon slightly furrowed her brows.

The Dragon God Temple was practically a sacred land reserved exclusively for dragons, a place where even members of Geumo Island’s leadership were forbidden from entering without permission.

Even if she was the ‘Dragon’s Child,’ she was still human. So hearing a request to bring a human into such a place was bound to make even the gentle Azure Dragon feel some resistance.

But Horus was confident. Once she heard his reasoning, she would have no choice but to agree.
And that confidence soon became reality.

“…My goodness. Let us immediately convene a meeting of the Five Dragons.”

The moment she heard the reason, Azure Dragon put everything else aside and acted.

The Five Dragons were all busy with their respective duties, but when their normally calm colleague urged them so forcefully, they had no choice but to drop everything and come running.

“What is it, Azure Dragon? Why did you call all of us here so urgently?”

The woman with short red hair, Scarlet Dragon, complained irritably.

“A meeting of the Five Dragons at a time like this… Has some major problem arisen?”

The white-haired man with long white hair, White Dragon, spoke calmly as the eldest among them.

“Hi, Horus! We haven’t had time to see each other because we’ve all been so busy. You’re still adorable, aren’t you?” Even Black Dragon, the girl with long black hair braided down her back and curiosity shining in her eyes, greeted him warmly.

But their individual reactions gradually began to converge as Horus continued explaining.

Confusion.
Distrust.
Shock.
And finally, a glimmer of hope.

“Then I’ll take it that everyone agrees.”

At Azure Dragon’s words, everyone nodded.

Thus, only a few minutes after the emergency meeting of the Five Dragons had begun, the proposal to allow the Dragon’s Child, Jegal Hyemi, to enter the Dragon God Temple was unanimously approved.

“Hoo…”

Jegal Hyemi nervously walked forward. She couldn’t help it.
She had been separated from the rest of her group and summoned here alone, in this unfamiliar place known as the Illusion Realm.

‘And in a world filled entirely with yokai…’

But she wasn’t particularly frightened.

After taking a deep breath, she confidently strode forward without hesitation.

She had an unwavering belief that even if danger befell her, someone would definitely come to save her.

Just as they always had.

“Here! This way!”

As she continued forward without hesitation.

A young voice came from the end of the passage.

When she looked over, she saw a little boy who appeared to be only six or seven years old, waving his hand at her.

‘A child?’

He was an extraordinarily beautiful little boy, almost like a doll, with brilliant golden hair and golden eyes rarely seen in the Central Plains.

“Ahem.”

The boy raised his chin proudly and puffed out his chest. For a moment, he was so unbearably cute that her mind went blank.

But as the Dragon’s Child, she could keenly sense his presence and instinctively realized the true identity behind that adorable appearance.

Surprisingly, this wasn’t their first meeting.

“Yellow Dragon…? Could you possibly be Lord Yellow Dragon?”

The very same Yellow Dragon who had erased all of Beijing with a single attack during the war against the Demonic Cult. The very same Yellow Dragon who later presided over the ritual for her and the other Dragon’s Children.

“Mhm! You recognized me? From now on, I’ll be your guide, so just follow me quietly!”

That was the true identity of the little boy currently strutting ahead, his tiny shoulders raised proudly.

She couldn’t bring herself to even ask him a question and simply followed behind him in silence.

‘…This can’t be real.’

She swallowed nervously, clenching her restless hands.

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before opening them wide again and fixing her gaze on her guide.

‘That terrifying Yellow Dragon is this adorable?!’

As he toddled along with his tiny feet moving busily, she couldn’t help but relax her lips into a smile and become completely captivated by him.

It was almost as if she had been bewitched by some wicked yokai.

The passage they were walking through was filled with beautiful works of art, but none of them even registered in her eyes.

‘I want to pat his head.’

Skin as white and smooth as glutinous rice cake, soft hair that swayed like golden silk.

His tiny head bobbing from side to side, his little arms and legs moving energetically.

She could almost imagine a warm, sunlit scent emanating from him.

‘So children are naturally this adorable.’

Having spent her entire life secluded deep within the Jegal Clan, she had rarely had any opportunities to interact with children.

Even after recovering her health, she had mostly encountered the darker side of the world.

Perhaps that was why Horus, who radiated an atmosphere as bright as the sun simply by existing, left such a strong impression on her.

‘If I had a child of my own… Could I give birth to a child that cute?’

It was a wish she had thought could never come true until recently.

But now, it wasn’t merely a dream anymore.

‘Yes, surely my child would be adorable too. It’s not as though I have bad looks myself. And as for the father…’

Perhaps because of the kidnapping incident that had happened only recently.

All sorts of fantasies began racing through her mind.

Eventually, she imagined what their child might look like by mixing their facial features together, then nodded in satisfaction with her flushed face.

‘Yes, they’d be beautiful no matter how I combine them. Oh, wait. What about names? Should I start coming up with one boy’s name and one girl’s name now? Gasp! What if we have twins?!’

Jegal Hyemi began fretting over the possibilities with a bright red face.

Horus, who had been explaining the situation while guiding her, turned around and blinked.

“So you don’t need to worry too much about… Hm? Are you okay? Are you feeling sick?”

His call finally pulled her out of her own little world, and she hurriedly looked up.

Naturally, she hadn’t heard a single word of what he had been saying.

“I-I’m sorry. Could you say that again? I was lost in thought for a moment…”

“Mm! It’s okay! That can happen when you’re nervous.”

The boy nodded maturely despite his appearance, then crossed his arms and smiled confidently at her.

“Well, putting all the complicated stuff aside and getting straight to the point…”

He raised one finger and continued in a lively voice.

“We’re going to make a baby now!”

“Whaaaaaat?!”

For some reason, Horus tilted his head at her reaction, which was far more sensitive than he had expected.

Her confusion lasted only a moment.

After Horus resumed his detailed explanation, Jegal Hyemi understood the circumstances and returned to her composure as she fell into thought.

‘A new Yellow Dragon…’

A baby. It meant a baby dragon.

In other words, this was a project to resurrect a true Yellow Dragon in the martial world, rather than Horus, who was merely a fake Yellow Dragon.

“Here, Horus. I searched everywhere, but it seems these are the only two we currently have. There might still be some intact ones somewhere in the Central Plains, but…”

“This is enough for now! We can’t hatch them all at once anyway! We can calmly search for the rest and increase the number one by one.”

“…Then we must devote ourselves completely to recovering them.”

***

The Dragon God Temple.

It was located at the heart of a stone mountain shaped like a gigantic coiled dragon. After guiding Jegal Hyemi inside, Horus took the object White Dragon handed him, his eyes shining.

A circular orb that glowed blue as though it contained the clear sky itself.

Inside, a vivid golden radiance flickered like flames—or perhaps waves—emanating a powerful presence and mysterious beauty.

‘The Yellow Dragon’s Dragon Pearl.’

It was the remains of a dragon that had lost its life in an unforeseen incident.

And now, it was a medium that would become an ‘egg’ capable of bringing forth new life.

‘I’d expected the [Yellow Dragon’s Orb] to have something to do with a Dragon Pearl, but I never imagined it would be this literal.’

Come to think of it, considering that the Dragon God had intervened in this special reward, perhaps it was only natural.

As long as the Yellow Dragon remained absent, it was difficult to say that this world had truly returned to normal.

‘Well, I don’t mind. I can’t keep looking after the martial world forever, either. It would be better to leave behind a proper solution before I go.’

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

Regardless of the circumstances, [Yellow Dragon’s Orb] was his special reward, so if this succeeded, there would be considerable benefits for him as well.

“It seems everything is ready. Then let’s begin the ritual. I’ll leave it to you.”

After speaking to Horus and Jegal Hyemi, White Dragon transformed into his dragon form and soared high into the sky.

He then joined the three dragons already waiting above, with each taking their respective position.

Azure Dragon in the east.

Scarlet Dragon in the south.

White Dragon in the west.

Black Dragon in the north.

[All right, let’s get this started!]

And standing at the center of the altar prepared in the middle of the Dragon God Temple was Horus, who had polymorphed into a gigantic Gold Dragon using the [Elder Dragon’s Heart].

Until now, they had been somewhat disorganized because survival had been their highest priority during the disasters, and they had never properly inherited the responsibilities of the previous generation.

But in truth, the Five Dragons, as direct descendants of the Dragon God, each had their own role.

The calm and rational Azure Dragon was the administrator and judge of Confession Cave.

The warlike Scarlet Dragon was the vanguard who actively dealt with conflicts from outside.

The calculating White Dragon, who disliked risk, was the administrator overseeing the organization’s affairs.

The sinister Black Dragon was the judge responsible for gathering intelligence from outside and eliminating traitors.

‘And the Yellow Dragon could be considered the priest who symbolizes the connection with the Dragon God.’

A powerful aura flowed from Horus’s body.

Of course, since he was merely treated as a Yellow Dragon through an improvised arrangement rather than being a true Yellow Dragon, he couldn’t completely fulfill the role of priest.

Ghoooooooo—

The one who filled that deficiency was the ‘Dragon’s Child.’

Jegal Hyemi, the shaman who was both proof of the miracle of the world’s restoration and an apostle directly sent down to the mortal world by the Dragon God.

“…Mmm.”

A heavy groan escaped her lips as she knelt and prayed, holding a Dragon Pearl in both hands.

‘My body feels like it’s going to burst.’

The enormous amount of energy that had flowed from Confession Cave all the way here was being sucked into the Dragon Pearl in her hands all at once, along with the other dragons who had become pillars of the ritual according to their respective directions.

Horus, as the Yellow Dragon, was controlling most of it, but it was impossible for the burden not to affect her, standing at the center of the ritual.

‘No. I’m still okay. Compared to back then, this is nothing!’

Compared to the moment she had reunited with Ha SeungHoon after being kidnapped by the Demonic Cult.

Compared to when she had become possessed by the Dragon God while bestowing her blessing upon him, this was still bearable.

Back then, her consciousness had been swept away before she could even do anything.

‘I’ve received so much from everyone! I have to at least do this much!’

And who knew?

Perhaps she might even receive some special ability from the dragons through this event.

Having developed an even stronger desire for power so that she wouldn’t become an obstacle to Ha Seunghoon after what had happened recently, she gritted her teeth and tightly grasped the Dragon Pearl.

At that moment.

Crack—!

A cracking sound escaped from within her hands.

As its name suggested, the Dragon Pearl was an artifact containing the power of strong wishes.

It was a renowned manifestation of mystery, so famous that some even claimed it could grant any wish.

And now, wasn’t the entire ritual being influenced by the system’s special reward, [Yellow Dragon’s Orb]?!

The result of all these factors coming together was enough to twist the laws of this world to a certain extent and bring about a miracle.

Crack!

Through the cracks spreading across the broken Dragon Pearl—

[Kyahooong!]

Along with a faint cry that escaped from within the fissure, a tiny yellow head suddenly poked out.