Gongbok admired the True Dragon.
The most revered and sacred spiritual being, a legendary dragon that fought against the fiercest beasts that all other creatures feared.
That dragon was his father.

Though born an illegitimate child, Gongbok took pride in the fact that the True Dragon was his father.
That pride fueled his determination to reach the level of a dragon.

His mother, too, was unwavering in her belief that Gongbok was destined to be the True Dragon’s successor.
After all, he had an innate affinity for water and physical traits that most closely resembled a dragon.

He trained endlessly, pouring his soul into his efforts.
He believed that one day, his father would turn his gaze toward him.
That one day, his father would accept him and his mother into the True Dragon’s nest.

Years passed, and the moment finally came when he was granted an audience with the True Dragon.
It was the meeting of a lifetime, the one he had dreamed of every night.

His mother, trembling with joy, hugged him with her stiff arms, tears streaming down her face.
Gongbok felt the same.

They both believed without a doubt that their long-held desire was finally being realized.

But the True Dragon didn’t even know who Gongbok was.

It didn’t care.
The great dragon, oblivious to Gongbok’s existence, dismissed his mother’s claims without hesitation.

How could it be that the very world spoke of the True Dragon’s numerous descendants, yet the dragon itself claimed ignorance of such a child?

That’s when Gongbok finally understood why the True Dragon had abandoned him and his mother.

The dragon hadn’t rejected them—it had never even known they existed.

Even when Gongbok tried to explain his mother’s story, the True Dragon curtly dismissed it.
“I don’t know such a woman,” it had said, with a coldness that left no room for argument.

Hearing those words, Gongbok’s mother wept blood and collapsed, dead on the spot.
Could someone truly die just from hearing such cruel words?

No, that couldn’t be.

Gongbok refused to believe that his strong, resilient mother could perish so easily.

It was then that he realized the truth: the True Dragon had killed her.

A dragon’s words carried power.
The ability known as Dragon Speech was a form of divine authority.

It had used that overwhelming power to murder his mother—the very woman it had once loved.

And it was all because Gongbok, the illegitimate child, had sought it out.

From that day forward, Gongbok’s admiration for the True Dragon turned into burning hatred.

He loathed the being that had forced his mother to die by its own words.

Declaring himself a sinner, Gongbok withdrew from the world, consumed by guilt and rage.

Originally, Gongbok had been a spiritual being aligned with water.
But after the True Dragon abandoned him, he renounced that power.

To be precise, he succeeded in transforming it into something else.

His new power was earth and steel.

The irony wasn’t lost on him.
The one who hated dragons the most now clad himself in stone and steel to mimic their form.

Despite his desire for revenge, Gongbok couldn’t completely erase his reverence for the True Dragon.

Though he denied it, his subconscious constantly drove him to imitate the very being he despised.

Years passed as he secluded himself in the rocky mountains.

One day, a human he had known for some time came to him with a whisper: a clue about the True Dragon’s whereabouts.

Rising from his slumber, Gongbok gathered his massive form and set out with his followers.

They journeyed to the volcano, where Gongbok finally laid eyes on his father.

No.

What he saw was not the True Dragon, but a lizard that bore its resemblance.

***

Gongbok stood by, silently observing the sequence of events unfold.

He realized that the lizard before him was finally starting to exert its full strength.
Up until now, it had been holding back, distracted by its surroundings.

The creature Gongbok remembered as his father—the True Dragon—could never have been this weak.

Gongbok summoned his power over steel, reducing the battlefield to a barren wasteland.
He wanted the lizard to focus solely on him.

And then, it happened.
The lizard’s true power was unleashed.

Dragon Speech.

The same ability that had killed his mother.

Gongbok braced himself for the attack, ready to counter, but the lizard’s Dragon Speech didn’t strike him down.
Instead, it forged a single sword.

That was when Gongbok understood.
The being before him wasn’t his father.

“…Who are you?” he muttered.

Through his blurred vision, he saw scales, teeth, and the blood of a dragon.
The aura emanating from the creature was similar to the True Dragon’s—but it was far weaker.

It was then Gongbok realized that his body was trembling.

This was strange.
He hadn’t even trembled when he thought the lizard was his father.
Back then, he had been filled only with excitement at the thought of revenge and surpassing his father.

But now, as soon as he understood the lizard wasn’t the True Dragon, his body shook uncontrollably.

Was it rage at being deceived?

No.

It was something else entirely.

The True Dragon, a divine beast revered as a shinsu, embodied sacredness.
The lizard before him, while certainly a being of comparable rank, exuded no such sanctity.

Its bloodied face glared at him.

Who could call this creature a mere lizard?

Its eyes glowed with a blue light like lightning, and its white fur bristled upward as if reaching for the heavens.
Its massive claws tore into the earth, and even though it had lost one of its horns, its overwhelming presence continued to grow.

How could anyone call this a lizard?
Even a demon from the depths of hell wouldn’t possess such a terrifying visage.

“Grrrrrr…”

For Gongbok, who had lived for centuries, appearances were rarely a source of fear.
He had eradicated countless fiends and monstrous beasts in his time, even overcoming his fear of his father.

Yet this creature managed to stir a long-forgotten terror within him.

Especially the great sword in its claws—it radiated an oppressive force unlike anything Gongbok had ever faced.

While the lizard was overall weaker than him and nowhere near the strength of the True Dragon, the power emanating from that sword was nearly identical to his father’s.

It reminded him of a dragon’s fang.
Just one among the hundreds of teeth the True Dragon possessed.
But even a single tooth was sharp enough to threaten both him and the True Dragon.

It was a weapon capable of piercing Gongbok’s steel-hardened body.

“Uwooooooo!” Gongbok roared, attempting to shake off his instinctual fear.

The creature before him wasn’t his father.

But if he could defeat it, he could take one step closer to the True Dragon.

The lizard’s blue eyes locked onto him, and Gongbok made the first move.

With a resounding crash, countless spears of steel erupted from the earth, surging toward the lizard.

The lances of steel pierced its scales, ripping through its body.

Gongbok pressed his attack, confident in his strength.

The sword was intimidating, but aside from that, the creature was nothing to fear.
No—it would be strange if he lost.

Its body was already in tatters. If he kept accumulating damage like this, victory was inevitable.

Yet, a sense of unease gnawed at him.

The lizard’s body, though it should have collapsed under the relentless assault, continued to advance.

Its initial nimbleness was gone—it couldn’t even move properly without its severed tail to balance its body.

Instead of dodging, it endured the attacks head-on.

But how?

Its massive form had nearly halved in size, and the blood pouring from it had created a massive pool beneath its feet.

Still, it didn’t falter.

For a moment, Gongbok dismissed his worries as groundless.
No matter how he looked at it, there was no scenario where this creature could defeat him.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, a crushing force slammed down on his body.

A terrifying wave of energy enveloped him.

The lizard had unleashed a power akin to moving mountains and overturning the heavens.

How could it possess such strength?

Though briefly startled, Gongbok regained his composure.

No matter how strong the lizard’s sword might be, a single slash wouldn’t be enough to end him.

And even landing that single blow would be nearly impossible.

Taking a deep breath, Gongbok exhaled a stream of steel-infused energy.

The attack struck true.

The lizard’s body was covered in blood, and its legs wobbled unsteadily.

It was almost over.

Victory was within his grasp.

But something felt off.

How had the lizard gotten so close?

He had been pushing it back this entire time—how was it now within striking distance?

Gongbok’s eyes widened as he noticed the deeply gouged earth beneath the lizard’s feet.

Every step it took produced a thunderous roar.

It had been using some method to increase its weight to an extreme degree, preventing it from being pushed back.

Finally, the lizard deemed the distance sufficient and lunged forward.

Though it no longer had the agility it displayed earlier, its speed was still enough to reach Gongbok’s neck.

But Gongbok wasn’t about to let himself be caught off guard by such a crude move.

From his body, countless steel spikes erupted, prepared to impale the lizard if it came too close.

Even if the lizard swung its sword from a distance, it would only cut through steel.
If it approached, its body would be skewered by the spikes.

There was no way out.

Gongbok was certain of his victory.

Until a single petal touched his spikes.

A petal of fire.

The flower bloomed and consumed his defenses in an instant.

Through the flames, the lizard’s silver eyes locked onto him.

Clenching its teeth to stay conscious, wielding its sword with a broken arm, the lizard charged.

Its sword, enveloped in a ghostly blue light, moved with unrefined desperation.

Despite its crude swing, it was enough.

The blade sliced through Gongbok’s neck.

As his head fell, a memory surfaced in Gongbok’s fading consciousness—a tale his mother had once told him.

The brother of the True Dragon.
A being feared by all spiritual creatures.

A beast that had betrayed its kind to side with humans.
The reason spiritual beings were forced into hiding, overwhelmed by its power.

The ancient death with a tail—Gomodo.

And now, Gongbok understood why this lizard reminded him of his father.

It wasn’t a simple lizard.

It was the descendant of Gomodo.

Perhaps… even another dragon in its own right.