The earth opened its mouth.
To the legendary being that still lived.
At the time when Emperor Terramont of the Terra Empire and the black dragon Marinus of the Aqua Empire stood facing each other.
While all eyes were upon them, Terramont spoke.
“As you already know, I will introduce myself again. I am Terramont, Emperor of the Terra Empire, guardian of the center of this world.”
Marinus silently looked down at Terramont.
Terramont continued.
“First, I will apologize. The yellow dragon Montanus, whom I summoned, once attacked Aqua. Though it, too, was brought down, countless Aqua forces were sacrificed in the process. You know well that it was not something I ordered.”
Wariness and silence coexisted within Marinus’s eyes.
It continued to listen to Terramont without a word.
“The reason I came to find you is to tell you of the world as it has flowed until now. From our respective positions, we have each spread our own energy toward this world. And all of us have suffered countless clashes with one another. Fortunately, none of the energies have been extinguished. The fact that the world has not yet walked the path of destruction is thanks to the sacrifices of the other dragons.”
Marinus quietly gazed at Terramont.
Terramont’s words continued.
“Even now, the world is in chaos. At some point, cores combining two attributes began to appear, and because of them, things surpassing the existing energies are emerging in this world one after another. As time passes, even I cannot be certain what kind of beings will be born from them.”
For a moment, a stillness fell as though the waves had ceased.
Terramont’s gaze looked deeply into Marinus.
“And so, we have decided that our goal is integration. Amid this chaos, we must gather as one. When the five energies of the world gather in one place, the world’s balance and harmony will finally be set right. I am not trying to command or order you. If there is anything you can do for us, and further, for this world, I ask it of you. So that we may stop this world’s chaos.”
Marinus’s eyes trembled briefly.
It said nothing.
And when Terramont turned as though he had finished speaking, that enormous body also slowly changed direction.
Terramont turned away first, but to those watching nearby, it looked as if Terramont and Marinus were turning back almost at the same time.
After facing each other for so long, when Terramont returned without any unexpectedly great clash, his retainers were relieved.
“Your Majesty, a-are you all right?”
Gaia asked.
Latos, too, asked him, as though some of his tension had eased.
“Your Majesty, how was it? You saw Marinus right before your eyes…”
Terramont answered briefly.
“It ended well enough. Now all that remains is to return to the center.”
Once the confrontation with Marinus ended, Terramont’s party did not linger.
The retainers looked back at Marinus one more time.
Indeed, Marinus was also entering the sea of Aqua without hesitation.
The retainers had many questions, but for the moment, they decided not to speak.
Terramont’s steps headed straight for the center, and the retainers and soldiers quietly followed behind him.
Only after they entered Terra’s border did Gaia speak.
“Your Majesty, what did you see from Marinus earlier?”
Terramont answered.
“Well… perhaps a kind of awakening. A sense of responsibility to stand against the world’s chaos. I think I saw resolve and responsibility in Marinus’s eyes.”
Latos then said,
“I believe dragons are beings summoned onto this land with a mission toward the world. But the world seems likely to become even more disordered from now on, so I sincerely hope the dragons will safely protect this world. The problem is that we still do not know what kind of beings will emerge from the dual-attribute cores…”
No one responded differently to his words.
To be precise, no one could give him a definite answer.
This time, Gorban watched Terramont’s expression and asked,
“Your Majesty, I thought things had become difficult to turn back from the moment Ignis created the golden core, but I am curious whether the world is still flowing as Your Majesty intended. Your Majesty delivered cores to the surrounding empires and induced the fusion of dual-attribute cores, and as a result, every kind of dual-attribute core has now appeared. However, the world is still unsettled. The other energies are still each expanding their own bulk while looking for chances to invade one another. How should we coordinate their forces?”
Terramont answered simply.
“We now walk the path of integration.”
That was the goal Terramont had concealed even from his retainers until now.
Latos was the first to catch on.
“By integration… do you mean all our energies gathering as one?”
“You could see it that way.”
Terramont answered calmly.
“We will discuss the details again after we arrive.”
A short while later, they arrived at the fortress.
Terramont and his three retainers entered the underground meeting room, and Gaia was the first to speak.
“Metalum now seems to have completely taken control of the lake and is conducting research on it. Is that also part of the integration process?”
Terramont nodded.
“It is. In the end, someday, Metalum will also create Aqua’s core, and then they will be able to produce crystal cores without any restrictions.”
Gaia asked again in a flustered tone.
“Then what on earth is becoming of this world? Wasn’t the beginning of chaos the very act of seizing another empire’s core and producing cores with two combined attributes? And now, even after seeing them freely produce another empire’s core, do you intend to leave them be?”
The cores of each empire were no different from their identities.
The wave core was Aqua’s core alone, in which the energy of water was concentrated, but before long, once Metalum began producing wave cores, their unique essence would be damaged by that much.
Terramont maintained only a calm attitude.
“Their greed has already entered a state where it cannot be stopped. The more that is so, the more we alone must protect our beliefs. Do not covet the other attributes, and maintain the world’s balance and harmony solely with the energy of the earth.”
He then asked Latos,
“What cores are currently stored in the core accumulation room?”
Latos answered.
“We have acquired all single-attribute cores, and among dual-attribute cores, the geyser core, lava core, and iron ore core are stored.”
Terramont said to his retainers,
“There are still seven types of dual-attribute cores remaining. One of them is the crystal core. If Metalum begins producing crystal cores, we should be able to obtain at least one from them.”
Gaia asked,
“How will we obtain it?”
“We need only go to their lake and receive one. In a situation where they can produce Aqua’s core with peace of mind, surely they will grant a request of that degree.”
Terramont’s words meant exactly that: they would go to Metalum and bluntly demand a crystal core.
As the retainers looked at one another, Terramont changed the subject.
“We will continue to watch Metalum’s movements, and Ignis has also been making some unusual moves recently. Are you aware that Ignis has come a little closer toward us?”
Gorban answered as though he had been waiting.
“Yes, that is correct. They, too, discovered a certain forest. According to the mutually generative relationship, flames rise even higher in the forest. It seems Ignis now intends to develop around that forest.”
The atmosphere inside the meeting room sank once more.
Gaia said in a low voice,
“Honestly, Ignis is the bigger problem. They know nothing of restraint. They have already invaded Silva’s land and arbitrarily seized Silva’s core once before. If they succeed in producing Silva’s core this time, they will abuse that core even more.”
The retainers lowered their heads and fell into thought.
Terramont, on the other hand, did not appear greatly concerned.
“Ignis was always like that. If it is for their purpose, they do not care about means or methods, and they advance straight toward that goal. But even they do not always commit reckless acts. After suffering greatly at Metalum’s hands, they do not seem to have any intention of approaching Metalum for the time being.”
Terramont rose from his seat.
He slowly lifted his head and looked up at the ceiling.
He was standing toward the south.
As if trying to sense Ignis’s movements from the earth.
After a brief silence, Latos asked Terramont,
“Your Majesty, earlier on the way here, you mentioned integration… What is integration?”
Terramont turned toward his retainers.
“We must have been one in the beginning. The qi that moved as one was, at some point and for some reason, divided into five, and each scattered into this world. Each energy found a different path according to its own characteristics, but our earth alone can embrace them all. If imbalance and disharmony cannot be prevented, then we must become one again.”
His words were like a declaration.
“The world is chaotic because of the mistake called greed, but rather, that is creating the path this world is headed toward. At times, there is no small possibility that the direction of that path will be twisted, but the dragons will set that direction right. As Montanus did, as Aureus and Nemorensis did, Marinus, who still remains in Aqua, will also fulfill its role.”
Only then could the retainers roughly guess what Terramont had said to Marinus.
Latos quietly asked Gorban,
“Has a dragon still never appeared in Ignis?”
“That is what they say.”
Terramont then left behind one short sentence.
“From now on, that path of integration will begin again from Ignis.”
Terramont’s words were meaningful.
The retainers repeated his final words inwardly.
He moved toward the exit leading to the surface.
“Now then, shall we find out whether Ignis is doing well?”
“Yes…?”
Gaia also slowly rose from her seat.
“A-are you going to Ignis now?”
“I am. Let us all find out about their situation together.”
The retainers glanced at one another, then followed Terramont up to the surface.
They were planning to move together to that forest located in the southwest.
Gaia shook her head slightly.
“I truly don’t know how Ignis will react when they see us.”
Latos, on the other hand, seemed somewhat interested.
“Is there any particular ill will between us right now? Thanks to whom was the geyser core born?”
“Can we obtain that ember core or whatever it is by visiting them like this as well?”
“That much, I do not yet know.”
The reason Terra was collecting exactly one of each core had not been clearly revealed.
That, too, was likely part of the plan of integration Terramont spoke of.
The ownerless forest Ignis had taken over was burning more and more as time passed.
The fuel for the fire was not disappearing at all.
Therefore, they too would soon be able to produce life cores to their hearts’ content.
And to that forest came a group of steadfast beings.