Reincarnated as a Dragon – The path of the Dragon God

Much like the monster Henry slew just before, the Lamia’s Murux Heart was just as highly concentrated. It was entrancing to just look at it even if one could not sense Murux. The surface of the orb-shaped Murux Heart was so clear that Henry could see his own reflection in it.

His fascination with the Murux Heart’s outward form did not last long. His appetite for a stronger power overshadowed his appreciation for superficial beauty. He tossed the crystal orb into his mouth and crunched it down. Just like before, the Murux Heart melted into fluids that trickled smoothly down his throat. He immediately felt the effects spreading across his entire body.

But it was not wholly favourable. He didn’t obtain any new abilities or skills. The above-average increment in his Murux pool was all there was to consuming the Lamia’s Murux Heart.

I suppose the Lamia didn’t possess any ability that’s compatible with me…

Henry went with that reasoning. He didn’t dwell on it for long. Or rather, he didn’t have the luxury to. After all, there was a significantly perilous matter in front of him. He leaned forward and peered deep into the hole once more. No matter how much he strained his eyes, he could see nothing beyond the darkness.

This was no ordinary darkness, Henry concluded. Oddly enough, the closer he leaned into the darkness, the more he felt a certain familiar sensation. He couldn’t quite remember what the familiar sensation was but he didn’t have any doubt he knew this sensation.

As he reached his hand towards the hole, he was interrupted by a sudden visitor in his head.

“Don’t touch it!” Nadea shouted.

Henry jumped in surprise and retracted his arm. “Whoa, Nadea! You startled me.”

“What were you thinking?”

“Really? That’s your greeting after going AWOL on me for quite some time?”

“Now’s not the time for pleasantries, Henry. And if I remember correctly, you dislike pleasantries. So I’m skipping them for your sake.”

Henry smiled wryly. “I suppose I’ll take the L for this one.”

“Now, back to my question, what were you thinking? Have you forgotten what that is?”

“So my hunch is right. I don’t remember what that is but it felt familiar.”

“That’s a rift, Henry.”

“A rift? Okay, this doesn’t feel… powerful enough to be a rift. But now that you mention it, it does feel like one. But at the same time, it doesn’t… How strange.”

“That’s because this is an internal rift.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “To put it simply?”

“It’s not connected to another dimension but instead, it’s connected to another place of the same plane of dimension.”

“So, this is like a teleportation gate or something like that?”

“That would be the closest thing it resembles but an internal rift isn’t as reliable as an actual teleportation gate.”

“Wait, there’s actually such a thing as a teleportation gate in this world?”

“Of course, but it’s not a widely-accessible thing and quite costly to use.”

“Hmm… wouldn’t this internal rift make a huge stir in—”

A monster jumped right out of the hole while Henry was still in the middle of a conversation with Nadea. However, the monster this time was not Henry’s match. With a mere swing of his arm, the monster was cleanly bisected by an Aura Blade. The monster’s split carcass fell right back into the hole.

“You are correct in that regard, Henry. It would certainly cause quite a stir amongst the humans. An internal rift is a teleportation gate that doesn’t require a constant expenditure of Murux. They would see that an internal rift is unreliable but their greed would make them blind to all of its drawbacks and disadvantages.”

“Alright. I understand what this is now but… why is this happening?”

“A side effect from forcefully opening up rifts leading to other dimensions. Now, rifts like this would appear all over the world at random. And the veins you see, are byproducts of the internal rifts. They yield a high concentration of Murux. We have our unknown culprit to thank for this. Should a rift like this open up near human civilisations, it would be bad news for the world. Their greed would surely dictate them to dabble in these prospects.”

Henry sighed. “Great… Now, what do we do?”

“First and foremost, we close this rift here. And then, it’s up to you.”

“What? You’re not concerned about internal rifts popping up everywhere? You’re not going to stop the humans from taking advantage of these internal rifts?”

“I am concerned but I can’t convict the humans for something they have yet to do. If gods punish mortals for merely thinking about committing a taboo, there won’t be any mortals left in the world.”

Henry heard Nadea sighing.

“Gods are not your parents, nor your puppeteers. We can’t dictate your actions. We can only tell you what to do. Whether one would follow our words is up to themself. We can’t force you to follow. Well, not directly at least. This is what apostles are for.”

“Can’t you just order me to deal with the humans?”

“My deal with you only concerns the Demons. Humans were not part of the deal and I don’t intend to make amends to the deal.”

“How gracious of you, Nadea. Well, it’s not like I don’t understand your position. But rest assured, I will deal with the humans as much as I can. At least, I want to make sure Ulrum is safe from humans’ perversions.”

Nadea chuckled. “I knew I didn’t choose the wrong apostle.”

“Damn right, you didn’t. Anyway, how do I close this rift?”

“Just hold out your hand and imagine you’re grabbing the rift in your palm.”

Henry held out his paws towards the rift. “Okay… I’m doing that.”

“Now close your hands and imagine clenching the rift in your palm.”

Henry closed his eyes and his hand, imagining the rift to be in his palm and it was his to do with as he pleased. Unlike how he closed the rift in the first world he travelled to, he closed this rift with relative ease. There was some resistance when he closed his fist but not by much. When he opened his eyes again, the rift had disappeared and the hole was gone. There was nothing but a shallow pit remaining in the spot where the rift once was.

“Oh, impressive, Henry,” Nadea praised. “You get the hang of it quite fast.”

“Well, it’s not exactly my first time doing this.” Henry heaved a sigh of relief. Though it was easy, he did rid himself of a pesky problem. Therefore, it was only right that he felt a tremendous sense of ease. “Say, Nadea?”

“Yes?”

“Is everything alright on your end?”

“It never is, Henry. It’s just one problem after another. And the other Divines aren’t exactly making it easy for me.”

“Is there nothing I can do?”

“Close as many internal rifts as you can, that alone is already taking a lot off my worries.”

“...Don’t hesitate to ask me for help, Nadea.”

“Oh?”

“As long as the request isn’t something immoral or absurd and as long as I’m well-compensated, feel free to request my assistance, Nadea. I’m yours.”

“Well, if my very own dear apostle is offering his aid, who am I to reject it? Hear me, then, Henry. To the best of your abilities, I command you to deal with the internal rifts that are appearing all over the world, so long as it does not lead to a bigger issue than it already is.”

“Your wishes are my command, my goddess.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...Okay, let’s not do that again,” Nadea said after a brief moment of silence.

“Agreed.” Henry chuckled wryly. “That was absolutely cringe.”

****

Rayne was just going through her day like normal— normal in the sense of her current circumstances. Though she was essentially Henry’s slave, she was being treated like a maidservant more than anything. She wasn’t treated harshly or any of the sorts. She was only ordered to clean the place, do the dishes, and go hunting should Henry wasn’t available.

If anything, her current lifestyle was one that would be envied by many should anyone hear about it. However, the same couldn’t be said for the person herself. Rayne was not liking the way things were. She did not see herself as a sheep. She saw herself as a leader, a shepherd. But there was nothing she could do about it now. She had tried but she couldn’t even think about it with the slave mark on her.

And that wasn’t the most frustrating aspect of her current life. Her true discomfort was that she had to endure the nights that were constantly filled with the noises of her master and mistresses’ cries of pleasure. They were like beasts. They went at it hard and long. More often than not, they would only end it when half of the night had gone by. In rare cases, they even did it until the first light of dawn.

Yester-night was one such rare occasion. Now that there were three, the noises were even louder and the shaking was more intense than ever. She could barely sleep a wink. She built herself a small tent right outside the cave, where she slept, but it wasn’t far enough. The noises travelled far and wide. They weren’t even shy about it. Rayne wouldn’t be surprised if the other tribes ever heard the noises given the lovebirds’ intensity.

It was the third night in a row that she had not been able to sleep properly. While she was going about her daily mundane task, a pebble was in her path and she failed to notice it. Normally, it would not be of any issue to her but since she was lacking her much-needed sleep and assailed by a strange ominous feeling, that small pebble disrupted her entire balance and she fell. The dishes and cutleries hit the ground and shattered into pieces.

Rayne’s blunder caught Yula and Sarynn’s attention at once. Yula immediately came over to assess the situation while Sarynn simply strode leisurely towards Rayne.

“What happened?” Yula asked.

“N-nothing,” Rayne said, avoiding Yula’s as she knelt down and began picking up the pieces of the dishes and cutleries. “I just tripped on a pebble.”

“Are you hurt?” Yula asked once more as she knelt in front of her and took her hands.

“M-mistress?” Rayne was surprised by Yula’s action but she didn’t show it.

“Are you truly alright, Rayne? This isn’t like you. I know you’re sleep deprived but not even the lack of sleep can dull your senses enough for you to trip on a pebble.”

“You know I’m sleep-deprived?”

“...Y-yes,” Yula answered bashfully.

“Do you also know why?”

Yula nodded timidly. “S-sorry?”

Rayne sighed. “Save it. You’re my mistress. It’s not my place to tell you what to do and what not to do.”

“But I don’t see myself as your mistress though. At best, I’m just your… employer. Anyway, what happened? Surely it’s not just your fatigue, right?”

“I-I… I can’t be sure. There was a certain—”

“Yula, get behind me,” Sarynn said so suddenly as she hastened her pace.

Yula grabbed Rayne’s hand and dragged her along as she moved behind Sarynn. Yula had no idea for what reason Sarynn had such a huge sense of urgency in her voice but she soon came to know. The bushes on the fringe of the clearing began to rustle and she could pick up voices that were growing louder and louder. People were approaching them.

“It can’t be…” Sarynn muttered after sniffing at the scent wafting from the direction of the voices.

“Who are they?” Yula asked.

“This tongue… is not of Ulrum,” Rayne said. “They are speaking the Median Tongue.”

“The Median Tongue? What’s that?”

“It’s the language spoken by the humans in the northern and western parts of the world.”

“Humans? I didn’t know there were humans in Ulrum.”

“That’s because there are no humans in Ulrum,” Sarynn answered. “They are forbidden from entering Ulrum.”

Rayne straightened herself up and stood beside Sarynn. “Did the Lavans perhaps break the accord by letting the humans in?”

“That’s not very likely to happen. That would displease their Goddess. The humans most likely snuck in.”

“What should we do?” Yula asked.

“If we had more to our numbers, we’ll beat them unconscious and toss them out of Ulrum. Since we are short on numbers, we’ll kindly ask them to go back to the way they came from. If they decline,” Rayne cracked her knuckles and stretched her neck, “we will kill them.”

“Ah…”

“Sounds good to me,” Sarynn said with a chuckle. “Never like them anyway.”