I stood before Tranx's castle once again.
After satisfying Strata's curiosity about what I saw, I decided to pay Tranx a visit before leaving.
Despite my lengthy stay in his settlement, he hadn't come to see me even once after our initial meeting. It was unlike him. In the past, he had rarely let a few days pass without seeking me out, yet this time he had kept his distance throughout my entire stay.
I didn't think much of it. Everyone changed with time, and Tranx was no exception.
Still...
Now that I finally possessed an art capable of peering into another's heart, I found myself wanting to understand what had become of him before I left.
The castle was just as desolate as I remembered. Aside from the occasional servant moving quietly through its halls, there was scarcely another soul in sight.
Following the dense aura radiating from within, I made my way to the training courtyard.
There he was.
Training.
He had grown considerably since the last time I saw him. His broad frame had nearly doubled in size, and every swing of his greataxe sent thick muscles rippling beneath his hide.
Heat shimmered around his body with each movement, distorting the air as though the courtyard itself struggled to withstand his presence.
I glanced down at my own arm.
Thin.
Smooth.
Utterly lacking in anything that could reasonably be called muscle.
Then I looked back at Tranx.
It was a shame <Polymorph> didn't allow its user to choose their appearance. I couldn't help but wish it had granted me a physique like his instead.
Name: Tranx Ashfox
Species: Minotaur
Attribute: Fire
Age: 35
Mana: 0
Aura: 185
Prana: 0
I studied him for a long moment.
His aura had nearly reached my own.
And he had accomplished that in less than a quarter of my lifetime.
At this rate...
He would surpass me far sooner than I had expected.
There was no point in announcing my presence. Judging by the precision with which he controlled his aura, he should have sensed me the moment I stepped through the castle gates.
Each swing of his greataxe carried enough force to make the ground tremble beneath his feet. Heat rippled through the air with every strike, and faint scorch marks spread across the stone wherever the blade passed.
The wild, explosive aura I remembered from years ago had disappeared, replaced by movements that were sharp, deliberate, and almost unnaturally efficient.
I remained where I was, watching in silence as he completed several more exchanges with the empty air. Only when the final swing came to a halt did he lower the greataxe. His ears twitched.
Only then did he turn toward me.
"Master Dragon."
"So you finally noticed," I remarked.
Tranx rested the greataxe across his shoulder. His expression remained perfectly composed, revealing nothing.
For a fleeting moment, I found myself missing the young minotaur who had worn every emotion plainly across his face. Back then, I had never needed an art to know what he was thinking.
"You're leaving?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes."
"When will you return?"
"I haven't decided." I gave a small shrug. "Perhaps in a decade... perhaps sooner."
"I see."
The conversation ended there.
He made no attempt to persuade me to stay.
He didn't ask where I was going.
Nor did he seem particularly interested in when—or even whether—I would return.
Silence settled over the courtyard once more.
Ever since Tranx had begun pursuing his dream of building a civilization, I had found him increasingly difficult to understand.
Now...
Quietly, I circulated a thread of prana into <Spirit Perception>.
The vibrant colors of the world bled away, leaving behind nothing but countless shades of gray.
Then I looked at Tranx.
A faint, almost colorless haze clung to him.
I waited, expecting the color to deepen.
It never did.
...
Interesting.
And deeply unsettling.
On my way here, I had observed countless residents throughout the settlement. Even those with whom I had exchanged only a handful of words possessed at least the faintest trace of color.
Trust.
Curiosity.
Respect.
Fear.
Resentment.
Every encounter left something behind.
Every relationship, no matter how insignificant, left its own color upon the heart.
Yet Tranx was different.
There was nothing.
Only a dull, colorless haze that spoke of absolute indifference.
For a brief moment, I wondered whether <Spirit Perception> had somehow failed.
It hadn't.
Everything else appeared exactly as the minotaur had described.
Only Tranx was different.
I would have welcomed hostility over this.
Hatred, at least, would have meant I still occupied some place in his heart.
This...
This was something else entirely.
Slowly, I let <Spirit Perception> fade.
Color returned to the world.
Tranx hadn't moved.
He simply stood there, watching me with that same unreadable expression.
"What did you do?" I asked quietly.
Tranx frowned.
"?"
"Your emotions," I pressed, holding his gaze. "What did you do to them?"
Silence answered me.
The courtyard fell deathly still, and for the first time since I had arrived, Tranx's expression shifted. It wasn't surprise or confusion.
It was recognition.
As though he had been expecting that question from the moment I walked into the courtyard.
"..."
"So..." A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You noticed."
The smile only made him seem more unsettling. It stood in eerie contrast to the emptiness I had witnessed through <Spirit Perception>, making him appear less like the Minotaur I had known and more like a stranger wearing his face.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Does this have something to do with your unnatural growth in power?"
Tranx .
A dry breeze swept across the courtyard, carrying the scent of scorched earth as the silence stretched between us.
He never denied it.
That alone was confirmation enough.
"What was the price?" I asked quietly. "Your emotions?"
"..."
The silence lingered.
I took that as a yes.
"Was that all?"
Tranx's gaze drifted toward the sky.
"Yes"
This reminds me of the Troll King and his unnatural rise to rival the Dragon Queen.
Is it related?
"Why sacrifice this much?" I finally asked. "Was the dream worth throwing your life away?"
Tranx remained silent for a long while.
"At first..." he said at last, "I believed it wasn't."
His eyes slowly drifted toward the distant horizon.
"But somewhere along the way..."
"...my mind changed."
Another brief silence followed.
"I want my legacy to endure," he said quietly. "Long after I'm gone... I don't want to be forgotten. I want my name to become a myth whispered by future generations."
I see...
For a fleeting moment, I wondered whether our conversation all those years ago had planted that dream in his heart..
Before I could voice the thought, Tranx quietly shook his head.
"It has nothing to do with what you told me. Long before we met, I already carried that dream within me."
His eyes remained fixed on the distant horizon.
"You merely gave me the power to chase it."
"I see..."
A brief silence followed before I spoke again.
"You know how dangerous this is, don't you?" I asked.
"..."
He kept his silence.
"The stronger you become, the harder it is to remain unnoticed. Power attracts power. If you continue to grow at this pace, others will eventually come—not to congratulate you, but to make sure you never become a threat."
Tranx remained silent.
"They won't allow another Troll King to emerge."
His expression didn't change.
Neither agreement...
Nor disagreement.
Only silence.
It wasn't as though I had never considered walking a similar path.
Building something.
Leaving something behind.
But in this era, anything built without strength was nothing more than a castle of sand, destined to collapse beneath the first incoming tide.
Yet strength itself carried an even greater risk.
The moment one rose too quickly or gathered too much influence, they inevitably drew the attention of those who already stood at the summit. A growing kingdom, an expanding settlement, a ruler whose strength advanced beyond reason...
Those were the kinds of things that invited extermination long before they could mature.
It was a game with only two endings.
Remain weak and lose everything.
Or grow strong enough to be hunted.
Neither outcome suited my goal of living a long life.
After a long silence, I gave a small nod.
"I hope... you succeed in achieving your dream."
Tranx said nothing.
He merely inclined his head.
That alone was enough.
Without another word, I turned and walked away.
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