The battle with the Arcane Dragon had ended,but Lee Do-hyeon and Reina still found themselves repeating the words it had left them.
"Those who understand the Arcane… have reason to remain here."
That single phrase was not mere praise.The Arcane Dragon had seen through their strength—and their potential for growth.
For a long while, Do-hyeon was silent. Then he turned to Arknan and asked,
"But how did the Arcane Dragon know what we wanted… without us even speaking?"
Arknan rubbed his chin, his voice thoughtful.
"It might have to do with the nature of Arcane magic itself."
Reina raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Nature?"
Arknan extended his hand, summoning a faint magic circle in the air.Threads of magic, almost invisible, wove through the air like strands of silk.
"Arcane is unlike other schools of magic.What we call elemental magic—fire, ice, earth, wind—it all draws on specific elements.But Arcane? Arcane is closer to pure energy.It isn't bound to a form—it's potential itself."
Do-hyeon crossed his arms, turning over the words in his mind.
"Pure energy… so it can take any shape?"
Arknan nodded.
"Exactly. Some theories even claim that if Arcane hadn't existed first,no other elemental magic would exist.In other words—Arcane might be the origin of all magic."
Reina's lips curled into a faint smile.
"So you're saying magic was born from Arcane—and then splintered into fire, frost, lightning, and the rest."
Arknan's eyes glimmered as he continued.
"We can't know for certain, but Arcane is fundamentally different.It doesn't just conjure flames or ice—it bends space and time.Some say it even touches the future.
If that's true, then the Arcane Dragon didn't need to hear our words to know what we sought.It could simply… see it."
Do-hyeon's gaze sharpened with realization.
"So when it felt we'd understood the Arcane,it judged we were worthy to remain in its domain."
Arknan flicked his fingers, the small magic circle scattering into shimmering dust.
"Exactly. Not because you're powerful,but because you accepted the flow of Arcane.That's why the dragon acknowledged you."
Reina fell silent, thoughtful.During the fight, she had felt something—a thread connecting her inner energy (내공) to the Arcane's current.
'The flow of qi I cultivated in the Murim… and the flow of Arcane—they're not so different.'
Do-hyeon, too, felt the same resonance.In Murim, swordsmanship wasn't just about striking—it was about harmonizing with the flow,merging yourself with the nature around you.
And if that was true…then Arcane was not merely magic.
It was the flow of the world itself.
Arknan caught the shift in their expressions and let out a soft laugh.
"That look on your faces—you've realized something, haven't you?"
Do-hyeon nodded slowly.
"Yes… if we truly understand Arcane,we might find the key to the Ancient Dragons we're searching for."
Reina's smile was faint, but there was a sharpness to it.
"Then we should move on—to the Arcane Sanctum."
Arknan inhaled deeply, his tone turning serious.
"Fine. But remember—what you'll find there might be more truth than you're ready for."
Do-hyeon and Reina exchanged a glance, then nodded.
With the Arcane Dragon's acknowledgment,they were now one step closer to the heart of Arcane itself.
And within that truth,lay the trail leading to the Ancient Dragon they sought.
***
Chapter : The Abyss of Arcane – The Truth of the Sealed Five Aspects
The sanctuary the Arcane Dragon led them to was unexpectedly tranquil.A vast waterfall cascaded into a crystal-clear lake,and above that water floated a single, solitary island.
Lee Do-hyeon looked around and saw nothing outwardly remarkable.It felt like a piece of untouched nature, calm and unassuming.
But Reina felt something else—a strange pulse beneath the stillness.She leaned over and gazed into the lake's surface.
And then—
"This is…"
Her vision blurred.
The clear water turned a deep, ink-black blue,and within it, something moved.
Do-hyeon felt it too.
Only those who had grasped the Arcane could see it:the lake unveiled its secret—the Abyss of Arcane opening its gates.
What they saw was the past.A past that shattered what they thought they knew.
In the skies above, colossal beings tore each other apart.The war between the Titans and the Gods.
But this was no simple clash of good and evil.
The Gods were not purely benevolent.The Titans were not purely malevolent.
The Gods had sought to overturn the order the Titans had built—to create a new age.
But that "new order" was no less tyrannical.Like the Titans, the Gods too forced their vision of order upon the world.
And in the chaos of that divine war,five immense dragons fought.
They were the Five Aspect Dragons—the mightiest living creations of the Titans.
They had fought against the Gods.But in the end… they chose to seal themselves.
Reina narrowed her eyes at the vision.
"They… chose it?"
Do-hyeon's expression hardened, disbelief flashing across his face.
"The Five Aspects we're searching for…weren't forcibly sealed?They chose to be sealed?"
If that was true—why?
Was it because they had been defeated?Or… was there a greater reason?
The Abyss of Arcane gave no answer.It only offered that one fragment of the past—and nothing more.
Reina's brows furrowed in thought.
"This… this isn't the story we were told."
Even Arknan's face was grave.
"If this is real… then the Gods have hidden far more than anyone knows."
Do-hyeon spoke, his voice low.
"Why would the Gods allow them to seal themselves? Or… did they force them into that choice?"
Arknan hesitated before replying.
"Because they were a threat.The Five Aspect Dragons were the strongest of the Titans' creations.Even the Gods must have feared what they could become."
Reina stared back into the lake.But the Abyss of Arcane had gone still again.
It would show nothing more.
She murmured, almost to herself.
"Then what we must find isn't just how to break a seal…It's why they chose it."
Do-hyeon nodded firmly at her words.
"Right. This isn't some rescue mission.It's… something much bigger."
They stepped back from the lake, their minds heavy.
The truth they'd glimpsed raised more questions than answers.
If they woke the Five Aspect Dragons—what would that truly mean for this world?
And the Gods…
Had they known this all along?
Their journey now moved deeper—not just toward power,but toward the heart of truths that might unravel the world itself.
***
Chapter : Passing Through the Abyss of Arcane
The moment they stepped out of the Sanctum of Arcane, a strange sensation rippled through them—as though dimensions overlapped, reality folding in on itself.
Space warped.The sky split in half like a curtain being drawn aside.
And beyond it—
a vast structure stood in solemn silence.
Once, it had been a temple of Amalthia.Now, it had become Reina's stronghold.
Lee Do-hyeon's gaze lingered on it, and he muttered under his breath.
"Even while we were away… things have changed."
Beneath the temple, crowds had gathered—not only Reina's loyal followers but ordinary citizens as well.
The temple was no longer merely a religious sanctum;it had become a haven,a center of a new order that was quietly taking root.
Reina stood still, looking down from above.
She was no longer merely a wielder of power as she had been in Murim.Here, she was becoming something more—a figure who could replace the Gods themselves.
The Arcane Dragon hovered nearby, its voice a resonant tide.
"I have opened the door for you.Now… you must choose which path to walk."
Do-hyeon nodded slowly, gripping his sword.
"Our journey isn't over yet."
As they descended toward the temple,an ominous presence stirred far in the distance.
Something—or someone—was watching them.
From the moment they had embraced the Arcane,they had begun to draw something toward them.
And now—
that somethingwas already reaching for them.
**
Chapter : The Founding of a New Order
The great doors of the temple opened,and voices rose like a wave.
"Reina-nim has returned!""We knew you would come back to us!"
Her followers cried out, some in awe, others with tears of relief.
But their joy quickly turned to restless chatter—reports and worries tumbling over one another.
"The temple has been fully restored.""But… there were dissenters. What shall we do with them?""We've set up a new structure within, but there's still disarray.""Even the common people are showing interest in the temple now.""We've sensed movements outside—forces trying to keep us in check."
Voices clashed. No one waited for their turn.
Reina listened in silence,and then—without a smile, she gave one command.
"Choose the wisest one.Choose the strongest one."
The temple hall fell silent.
Faces turned toward one another, confusion flashing—but also understanding.
Reina stood not as a mere ruler.
Just as she had once reigned as the Demonic Queen of Murim,her rule here was not simply "power for power's sake."
It was power tempered by judgment.
"Those two will stand at the highest seat."
Her voice was short but final.Her tone, unshakable.
The confusion dissolved almost instantly.
"As you command.""We will obey your will, Reina-nim."
Oddly, there was relief in their faces.
A clear structure was comforting—
and for the people of Murim,a system led by the strongest was natural.
But here, Reina had added something new—
the strongest and the wisest, side by side.
Do-hyeon watched her, arms folded, and said quietly:
"…Your way never changes, does it?"
Reina smirked faintly.
"I do things my way. Always."
Arknan chuckled softly.
"A Demonic Sect's method… yet surprisingly rational."
And so the temple's hierarchy began to take shape once more.
No one dared oppose Reina's decree.
In fact, her followers only grew more loyal.
But even as order settled,
something else began to stir.
Around the temple's edges,a new current seeped into the air.
The domain of the Gods was shifting.
The temple no longer belonged solely to them.
Reina's power now stood in its place.
And there would be those—beings who would not accept this.
What would the Gods do?What would the other forces of the world do?
No one yet knew.