Does the Butterfly Effect Really Exist? (21)

My name is Dark Dorgel, and I am a human, a human who has lived in the Dragon Clan Secret Realm since birth.

Every day when I open my eyes, I can see white clouds drifting past the tip of my nose, because the secret realm I am in is built on the top of a mountain.

According to the elders around us and the dragons who protect us, the mountain we are on is the main peak of the Montes Mountain Range — Sakureta. That is why our Dragon Clan Secret Realm is called Montes Sakureta.

Because of its high altitude, Sakureta offers no scenery other than snow-white clouds. However, the people within the realm don't care about this, because apart from me, no one else is interested in the world outside. Actually, it's not that they're uninterested, but rather that they dare not mention it.

This is because there is an ironclad rule in our secret realm: no one is allowed to leave the secret realm or inquire about the outside world. Otherwise, they will be expelled from the clan by the elders and never allowed to return.

At first, many people objected to this rule because everyone has a sense of curiosity, especially us children. But later, most people gave up their curiosity because when I was seven or eight years old, an older boy broke this rule, bringing a huge disaster to the tribe.

To this day, I still remember what happened that day clearly, because on that day, my parents were killed by those tin monsters that broke in.

Those tin monsters were originally going to kill me too, but just as their sharp claws were about to pierce my skin, a snow-white divine beast descended from the sky and saved me from their clutches.

Those tin monsters that we couldn't even scratch despite our best efforts crumbled at the slightest touch in front of the snow-white divine beast, just like snowmen built in winter! In less than a quarter of an hour, countless tin monsters were all wiped out, and the secret realm was safe again.

Just as I was about to thank the divine beast, I discovered that it had already left.

Afterwards, the Grand Elder told us that those metal-skinned monsters were actually humans from beyond the secret realm, and they had a special name—soldiers! Our ancestors moved to this realm and established that ironclad rule to escape the soldiers' pursuit and plunder. As for the divine beasts that saved us, they were the masters of this realm—the great dragons!

From then on, we stopped focusing on the dangerous outside world and instead spent our time and energy discussing our respective guardian dragons. Since we didn't know the names of the dragons that saved us, and simply calling them dragons would easily cause confusion, we started referring to the dragons that saved us as our guardian dragons.

Later, as we grew older, our love for dragons only increased, but we rarely spent time discussing them anymore. Since the invasion, the dragons had left their lair and moved in with us, and everyone was busy playing with their own guardian dragons, so naturally, there was no time to talk about them.

However, I did not join the group of people playing because I had not found my own snow-white divine beast.

Watching others play with their guardian dragons, I felt incredibly wronged and lonely. So I gradually distanced myself from everyone and stayed in my room alone, researching things that were uniquely my own.

Then, the curiosity I had cast far away returned to my heart, and with its return, the question that had been lurking in my mind resurfaced. Not only that, it also drew all my attention to it.

Even so, I didn't rush to leave the secret realm, because I didn't want to relive the painful experience of that time. So I carefully observed the terrain to see where I could safely leave the secret realm.

It took me about two years to finally find a safe route in and out. Just as I was about to test my theory, my snow-white divine beast suddenly appeared before me.

However, he was not in good condition; he seemed to have caught a bad cold, as a string of clear snot was constantly hanging from his nostrils.

After talking with him, I learned that after saving me, he left the secret realm to meet his friend, a dragon named Belserion. Because he hadn't seen him, he had been waiting there, which was why I hadn't been able to find him. Later, another friend told him that Belserion had already left via another path, and he realized he had been stood up, so he angrily rushed back.

After hearing his story, I immediately fell to the ground and burst into laughter, because the image of a giant dragon with two big snot hanging from its nose squatting on a mountaintop waiting for someone was just too hilarious.

Later, like the other guardian dragons and their protectors, we became best friends. As I blended into the crowd, I reintegrated into the group, and that returning curiosity once again fell dormant.

Time flies by like water, and in the blink of an eye, I've grown into an adult and awakened magic. Acnologia told me that not everyone can awaken magic; only a few exceptionally gifted individuals can do so. And indeed, that's true; there are only a handful of people who have awakened magic throughout the entire secret realm.

The only downside is that my magic is rather useless; it can't be used in combat, nor can it help my companions solve life's problems. However, Acnologia doesn't think so. He finds my magic very useful because it can help alleviate the pain of the injured.

Maybe he's right! But I hope I never have the chance to use it, because then no one will get hurt.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Not long after I awakened my magic, it came in handy, and it was used on Acnologia.

That day, Acnologia went out on patrol as usual, but when he returned, he was covered in wounds.

Aku told me that while on patrol, he encountered a group of merchants being chased by dragons. He intervened and saved them, but the dragons were too powerful, and there was more than one of them, which is why he was so badly injured. Later, he learned from the merchants that the dragons were Evil Dragon from the Western Continent, who specifically hunted humans.

Upon hearing this news, Aku decided to personally go to the Western Continent to investigate, but fearing that I would worry about him, he rushed back to tell me.

I knew I couldn't stop him, so I could only do what I could to help him, such as stopping the bleeding from his wound.

In the end, Aku left and never returned.

Not long after Aku left, the other dragons in the secret realm also departed. It was said that the Evil Dragon of the Western Continent were about to attack Ishgar, and they were heading to the battlefield to fight the enemy; Aku was waiting for them there.

After the dragons left, our lives became much quieter, but at least they were peaceful and happy. And our lives weren't entirely without fun, because the Grand Elder, who were in charge of liaising with the outside world, would occasionally bring out some fruits and dried meats that we had never seen before and share with us good news from the front lines.

But these pleasures could not make me forget my longing for Aku, so I often prayed in my heart that Aku would come back soon.

Fortunately, my prayers came true; unfortunately, my prayers came true!

"Ah!"

A gasp rang out, followed by a disheveled figure sprang up from the flat pile of straw, greedily inhaling the cold air.

Looking up at the waning moon in the sky, the boy clenched his fists tightly and cursed, "Damn it! Why did I have that dream again!"

After cursing, the boy turned his gaze to the northwest, stared for a long time, and then silently vowed in his heart. "Acnologia, I will make you pay!"

As if his curses had been heard, a loud dragon roar came from the northwest, followed by several huge black shadows flying rapidly from the northwest sky.

"They caught up again? They're like a persistent ghost!"

After muttering a curse under his breath, the boy hurriedly got up and fled into the woods to the side.

Just as the boy was about to enter the jungle, a dark figure suddenly burst out from within, and the two of them grabbed each other and tumbled towards the stinking ditch in the distance.

"Plop"

As expected, the two rolled into the stinking ditch, and unexpectedly, were completely swallowed up.

After engulfing the two people, the water surface rippled briefly, then quickly returned to calm, as if nothing had ever happened.

Not long after the two disappeared into the ditch, several dark figures hovered above it.

"Huh? What happened? I clearly heard that human kid here, where did he go?"

"Perhaps they heard us and slipped away beforehand!"

"Hmph! You still have the nerve to say that? If you hadn't yelled like that, would that kid have been able to escape?"

"How can you blame me? It's clearly because you flew too slowly that gave that brat time to escape!"

"If you hadn't alerted him, even if I flew slowly, we could have caught him. We wouldn't be in this situation!"

"You..."

"How?"

Seeing that the two were getting increasingly agitated, another voice stepped in to mediate.

"Alright, stop arguing! Now is not the time to assign blame. Let's hurry up and figure out where to find that human kid!"

"Hmph! Didn't someone say he could catch that kid no matter how slow he flies? Let him go find him then, I'm not playing along!"

"Hmph! It's good that they're gone; it saves us from ruining our plans by staying here!"

"Alright, alright! You're all big shots, and you're all capable, so go find it yourselves. I'm going to report back to Sacred Dragon!"

Upon hearing the third person mention Sacred Dragon, the two who were bickering instantly deflated and pleaded in unison, "No, no, no! Brother, we'll go find him right away, please don't disturb Sacred Dragon!"

"It's fine if you don't report to Sacred Dragon, but the two of you are not allowed to argue anymore!"

"No problem!"

"Let's go then!"

"Okay!"