Yue and the giant suddenly came to a halt beside a towering natural stone pillar. Both of them had sensed that something was watching them.
Not with a piercing gaze.
Nor with hostility.
But with an aura so heavy, exhausted, and hollow that it weighed upon the soul.
Golden eyes lay partially concealed beneath the shadow of folded obsidian wings.
The giant glanced toward the dragon before giving a slight nod, as though he, too, had realized that Shen Long was slowly beginning to listen to the conversation they had been having.
"Perhaps... he's finally starting to accept your presence, Little Fox."
From beneath the veil of his wings, Shen Long closed his eyes once more.
Slowly.
Steadily.
Like someone trying to shut the entire world away.
Yue watched the dragon in silence.
Somewhere within that silence, she sensed something painfully familiar—a feeling of having lost something that could never truly be explained to anyone else.
The dwarf giant was about to speak again.
But the words died in his throat when Yue turned toward him with quiet determination.
"I... want to try talking to him again."
The giant's eyes widened.
After a brief pause, he nodded and stepped aside, silently giving the Huli Jing room to approach.
Yue offered him a faint smile.
She bowed politely.
Then hurried toward Shen Long, whose golden eyes were now completely shut.
She leaped across jagged cave rocks that jutted upward like the claws of some colossal beast. Her footsteps landed softly upon the damp stone, each one stirring wisps of pale mist that drifted into the frigid air before dissolving.
Her final leap brought her directly before the two-headed dragon's enormous snout.
Or rather...
The one-headed dragon now.
Yue swallowed.
Then took a deep breath.
"Shen Long..." she called softly.
The dragon's wings did not move.
But she knew he had heard her.
"I didn't come here as an admirer."
She struggled to steady the tremor in her voice.
"And... not as someone who wishes to disturb you."
Silence.
Then, ever so slowly, one golden eye opened.
Not fully.
Only enough to peek through the darkness.
Yet it was enough to tell her that he was listening.
Yue gathered what little courage she had.
"I came..."
She lowered her eyes for a moment before meeting the dragon's dim ember-like gaze once again.
"...as someone who has also experienced loss."
The golden eye did not blink.
Yet something within it shifted.
A silent acknowledgment.
Yue inhaled deeply.
"I-I know you lost one of your heads..."
She hesitated.
"...and with it, your Soulfire."
Her gaze drifted to her own tails.
Only eight remained.
This time, she made no attempt to hide them.
"And I..."
She swallowed again, as though trying to force down the anxiety lodged deep inside her chest.
"Perhaps losing a tail seems insignificant compared to what happened to you."
Her voice softened.
"But to me... a tail is precious enough that I can only imagine it being comparable to losing your own brother's head."
Shen Long released a slow breath.
It was no longer the breath of fire.
Only a cold, heavy exhale, like the scent of rain-soaked earth.
"What is it you're truly trying to say?"
His voice carried nothing but fatigue, as though he answered only because he respected the courage of the fox spirit now standing within arm's reach of his colossal jaws.
"I want to know..."
Yue paused.
"...how you learned to accept such a loss."
She drew another breath.
"Or..."
"...are you still searching for the answer yourself?"
For a long while, Shen Long finally opened his eye completely.
Its golden radiance was far dimmer than Yue had ever imagined.
"No one knows how," the dragon murmured.
"Not even me."
The words fell like a stone into still water.
Quietly.
Yet the ripples echoed endlessly.
Yue felt her chest tighten.
For the first time in her life, she had heard an answer that neither tried to comfort nor deceive.
Only a simple truth.
And perhaps because it was so simple...
It hurt the most.
Shen Long slowly turned his head, as though gazing toward something impossibly distant.
"Perhaps... I've stopped trying to hate my fate."
A quiet pause.
"Instead... I'm simply trying."
"Trying, over and over again, to accept it."
The dragon slowly closed his eye.
And for the first time, his voice no longer sounded like the ruler of the heavens.
It sounded like someone who was simply trying to find the way home.
Yue clenched her jaw.
Because that answer still failed to satisfy the question that had haunted her heart.
Not even close.
The dwarf giant emerged once more from behind a towering stalagmite.
His footsteps echoed gently this time.
No longer hurried.
His expression was peaceful—the kind of peace possessed only by those who had just heard a painfully honest answer.
He let out a long sigh that resonated throughout the cavern.
"Impressive, Little Fox. Look."
Yue turned toward him as he spread both arms.
Then she looked back at Shen Long, who was peeking quietly from behind his folded wings.
"You actually managed to get that gloomy dragon to talk."
A faint smile appeared on Yue's face.
Whether because of the compliment...
Or because relief had finally begun to settle inside her...
Even she wasn't sure.
"I... still don't know if that was the answer I was looking for," Yue whispered.
"But at least..."
"...I heard something from him."
The dwarf giant smiled gently.
Yue continued.
"But... that's progress, isn't it?"
This time, her smile grew wider.
The giant answered with a long sigh—not one of resignation, but one of genuine relief.
He cast Shen Long a brief glance.
"Well..."
"Perhaps the dragon is also trying to come to terms with the new fate that has been thrust upon him."
Shen Long, who had unintentionally overheard those words, felt the corner of his mouth lift ever so slightly.
For a dragon whose face was as large as a fortress...
It was unmistakably a smile.
"See? He's already looking better!"
The giant laughed first.
Yet there was no mockery in that laughter.
Only warmth.
Watching the exchange, Yue couldn't help but feel her own heart grow lighter.
The giant took another deep breath, trying to settle the lingering laughter still tickling his stomach.
"Alright then..."
"Come on."
"I'll escort you out of this place."
Yue accepted the offer.
She gave Shen Long one last respectful nod before he retreated once more behind his wings, lost in thought.
The giant turned to leave.
But before he could take another step—
A terrifying laugh erupted from somewhere deep within the cavern.
It thundered through the darkness.
Deep.
Overwhelming.
The entire cave trembled as stalactites shook violently, sending showers of dust cascading from the ceiling.
Yue flinched.
The fur along the back of her neck stood on end.
Her remaining tails instinctively drew close together.
"W-What... was that?" she whispered.
It wasn't merely laughter.
It sounded more like thunder intoxicated by bloodshed.
Shen Long slowly raised his head.
Annoyance immediately clouded his eyes.
"Him..." he growled.
A heavy breath escaped nostrils as wide as castle gates.
"They say..."
"...he'll be the next representative of Mythology."
Even the giant released a rough sigh.
For the first time since Yue had arrived, the towering figure looked visibly uneasy despite his immense size.
The laughter came again.
Louder.
Closer.
Until the cave walls quivered like the beating heart of some monstrous beast.
"W-Who is he?" Yue asked, instinctively taking half a step backward.
Shen Long opened his eye completely.
There was no respect within it.
Only irritation...
And caution.
"Dasamuka," he said flatly.
"Dasamuka."
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Each colossal footstep shook Yue's small body like a series of miniature earthquakes.
From the darkness came the cracking sound of enormous skulls, turning in unison toward them.
The laughter drew nearer.
Its echoes now rebounded from the stone wall behind Yue.
"W-Who... is he, really?" she asked, her body trembling.
Within the darkness, her honey-gold eyes caught sight of a silhouette even larger than the giant standing beside her.
All eight of her tails stiffened at once.
The footsteps grew louder.
Each one carrying the weight of an earthquake.
Then, emerging from the shadows, came the silhouette of a colossal giant...
With many heads.
Each one swaying to a different rhythm.