"Then go die!!!"

Kwon Jiyong slammed Lee Chaerin onto a wooden pillar and the impact made it crack, shaking the roofing of the entire dining hall, making ashes and debris fall. Kwon Jiyong lost himself in anger as scenes of Ara's horrifying death flashed before his eyes once more.

On the other hand, Lee Chaerin was already throwing up blood, but she still tried to plead him to spare her even just a moment. Surely, she was prepared to die in his hands, but not until she explains things clearly to him.

"P-p-lease... Listen to me..." Lee Chaerin said in between her ragged breaths, clawing Kwon Jiyong's arms as she struggled to break free. "Please... T-this concerns... T-t-hat woman..." she pointed at Sandara's unconscious form. Kwon Jiyong immediately threw her down the floor, making her cough out more blood.

"Speak!" Kwon Jiyong snarled at her, his body emitting fumes while fingers slowly turning into sharp claws. His neck started to form scales, and a pair of fangs started to protrude from his mouth. But after Kwon Jiyong's vicious attack, Lee Chaerin was too weak to even open her eyes. Still, Kwon Jiyong didn't even feel even a bit of guilt. Instead, he charged towards her and strangled her once more, his sharp claws burying into her skin.

"Speak!!!"

But Lee Chaerin had already fell unconscious as Kwon Jiyong continue to tighten his grip around her neck. Just imagining how Ara slowly lost her breath when she hung herself was enough to add fuel to his rage. He was going to make her suffer the same pain!

Not too long, he saw a flash of movement in the corner of his eyes. Distracted for a moment, he followed its direction, but like a sudden bolt of lightning, he felt it attack behind him and no matter how quick his reflexes were, the presence was so much faster than him. He was able to dodge the attack which seemed to aim at his nape, but instead, the back of his shoulder was hit, making a part of his wound rupture and send blood gushing out of it once more.

While he tried to regain composure, a man in flowy light blue robes whose face was hidden behind a mask appeared before him, while the old woman who was with Lee Chaerin that morning rushed to help the latter.

Kwon Jiyong was beyond furious to even mind these nuisances. Preparing to make the man pay for interfering him, he lunged forward and attacked him but surprisingly, the man only flew up and ran outside. Kwon Jiyong sprang to his feet and followed the man until they both ended up at an empty courtyard.

"Reveal yourself!" Kwon Jiyong ordered but the man only looked at him with disappointment.

"Were you planning to use your remaining years for revenge???" The masked man in blue robes asked with so much authority. "If so, we are very much disappointed with you!!!"

Kwon Jiyong was immediately rooted to his spot, and soon his cold-blooded form returned to its human-like features. Though in a few days it would be summer, today still counts as spring. The blue celestial dragon guards the season. He sized up the man, carefully considering his features and it was then that he realized he had an azure stone on his forehead, his long hair flowed softly as his blue robes fluttered in the air. His presence exuded authority, higher than any royalty, greater than any great dragon elder.

To this, Kwon Jiyong lowered himself on his knees upon realization.

"Blue celestial dragon..." he mumbled under his breath.

"Young... you only have a year and a few months before you become a great dragon. Are you going to waste your earlier years of struggle for this? Is it worth it?"

"She was one of the people who killed Ara. She didn't do it herself... but she played with Ara's life along with Lee Seungri and Hyuk and made her suffer so much! The Dark Den gave her false hopes and interfered with the white celestial dragon's plan to save her! Had she let Ara be... Had they let her be..."

"Ara... in her human form, would have eventually died." The man spoke and if not for his great control, his voice would've faltered. Still, he continued. "You know that. Besides..." The man with delicate eyes held back for a moment, as if he found his next words hard to say out loud. "Besides, isn't it enough she's with you right now?"

Kwon Jiyong looked up to him with so much confusion in his eyes.

"She was Ara before. She is Sandara now. And you have this precious chance of meeting her again. Aren't you grateful for it?"

"She is not Ara. That woman isn't Ara!" Kwon Jiyong insisted. He refused to believe. Besides, whether Ara or Sandara, what do they have to do with him?

"In the future, you will understand. You will need her soon. You wouldn't be able to ascend without her. That woman would keep on being reborn until she serves her purpose to you. If you waste your chance to ascend, you are also going to waste her efforts."

It was easy to comprehend what the blue celestial dragon was saying, only that a part of him refused to allow it to sink in.

If he was going to accept this fact, then doesn't it only amount to him using Sandara?

And most of all, he still couldn't take the fact that Ara, in such a way, was Sandara as well. Ara was way too different, completely different from Sandara. How was he supposed to forget Ara and their memories together? And how is he going to face Sandara now when his conscience was blaming him for not being able to protect her in her previous life?

Sandara was innocent, way too innocent that he couldn't bear to reveal things to her in one go. And now, it seems there were even more secrets he needed to hide from her.

"Young... Learn from the past and pay attention to the present. That woman had suffered so muc