"I finally arrived at this damned place."
At the very peak of Mount Fuji, Kylen stood breathless. His legs trembled beneath him, worn from the steep climb, and his chest rose and fell with ragged breaths. The cold air bit at his skin, but it wasn't the wind that bothered him. It was the distance, the exhaustion, and the weight of what lay ahead.
He forced himself upright, pressing forward toward the mouth of the cave he had struggled so hard to reach.
The moment he stepped inside, he was struck by its beauty.
"No matter how many times I see it... I'll never get used to this place."
The interior was a surreal blend of nature and legend — sakura trees bloomed despite the altitude, their petals drifting through the air like snow. A bamboo fountain clicked rhythmically in the distance, and the sound of gentle trickling water echoed throughout the caverns. Everything felt too perfect, too untouched — as though he had stepped into the heart of a dream.
Kylen approached the small pond near the entrance. Kneeling down, he cupped his hands and scooped up a drink.
The water was cold and pure. As it touched his lips, a shiver ran down his spine — not from the chill, but from something deeper, something sacred. It felt like heaven.
"That hit the spot... Now, what was the method to open the secret chamber again?"
He closed his eyes, digging through the foggy corners of his memory, trying to recall every tiny detail.
'If only Bi Hong were here…'
Kylen sat down by the water, eyes locked on the rippling surface. The chamber he sought wasn't just a hidden room — it was the Cloud Dragon's Nest, a sacred sanctuary said to exist only at the highest peaks. Dragons, known for their protectiveness, built barriers around their nests to protect their eggs from predators.
To break the barrier… a human had to perform a ritual.
And now he remembered it, clear as day.
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"Cloud Dragon Ritual for Humans"
1. Strip completely.
(A gesture of vulnerability — proof that you mean no harm.)
2. Bow seven times, each one deeper than the last.
(You must offer your sincerity with every bow.)
3. Sing a melody that awakens the egg.
(Cloud Dragons use music to commune with their young, and the barrier remembers the sound.)
> All of this must be done facing the sky, just beyond the cave entrance.
___________________________
Kylen stood up, then hesitates.
He looked down at his clothes.
"…Seriously?"
Just thinking about it made his face burn. When he was just a player, doing this ritual in-game was funny. Stripping his character for a silly challenge, it was all harmless and fun. But now that he was here, in his character's body…
This ritual wasn't just embarrassing. It was humiliating.
He took a deep breath and clenched his jaw.
"This is for Bi Hong!"
One layer at a time, he peeled away his clothes, the cold biting more fiercely with each removal. In the end, only a single piece of underwear remained.
He stepped to the edge of the cave, facing the endless sky beyond.
And he bowed.
Once.
Twice.
With each bow, the wind began to rise.
By the third, it was tugging at his hair.
By the fourth, it howled like a beast.
By the sixth, it pushed against him like an invisible wall.
And by the seventh, it threw him back.
Kylen stumbled, nearly hitting the rear wall of the cave. The wind screamed louder now, no longer natural — the cave itself was responding.
It was working.
He staggered to his feet and took one final step forward. The moment was now. Heart pounding, he opened his mouth and let the melody flow — the same simple tune Bi Hong used to hum whenever she was happy.
The notes echoed through the cave, soft at first… then stronger, resonating like a lullaby made for ancient beasts.
And then it appeared—like a dream. A place no one could have ever imagined, though it had always been there, right before our eyes. So unreal, so out of reach, that you might mistake it for the gates of heaven.
A castle in the sky.
Kylen ran toward its towering gates, his face still burning from the ritual he had performed just to be allowed entry.
But even though the ritual was completed, it didn't mean he could put on his clothes again. Doing so would be seen as insincere—a mockery of the rite. A lie to fool the dragons who watched from the clouds.
He pressed his hands against the gate. It was so heavy, every inch it creaked open made him feel as if his muscles were being torn apart.
It took him exactly one hour to fully open it.
Inside was a vast nest of gold and gemstones. The room itself was enormous—so large it could house a population the size of a small nation.
But Kylen wasn't here for the treasure—though he would take some of it, of course. No, what he truly desired was resting in the center of the nest.
An egg.
It was the size of a basketball, glowing a ruby red so vivid it could easily be mistaken for a massive gem.
"We're finally reunited, my beautiful guide," Kylen whispered.
He cradled the egg in his arms like a newborn child. It was warm. With each second, he could feel a heartbeat pulsing through its shell.
He smiled. And he sang. A lullaby.
It was a beautiful sight—someone reuniting with the one they love.
…Though the fact that Kylen was still completely naked couldn't be ignored.
He walked slowly back out the grand doors, down into the cave he'd first entered from. He placed the egg carefully into the most comfortable spot he could find. Only then did he put his clothes back on.
And then, without looking back, he left the cave—and headed for the subway.
Climbing up a mountain had already been exhausting. But walking down with a ten-kilogram egg in his arms? That was a whole new kind of suffering.
Kylen's legs felt like they might give out at any moment. He was soaked in sweat halfway down. His chest rose and fell with each breath, the weight of it pressing down harder with every step.
But he kept going.
Because now, he wasn't alone.
To Be Continued...