After seeking help from her parents, Noa indeed stopped having that strange dream for a few days.

Her physical condition was also gradually improving.

Yet, just as Noa thought she had completely shaken off the matters related to Primordial Power, that ancestor from millennia ago remained a lingering shadow.

Late one night, Noa was sound asleep, holding her sister Muen in her arms. She inhaled the faint fragrance of her sister’s hair and felt the warmth of her soft embrace, sinking into a deep slumber.

But before long, deep within her unconscious mind, she seemed to arrive in a strange and tranquil space.

The surroundings were ethereal. As far as the eye could see, there were dark golden walls, and beneath her feet was a still, mirror-like surface of water.

Noa stood upon the water. The calm liquid beneath her feet rippled outward in concentric circles, synchronized with her breathing.

The place was so silent that Noa could only hear her own heartbeat and the faint sound of dripping water echoing from the darkness.

“Another… dream?”

But the dreamscape she used to see never looked like this.

Moreover, Noa understood the sensations of dreaming.

Dreams felt fleeting, intangible, powerless—as though everything was right before her, and yet as unreal as if separated by the ends of the earth.

This time, however, the vividness far surpassed anything she had felt in a dream.

She began walking deeper along the dark golden corridor.

However, after walking for what seemed like a long time, the scenery around her remained unchanged.

This compelled Noa to halt her steps. She stood still, closed her eyes, held her breath, and tried to focus, attempting to escape from this dream-like place.

But when she reopened her eyes, she found herself standing in the exact same spot.

“Just where is this…?”

Noa murmured quietly before slowly crouching down.

She extended a hand, gently touching the water’s surface with her fingertips, then brought the wet fingers to her nose to sniff.

It was odorless—just ordinary water.

And yet, she had never learned the skill of walking on water, a type of magic that required precise control of one’s magical energy.

As Noa pondered, the once-calm water surface suddenly began to tremble.

She swiftly stood up, alertly observing her surroundings.

But the scene remained the same: dark golden walls and the endless gloom ahead.

Frowning, Noa immediately perceived the source of the disturbance.

“The tremor is coming… from below!”

The moment this realization struck her, the water suddenly broke apart, and a massive surge shot skyward.

Noa retreated quickly, putting some distance between herself and the torrent. Once she stabilized her stance, her right hand began crackling with lightning magic.

She kept her eyes fixed on the water curtain before her, patiently waiting for the intruder to reveal itself.

Seconds later, the water dispersed, revealing the entity that had emerged from below.

Noa’s eyes slightly widened in surprise, for the creature before her was—

The same enormous white dragon from her dreams.

“Primordial Dragon King… Noa.”

However, the Primordial Dragon King in front of her was far smaller in size than the one in her dreams.

Noa didn’t lower her guard. The crackling sound of her Chidori intensified, discharging bursts of lightning like an electric bird’s cry.

The white dragon, however, gazed down regally at the small figure before it.

After a brief moment of silent confrontation, the dragon’s majestic and ethereal voice finally echoed,

“Noa K. Melkevi, at last, we meet.”

Noa’s heart stirred, and she was taken aback as well.

The legendary hero of the Dragon Clan was a… female dragon?

What surprised Noa even more was her next question: “You know me?”

“I’ve been hidden within your consciousness for half a month—it’s natural that I know you.”

“My… consciousness?”

“Indeed. Look around you—this tranquil yet perilous golden palace is your consciousness space.”

The white dragon paused briefly, then added,

“Although I don’t know what others’ spaces of consciousness look like, yours… truly astonished me.”

Astonished?

Noa pondered the dragon’s words carefully—

"This tranquil yet perilous golden palace."

She could understand "tranquil," but the hidden "peril" left her puzzled.

Before Noa could voice her confusion, the dragon continued speaking.

“Back when I chose you at the northern ruins, perhaps it was indeed the right decision.”

“You chose me at the northern ruins?”

This statement snapped Noa’s focus back on track.

Now was not the time to idle in conversation with this enigmatic being. Noa promptly cut to the question she cared about most.

“Why are you in my consciousness? Were you the one responsible for those dreams I kept having?”

“Mind your tone when addressing me, little one. Do you realize who stands before you? I am the ancestor of the Dragon Clan, the very first Dragon Queen, the hero who ended the Dragon Clan’s civil war, and—”

“And a meddling old fool sneaking into someone else’s head without permission.”

“...You impudent brat! Do not think that just because my powers are not yet restored, I cannot deal with you. If I wish, I can still take control of your body.”

At this, Noa’s expression sharpened as if she had grasped a critical clue.

“Control my body? Does that have anything to do with why I’ve been feeling so exhausted upon waking up these past days?”

The white dragon snorted disdainfully. “Frightened now, are you, little girl?”

“Don’t call me little girl. And answer my question: why are you in my head?”

“This is not your ‘head’; it is your consciousness space. Please be precise with your language when speaking to me.”

What a nitpicky old fool.

Noa rolled her eyes and deliberately adopted a flippant attitude.

“Head, consciousness space—whatever it is, it’s mine. So, I’ll call it whatever I like.”

Her father had once taught her some negotiation tactics.

The most important rule was: never let the other party take control of the conversation. Always assert your own narrative and maintain the upper hand, even if it meant using humor or outright defiance to derail the other’s train of thought.

“You!—Very well! I will not stoop to the level of a brat like you. It is beneath my dignity.”

“Answer my question, old fool.” Noa pressed on relentlessly, her tone losing the patience of her earlier attempts.

Without a doubt, if this cryptic entity didn’t start giving her real answers soon, Noa was prepared to use force.

After all, the dragon had admitted her power was not yet fully restored.

“Why am I in your consciousness space…”

The white dragon lowered her head slowly, bringing her long snout closer to Noa. Its inverted pupils reflected the young girl’s resolute, yet slightly inexperienced face.

“I believe that compared to that red fire-breathing lunatic, you are far more suitable to become my envoy.”

“Envoy?”

“Yes. I need your body to accomplish a great undertaking. You shall be my envoy.”

“And what exactly is this ‘great undertaking’?”

“That is not for you to know.”

Noa hated riddles.

Her father was far easier to talk to than this.

But for now, Noa didn’t push the issue further. Since the enigmatic dragon clearly had no intention of revealing more, continuing to press would be futile.

So, she shifted tactics. “If you’ve been hiding in my consciousness all this time, why reveal yourself now?”

“Because of your parents.”

“My parents?”

“Your father is clever and highly vigilant. If I kept covertly using your body, he would likely discover me.”

The dragon’s voice was slow and deliberate, “And your mother—she has already mastered the Primordial Power. No matter how much I gathered power using your body, if she discovered it, she would extract it from you effortlessly. All my efforts would be wasted.”

“Thus, rather than continuing to skulk in the shadows, I deemed it more prudent to confront you directly. Perhaps I can establish a cooperative relationship with you.”

Noa knew well what her parents were capable of.

And from the dragon’s revelation, she caught onto a key piece of information:

“You’re using my body to gather Primordial Power?”

“Yes. This is a crucial step in regaining my physical form and strength.”

Noa’s eyes narrowed as she processed the information, then she scoffed.

“Hah. Do you really think I’d agree to such an unfair bargain?”

“Little girl, being my envoy is a privilege. How dare you refuse?”

“Old fool, being hosted in this princess’s space is your honor. Quit trying to negotiate.”

“You insolent—!”

Her father wasn’t wrong—for situations like this, mixing banter with wit could indeed keep control firmly in one’s grasp.

It was a strategy that worked quite well.

But then Noa hesitated for a moment.

How did her father know so much about this tactic?

Wait—could it be that the super dependable married man her father now appeared to be was once just as roguish in his youth?

“You’re not afraid I’ll seize your body right now?”

“Heh.”

“What are you laughing at?”

Crossing her arms nonchalantly, Noa’s demeanor was relaxed, even carrying a hint of mockery.

“If you could’ve easily taken over my body, you would’ve done so already. There’d be no need to negotiate with me.”

“Besides, I’m not the least bit impressed by your so-called ‘privilege’ of being the Primordial Dragon Queen’s host.”

“This is my body, my consciousness. Only I decide what happens here. I’m not anyone’s puppet.”

“I don’t care about your so-called ‘great undertaking.’ I just want you out of my head.”

The ancient queen paused.

After a moment, she raised her majestic head high and gazed down at the small figure below with haughty pride.

“That is impossible, little girl. We are now an inseparable whole.”

“W-what…?”

“Constantine stripped me of all my power. It was you who stopped him at the last moment, allowing me to bind the last fragment of my soul to your consciousness space.”

The dragon switched her phrasing, referring to herself in the personal pronoun "I" instead of the grandiose "this queen."

“It was you who saved me, and for that, I am deeply grateful.”

“But you must also understand—when the Primordial Power falls into the hands of those with ill intentions, Samael Continent will inevitably face another storm of blood and turmoil in the near future.”

“Worse still… the ‘Ultimate Fear’ that has existed since the dawn of chaos will return once more.”

"At that time, you, your sisters, your mother, and your father will all die by its hand."

"And the only ones who can stop all of this are you and me—"

Noa took a step forward, ripples forming under her feet as the sound of water interrupted the white dragon's words.

"You say all this, but it's nothing more than an attempt to make me give my body to you."

"But I still stand by what I said earlier—my will and my body are mine alone. No one else has a say over them. I am not anyone's puppet."

"As for that Ultimate Fear of the Primordial Chaos you just mentioned..."

Noa slowly raised her head, her gaze locking onto the majestic white dragon's eyes. She spoke, her words deliberate and resonant:

"No matter how strong it is, my father will always surpass it."