The Heiress's Comeback-Chapter 421: [ Volume 1] Chaper 420- Black dragon

Her eyes lingered on Ray before she turned her gaze to the others. "Have any of you ever wondered how strange it is? Even though your brothers weren’t the ones bonded to the Divine Beast, they could still speak to you through telepathy. Doesn’t that strike you as... unnatural?"

At that, Jay looked toward his brothers, his expression mirroring Ray’s—quiet, thoughtful, and burdened. Of course he’d thought about it. As a scientist, he had always entertained the possibility, and he had even run his own research—countless times. But no matter how deeply he dug, the condition behind this anomaly remained elusive.

Still, despite the unanswered questions, it had been a blessing in its own way. The Divine Beast, shattered into four fragments, had bonded with four individuals. And in that fracture, there was mercy. Its power, once concentrated and volatile, was now divided—less likely to harm them. Their training, their connection to life force, was far less intense than that of a sole bearer.

"The reason you’re not overwhelmed," she explained gently, "is because your life force is only sustaining a quarter of the Beast’s essence. You’re not burdened like the others who carry an entire Divine Beast alone. That’s why your bodies haven’t collapsed under the strain."

A moment passed in silence before she continued, voice softening with purpose. "Now that you know of the five major Divine Beasts... let me tell you about the other four."

"You know," she began, eyes fixed on Ray, "as a mer... having a divine beast is rare. Exceptionally rare. And though you four aren’t the only ones, you are among the very few. The rarer the spirit, the rarer the beast. That’s something the organization always feared."

She paused, letting her words settle before continuing.

"You may have heard... a beast mirrors the nature of the spirit it possesses. It might be a hundred thousand times stronger, sharper, faster—but the core... the core reflects that spirit."

She glanced at him again. "Take the serpent for example. A black serpent’s poison could paralyze even another beast. Its coils can crush, suffocate, and dominate. But it’s not just about power—it’s about essence. What it is inside."

Her voice grew softer, yet more intense.

"But there are five divine beasts... five that stand above the rest. The rarest. The most sacred and dangerous. The White Dragon. The Golden Dragon. The Black Dragon. The White Tiger. And the Eagle."

At the mention of the last one, a hush fell. Esme’s mother looked around at the stunned faces before continuing.

"When a child is born into a divine beast family, and their soul resonates with the family beast, the beast marks them. Chooses them. It passes its strength—its legacy—into them. It becomes one."

She breathed in slowly.

"But when both parents carry a divine beast... things become more complicated."

Her eyes lingered on Ray.

"Divine beasts are like bloodlines. They know. They understand that without a host, they fade. Lost. Locked away for who knows how long. So when they sense a worthy soul... they fight for it. They claim it."

She stepped closer to Ray.

"About eighty years ago, the White Dragon lost its owner. Its soul shattered. You must understand—when divine beasts awaken their full consciousness... they don’t just protect. They possess. They merge. They become part of you—your soul, your life, your death."

Her voice grew hollow, shadowed by pain.

"And when its chosen died... the White Dragon didn’t just mourn. It broke."

The room fell silent.

"But even then... the White Dragon didn’t disappear. Its fragments survived. Hidden. Drifting. Waiting. And we all know which twisted family got their hands on it."

She clenched her jaw, then looked back at Ray with hard eyes.

"He always knew his beast was powerful. But he didn’t realize it was one of the five. The Eagle returned to the Aron family. The White Tiger—Beom—went to my great-grandmother in the Valhale family. She bound her soul to it, made a deal few would dare."

She took a breath, and then her next words struck like lightning.

"And the Black Dragon... it bound itself to my husband."

Gasps. Disbelief. Even Ray took a step back.

"And Esme..." her mother whispered, voice breaking slightly, "was caught in the middle."

"She was born into a war of beasts."

"Beom and the Black Dragon both chose her. Both wanted to bind with her soul. The fight between them wasn’t physical—it was spiritual. Violent. Unrelenting."

Her voice dropped, haunted now.

"She was healthy at birth. Perfect. But the moment we brought her home, she started vomiting blood. Her body broke down. No medicine helped. No spell worked. We didn’t understand it then, but now we do."

"She wasn’t sick. She was being torn apart—from the inside out."

Esme’s mother continued, her voice shaking with the memory.

"We tried everything," she whispered. "From the oldest grimoires to the deepest curses, from dumpers to ancient issues dug out of forgotten vaults... but nothing helped. Her condition only worsened. Her body was failing."

Her lips trembled. "If it went on like that... she wouldn’t die—no, not immediately. But she might. She could’ve slipped into an endless coma, lost between worlds. And no one could say when—if—she would ever wake again."

She paused, eyes glassy.

"So, in one final act of desperation... we went to see my mother. Our last hope."

Her voice turned softer, reverent almost.

"She gave us a book. Old. Fragile. Passed down from my great-grandmother... the original master of Beom, the White Tiger. Within those pages... we found something. A cure." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

She turned to her husband. A smile tugged at her lips—fragile, meant to comfort—but it barely reached her eyes. His own were red, swimming in unshed tears.

"You see... the only way to ensure Esme’s survival was to merge her with one of the divine beasts. Not just bond. Merge. And the second beast... would become her partner."

The room fell silent.

Ray froze. So did the others.

Her voice lowered, brittle but unshaken.

"At first, we considered merging Beom into her. But the compatibility between Esme and the Black Dragon... it was undeniable. It was too strong to ignore."

"So... the Black Dragon was merged into her."