Chapter 831: The Confusion Brought by the Unknown

A massive black dragon, fully armored, descended from the sky, sending a towering spray of water into the air over the Whitewater River. Even the citizens of Cecil—who were no strangers to strange occurrences—were startled by the spectacle. Patrols along the river and embankments quickly reported the incident to the Administrative Office, and soon the news reached High King Gawain’s ears.

Almost simultaneously with the patrol’s report, Gawain learned what had fallen from the sky. Rebecca had sent an urgent message from the district’s experimental base: the object in the Whitewater River was likely Maggie, who had suffered a mechanical failure…

It seemed today was destined to be eventful.

After soaking in the icy river for a while, Maggie finally felt the sharp pains and dizziness subside enough to assess her injuries. She tested her limbs, then pushed herself up, carefully stepping through the muddy riverbed toward the shore.

The crash had severely damaged the mechanical structure of her Steel Wings. Some of the steel joints were jammed, making her posture awkward and forcing her to expend extra effort just to reach the riverbank. From the shore, she could hear a noisy crowd and faint sounds of engines—probably from mechanical boats. She sighed inwardly.

Her fall had clearly caused quite a commotion. There were likely many onlookers, and the sound of the boats suggested that the authorities had already been alerted and sent a salvage team to assist her ashore.

Maggie considered the situation. A huge black dragon suddenly emerging from the Whitewater River, clad in intimidating armor, would undoubtedly cause a stir—especially since this area was close to the city center. Although many Cecilians knew their emperor had a black dragon under his command, and sightings of “black dragon crashes” near the suburban flight base were not uncommon, it was best to avoid unnecessary panic here.

Moreover, she had to consider the secrecy of her advanced technology.

So she abandoned the idea of coming ashore in her dragon form. Instead, she transformed underwater into her human shape, carefully gauging the crowd on the bank before finding a less crowded spot to emerge.

As for the salvage team already en route… she’d explain that later.

Near the riverbank where the crowd had gathered, at a relatively inconspicuous spot, the sound of splashing water suddenly broke the murmur. A figure with long black hair, dressed in a soaked black maid’s uniform, stepped out of the water.

Maggie’s steps were unsteady; the injuries she’d sustained in dragon form still affected her human body. She staggered onto the shore, looking disheveled, but gradually a smile spread across her face—growing wider and more joyful until she even laughed aloud.

“Mom! There’s a lady over there! She just came out of the river, all soaking wet!”

Maggie stopped laughing and turned toward the voice. Not far off, a child stared at her with wide-eyed wonder, accompanied by a young woman who looked equally astonished.

“Don’t shout! You’ll offend her!” the woman scolded softly, then nervously called out across the distance, “Miss, do you need help?”

Maggie smiled and waved her hand dismissively. Warmth radiated from her body as her drenched clothes quickly dried. She began walking toward the inner city.

Still, a flicker of unease lingered in her mind—when she fell, she thought she’d glimpsed a shadow flash beneath the water. But when she looked around, there was no sign of anything. Had she hit something? She hoped no one was hurt… At that speed and force, it would be hard for anyone to come out unscathed.

…

Inside Cecil Palace, in a room with a large water pool, the clear water suddenly churned and coalesced midair into the shape of a woman.

Betty, who was stirring the pool with a large wooden ladle, nearly dropped it in surprise. She took a step back and locked eyes with the water-formed figure.

After a brief delay, Betty realized who it was and bowed deeply. “Miss Thyr, good afternoon!”

“Uh, good afternoon…” Thyr replied, still dazed, as if she hadn’t quite processed what had happened. “That’s strange—I wasn’t in the Whitewater River… Oh no!”

A series of terrifying “near-death memories” flooded the sea witch’s water-filled mind.

Betty was startled by Thyr’s exclamation, gripping the ladle tightly as she stared at her. Thyr shuddered, her long tail curling in the water, face pale with horror. “Betty! I just got stabbed to death by an iron chin!”

Betty blinked in confusion.

“Afternoon naps are getting more dangerous these days…” Thyr muttered incoherently. “I shouldn’t have gone out. Staying inside would’ve kept me safe… Hey, Betty, by the way, has the water been getting saltier lately? How much salt have you been adding?”

…

Several dozen minutes later, Maggie returned from the crash site and approached Gawain.

“I heard about it,” Gawain said, setting aside the documents he’d been reading. He gave the dragonborn woman before him a curious look. “You were testing Rebecca’s ‘Steel Wings’… and it failed?”

“I encountered a mechanical failure mid-flight, but I wouldn’t call it a complete failure,” Maggie replied quickly. “The takeoff went smoothly, and the first hour of flight was fine. I believe the Steel Wings are viable, but there are some design flaws that need adjustment…”

“Failure is part of the research process. I understand,” Gawain interrupted, eyeing her up and down. “How are your injuries?”

“Thank you for your concern. I’m fine now. I managed to slow down during the final descent, so after hitting the water, I only suffered some strains and dizziness,” Maggie answered seriously. “Dragonborn have strong regenerative abilities, and it wasn’t a severe injury.”

“Then you should see Pittman later and get some rest,” Gawain said, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. “By the way… what about the Steel Wings? Are they still at the bottom of the river?”

Maggie shook her head. “They’re still attached to me—in my dragon form. If you want to inspect them, I’ll need an open space to transform.”

“That’s not urgent…” Gawain said casually, but his curiosity was clearly growing. He stood up from his desk and gave Maggie another thorough look. “I’ve always been curious… how exactly does your kind’s transformation work? During the change, where do the items you carry go? I can understand personal belongings in human form, but how can something as large as the Steel Wings be hidden during transformation?”

Maggie opened her mouth but was momentarily at a loss. Then she recalled the emperor’s well-known fascination with technology. In a way, this legendary pioneer was one of the earliest technologists on this land and a founder of arcane engineering. Rebecca and her team’s endless stream of “why” questions probably came straight from him.

She felt a mix of admiration and awkwardness, forcing a less stiff smile before answering, “That involves a very complex process of material transformation. Even we dragonborn don’t fully understand it… It’s a natural gift of our kind, but we’re not exactly ‘true dragons’…”

“Some scholars speculate that dragon transformation is a kind of spatial displacement—that we temporarily store our alternate form in a pocket dimension inaccessible to others. This would explain the drastic changes in volume and mass during transformation, but we don’t fully accept this theory…”

“Another explanation is ‘elemental criticality.’ This theory suggests that the transformation reshapes the elements composing our bodies, like molding sand into different forms. We have a ‘code’ for each grain’s arrangement and can draw extra ‘grains’ from the elemental plane to form our bodies. This idea is even harder to prove and involves many untestable assumptions…”

“For my part, I lean toward the second explanation.”

She shook her head with a wry smile. “Perhaps the dragons of Tal’Rond know more—they have higher technology and greater knowledge. But they never share it with outsiders, neither the mortals of Loren continent nor us exiled dragonborn.”

The mysterious, intricate connection between dragons and dragonborn had long intrigued Gawain. But now his attention was drawn more to the unknown knowledge itself. The many transformation spells in this world had always been a source of confusion and curiosity for him—an area rune logic couldn’t fully explain. As the origin of these spells, dragon transformations seemed to hold the greatest contradictions and secrets about the “boundaries of matter” in this world.

What exactly is “matter” here? Why does the flow of magical energy cause such strange changes in matter? How can a massive creature weighing tons transform into a light, human form, as if its mass vanished into thin air? How does this process even work?

Is it a return to elemental form? Or spatial displacement?

Whatever the cause, it clearly involves the flow of magical energy, which leads to the fundamental question: what is magic itself?

If magic is essentially a kind of “wave,” how does it influence the essence of all things in the world?

Gawain furrowed his brow. His conversation with Maggie had unexpectedly stirred some intuition deep within him, refocusing his attention on the strange relationship and “boundary” between matter and magic.

For a long time, he had been preoccupied with the empire’s affairs and the continent’s complex political landscape. But this talk of transformation suddenly pulled his mind back to the edge of the unknown. Amid swirling thoughts, he couldn’t help but recall the magical tide.

A terrifying catastrophe of chaotic magic sweeping the entire world, turning all matter upside down.

His thoughts spiraled wildly, ideas recombining and connecting under the spark of inspiration. In a moment of strange insight, a bizarre notion crossed his mind:

Could the magical tide be a planet-wide “transformation spell” that reshapes all matter?

“Your Majesty?”

Maggie’s voice broke through his reverie. She had noticed his sudden silence and increasingly serious expression. Her initial uncertainty had quickly turned to nervousness. She whispered softly, pulling Gawain back from his wild thoughts.

Gawain quickly gathered his scattered thoughts and speculations, deciding to sort them out more carefully later. He then glanced apologetically at Maggie. “Sorry, I got a bit distracted just now. Where were we?”

“We were talking about the principles behind transfiguration,” Maggie replied, still a little puzzled but not pressing further. She lowered her gaze and said, “I mentioned that Tal’Rond might hold more knowledge on the subject, but dragons never share their knowledge or techniques with outsiders.”

“Tal’Rond…” Gawain muttered softly, “The homeland of My Little Pony, huh… definitely makes you curious.”

(End of chapter)