The Demon King Begins (2)
“Ugh, it's cold.”
A vast white expanse. Not the empty white void from movies or books, but a forest buried under snow. So much snow piled up that no color but white was visible anywhere—a snowbound forest. How did I know it was a forest? I touched the white pillar next to me, and with a whoosh of falling snow, a tree appeared.
“A dream?”
It had to be. Right after Yuri left the house, sleep had crashed over me like a wave. What else could explain ending up alone in a bizarre place like this? A dream was the only logical answer.
I flexed my arms, swinging them up and down.
“What the—it's not working.”
Back when I'd had lucid dreams a few times before, I could fly through the sky. But no matter how much I flailed or imagined soaring upward, my body stayed glued to the ground.
Damn, I really wanted to try flying again after so long.
“What are you doing there?”
“Eek?!”
The clear, melodic voice from behind made my wildly swinging arms freeze. Ignoring the burning in my cheeks, I turned around.
“Why are you holding your arms above your head like that? What an odd fellow.”
A pretty little girl was tilting her head curiously. Her face looked a bit younger than mine—maybe around 150cm tall? Her platinum blonde hair fell to her waist, and her orange eyes didn't scream Korean. But what really caught my eye was her sleeveless white dress, in this snowy white wasteland.
“Who are you? Aren't you cold?”
“This rascal? When asking about someone else, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?!”
“Ow!”
A flash of lightning right in front of my eyes, followed by a sharp sting on the crown of my head. As my vision cleared, I glanced around wildly, but there was no one but the girl. No way this tiny thing zapped me, and she was just standing there anyway.
“Why are you gawking around like an idiot? Get your head straight.”
“You talking to me?”
“Who else is here besides you, fool?”
“You.”
“You insolent cur! Do you even know before whom you dare play word games?!”
“Ow!”
Another flash, another stab of pain on my head. But this time, I saw it. The little brat on tiptoes, whacking my crown with a wooden staff.
I blinked, and the staff vanished. What the hell? But hey, it's a dream—anything's possible. Still, why did it hurt? Weren't you supposed to feel no pain in dreams?
“I told you to snap out of it, but you just won't. Tch... You look cold anyway, and even I'm tired of standing. Let's move somewhere else.”
This time, the snap came from her fingers. In an instant, the snowy forest shifted to a temple straight out of Greek mythology comics. I collapsed onto a stone bench, groaning like I was on my last breath.
“Agh... Finally, a seat. Getting old means no strength in these legs.”
“A tiny thing like you talking about age?”
“W-What did you call me, you cur?! How dare you say I'm tiny...!”
“You're small, so I called you tiny. And who the hell are you anyway?”
I'd held back plenty. Hey, I was a fully discharged Republic of Korea Army vet.
“Forgive me! I apologize for my rudeness upon first meeting!”
Wait, wasn't this my dream? Why was I powerless while this kid conjured staffs and lightning? That first flash—was it really a bolt aimed at me?
“Indeed. You were acting strange, so I gave you a little electric shock to wake you up.”
“Who zaps a person out of nowhere like that?!”
“I am no person.”
“Quit messing around! Who are you to rampage in someone else's dream?”
“Sigh... Last warning. When asking who someone is, introduce yourself first.”
Was this brat toying with me? She looked younger—did she think she could talk down to me? Back in my day, I'd leap up and bow whenever an elder entered the room...
“My name is Seo Eunjong, 22-year-old college student.”
It wasn't surrender seeing the electricity crackling in her tiny hands. Okay, maybe I sounded like a boomer, and she had a point about introducing myself first... Wait, she said it at the same time as me.
“...?”
“Why the blank stare? Ah, calling me 'kid' in your head—that I'll let slide this once.”
“You... who are you? How did you know what I'd say? Wait, earlier I just thought about electricity, didn't say it out loud? You read minds...?”
“Now that you've introduced yourself, I'll tell you. Ahem.”
Her throat-clearing gesture, despite no Adam's apple, was kinda cute. But no, stay suspicious. Don't let the looks fool you. Who knows what else this kid might do? Better play along until I wake from this weird dream. The shocks stung, and that staff really hurt.
“I am Silt.”
“Silt? Foreigner?”
“Tsk. Did I not say I'm no person? With a head that dull.”
“Fine, not human—what then? A ghost?”
The self-proclaimed Silt—ahem, beautiful girl—continued. But could she stop sparking electricity whenever she didn't like something? Hard to think straight when scared.
“Such a whiner. If you were truly scared, you wouldn't even think that.”
“I'm the type who overthinks when scared.”
That guy's in for it, she muttered, then pressed on.
“I am Silt, the goddess who governs several dimensions, including the one you came from.”
Hands on hips, chin up—arrogant pose, totally full of herself.
“Several, but also one—think of me as the highest authority in your world for simplicity.”
“Not a person, huh?”
“Just get it!”
“Ow!”
Her wooden staff slammed my forehead. A goddess resorting to violence? No wonder inequality worsens and youth unemployment skyrockets...
“That's got nothing to do with me.”
“Let's keep it verbal from now on. No more zaps. I get the message even without the show.”
“Your thoughts and face say otherwise.”
“I'm listening and believing every word.”
“...Fair point.”
The supreme goddess Silt nodded sagely, considering the words of her inferior. She muttered to herself, then made the staff and sparks vanish.
Finally, I could breathe easy. I'd been faking calm, but I was terrified. Nearly suffocated.
“You can't die here, so no issue if you can't breathe.”
“Stop reading my mind whenever.”
“My whim.”
“When in Rome, right? It's my dream—follow my rules a bit. Or I'll just wake up.”
Fine, I'll buy the goddess bit. In my dream, anyway. But mind-reading? Privacy exists! Even a dream goddess is fictional. Playing along has limits. Fun dream or not, lucid means I can wake anytime.
“A dream? What nonsense?”
“I've known it's a dream since earlier. Make yourself vanish?”
“Oh? Try it.”
“No regrets? I'm waking up now.”
Even as I threatened, Silt just smirked mockingly. Infuriating.
“Streeetch~”
“Mmph?! What's that?!”
“Payback for teasing your big bro, you brat.”
Stretching her squishy cheeks got her summoning fireballs. Electricity at least tingled—this looked hot. Time to bail?
“Had fun. Catch you later if there's a chance. Bye~”
What're the odds of dreaming this again? With real sensations? Never seeing her again.
Pondering while getting chewed out by Silt, I concluded this weird dream tied to the voices I'd heard for a week. With Yuri's talisman, no more meetings.
I pinched her cheeks as she fumed, then blinked.
“Why aren't you gone?”
Despite my triumphant farewell and time passing, Silt remained. No familiar ceiling—just the mythic temple. Cold sweat trickled down.
“Anything to say?”
I released her cheeks, dropped to my knees, and bowed my head.
“I'm truly, utterly sorry.”
“Isekai?”
“Yes. Like those Earth stories—transferred to another world. Exactly that.”
“Usually it's getting hit by a truck or...”
“Want that performance? I can do it.”
Silt looked dead serious. The one who'd hurl fireballs? She'd do it.
“Real or fake? As a goddess, I can grant your wishes.”
“Wishes... Then send me back to my world. No isekai for me.”
“Can't. Once summoned, you must meet conditions to return.”
“You said you'd grant wishes! Liar goddess?”
“Ahem. Correction: anything but returning home. Gender, appearance—name it.”
Totally her rules. Like character creation?
“Gender stays male. Looks... you handle it.”
“That's it? Try being a girl this time.”
“Nope, male only. Even game chars are guys. Non-negotiable.”
“Fine. Anything else? Hero, archmage? Even game or fiction chars.”
I figured knight or mage max, but generous! To return, conditions needed—better be the strongest I know.
Swordmaster, archmage, dragon... Nah, coolest and strongest?
“I want to be the Heavenly Demon.”
Web novels said returning home rich that way.