"Please!! Wait.. Auck! " (Mia)
I chuckled darkly, my fingers digging deeper into her skin. "You had your chance, Mia. Now it's too late. "
Her blue eyes, now also full of determination said, "I won't betray him. I'd rather die. "
"Ok, so let's end it fast. " (Alex)
Then I tightened my grip.
With each passing moment, Mia's strength faded, and her struggles became weaker.
Her face turned deep red as she gasped for air that I wouldn't give her.
I could feel her heartbeat slowing, the life in her eyes fading.
While I continued to strangle her, Mia's gaze held a mix of fear and regret.
It was a harsh and unforgiving ending, but she had chosen to stay loyal to the Demon King of Fire over her own survival.
Finally, with one last shake and a final, desperate attempt to grab my hand, Mia's body went limp.
Her eyes lost their light, and her lifeless form fell to the ground.
I released my grip and stepped away from her lifeless body.
The room was silent, except for my heavy breathing.
"What's happening? "
As I stood there, trying to catch my breath, the room began to shift and change in a way that defied all logic.
The walls seemed to stretch and contract, the ceiling descended, and the floor twisted beneath my feet.
It was as if reality itself was warping.
Confusion swept over me as I struggled to make sense of the bizarre transformation.
I had no time to react, and my grip on reality slipped away.
"Fuck! I was fooled by her. " (Alex)
Mia's lifeless body, which had been on the floor just moments ago, suddenly dissipated into thin air, leaving me dumbfounded.
"It must be an illus-Arhhhh! " (Alex)
Before I could fully comprehend what was happening, Mia materialized out of nowhere, her presence emerging from the very fabric of this distorted room.
In her hand, she held a gleaming, wickedly sharp sword, and her eyes blazed with an otherworldly intensity.
With a swift and lethal motion, she thrust the sword directly into my heart.
"You... A sw-sword, how? "
"None of your business. " (Mia)
I gasped, unable to move or defend myself, and a searing pain coursed through my body.
Blood gushed from the wound as I felt the life draining out of me.
'Damn it, Damn it, Damn it!! Wha-what did I do wrong? ' (Alex)
Tears began to stream from my eyes, my vision blurred, and the room continued its disorienting transformation.
Mia's expression was cold and determined as she whispered, "You underestimated me."
I ignored her words and accepted my fate.
'Again, I lost to my shitty fate. Huh! Looks like I am destined to be a loser. ' (Alex)
As I slumped to the ground, my world darkening, I realized that she was hiding her main Trump card all along and toyed with me.
In my pursuit of control, I had become the victim of my own arrogance, and my life came to a sudden and brutal end at the hands of the one I had underestimated.
Mia's voice was icy as she leaned in, her eyes locking onto mine, and she whispered, "Now it's your turn to face the consequences, My lord! You thought you could control everything, but you were wrong."
With a swift and merciless motion, she raised her sword high above her head, her face a mask of determination.
The blade glistened with an eerie light as it descended, severing my head from my body in a gruesome and final act of retribution.
...
"Noooo! "
I woke up and touched my neck only to see nothing.
I was in a completely different place.
Confusion enveloped me as I looked around the unfamiliar room, struggling to comprehend my surroundings.
I was no longer in that dark, twisted chamber where my life had met a violent end.
The room I found myself in was simple and devoid of the eerie atmosphere that had plagued me moments ago.
There were no signs of Mia, no wickedly sharp swords, and no bizarre distortions of reality. It was just an ordinary room, with soft light filtering in through a curtained window.
'This room looks familiar. ' (Alex)
After carefully thinking I finally concluded.
"Wait! Isn't this my room? "
As I continued to take in my surroundings, a dawning realization washed over me.
The room, with its familiar furnishings, the soft glow of my bedside lamp, and the well-worn books on my shelves, was indeed my room.
It had the same scent, the same ambiance that I had known for years.
I couldn't believe it. The vivid and harrowing experiences I had just endured felt like a distant nightmare.
I touched my neck once more, expecting to find the phantom marks of Mia's grip, but there was nothing.
It was as though the entire ordeal had never happened.
In the eerie silence, I could hear the faint sounds of the outside world, the rustling leaves, and distant voices.
The contrast between the oppressive nightmare and the comfort of my room was staggering.
As I caught my breath and tried to make sense of my situation, I slowly pieced together the fact that my previous experiences as the Demon King, my wife, conversations with Nero, and my transmigration were all just dreams.
A serious sadness washed over me as I realized that the life I had yearned for was nothing but an illusion, a vivid yet deceptive dream that had felt so real.
My shouts of despair were replaced by a heavy silence, and the sense of loss was overwhelming.
"But, it felt so real. " (Alex)
I had been so invested in that fantasy, so convinced that I was a powerful being in another world and that my actions and choices had real consequences.
But now, I was just an ordinary person in an ordinary room.
Feeling a profound emptiness, I slowly got up from the bed, my mind still reeling from the abrupt transition from fantasy to reality.
It was as if the rug had been pulled out from under me, leaving me with a deep sense of disorientation.
As I tried to make sense of this sudden change, I realized that there were no traces of the powers or adventures I had experienced in my dreams.
My hand, once marked by the memory of a brutal confrontation with Mia, was now unharmed, and I was just an ordinary person, vulnerable and lacking the fantastical abilities I had believed to be real.
With a heavy heart, I sat down on the edge of the bed, reflecting on the emotional rollercoaster I had been through.
"Were those vivid and otherworldly experiences nothing more than dreams?" (Alex)
The dreams had felt so vivid, so unbelievably close to reality, but they had been nothing more than illusions, cruel tricks played by my own mind.
As I slowly rose from the bed, the disorienting shift from my vivid dreams to the real world left me feeling like an outsider in my own life.
I took careful steps toward the dining table, the soft carpet beneath my feet providing a comforting familiarity amidst the chaos of my thoughts.
The solitude of my parents' absence weighed on me.
My parents were brilliant scientists who had dedicated their lives to their research.
They're so dedicated that they forget about ther one and only child.
They lived and worked in different countries, sending money every month to support me.
If only they knew I didn't crave money or fancy stuff; all I wanted was a bit of love from them.
Just some... No, only little would've sufficed.
If only they realized how tough and lonesome would have been for me to live.
It was a choice they had made to further their careers, leaving me nearly alone in our vast house.
Now that I consider it, did they actually care about me?
In lots of movies and books, parents are willing to sacrifice everything for their child's happiness and survival.
But for me, all I ever got was money, money, and more money.
Their absence had always been a part of my life, and I had grown accustomed to it over the years.
They believed in me and my potential, but their work was their priority.
Their unavailability had pushed me to become self-reliant, yet it also amplified the isolation I felt.
The fear of bullying from my senior and classmates due to my abnormal hand had haunted me throughout my life.
My hand, with its unique and strange appearance, had always set me apart from others.
The prospect of college, where I would be surrounded by new people and potential bullies, had terrified me.
I couldn't bear the thought of enduring the same ridicule and taunts I had faced in my earlier years. Instead, I had chosen to avoid college altogether, retreating further into the safety of my own world.
This isolation was a double-edged sword, offering me refuge from potential torment while also deepening the gap between me and the outside world.
As I sat down at the dining table, my solitary lunch seemed to mirror the isolation I had grown used to.
The silence of the house was a constant reminder of my situation, and the burden of my decisions weighed on me, creating a heavy atmosphere in the room.
I picked at my meal, lost in thought, and couldn't shake the feeling that the world I had just experienced in my dreams was much more appealing than the real life I faced.
But, wait?
Was it... Really a dream?