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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Angie stepped into the city, a city that defied her medieval understanding of the world.
Streetlights banished the encroaching darkness, illuminating the cityscape, and she marveled at how the night seemed to retreat, yielding to the artificial glow.
The people moving through the city showed no signs of haste. The vehicles filling the streets moved with a similar, steady flow, and she stared at them, her mind struggling to comprehend this alien landscape.
Students, chattering excitedly, streamed out of academies, heading home. Office workers, their faces etched with the mild boredom of an early commute, walked with a brisk, purposeful stride.
Angie stood among them, her expression a mixture of confusion and awe.
‘I can’t understand a word they’re saying.’
She strained to make sense of the conversations swirling around her, and the passersby, noticing her, glanced at her curiously.
Her striking golden eyes and sunset-colored hair were an unusual sight in Korea.
And her armor… People pointed, whispering to each other as they passed.
“Is she cosplaying?”
“Must be some kind of event.”
Angie’s confusion deepened, her face crumpling into a frown. She didn’t understand them either.
She couldn’t understand the language, couldn’t read the signs. She was illiterate, even in her own world, and the writing here was Korean, a language completely foreign to her. It wasn’t even the Imperial language commonly used in Gelladrion, so she couldn’t even begin to guess at the meaning. Lost and overwhelmed, she retreated to a quiet corner and sat down.
‘I’m scared…’
While she wasn’t in any immediate danger, the unfamiliarity of everything around her was unsettling. A creeping fear, a fear of the unknown, wrapped around her like a shroud.
Her appearance, however, continued to draw attention. Her striking features, her vibrant hair and eye color, made it difficult for people to ignore her.
And so, inevitably, someone called the police.
A police car arrived shortly after the call, and two officers approached.
They stopped before Angie, who was still sitting huddled in the corner, trying to make sense of her surroundings.
“Are you alright? You’ve been sitting here for a while. Did you lose something?”
The officer’s kind words were lost on Angie. She simply frowned, her brow furrowed in confusion.
“Huh? What?”
The officers were equally confused. Unable to communicate with her, they exchanged worried glances. The female officer didn’t recognize the language Angie was speaking.
Finally, seeing the wallet in Angie’s hand, they breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately for Angie, the wallet contained not only a student ID, but also a resident registration card. The officers looked at the address on the card, then gently helped Angie into the police car.
They didn’t think she would have offered the wallet if she hadn’t wanted their help.
Angie didn’t resist, allowing them to lead her. The smooth, quiet movement of the car was a novel experience.
The city lights blurred past, the streetlights and headlights of passing cars painting the asphalt in streaks of red and gold.
As the road unwound before her, the speed of the car made Angie’s eyes widen in surprise.
She sat quietly, her hands clasped in her lap, as the police car carried her towards Aslan.
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A short while later, the police car stopped before a door, the number 605 displayed beside it.
The officers rang the doorbell, and the door opened a crack.
Angie listened to the exchange between the officers and a young man on the other side of the door, a conversation she couldn’t understand. Then, the door opened wider.
The young man who stood there was identical to the person in the photograph Angie carried in the wallet.
A younger, slighter version of Aslan, his eyes dark.
His eyes widened as he saw her.
He blinked, a wry smile, so faint only Angie would have noticed, flickering across his lips. Then he spoke.
“…So… I’m the one dreaming…”
He spoke in a language only Angie could understand.
Imperial, the language of Gelladrion, a language Aslan had learned out of necessity, to survive.
The officers, hearing the unfamiliar language, exchanged a look, then, with a few polite words, returned to their car.
As they drove away, the young man – Lee Hyun-woo – smiled wryly.
“Welcome back.”
He greeted her.
Angie finally realized that this young man was Aslan.
And with that realization, the fear and uncertainty that had frozen her melted away. She ran forward and hugged him.
She felt the steady beat of his heart against her chest, his warm breath on her neck. He heard her sniffle, the choked-back sob.
“Angie…?”
A wave of emotions – relief, anxiety, fear, confusion – washed over Angie, then flowed into Lee Hyun-woo, their minds connected. The intensity of her emotions startled him.
‘What’s going on?’
He thought, and Angie replied,
“What happened to you? You’re so… small… You’ve lost so much weight… you have no muscles… how much have you suffered…?”
Even his eyes had turned black. He must have endured unimaginable hardship. Her thoughts, unfiltered, echoed in his mind.
He frowned, then gently patted her back.
Her body, pressed against his, was warm and soft, but he couldn’t focus on that right now.
It didn’t take long for Angie to regain her composure. She blinked back tears, her usual bravado returning.
Lee Hyun-woo was about to speak, to tell her that wasn’t the case, that she was wrong,
“Then what happened?”
…but she interrupted him, her voice sharp, demanding an explanation.
He hesitated, uncertainty clouding his mind.
Should he tell her? Would she understand? How would she react?
Could he even control her if she panicked? His thoughts, as always, were transparent to her.
“Just tell me. I’ll be fine.”
Angie stood tall, her hands on her hips, trying to project an air of calm confidence, though the effort was clearly visible to Lee Hyun-woo. He felt the connection between them, the strange intertwining of their minds, and he hesitated.
But his hesitation was brief. There was no point in hiding it now that she could hear his thoughts.
Lying would be pointless. And it was a burden he had carried for twelve long years.
A story he couldn’t share, a story no one would understand.
But now… he could tell her. He could finally share his burden.
It was an opportunity.
Lee Hyun-woo closed his eyes, a faint smile touching his lips, then sighed, gesturing towards the kitchen table.
“Sit down. I’ll get you something to drink.”
Angie sat down obediently, and Lee Hyun-woo opened the refrigerator, retrieving a carton of juice. He poured it into a glass and placed it before her.
She might have suspected him of poisoning it, but she simply stared at the clear glass, her eyes wide with curiosity, then drank it without hesitation.
‘It’s good.’
Lee Hyun-woo chuckled, hearing her thought, then waited for her to finish, to be ready to listen.
When she placed the empty glass on the table, he spoke.
“I’m not from Gelladrion.”
“…What’s Gelladrion?”
As he prepared to answer, images of Gelladrion, its maps and history, flashed through both their minds. A momentary distraction.
He focused, choosing his words carefully.
“The world you lived in. The world we were just in. That’s Gelladrion.”
“Oh.”
Angie took another sip of juice, and Lee Hyun-woo, surprised by her casual reaction, nodded. She asked,
“…If you’re not from Gelladrion… then where are you from?”
“Here.”
He paused, then clarified,
“…From the original version… of the dream you’re in.”
Angie frowned, but Aslan’s thoughts, flowing into her mind, offered a hint of understanding.
This world, it seemed, was a dream, an illusion, a fabricated reality.
She didn’t understand what that meant, but she accepted it.
Seeing her acceptance, he continued.
“As you’ve probably noticed, this world is different from Gelladrion.”
Angie didn’t reply, her mind replaying her observations.
The people here, despite not understanding her language, had been kind, their society orderly.
And most importantly, they weren’t driven by fear, their lives not constantly threatened.
Unlike the people of Gelladrion.
They seemed… normal, preoccupied with their own lives, their own routines.
Lee Hyun-woo, seeing her thoughts, nodded.
“Why do you think that is?”
“…Uh, because there are no monsters?”
“No. Even without monsters, there are still dangerous animals, and humans who are worse than any beast. That’s true in any world.”
Angie considered his words, placing her empty glass on the table. Lee Hyun-woo looked at her and spoke,
“It’s because of the gods.”
He continued,
“You must have sensed it, traveling with me. The gods’ greed, their cruel nature… it’s what makes Gelladrion such a difficult place to survive.”
“…Yeah, I guess. So? What’s your point?”
Her innocent question, despite their shared thoughts, indicated she still didn’t understand.
Aslan hesitated, then spoke.
“My point is… that this world is different. And that’s why I’m like this.”
Lee Hyun-woo, unlike Aslan, showed her his thin arms. He worked out, but his muscles lacked the definition of someone who had spent years fighting for survival, slaying monsters, humans, and priests.
“Children can be children here. They don’t have to be warriors. They don’t have to become ruthless to survive. It’s a world where… while not always the case… people don’t have to constantly fight to live. That’s why I’m like this. Because I was born here.”
A body untouched by battle. A body that didn’t have to fight. Lee Hyun-woo, transported to Gelladrion, had been forced to fight to survive. Angie, understanding his words, looked around the apartment.
“So… this is a dream?”
Aslan’s world. It was difficult to comprehend, to believe, but she trusted him. She echoed the words she had heard at the door.
Aslan, understanding the true meaning of her question, smiled wryly.
Behind that smile, a fleeting thought, a silent wish, brushed against Angie’s mind.
Lee Hyun-woo wished that this was reality, even if it meant Angie was just a figment of his imagination.
Angie, sensing his conflicted desire, his longing, paused, her eyes flickering with a sudden, sharp pain.
She didn’t speak, her lips pressed together tightly.
“…It’s probably a dream.”
Lee Hyun-woo, seeing her reaction, her pain, lowered his gaze, his voice filled with regret.
“If it wasn’t… Angie, you wouldn’t be here.”
Angie remained silent for a moment, then spoke, her voice quiet.
“Then… what do we do?”
Lee Hyun-woo looked up. She was watching him intently.
“I don’t know how I got here… or what this world is… but I don’t think I’m supposed to be here.”
It was a gut feeling, an instinct. She continued,
“How do I leave?”
Truth be told, she didn’t want to leave. But they both knew she had to. She couldn’t stay in this dream forever.
After a moment of silence, Lee Hyun-woo replied,
“I have an idea.”
“What is it?”
“I need to recreate what happened before I arrived in Gelladrion.”
“What do you mean? What are you going to do?”
Before he could answer Angie’s question, a rumbling sound echoed through the apartment.
Angie blushed, scratching the back of her head.
“Damn… that’s embarrassing.”
Lee Hyun-woo chuckled, then picked up the wallet she had been carrying. It felt familiar in his hand, its shape and texture comforting.
“Let’s get something to eat and then talk. I’ll explain everything then.”
Angie’s face lit up at the mention of food. She stood up and followed him to the door. As they reached the entrance,
“…Hyun-woo, where are you going?”
A man’s voice called out from within the apartment.
A deep voice, vaguely familiar, vaguely like Aslan’s.
Lee Hyun-woo froze, his breath catching in his throat.
The voice was chillingly familiar.
It was the voice of his dead father.
He forced himself to answer.
“I’m going out… to get dinner with a friend.”
“Oh? Do you need money? You should go somewhere nice…”
“N-no, it’s fine. I’ll… be back…”
Lee Hyun-woo’s jaw clenched. He squeezed his eyes shut and stepped outside.
Angie followed, then paused, seeing Aslan standing there, his eyes closed, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
She understood.
The voice had been Lee Hyun-woo’s father.
A firefighter, a dead man.
Dead men don’t speak.
And yet, she had clearly heard his voice.
Lee Hyun-woo, the realization hitting him like a physical blow, covered his face with his hands, a groan escaping his lips.
“Damn it…”
He chuckled, a hollow sound, his mind reeling from the grief and the unsettling implications.
This wasn’t an ordinary dream.
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