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Jio clutched his chest, his breath catching in his throat, when suddenly the status window popped up right in front of his nose once again.
“Good grief. Do you always have to give me such a fright?”
He steadied his breathing and then took a closer look at the text in front of him. Ah. So it was about a painting he’d finished the day before. This time it had been quite a dynamic piece: a bedroom with a large four-poster bed and velvet curtains. While painting, he’d thought it couldn’t do any harm to add a few details, such as two kittens on the soft cushion or a cup of lemon tea on the bedside table. As always, he’d enjoyed painting it and was actually quite proud of the end result.
‘Adagio Young Master’
Huh. The system hadn’t even bothered to come up with a proper name. Jio was slightly amused, but he couldn’t hold it against it; after all, he wasn’t exactly a genius when it came to names himself.
Should he pay a visit to the new world…?
‘Why not? Seongwoon won’t be back until tomorrow, and I’ve got all the time in the world.’
“Isn’t that right, Honey?” he asked the little golden bird, which was staring at him with big, innocent eyes.
Jio tapped the screen to confirm that he accepted the new world, then fell into a deep slumber. The bed beneath him was soft and the scent of lemon tea soothed his nerves.
‘Ah. This is nice.’
Cale opened his eyes and squinted against the warm sunlight shining on his eyelids.
‘Ah. This is nice.’
Outside the window, the birds were chirping in harmonious song and the wind was playing with the leaves, rustling softly. It sounded like a perfect, lazy summer’s morning.
‘Haah. Every day should be like this.’
Cale stretched and yawned, wondering whether he should stay in bed for a few more hours to enjoy the peaceful morning. But he was hungry, and besides, he’d promised his children that they’d visit the crown prince later that day so he could show them his new cookie recipe. He kept his fingers crossed for Alberu, hoping he’d manage to outdo the White Thing’s creation.
First, though, he had to get up. Cale looked around and paused.
‘Ah.’
So he was still dreaming. Yes, that made sense.
He was no longer in his bedroom, and he couldn’t spot the children averaging ten-years-old anywhere. They usually either waited for him to wake up or woke him themselves by pawing at his face.
What’s more, he saw Kim Roksu’s reflection in the half-open window.
‘What a strange dream.’
He shook his head and stretched once more. Right. Breakfast. Even in his dreams, it seemed, he longed for Beacrox’s gourmet cuisine.
Cale went downstairs into a sun-drenched kitchen, which was filled with the wonderful scent of bread. Ah yes, that was the life. The table was laid with freshly baked bread, honey, rice and juicy apples. Little birds flitted about the room, looking almost like glistening water.
‘What a lovely dream.’
He was just about to sit down at the table when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something moving outside the window. No, it wasn’t the birds. Nor was it the lush foliage swaying in the wind.
Curious, Cale got up and went outside, where he saw a painting hanging from a tree trunk. It was a rather unusual painting, which seemed somewhat out of place in this setting. The contrast was jarring – after all, who would hang a painting of a nervous-looking man in such an idyllic spot, a man sitting in a gallery with a huge suitcase, staring at the viewer with wide eyes? Certainly not Cale.
Just then, the man in the painting tilted his head slightly and opened his mouth.
“Jio?”
Cale blinked.
‘Ah. The painting is talking to me.’
…
‘What a truly strange dream indeed.’
Yoo Seongwoon narrowed his eyes slightly and scrutinised Jio. Something was different today. Jio had the same bored, slightly lifeless expression as always, and, as usual, he was wearing a black shirt. But peeking out from beneath the collar…
‘Are those… scars?’
Yoo Seongwoon was only too aware that Jio was probably a highly dangerous monster who, if provoked, would devour the entire city, but… somehow, he’d grown fond of the entity. Jio wasn’t like other monsters who devoured people for no reason or who harboured such hatred that they destroyed themselves and everything around them. No, Jio lived by his own rules, and these always revolved around virtue and harmony.
And for that reason, Seongwoon decided to ask Jio about his well-being. After all, he was worried about him.
Cale stared at the man who was still waiting intently for an answer. Hmm. Why his subconscious had chosen the name ‘Jio’ for itself, of all things, would probably remain a mystery forever.
He thought for a moment and then came to the conclusion that it couldn’t do any harm to have a little chat with the stranger.
“Yes?”
The stranger blinked briefly and then smiled in relief.
“Ah, so you’re still here.”
“Where else would I be?”
A slightly sad look flitted across the stranger’s face.
“I’m sorry, Jio. That was tactless of me.”
Cale frowned, slightly confused, but then again, it was a dream. Things are always confusing in dreams, unless they’re being controlled by someone.
“You don’t need to apologise.”
“Right…”
...
“Jio, are you all right?”
“…Of course.”
Cale sat down and leaned back on his arms.
‘Small talk with myself? What a silly dream.’
The stranger flinched briefly, and once again he looked a little sad and sympathetic.
“Are you hurt?”
“…No?”
…
The stranger seemed to be at odds with himself. His gaze darted here and there until he finally leaned forward and spoke in a quiet voice.
“I can see the scars on your neck.”
Cale looked down at himself and wondered why his subconscious had brought up this particular subject. Well, he didn’t have to hide anything from himself.
“We both know that these no longer belong to my body.”
Seongwoon flinched and clenched his trembling hands into fists. Had he upset Jio? No, the much bigger question was: What did he mean by that?
“Jio… Isn’t that your body?”
The painting looked at him with the same tired, bored eyes as always.
“Of course not. We’ve been possessing someone else for a long time now.”
Seongwoon swallowed. ‘Possessed?’ As in… ‘demonically possessed’?
“If you don’t mind me asking… Who are you possessing now?”
“Oh. The body of a young man from another world. It’s quite pleasant.”
Seongwoon clasped his trembling hands together.
“Another world?”
“Hmm. Yes. At least that’s one thing that annoying God of Death was good for.”
‘The God of Death?!’
“What… what do you mean by that?”
“Gods are annoying parasites, don’t you think?”
Seongwoon froze at the question, which had been asked in such an emotionless voice. Was this a test? Was this the next stage in Jio’s protocol?
God, what on earth was he supposed to do? What if Jio hated gods and went berserk if Seongwoon contradicted him? Or what if he was testing whether Seongwoon would blaspheme? What if… What if...!
“Erm. Could… could you explain…?”
The portrait blinked leisurely.
“Sure. The gods are always getting in our way.”
‘Pardon?’
“They’re always begging for our help when they need it.”
‘Oh my God.’
“The God of Chaos was one of the worst.”
‘Was?!’
“Anyway, I sealed that god away, the bastard.”
“You did what?!”
“Mm. It was easier than I’d thought.”
That evening, Seongwoon went home trembling.