Devilizing

"2 hours..."

It had been 2 hours since this peculiar nightmare started.

I mused, looking at the intricate wooden clock fixed on the wall opposite me. It was adorned with strange symbols instead of numbers and the second hand was moving in the anti-clockwise direction.

Despite this, I could read them clearly, for god knows what reason.

4:12

Sigh…

I adjusted my attire while lazily reclining on the bed. After all, I wasn't quite used to something like this.

A robe worn by ancient Chinese men; yeah, the one in those wuxia novels and dramas.

It was baggy yet strangely comfortable; especially the air ventilation inside.

However, I had no clue how to wear it right.

For instance, I found this fancy golden pen and a coin on the table, and it was a whole mission trying to stuff them into my pockets. The robe's excessive fabric made it hard to find the pockets of the pants- or whatever it was underneath it.

It was strange how I could do so many things, considering this was just a dream. Everything felt real. From every second of time to every oxygen molecule in the air. I don't know why, but I still perceived this as a dream.

For the past two hours, I walked here and there, observing the unique Items and antiques present in this room.

I spent some time fantasizing that I had transmigrated into a cultivation world, how I would become an Immortal and get myself a beautiful wife.

And now, I felt tired.

If I sleep, I would wake up back on earth, right? Would sleeping inside a dream cause them to wake up? I didn't know.

In any case, this was not the time to sleep.

"Waa"

Yawning, I dragged myself up from the bed.

"Alright, time to see what's outside."

Before leaving, I looked up at the mirror once more. I could feel my mouth slowly curling upwards, which was an understandable reaction.

The person in the reflection had a tall, slender figure. His eyebrows, nose and jawline were as sharp as blades. His grey eyes had a slight shine as if it were a jewel made of platinum. Topped off with the white robe trimmed with gold, he looked straight out of some ancient legend.

That's me… or more like- the me in this dream.

After admiring myself for a while, I headed downstairs. The stairs were wooden and old, as I could hear the cracking noises while placing each step.

Not long after, I found myself in a crowded hall.

There were wooden tables with people sitting around them. Most of the tables had two or three glasses made of bamboo.

"So… this was a hotel." I mumbled to myself

The people wore robes, not like that of mine but a different type.

After noticing me, they all stood up and the entire hall went silent. Their expressions went abstruse and I sensed their demeanour shifting.

'Whoah, are they going to attack me or something?'

I had this uneasy feeling, but I quickly brushed it off saying this was just a dream.

Even if it was, since I could feel my senses, I was sure I would feel pain if they started beating me up.

I awkwardly walked into the counter and decided to buy something to cool down the tension.

"Ahm, what's there to drink?"

I spoke some words completely different from all of the languages I knew.

If I had to explain how I felt…

Hmm… think of a person who lost all their memories due to some illness or accident. They'd still remember their language and how to speak.

How could this happen if they've lost all their memories? Shouldn't they forget such things too?

It's simply because of their brain. The brain stores Languages in a different section.

Perhaps this was the language stored in my brain here? While my memories had no idea about such a language.

"Ahh yes, Senior Ye, should I bring you the best wine here?" The bartender asked, wiping the sweat formed on his neck using a towel.

"How much would it cost?"

"You don't need to worry about the price, senior."

"but still-"

Before I could say anything, he scurried back, leaving me with my mouth half open.

It shouldn't cost more than a gold coin, right?

Oh, that's right, this is a dream and what's there to worry about?

I bent down, pulled up my robe and then took out the gold coin from my pants.

I didn't have to wait long before the bartender returned with a huge bamboo jug.

At first, he didn't take my coin, saying "I dare not." but I just plopped it there.

Should I consider the value of money in a dream? Absolutely not.

Nonetheless, the tension there didn't change a bit as I thought it would. All of them kept staring at me the whole time.

While walking up the stairs, I kept hearing murmurs from the hall, but I ignored them.

Once I was inside my room, I tried the blood-red wine and man… it was one hundred percent worth the hype.

It didn't taste like grapes or any other fruits, but something completely different. Maybe it's made of a fruit that's only found here in this dreamland?

The wine didn't have any alcoholic effects on my body. I mean, it's a dream, after all.

After putting the jug on the table, I flopped back onto the bed, intending to sleep. But…

"Knock knock"

Someone was knocking on my door. And that too as soon as I closed my eyelids.

I wasn't particularly irritated, since I actually wanted to stay here for as long as I could.

I approached the wooden door, opened it and saw a youth wearing a green robe.

He looked as if he had run a marathon- Panting heavily, Sweating profusely, his Complexion mimicking that of a tomato.

"S-senior brother Ye.." he gasped out between breaths.

I heard the bartender addressing me the same, so it wasn't hard to figure out that my name here was Ye.

After a pause, he bowed and said-

"Su Feng meets Brother Ye"

Hmm? Why was he acting so weird though?

But then I realised, it wasn't just him. Almost everyone here was…

"...Yes" I replied blankly.

"B-brother Ye Chen was killed…"

The youth named Su Feng uttered while trembling.

Wait…

Ye Chen? Su Feng? Why do these names sound so familiar?

Somehow, I found this exact same scenario of 'Su Feng reporting about Ye Chen's death' etched in my memory.

Right then, a ridiculous thought came to my mind which I quickly discarded.

I scoffed inwardly. No way.

"I-it was Shen Ming. Shen Ming killed brother Ye Chen."

As soon as I heard that, my jaw, which was previously intact, felt like it had fallen. The atmosphere went silent as various thoughts started piling up in my mind.

'No, it can't be. That's too ridiculous.'

My breathing seemed to get heavier, at the same time, it felt strangely calm. Like an unknown force was suppressing my instinctive actions.

"What's my name again?" I asked in a daze.

Su Feng seemed confused, but he quickly answered-

"Senior brother's name is Ye Han." It was as if he'd never think twice in front of the so-called Ye Han.

Ye Han huh? HUH!!?

Strange words formed sentences and sentences formed paragraphs as they materialized in my mind.

["Ye Han, you targetted my women and killed many of my companions. Today, if I don't kill you, I'm not worthy of calling myself a demon." Shen Ming's both hands held his sickle swords as he pointed towards Ye Han and shouted.]

I was familiar with these lines, but recalling them now felt rather frightening.

For some time, I stood there like a deer in headlights. Apart from me was Su Feng, standing like a statue, probably waiting for me to say something.

"Y-you can leave." I said with utter difficulty.

My mind was going through an overload and I needed time to process everything.

"Yes"

Saying this, Su Feng quickly left, as if he had expected such a thing.

... ... ...

Hours passed by and night came soon.

I stood near the wooden window, gazing at the moons up in the sky. There were three of them, forming a small triangle.

Although I appeared calm on the outside, my mind was buzzing with various thoughts.

I found myself in a dream that felt abnormally similar to a novel I read-

Devilizing.

I sighed and turned around, after confirming my doubts.

"It's a dream, after all. You just have to wake up."

I muttered as I lightly patted my cheeks.

Honestly, after meeting Su Feng, this dream only started feeling less dreamy.

Because I couldn't recall ever falling asleep. The last thing I remembered was going to shower in the morning.

And then… And then, I stepped on something?

Was it a soap?

I wasn't entirely sure.

I sank back onto the bed with a hard expression.

'Devilizing' was a popular Chinese web novel. It followed the story of Shen Ming, who awakened a few memories from his previous life as the 'First Devil', Shen Mogui.

The devil race was one of the primordial demon races that had absolute authority over other demons.

But don't get it twisted, 'Demon' doesn't mean the bad guys. In this world, both humans and demons were equally powerful as well as peaceful towards each other. There were still some, who believed their race to be superior. I mean, that's how every world works.

As for who Ye Han was…

Well.

He was a major villain during the Tri-moon realm arc.

It went like this-

Shen Ming, the protagonist, kills Ye Han's brother, Ye Chen, for trying to harm his companions and girls.

Ye Han tries to get revenge, only to get killed.

It all started from the very beginning of this arc.

Ye Han was from the Golden Moon sect, while Shen Ming was from the Blood Moon sect. Both of the sects were rivals, just like their founders. They also held the top spots in the Northern Edge.

Ye Han was the number one genius of the Golden Moon sect, as well as the entire Northern Edge.

Shen Ming was the number one in his sect, while he stood second in the Northern Edge.

Not because he lost to Ye Han or anything, he just lacked in cultivation base.

But still, during their battle, Shen Ming was on par with Ye Han even though he was a whole stage behind. He was the true genius.

Back to the plot,

Shen Ming had three jade beauties in the Blood Moon sect. More particularly, they were humans. When Ye Han saw him for the first time, he got envious thinking-

"How could a lowly demon have three beauties? Imma kill him and snatch em all"

Sadly, this thought led to his very end.

He plotted against Shen Ming, killed many of his subordinates, although he didn't personally do anything, he made his minions do so.

I suddenly felt sleepy, probably because of the amount of overload- which was what I thought.

Till now, I had been thinking of ways to survive, but no matter how hard I thought, I couldn't find anything.

But who knows? Maybe I'll wake up back on Earth.