Did I die? I could remember being swept away by the torrential water and everything going dark.
I wonder what a dead person looks like. I looked at my hands to check. They were still the typical flesh and meat, but they’re wet. In fact, my entire body felt wet. Taking a look at it further, I was actually naked. Apparently, people don’t take their clothes to heaven. Wait, is this heaven? Where is this? I think I heard a voice earlier.
I ignored my current nakedness and looked up. What greeted me was a huge black throne. Its back part started from the floor and almost reached the ceiling, which was about tens of meters long. A woman in her early twenties was comfortably sitting on the throne with her legs crossed. She was wearing a flowy red and black robe, which somehow flowed despite the lack of breeze. The hem of her robe that was a blend of lava red and abysmal black was swaying like a fluid, borderline gaseous. Most of her face was covered by the hood, so I couldn’t see her facial features. On top of her hood, however, were two big bumps.
So, I died… Is this hell and not heaven, after all? Just as I thought about that, the woman shrank. Her figure slowly became smaller. Her robe shrank alongside her body. She stopped shrinking when she was only half her original size. Then, she reached out and pulled her hood back, revealing a cute face of a cute prepubescent girl with two tiny horns growing on the sides of her head. She wasn’t shrinking. She was de-aging.
“Wah! It was successful!” the little girl squealed.
She ran by my side, still squealing. I presumed that it was appropriate with her age or at least how old she looked. Her eyes were gleaming. When she was right in front of me, I expected her to stop, but she stood just a foot away from me and bent forward. Her face was only a hair’s breadth from mine. For some reason, I felt calm and dissuaded. So, death makes people feel at peace. Is this the state of zen I’ve read in novels and games? Interesting…
“We did it!” she turned around and announced to those behind her. “We’ve made a summon, everyone!”
I was about to sneak a peak when she looked back at me and tapped my forehead. My vision became tinted with a slight crimson black hue, and I suddenly felt a bit weak. I looked at my hands. They were still the same, but it was enveloped by a thin layer of the same crimson black light. I looked at myself for the first time after regaining consciousness, and the light wasn’t only covering my hands, it was covering my entire being. Not only that, I was still completely naked! I forgot about that. Even in death, it seemed that seeing my own genitals was embarrassing. What’s this? Is this torture? The so called eternal flames?
“You– you’re looking pale,” the child said. Her voice snapped me back into the present. “Are you alright? Is it because you’re not wearing anything? Bria–” She gestured for someone to come without turning around. “–give him something to wear. He might be feeling cold by now.”
A slim figure approached me. When it got closer, it revealed a slender woman wearing a dark purple pointy hat partnered with the robe of the same hue. She was almost wearing what witches in fairy tales usually wore, only that hers was more aesthetically pleasing. I figured that she wasn’t actually human despite sporting a beautiful human face since her skin was pale and ashen. Locks of silver strands were flowing freely underneath her hat. Is she a demon? And why does she repeatedly say summon? Are humans “summoned” to the after life? Is my death perhaps not due to my own stupidity, but a well thought of summoning? If so, thank the heavens! Oh, wait, thank the demons! I didn’t die of my own stupidity. I was summoned!
She placed her hand on her stomach and bowed. Is that a formal gesture? Should I also bow?
“Yes, milady.” She then placed her hand a few inches above my head. The crimson black hue became orange red. I could my body being enveloped in a rejuvenating warmth. The weakness and numbness started to slowly dissipate. I looked down and saw that the water on my body was evaporating. Woah! Is this real after life magic? I couldn’t help but wonder.
“You may use this to customize your clothing,” said Bria as she handed me a translucent, glistening cloth. I looked at her and slightly furrowed my eyebrows. Catching my confusion, she explained, “It’s called an anycloth. It will transform to any form of clothing you desire, and it will also adjust the sizes to fit your body. Go on. Inject some mana into it.” She stretched her hand out as if telling me to proceed.
“Inject mana?”
Suddenly, a window appeared in front of me. I scanned it for a bit.
[Name: ??? Title: —
Age: 16
Class: —
Level: 1
Race: Human (Demon)
MP: 10
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 7
Agility: 3
Wisdom: 4]
What’s this? Is this my stats? Is hell some sort of those RPG games I used to play? If so, MP must be mana, right? I must be frowning since the witch called my attention and asked, “Could it be that you do not know what mana is?”
Wait, something’s amiss. Holy books and doctrines alike hadn’t mentioned any sort of game-like afterlife. Am I perhaps not dead? My mind went into a sudden panic, not sure what to think. My eyes shot wide open, and my heart beat rapidly. I focused on myself. I can feel the cold, hard floor. I can feel the palpitations, the sweat on my back, and that usual I want to s*** myself. I’m not dead!
“Hello? Are you okay?” the girl asked, her eyes filled with worry.
“Ah, huh? Yes, what?” I blurted, not really thinking before speaking.
“Oh no, something’s wrong with him. Bria…” She looked at the witch with pleading eyes. She was also starting to panic.
Bria walked towards me, chanted a few words I was too confused to recognize, and pulled what looked like a bottle out of nowhere. She popped it open, pulled my head back, and poured the liquid into my mouth.
My hands were weak, I literally couldn’t move them. Left with the choice of choking or swallowing, I chose the latter. I could feel the liquid flowing down my throat. As it did, I could feel my mind getting clearer. Still filled with questions, but no longer panicking.
“Do you not know mana?” Bria repeated.
I casted my questions for a moment and looked at the blue window hanging in front of me for a while. “It must be MP, right? My window says that I have 10 MP,” I answered as I gestured towards the window.
“MP? Is that mana? You only have 10 mana? That can’t be right. That’s even lower than a mere human farmer.” Her silvery eyebrows furrowed. She leaned closer and looked at where I was pointing. “We are in the Lord’s Chamber. There are no windows here,” she added, genuine confusion showed in her face.
[Map: Demon Lord’s Chamber]
A map of sorts popped up. Actually, it could barely even be called a map. It was just a circular window the size of my palm. At the center was a red diamond pointer, which I assumed indicated my location. Around the red pointer was a small white area with a few squares. Outside that small white area, everything else was a jetblack void. If this is really like the games I used to play, this should be a minimap of some sort. If I’m correct, then the black area is the part I haven’t explored yet. I stared at the map for a few more seconds when something finally dawned to me. Demon Lord’s Chamber?!
My mind raced. My initial shock made me accept the absurdity of what was happening. It’s like being in a dreamlike state where I simply accepted everything as obvious facts. However, my initial panic returned, but I didn’t break down. I must be dreaming. That’s the only acceptable explanation for all of this.
I blinked a few times and willed myself to wake up. Usually, that should work. Realizing that I was dreaming should instantly shatter the dream world. I tightly shut my eyes and slowly opened them. But when I did, the window was still there, and the translucent cloth was still on my hand.
Confused, my brain failed to get a hold of any logical explanation. Like a rusty machine, it shut down and gave up on thinking altogether. I blankly stared at the Anycloth a few more seconds. Oh, yeah. I was supposed to inject mana, but–
Just as I was about to wonder, another window popped up.
[Item: Anycloth]
[Customize Anycloth
Color: ◄○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○►
Design: ◄○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○►
Material: ◄○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○►
Size: ◄►
(Randomize)]
After seeing the window, I reached out to select randomize. Instead of clicking the button like some sort of screen, my finger went through the window. I tried again, but to no avail. My forehead knit. Huh, why is it not working? Why can’t I select (Randomize)?
Just thinking about that, the (Randomize) button suddenly became a bit darker. The anycloth then glowed and the screen changed. A crimson and black pants, vest, and cloak set popped up. Underneath was a (yes) and (no) selection. I had a rough idea as to how to navigate the window after successfully selecting (Randomize). Yes, I thought. True enough, (yes) was selected. The then translucent cloth glowed and hovered midair. Out of instinct, I stood up. The cloth glowed brighter and started to transform. It started to expand and move towards my body. It clung to my chest, but I didn’t feel much force. It was like a gentle breeze hugging my body. The cloth expanded to cover my entire body. Soon enough, it had formed the shape of the vest and the pants. It then stretched to form a cloak. While that happened, the translucent vest and pants started to become more solid. Some parts became crimson, while others turned black. A few minutes later, the whole set had materialized exactly as how it was shown on the window.
The vest and the pants fitted perfectly. I scanned my newly acquired clothes to have a closer look. The vest was fully crimson, only the outline was black. The pants, on the other hand, were entirely black with a few flame spots of crimson. Both were made of thin pieces of cloth. It was neither rough nor tough. In fact, it was actually smooth and soft to the touch.
The cloak was jet black with an edgy crimson design on its hem. The hem was also tattered, but it didn’t look cheap nor dirty. In fact, it merely accentuated its aesthetics. I scanned it from top to bottom. The cloak hung until just below my knee. It wasn’t bad, but it was a bit too short for my preference. I looked at the window where a 2D version of this set was displayed and mentally selected the cloak. The cloak was selected and a new page was displayed.
[Type: Cloak
Overall size: ◄►
Width: ◄►
Length: ◄►]
I was satisfied with both the size and the width. What bothered me was the length, so I mentally selected the right arrow for Length. Every time I thought of tapping the arrow, I watched the tattered hem lowered. I continued until it was at the level of my ankle and was nearly touching the ground. I mentally closed the window and sighed. I could feel the corners of my mouth going up.
“I hope the Anycloth was to your liking.” It was the young girl with horns who broke me out of my stupor. Had she not spoken, I would have forgotten about my current situation and merely stood there, dazed.
“Y-yes, but who exactly are you? The witc– Miss Bria, called this place the Demon Lord’s Chamber. Did I really die? Is this hell? What’s with all these windows? Am I in a game?” The questions welling up inside me cascaded like a waterfall. My already imploded brain didn’t have any capacity to stitch things together. The questions only stopped when the girl held her hand up, her brows furrowed.
“Oh, where are my manners? Hihi. I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? But before that, may I know your name?” She straightened herself and all the tension on her face vanished.
“Name…” Then another window popped up.
[Please enter your name: _ ]
There’s even a name change? I asked rhetorically. I swallowed my instinct to reply “Rihoku.” I didn’t know why, but I had the urge to lie about my existence. Perhaps it was because my existence wasn’t really that noteworthy to begin with.
“Kaito. My name is Kaito.” As I answered, the ‘???’ on my stat window was replaced with ‘Kaito.’
“Oh, Kaito. What a nice name.” The girl flashed a smile. “My name is Q’ai Huan, but I prefer Lureschka. As what Bria said, you are in the Demon Lord’s Chambers. I am that Demon Lord. As for your other question, the answer is no. You haven’t died. You were summoned. We summoned you here.”
