The beautiful woman stirred.
She began scanning her surroundings with icy composure, her bright eyes rotating with a noticeable edge of concern.
But then she looked up and saw a sky that was completely dark, devoid of the organized constellations she had witnessed moments before.
It's a bit too dark...
It made her wonder if something was wrong with her vision.
Her lips parted slightly, a clear sign of shock.
The world shifted around her. Was this a nightmare ?
Before the heavy voice of Mordred reached her, laced with a mocking tone.
"Are you feeling better now? How about the next prologue? Has the demon lord been defeated?"
"So... how are you feeling, beautiful woman?"
"???"
The beautiful face of Vernesa looked startled as the monstrous face of Mordred leaned in towards her.
She felt acutely uncomfortable with the terrifying breath Mordred emitted; every burst of pressure felt as though it would instantly crush her very soul.
Vernesa returned Mordred's confused gaze with a small smile playing on her lips. "No, I am not feeling well, Lord Dragon. It seems your mouth is still as crude as ever. You should greet a woman gently and kindly, Lord Dragon."
Mordred coughed lightly, scratching his brow in confusion.
Could NPCs in a dream still protest?
Could this still be called a lucid dream anymore? Perhaps this was the REM phase, or maybe something else entirely. Regardless, the dream was certainly becoming more and more entertaining.
Mordred pointed his large, metallic black claw at Vernesa's nose.
"Do you, an old sorceress, still demand to be called a woman? That's absurd. Don't deceive me, you must be an ancient spirit haunting this mountain, aren't you? Are you angry that I destroyed your home?"
Mordred felt Vernesa was interfering too much with the pleasure of his dream. In a lucid dream, if a character appears and disrupts your experience, it signals a layered dream. If the dream became increasingly real, that signified the REM phase. This was a disruptive development he did not want to occur here.
The great dragon sighed, and a forceful gust of air scoured the layers of dust and stone from the destroyed crater.
The powerful wind pressure quickly swept towards Vernesa.
But a gentle protective layer appeared before her, subtly blocking all the wind pressure surging towards her.
Vernesa's icy face furrowed slightly. She stared at Mordred, who seemed to be shifting his sitting position. "After mocking me by calling me an old woman, do you now intend to kill me?"
A gigantic dragon was currently contemplating the vast, chaotic cosmos atop the mountain peak—a scene worthy of an epic fantasy painting.
And Vernesa's words had just shattered that silence.
He slammed his large tail down slowly; the simple action caused the entirety of the already-shattered mountaintop to tremble violently.
More rock peeled off the slopes of Mount Jurasia and plummeted thousands of kilometers into the abyss below.
"Even darkness needs an audience, and you have just ruined this solitude!" Mordred thundered, his voice booming like rolling thunder.
"See? This is exactly why I hate being interrupted. Can't you see I was having fun here?!"
Pffft....
Vernesa's delicate face registered a slight surprise before she began to laugh softly.
She paused, after hearing the absurd follow-up from the comical Mordred. Vernesa was contemplating the sheer pathetic existence of Mordred—a powerful dragon without purpose.
"Having fun? Can staring at things that aren't even in the sky be called fun? Have you never seen the world after sleeping for so long, Lord Dragon?" Vernesa's soft voice returned, now notably lively.
This NPC's mockery slightly stunned Mordred.
The NPC in front of him might be a nuisance, but wasn't she only existing because of his own thoughts?
It felt utterly foolish if he considered it now.
"Ah... Perhaps you are right this time."
Vernesa's eyes gleamed brightly, staring at the seemingly listless Mordred.
She had not expected that a small bit of coaxing would succeed in turning the great dragon into a moody one.
"Lord Dragon, are you perhaps thinking of leaving the lonely peak of Jurasia? Are you not considering seeing the human world again, or fighting the demon lord?"
Upon hearing Vernesa's words, Mordred's eyes suddenly transformed and began to blaze; yes, he wanted all of that to happen!
As if those words had touched a critical pressure point in Mordred's heart, they created ripple after ripple in his mind, causing the pressure of the dragon's presence around him to become increasingly overwhelming.
It felt as though it would ignite and instantly burn all space and time surrounding his hide.
"Or wouldn't sitting here be more enjoyable than all that?"
No. No, he did not want his imposing pose to be compared to that of Plato.
It was truly miserable to think about staying on this grim mountain peak for the remainder of this dream.
I lied about having fun! Take me to that place right now, please, you beautiful young Sorceress! You have successfully touched this heart of mine !!!
?...
He quickly retracted his breath.
Realizing his desperation had been exposed, Mordred could only cough awkwardly.
I mean, shouldn't he be the one doing the threatening?
Mordred opened his entire mouth, exposing rows of dark, neatly arranged teeth that shimmered with a dangerous light. "Now, you must guide me there right now!"
"And stop making the dialogue so cliché, you hear? Hurry up! I can't wait!!!"
Vernesa sighed, her voice barely audible amidst Mordred's deep rumbling.
In Vernesa's hands, a mesmerizing vista appeared, utterly distinct from the Jurasia continent beneath their feet.
The giant continent was lush and green, surrounded by beautiful oceans and pristine beaches. This was the vast forest of Eurasia.
At the edge of the ocean, gigantic sea creatures seemed to be battling each other, while within the forests, a terrifying scene unfolded.
Creatures towering thousands of meters were common, while beasts hundreds of miles tall stood amongst the smaller monsters, viewing them merely as midday snacks.
A massive hand plunged from the clouds, swiftly crushing one of the giant creatures. The bones and teeth of the struggling beast in its grasp loudly cracked and shattered.
Yet, the giant only smiled and began devouring it alive...
This terrifying display did not cause the surrounding creatures of the same size to flee or show any fear; it was a common occurrence there.
These were the Giant Mandrakk Fruits, creatures born from the very earth like fruit—one of Eurasia's life spirits and a common food source for the savage beasts.
Mordred's jaw dropped; he was utterly stunned.
*What a terrifying place. Could this have descended into a full-blown nightmare phase?!* He might be dreaming a distorted version of Fairy Tail now.
"H-How can a place that absurd exist?"
Vernesa offered a beautiful smile, finding Mordred's innocent face, with his gigantic fingers pressed together like an excited child, mildly amusing.
"It all happened hundreds of millions of years ago. Vesanuss the Destroyer had grown weary."
"He decided to create a dark, eternal tomb, isolated from the rest of the world at the ends of the ocean. And Vesanuss found it: the colossal, rocky Mount Jura."
"But the problem was the constant presence of nuisance life beneath Jurasia—the Great Forest of Eurasia, filled with giant spirits and endless life."
"Vesanuss decided to split the continent in two. He blew Eurasia billions of miles away from Jura. Then, he began transforming the entire mountain and continent beneath Jura into the Eternal Snowy Peak—a terrifying landscape that has endured for hundreds of millions of years."
"The extreme cold of Jura is so terrible that even Ice-type spirits would not survive here for more than a few weeks."
Vernesa's beautiful voice ceased, and she gently sealed her pale-blue lips.
"So, how can a mere NPC—no, a beautiful young woman like you—survive in a place like this?"
He stared intently at Vernesa, who appeared completely unaffected. He was genuinely curious: Was this woman cheating?
Vernesa gently clapped her hands, and hundreds of fiercely burning red magic circles suddenly materialized, floating across every inch of her body.
Fire Magic, of course, Lord Dragon..