A soft breeze rolled across the endless grassland beneath my feet.
No… not a real breeze, just the idea of one.
I looked around at the vast plain stretching into a horizon that didn't exist. Above me, a beautiful sky shimmered, stars glinting even though it was daytime, and both the sun and the nearly invisible moon hung overhead.
"This is?"
"Your inner consciousness."
Hearing a voice behind me, I turned.
"What?" My eyes widened. "What are you doing here… Uriel?"
"Surprised?"
The goddess drifted behind me like a faint apparition. Radiant as always, yet somehow more familiar.
"If this is my mind, what are you doing inside it?" I pointed at her in mock disgust. "I could sue you for trespassing, you know?"
Uriel chuckled lightly, waving her hand. "Who exactly are you going to sue me to? The heavenly court? Space Patrol Delta?"
I exhaled sharply. "So annoying."
"What was that?"
I shook my head. "No, nothing."
I turned my attention back to the door still standing in front of me. Aside from its size and obvious Chinese architectural style, it looked fairly normal.
But what was it doing in my soul?
"Do you know what that is?"
Uriel examined the door from a distance. "No. It's a strange construct. I've never seen a soul contain objects unrelated to memories. Not even the souls of gods."
"And considering I'm a transmigrator who's never encountered such a door, that makes this an extremely rare case," I finished for her.
"I really did choose the best reviewer to act as my shadow. And yes, you're right. This door shouldn't exist in your soul unless—"
I stayed silent, waiting.
"Unless this was created by several overlapping events. Your transmigration, awakening, the primordial energy I gave you, and perhaps some potential or something already residing in your soul."
I placed a hand under my chin. 'That's plausible.' If something unrelated to memory appeared in the inner consciousness, then something artificial was involved.
"The sealed state of my powers."
Uriel's eyes widened instantly. "How did you come up with that?"
"Well," I began, "I doubt you've ever seen someone with a god-ranked existence still in a mortal realm since they're either born after the wait or grow into the rank. Besides, I'm the only one in the universe with the void rank."
The goddess's expression screamed amazement, which I had no interest in indulging.
That girl, Seraphina, had sent me here to retrieve my memories. I looked around for anything besides the door, but only endless grass stretched around us.
I had already suspected it. I wasn't Adrian, so there was no way memory collection would work on someone who never had those memories.
Uriel, reading my expression, drifted to my side. "So what now? You can't get Adrian's memories, so that leaves only the door."
She was right. But I couldn't underestimate the Arandel family or the possibility that they—
My thoughts halted as a faint shift brushed through the air. Just as Uriel had said, this was my soul, and I knew it instinctively even though it was my first time here.
The heart may fail and forget, but the soul always remembers. I didn't know where I heard it, but the words echoed in my mind as I slowly turned.
"Did you feel that?" I asked.
Uriel shook her head. "Focus on the door. If we open it, we—"
Her voice cut off.
A third voice sounded behind us.
"Who are you?"
Uriel froze, slowly turning to face the orange-haired girl from before. Strangely, I wasn't surprised by her presence, only irritated.
Some things were best left known only to oneself, and the fact that she was asking that question meant she'd been here since the beginning.
Seraphina stood rigid, gaze sharp, fists clenched. After speaking, she took a cautious step forward.
"Adrian… what are you two talking about? Who is she?"
Her eyes darted from Uriel to me.
"And are you… really Adrian?"
Uriel's panic hit instantly.
'Don't tell her anything!' she shouted in my mind. 'She might not have understood what we said.'
'Didn't understand?' I stared at Seraphina's unraveling expression. 'No. She understood everything.'
I let out a long breath, my shoulders drooping as if everything weighed me down at once.
"I guess you heard enough," I murmured.
Seraphina swallowed. "So… you're not him?"
"No," I admitted quietly. "I'm not Adrian. And honestly… does it matter?"
Her shock shifted into confusion. "What do you mean? Adrian is my friend, why wouldn't it matter?"
"I'm saying you didn't care that much about him," I pointed at her. "If you did, you would've come out sooner, not when we were about to approach the door."
Seraphina stiffened, her expression twisting briefly before she forced herself calm. "You're really not Adrian. He wouldn't have figured that out so fast."
She shrugged dramatically. "Well, you know now, but does it matter? Once I tell the duke and duchess what you are and claim you killed the real Adrian, they'll treat me highly, and I can save my clan."
I shook my head. "Is that really the most optimal choice?"
"…Huh?"
"Think about it." I tapped my temple lightly. "Wouldn't it be better to use me instead of killing me?"
"Like blackmail?" she replied, her tone shifting slightly.
I stepped toward her.
"Yes, I'm a stranger in Adrian's body. Yes, you could expose me. But think carefully." I held her gaze. "Is throwing away this opportunity really the smart move?"
Uriel screamed in my head:
'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! HAVE YOU LOST IT?! YOU COULD JUST KILL HER! DON'T LET ONE GIRL RUIN YOUR FUTURE!'
I ignored her and stepped closer.
Seraphina's lips parted. "Why would you willingly agree to be blackmailed?"
"Because I died early in my past life," I answered. "I want to live at least a hundred years this time. If becoming your dog is the cost… fine. I'll pay it."
Her eyes flickered. The offer was too convenient. Too heavy. Too tempting.
She tried to resist, but I saw it, the greed, the chance, the profit. It outweighed everything else. If this world worked like a murim manhwa, she'd definitely have a way to bind my soul. Why throw away such an opportunity?
Uriel erupted.
'YOU ARE A FOOL! AN ABSOLUTE… WAIT… WHY ARE YOU GRINNING?!'
I covered my mouth with my hand, noticing Seraphina smirking as if she'd already won. 'Uriel, have you forgotten what world we're in?'
'What do you mean?'
I didn't answer. I stepped so close Seraphina could feel my breath.
"So," I said quietly, "should I kneel or take some kind of vow?"
She recoiled slightly, her face flushing at the closeness as she met my eyes. She lifted her chin faintly.
"Swear your loyalty to me, a soul contract," she ordered. "It should be easy since we're inside your soul."
'Seems she didn't hear everything we discussed.' If she had, she wouldn't have made a mistake like that. Uriel and I talked about me being a god and the void rank, yet she showed no fear, so she knew nothing.
I smiled and nodded.
"I will, but how exactly should I do it."
She almost rolled her eyes for barely a second—but that flicker was enough.
Before she could even react, my hands were on her head, and I twisted it.
CRACK.
Her neck snapped sharply in my grasp.
When her eyes finally opened, they glowed blood-red. She collapsed onto the grass, instantly lifeless.
Uriel gasped. "You… you just—" She pointed at the body. "You just killed someone!"
I slicked my hair back with one hand, staring down at Seraphina's corpse.
"She was getting irritating," I said plainly. "I hate troublesome things."
Uriel's shock slowly dissolved, then she burst into laughter.
"AHAHA, I knew it! There's no way someone as lazy as you would actually become someone's dog."
She stopped abruptly and cleared her throat.
"…Right. Well. I hope you don't think that way about me."
I turned toward her with a small smile.
Her expression darkened instantly.
"Hey, hey! Why did you smile like that?!"
"I'm not strong enough to explain why," I said.
Uriel groaned. "Anyway, why didn't you just kill her at the beginning?"
I tilted my head. "This is a world of powers, and she can manipulate memories. I don't believe that one-time order nonsense. No one knows what she could've done if she had even a second before death."
Uriel's face drained of color. "You are one terrifying human."
I turned away from Seraphina's corpse and walked toward the massive red door. It was a shame I couldn't absorb her soul like manhwa protagonists, but removing one obstacle was still good. And with her gone, I could explain why I didn't regain my memories, just say something inside me killed her, destroyed my memories, and vanished.
That would give me a permanent excuse for never regaining memories and create an enemy my parents would believe in, plenty of reason to leave the house or act strange.
Uriel floated beside me, nervous yet oddly proud.
"So… what do we do about that?"
I placed my hand on the warm wood of the red door.
The door didn't even tremble.
"Let's open it."