"Hah!"
Inside a luxurious room, filled with intricate ornaments portraying the high status of its owner, a young woman with long onyx-black hair jolted awake.
She wore nothing, her alluring figure hidden only by cream-white blankets that were soft to the touch.
Looking around, she could not determine where she was or what had happened.
Only a lingering thought kept in her mind.
".. a dream?"
Perhaps.
It could be so, yet it was far from one.
The young woman stood up, not knowing her physical state yet. Previously, she felt starved, fatigued, and burdened by life's misgivings.
However, now, she felt light as a feather.
It was as if her body had been purified by a god, blessed and cleansed of all impurities that she had once possessed.
This was.. not her life, or not the usual for her. Nevertheless, she continued exploring her dream, treating it as if it were reality itself.
After all, she was once a person that could only dream.
The extravagance of the room amazed her.
It had high-quality relics that, by looking at one glance, could be determined as something that exists on another plane of the world she was once living in.
Everything looked top-notch.
From the bed, to the stools, to the paint on the walls, and even the mirror in front of her..
"Huh?"
While lost in thought due to amazement, the young woman failed to notice her reflection on the mirror in front.
A slender and petite figure complimented by a pale white skin that seemed liked marble. Long onyx-black hair protruding from the head down to her waist. An otherworldly beauty of a face, comparable to even an Angel up in the sky.
Almond-shaped eyes with a sky-blue hue, perfectly sculpted nose, top heavy rosy-pink lips, and not to mention the harmony of her facial structure. Overall, she looked like a demigod from the legends!
Moreover, she had a golden mark with complex patterns below her abdomen! At close glance, it looked like two curved blades conjoining one another!
To her shock, the young woman fell to the ground. She looked like an innocent damsel, a powerless and pure damsel.
"What happened to me.."
She rubbed all around her face. Every bit of senses she had pointed towards her touch to being real.
Yet, the young woman calmed herself down, "It is merely a dream.."
Suddenly, a soft whisper echoed in her ears, "I'm afraid not, darling.."
A creeping chill rushed through the young woman's spine, enveloping her entire stature of a cold unrelenting breeze.
She wanted to turn around, but every cell in her body screamed not to do so.
"Oh~ Truly the ever-composed, your willpower surprises me so.. I believe I made the right judgment after all~"
The whisper laughed softly, amused by the young woman's resolve.
"..who are you?" The young woman struggled to utter.
"My, oh my.. How disrespectful. It is only proper for delicate woman such as yourself to face those that you are talking with, isn't it?
Gritting her teeth, she resisted the temptation of the voice.
"It is alright, darling.. You may turn around, there is nothing to fear after all.."
Thoughts raced in her head.
'I've once heard from a group in the slums that there are individuals who govern and control dreams. They warned their peers of such dangers. Could it be that I am facing such a situation right now?'
"Child.. I believe I told you already, didn't I?" The whisper echoed once more, this time with an even more alluring tone, "Sigh, if I must use force.."
In just a second, the world seemed to quiet down. The ambience noises turned mute as time seemed to sit still in the perspective of the young woman.
"LOOK AT ME," the once soft whispers turned into a malevolent screech, ordering the young woman to lose her sense of self and listen to it.
With her senses completely lulled, her body moved on its own. The young woman's heart raced uncontrollably with every second that passed.
Soon, she was completely face to face with a slender snake with pearl scales and round eyes.
Upon seeing the snake, the young woman's eyes started to water in red.
The snake was atop the bed, looking down at the young woman comfortably.
"There, there, it wasn't so bad was it? I do apologize for causing your eyes to bleed.. Here let me make it up to you, darling.."
The snake slithered closer and made its way up to the young woman's body. Upon reaching her head, the snake gave a light peck on both of her eyes.
Immediately, the young woman felt relief, safety, and pleasure. The tears of blood soon dissipated, replaced by a soothing feeling of comfort.
Slowly, her senses returned as she became able to control her body once more. Yet, she dare not to.
The snake returned back to the bed and looked down on her once more, "I believe it is rude to give someone a kiss without introducing themselves first."
"I am the Grandmother, Demon of Pleasure."
The young woman's eyes widened.
"D-demon!"
"Relax~ I am not truly a Demon, it is simply a title that I am known as.."
Although the snake's words denied it, the young woman could not help but feel vigilance towards her.
"Sigh.. I had forgotten that you humans are so afraid of that word.. Nevertheless, we are trailing off topic here.. I have already introduced myself, haven't I? Would you care to tell me your name, darling?"
After a few seconds of suspicion, the young woman determined that she was the powerless one in the room. Despite her thoughts of leaving and running away, she could only make futile attempts of escape.
Shaking her head, she responded, "I have no name. I am no one."
The snake tilted its head.
"No name? That's.. peculiar. Everyone has a name, even if it were only titles that others have given to them. Hmm.. Alright.."
The snake looked directly at the young woman, staring into the depths of her soul.
"Oh, Nameless One, I shall grant you a name befitting of your nature."
An illusory figure appeared behind the snake. It had its eyes closed, looking as if it were praying.
One glance and a normal person might not have noticed it, however, the young woman stared directly at the figure with ease.
"From this day forth, you shall be named.. Valentin, one who is vigorous, powerful. A name befitting of your strong and determined wil-"
"No."
"What?"
The young woman stood up and directly gazed at the illusory figure behind the snake, pointing at her.
"I refuse to be named by you.."
The snake's mouth turned agape, clearly shocked by the young woman's sudden change in behavior.
"You say that this is not a dream, correct?"
The snake nodded.
"My memories fail me but I remember having a vivid dream of having experienced a heaven-like encounter. In its end, I have met my end and felt my soul being depleted out of my body.. I ask you, Grandmother.."
The young woman's eyes gleamed full of curiosity, almost as if it were a crazed obsession.
"Have I been reborn?"
The snake couldn't answer for a while. After 5 seconds, it opened its mouth and spoke in a defeated tone, "Yes."
The young woman's eyes sparkled as her mouth curled up into a wide grin.
"Wonderful."
She turned around and looked at the mirror, carefully studying her otherworldly figure.
"I was a boy with no identity, no name, no connections, no relationships. I only had myself and I.. kept dreaming."
"Of what.."
"Of realities that were.. unrealistic. Of imaginations that would never turn real. I thought to myself, the world is so vast and powerful. And yet, why did it remain so dull? For years I couldn't find an answer.."
She turned around and looked at the illusory figure.
"Yet now, I see.. I have been reborn. Now, I have found my answer."
The young woman could not see it but the illusory figure behind the snake became intrigued.
"What is the answer?"
"Because I never tried to change," the young woman smiled, holding back years of restrained emotions.
"Oh~?"
She kneeled down and this time, looked at the snake with pearl scales.
"Thank you, dear Grandmother, for giving me a second chance."
The snake didn't respond, only gazing at the young woman's eyes.
"I shall name myself. Once I was a nameless with no aspirations, only dreams. Now, I am reborn!"
"Tell me, O! Dreamer, what is your name?"
For the first time in centuries, the Grandmother felt something that she had been missing.. Something that rang the bells of her being.
She had planted her mark on many beings of different species and races, rebirthing herself anew and living for over a millennia.
She had reached many eras, saw nations built and prosper, saw heroes rising up to the evil of the world, and even saw peace uniting all the races.
And now, the young woman in front of her reminded the times when she herself once dreamed.
'What have I done.."
The young woman held her delicate hands on her chest, her face filled with great ambition and strength, the golden crest below her abdomen shining in radiance.
She declared:
"My name is Fleur, a flower capable of reaching the stars!"