Chapter 7: The Imaginary Dream, The Mother's Dream
Li Lin placed one hand on the summoning circle. As he poured in a vast amount of magical energy, a powerful suction force erupted from the circle, enveloping both him and Eresh.
A flash of white light crossed his vision. Li Lin felt a small piece of his consciousness being split off and pulled rapidly toward the outer texture of the World.
"Where is this?" Li Lin wondered, looking around. It seemed to be the same white space he was in when he first transmigrated. The Throne of Heroes, wasn't it?
"Wait, why am I back here? Weren't we supposed to be reverse-traveling to the Sea of Imaginary Numbers to see Tiamat?"
Just as Li Lin was growing confused, beginning to wonder if the simulation had already ended, the system's electronic voice sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Host is detected exploring a side quest.]
[Side Quest Accepted: (A Mother's Dream)]
[System optimizing... Optimization successful. Quest beginning.]
BZZZZZZ—
A sound that seemed to resonate with his very soul exploded in his mind. An endless stream of time flowed before his eyes. Here, beyond time and space, he witnessed the formation of the planet, the birth of the Sumerian gods, their final rebellion, and the exile of their Mother...
BZZZ—
Another sound echoed in his ears. When he came to his senses, everything had changed. He was now in a boundless void. There was no light, no heaven or earth. Even the concept of 'color' didn't seem to exist. There was only a vague sense of emptiness, as if he were superimposed on a parallel line between 'being' and 'not being.' Everything was uncertain.
"Aaaaaah~—"
Just as Li Lin was starting to lose his sense of self, a melodious song pierced the void and entered his mind. He looked up. In the previously empty space, a colossal figure had appeared.
The figure was like a giant from the Age of Gods, its sheer scale immense even within this Imaginary space. Li Lin felt no fear, staring straight at it. He knew this giant was the one he had come to find.
The Primordial Mother Tiamat, the mother of all life.
[Ding! Host has made contact with a key character. Side Quest (A Mother's Dream) is now officially starting.]
[Simulation, Begin.]
As the system's voice sounded again, Li Lin's consciousness began to fade, and his eyes slowly closed.
Meanwhile, with Ereshkigal.
As the reverse summoning ritual activated, a sliver of her spirit successfully broke through the barrier of Imaginary Numbers and arrived before Tiamat. But before she could even express her awe or say anything, she was pulled by an invisible force into a strange, new space.
"Ngh~, where am I?" Ereshkigal muttered, getting up from the floor. She found a new set of memories in her mind.
The memories told her this was a modern metropolis called Sea City. In this world, Tiamat was her mother, and Li Lin was her younger brother, though not by blood. In their family of three, her mother was a full-time housewife, while her brother worked to support the family.
And then there was her, the older sister. Ever since graduating, she had been a complete shut-in, a hikikomori.
"Hey, why am I the shut-in?! I'm plenty capable, you know!" Ereshkigal's lip twitched after reviewing the memories. She felt like the world's malice was personally targeting her.
But as annoyed as she was, she couldn't change anything. She realized that this was all just a dream—a dream woven together by a [Mother] and her [Children].
"Fine, if this is Mother's dream, I'll go along with it for now."
Ereshkigal stopped fussing over the new memories. Instead, she rushed to the window, her face sparkling with excitement as she gazed down at the bustling crowds below.
"So this is what the surface is like? Wow! Everyone looks like they're shining! It's so beautiful!" she exclaimed, her red eyes fixated on a man below whose forehead was reflecting the light. The man's bald head shone like a jewel, reflecting a holy white light.
[Bald Programmer: Are you being polite?]
Just as Ereshkigal was becoming lost in the world outside, her bedroom door opened, and Li Lin, dressed in a work suit, walked in from the hallway.
"Well now, this is a rare sight." A mischievous smile played on Li Lin's lips as he saw Eresh still so engrossed in the view that she hadn't noticed him enter. He slowed his steps and walked over quietly.
Standing beside her, he saw the star-struck joy on her face and couldn't resist asking, "Speaking of which, as your subordinate, I still don't know what things you like, Lady Ereshkigal. Would you mind telling me? It would help me please my goddess."
"Things I like? Well, of course that would be—!" Ereshkigal blurted out without thinking. But before she could finish, she realized who was asking. She immediately snapped her mouth shut, her excited expression vanishing, replaced by a tsundere pout.
"N-nothing!" she declared. "I am the mistress of the Underworld, just a gloomy woman whose hobbies are mountaineering and making cages. In fact, it's far too bright here. It's almost uncomfortable!"
"Oh~ is that so." Li Lin's smile didn't waver. Seeing his goddess in full 'tsundere mode,' he felt like he was teasing a feisty little golden retriever kitten. It was utterly adorable.
"What's with that look?!"
Being stared at by Li Lin's gaze, which seemed to see right through her, a wave of shame shot from her toes to her head. A blush crept onto her cheeks, and she instinctively turned her head away.
P.S. You know why I had to set them up as [not related by blood], right? (smirk)
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