"Fuck… my head hurts," Finn muttered under his breath as he slowly tried to open his eyes.
A sharp, splitting pain pulsed through his skull, as though it might crack open at any second. He winced, squeezing his eyes shut again before forcing them open with effort.
Am I… dead?
Is this heaven? Hell? Or was everything that happened just some insane dream? Finn wondered inwardly.
When his vision finally cleared, his gaze landed on the ceiling above him making his mouth wide open in shock.
Gold.
Not just ordinary gold, but an entire ceiling crafted from it with the drawings of dragons.
"What the fuck…" Finn whispered, his voice barely audible.
He pushed himself up into a sitting position, his eyes still locked on the ceiling.
"Where the hell am I?" he muttered. "Wasn't I on the battlefield? That stone monster...."
"Greetings, my lord!"
The sudden chorus of voices shattered his thoughts.
Finn flinched, nearly jumping out of his skin as fear shot through him as he turned his head toward the source of the sound.
A group of women knelt before him in perfect formation, their heads bowed. They were dressed in luxurious silk gowns of blue colour. Each of them held a tray filled with elaborate outfits, polished shoes, and even golden crowns and jewelries.
But that wasn't what stunned him.
They had… cat ears.
Finn blinked.
Is that… a costume? he wondered, his brows furrowing in disbelief.
He shook his head slightly, as if trying to wake himself up from whatever madness this was, then forced his gaze away from them.
Instead, he took in his surroundings.
Everywhere was decorated, filled with gold.
The walls, the furnitures....everything was crafted from gold. The windows were lined with flowers, their fragrance faint but noticeable, and long silk curtains fell from ceiling to floor.
Even the bed he sat on…Finn slowly glanced down. Was made of gold. The entire bed frame was made of it.
"What the actual fuck is going on…" he breathed.
"System?" he called inwardly.
Silence.
"System?" he tried again, more urgently.
But still no response.
Did it disappear Or… did it never exist in the first place? Is all of this just some kind of dream?
Without another word, Finn dropped back onto the bed, turning his back to the kneeling women as he shut his eyes tightly.
Yeah… that's it. Another one of my stupid dreams, he thought bitterly. When I wake up, everything will go back to normal.
A few seconds passed, hen, slowly, he opened one eye, turned his head but the women were still there.
"You've got to be kidding me."
In one swift motion, Finn shot up from the bed.
That was when something else hit him.
He wasn't in pain. He remember his body being bitten by monsters but now he felt no pain.
No wounds. No scars. No lingering ache.
Frowning deeply, Finn quickly examined himself, his hands running over his arms, his torso, searching for any trace of injury but there was none.
"Now this is just crazy…" he muttered.
The system disappears, I wake up in some golden palace, and now I'm perfectly healed? What the hell is going on?!
His thoughts spiraled, but he forced himself to move.
Stepping forward, Finn approached one of the kneeling women. Hesitation flickered in his eyes before he reached out and touched her hand and gently pulled her up to her feet.
The moment she rose, her body trembled slightly.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Finn demanded, his voice sharp, his brows drawn together in confusion. "Who are you people? Where am I?"
The woman immediately dropped back to her knees.
"Your Highness," she said quickly, her voice respectful, almost fearful. "You are in the Dragon Palace, within one of the royal chambers prepared for you."
Finn's expression darkened slightly.
Dragon… Palace?
"We were sent by the Queen Mother," she continued, her head still bowed. "Our duty is to assist you in dressing and preparing for your audience with her."
Finn stared at her, his mind struggling to process her words.
"…Audience?" he repeated slowly.
"Yes, Your Highness."
A brief pause.
Then....the servant continued.
"She wishes to discuss your marriage," the servant said carefully, "to His Majesty… as one of his consorts."
Finn blinked.
"I'm sorry," he said flatly. "My what?" Finn raised an eyebrow, letting out a scoff before kneeling down. The moment he did, the servant gasped in fear and immediately bowed her head to the ground.
"Kindly allow us to attend to you, my lord, so that we can escort you to the Queen Mother's quarters," one of the ladies said in a pleading tone.
"You see…" Finn began, tapping one of the ladies lightly. "I want you to explain something to me first." He paused, then added more gently, "Get up, okay?"
The lady hesitated before slowly lifting her gaze to meet his.
"Sorry, but where exactly did you find me?" Finn asked, his brows furrowed in confusion. "I mean, I was about to die, right? What state was I in? And what's with this Dragon Palace?"
"The guards who were sent to bring the king back to the palace," the lady began respectfully, bowing her head slightly, "found you lying among the corpses of rotten humans. Since they noticed you were not a monster, they decided to rescue you as well as the king."
"Oh, I see…" Finn muttered, nodding slowly. Then his eyes narrowed. "So that dragon man is here too? This is his palace?"
"Huh?" The lady raised a confused eyebrow.
"I mean the king is here to right? In this palace?"
"Yes my lord," the lady replied with another bow. "You were gravely injured, but not in a life-threatening condition. The royal physicians have already treated your wounds under the king's orders. And when the King Mother learned that the king commanded that you should be brought here… a man he seems to care about… she believes it would be best to make you one of his royal consorts."