Tale Of The Dragonic Demon Lord

Auxiliary Chapter:

“Hey, Raya. You coming for the party tonight?”

The question came from a guy in neatly pressed corporate wear, but Raya didn’t bother lifting his eyes from the laptop screen.

“No. I’ve got a project due Monday,” he said flatly.

A young woman joined them, planting her hands on her hips. “Told you, Steve. Raya doesn’t do parties, man lives on caffeine and deadlines.”

Both coworkers exhaled dramatically, then waved. “Alright. See you Monday.”

The second the door clicked behind them, Raya shut the laptop. The screen went black, revealing his own tired reflection eyes that avoided people more than work.

He was never busy on Fridays. He just didn’t have the energy to pretend to enjoy small talk.

He packed up, slung his bag over his shoulder, and stepped into the night.

The city greeted him with noise and neon bars overflowing with laughter, music vibrating through the pavement, and crowds weaving like they owned the darkness.

He walked with the usual quiet confidence his attire gave him, slick black hair, crisp shirt, formal shoes tapping through the chaos. A few women leaning against a painted wall eyed him.

“Hey, handsome,” one of them called out. “Need help easing that office stress?”

Raya didn't bother answering, he just kept walking.

A little farther ahead, a couple pressed against each other, making out like the world didn’t exist. A stroller stood beside them, its tiny occupant wailing over the noise.

The woman’s hip bumped the stroller. None of them noticed the wheels beginning to turn.

The stroller rolled towards the road.

A truck’s horn blasted through the night.

PUM! PUM!

Heads jerked around. The couple froze, horror crawling into their faces as the stroller edged into danger.

“My baby!” the mother screamed, her voice cracking as she lunged forward, but she was already too late.

The truck roared closer, brakes screeching, tires fighting for grip.

Raya, who also saw this, didn’t think before his bag hit the ground, his legs had already moved before his mind caught up.

The world slowed, sound stretching, lights blurring.

He dove and shoved the stroller hard, sending it rolling safely to the side.

The truck slammed into him instead.

His body folded, then spun through the air before crashing onto the pavement.

Pain ripped through him.

Screams erupted around him. Sirens rose in the distance, growing louder, then fading as his vision dimmed.

—

A tiny yellow light drifted weightlessly through an enormous silver gate carved with the image of a serene goddess. As the light passed through, it lengthened and shaped itself roughly into a human soul.

“Where… am I?” Raya’s voice echoed, thin and uncertain.

“Oh my. You’re here already.”

A soft, celestial voice floated through the space, though he couldn’t pinpoint its source.

Then she appeared, seated on a throne woven from gold and moonlight. Eyes like liquid silver, hair flowing like a waterfall of starlight, clothed in a sheer white fabric that shimmered with every breath. Her presence felt ancient and terrifyingly beautiful.

“You must be Raya, correct?”

“Yes… I think so. Everything’s fuzzy.”

“You died saving a baby from a truck,” she said gently. The memory snapped back into his awareness, impact, pain, the stroller flying out of harm’s way.

“It wasn’t your time,” she continued. “Your life was quiet, lonely perhaps, but your karma was clean. And your final act…” Her voice softened. “It moved me.”

Raya felt a strange heaviness in his chest. He’d never considered himself special, as for the matter of saving the baby? He just reacted.

“I will grant you another chance, another world, another life. One befitting your good karma.”

“Thank you, Goddess,” he spoke. He couldn’t stop his gaze from drifting over her ethereal form.

She pointed toward a radiant golden portal. “Once you cross that gate, you’ll be reborn. May your new journey be kinder than the last.”

A warm force lifted him, pushing him gently forward.

He drifted into the portal.

Unexpectedly, the gold twisted, shattering into a violent whirl of colors and unstable magic. The goddess shot to her feet, eyes widening.

“I’ve never seen the Reincarnation Gate react like this…” She pressed a hand against her chest. “Did I misread his karma?”

The portal spasmed once more, then swallowed Raya completely.

She exhaled, a rare crack of worry in her divine composure.

“Raya, whatever world you land in… may fate show you mercy. You’re going to need it”