I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 179

Chapter 179

The Subject of a Fake

***

“….?”

Lian, lost in his own thoughts, was startled by a large, dry leaf that suddenly fell onto his face, causing him to stumble backward. As he instinctively retreated, his vision filled with the sight of countless dry leaves falling from the trees.

“…?!”

Just moments ago, the branches and stems, which had been adorned with shy flower buds as if spring had arrived, were now turning brown and withering. It was as if the season of death, autumn, had suddenly descended.

‘So, I thought I wanted to live in this kind of reality—and now the dream is making that clear to me…’

Lian wasn’t as shocked as he expected. In the world of gags, such occurrences didn’t even qualify as events. What was more surprising was the soft, warm sensation pressing down on his forearm.

Rustle…

As if to match Lian’s thoughts, the world began to deteriorate even faster. All the leaves fell, leaving only bare, dry branches, and the once-wilting grass turned completely black and crumbled to dust.

The various plants that had once brightened the path with their vibrant colors had withered and died, leaving the surrounding land desolate, like a barren wasteland.

Lian, who had been blankly staring at the scene as if the god of death had passed through, suddenly snapped back to reality.

‘…! Could this be the reason why Noah can’t wake up?’

Lian quickly turned his head to look at Noah, who was clinging to his arm. As soon as he turned, their eyes met, as if Noah had been watching him the whole time.

Noah’s expression, which had been so cold that it could be described as icy, softened in an instant.

“It suddenly got cold. Should we head inside before we catch a cold?”

Even though her voice was warm like the spring sun, there was an unmistakable chill hidden within it, causing Lian to shiver. The pressure on his arm tightened.

‘Ugh…’

The strange discomfort that had been filling his mind quickly evaporated, replaced by the pleasant warmth pressing down on his arm.

Behind the two, as they headed toward the cozy cabin nestled in the forest, a cold, icy wind swept past. The atmosphere became eerie, like a scene from a horror movie where something might jump out at any moment, accompanied by ominous music.

***

Creak.

“Uh, um…”

The cabin, which had been as beautiful as a scene from a fairy tale before their walk, now exuded the atmosphere of a haunted house.

The large tree next to the cabin looked as if someone had hung themselves from its branches, adding to the eerie mood, and the three steps leading up to the cabin creaked as if they might collapse at any moment. Even the once-smooth wooden door was now cracked and splintered, causing Lian to tense up.

‘This… Is this place haunted?’

Having ghosts in the house wasn’t the real problem. The real issue was the pranks those ghosts might play. Lian feared he might end up like the burglars in the movie *Home Alone*, which was a hit every winter.

‘Well… I’m a ghost too, so it shouldn’t be that big of a problem… right?’

With that thought, Lian stepped inside the cabin, only to find that the situation was worse than he had imagined. The kitchen, once bathed in warm sunlight, now gave off a chilling, murderous aura, and the high-quality wooden furniture appeared discolored or cracked, as if it had been unable to withstand the passage of time.

It was as if only the interior of the cabin had aged drastically. But the changes didn’t stop there.

Where a warm-colored rug had once been, there now hung a bow as large as Lian’s upper body, and several swords were mounted on the walls. Above the fireplace, where a wedding photo had once been displayed, the mounted head of a large animal now hung.

It felt more like a hunter’s cabin than a newlywed couple’s retreat.

‘Did I come to the wrong place?’

For a moment, Lian wondered if he had entered the wrong cabin.

Rustle.

While Lian stood frozen in shock, Noah calmly released his arm and stepped inside. Her face, which had been soft and relaxed, was now dry and expressionless, and her long brown hair, which had once flowed down to her waist, was now cut short, barely brushing her shoulders. Even her light, flowing clothes had transformed into something rough and sturdy, like a hunter’s outfit.

Noah strode into the room with familiarity, unbuckling a belt full of small pouches and placing it on the kitchen table. She then opened a cabinet, took out a glass bottle filled with water, and poured herself a drink, quenching her thirst.

She acted as if she had completely forgotten Lian’s existence, continuing with her tasks without a glance in his direction. Lian, unable to hide his confusion, called out to her.

“Noah?”

“….”

Noah didn’t respond to Lian’s call. Worried that she truly couldn’t see him, he hurriedly approached her, reaching out to grab her arm.

Swoosh.

Noah blatantly avoided his touch without even sparing him a glance. The sudden shift in her attitude, from warm to cold, was so drastic that Lian couldn’t suppress his gag instinct and shouted out.

“So, was our love just a joke to you?”

Like a brush dipped in paint and dropped into clear water, the gag filter began to spread from Lian, affecting the surroundings. Before he knew it, Lian’s expression had transformed into that of a fragile heroine from a weekend drama.

“Sniff… I loved you sincerely…”

Just as Lian was surprised by the sudden change in atmosphere, Noah, too, was caught off guard by the shift and found herself swept up in the gag filter, her mouth agape.

“Th-That’s a misunderstanding.”

Noah didn’t understand why she was saying such things, but she felt compelled to respond in that way.

“Liar! You abandoned me so coldly, and now you’re saying it was a misunderstanding?!”

If Lian had a physical body, he might have clutched his stomach and teared up, as if he were carrying a child. Fortunately, only part of the gag filter remained, preventing the situation from devolving into a complete farce. Even so, Noah was flustered, unable to handle even that small amount of gag filter.

The slightly absurd and lighthearted atmosphere that followed forced out the truth that had been hidden deep inside.

“Stop it.”

“Now you won’t even listen to me—”

“I said stop!”

Noah, her face contorted with suppressed emotions, lunged at Lian. Startled, Lian stumbled backward, his back slamming against the wall with a thud. Noah, looking up at Lian with a fierce expression, spoke through gritted teeth.

“Stop with these ridiculous acts, you fake.”

“…?!”

“I know this is a dream. So just get out of my sight.”

Noah had lost Lian countless times before. There were times when she had denied reality, and times when she had been so consumed by despair that she couldn’t do anything. The only reason she had been able to endure was because of her master, who had always been her pillar of support, and the smile of Lian, who would appear before her, reassuring her that everything was okay.

But this time was different.

Her master, who had kept her grounded, had fallen into a deep sleep, and Lian had thrown himself into the void, disappearing completely.

She had been swallowed by a sense of loss and despair so deep that it bordered on numbness. Nothing felt within her grasp, and even breathing seemed like a waste. In the end, the escape she chose was the ‘dream.’

The flower that the butler had placed beside her pillow was meant to ward off nightmares and bring happy dreams. Ever since the beautiful flower had been placed by her bedside, Noah had been able to meet Lian in her dreams, where he smiled brightly at her.

She would indulge herself in the sweet dream, only to wake up to the vast emptiness of despair and helplessness. It was no wonder she became trapped in the dream, unable to escape.

But even that sweetness had an end.

Like a sudden epiphany that comes to a sage, Noah began to sense something off about the Lian in her dream, and in that moment, she realized she was dreaming.

As soon as she became aware of the dream, the beautiful forest lost its vitality, turning into a dead forest. The house, once filled with happiness, became dry and filled with a suffocating atmosphere. The scenery deteriorated, mirroring Noah’s broken heart.

In the lifeless forest, black monsters, with only their eyes visible, emerged and attacked Noah. This wasn’t an external attack or some mental assault by the Demon King’s forces.

It was self-harm.

It was a manifestation of her desire to punish herself for being unable to protect anything.

She believed it was only natural for her to suffer, so she didn’t consider it a nightmare. As a result, even the flower meant to ward off nightmares couldn’t stop it.

The blend of sweet and horrific dreams often caused problems. One of those problems was the appearance of Lian, who should have only existed in the sweet dream, chasing after her as she became aware of the dream.

At first, she would just hold onto Lian, crying like a devout believer confessing her sins to a god, as if seeking forgiveness.

But after repeating that process several times, she began to feel disgusted with herself for daring to seek forgiveness. And as if to affirm that the Lian before her was a fake, she began to repeat the same words.

With a sharp sense of reality, Noah pushed away the ‘fake Lian.’ And so, the same days repeated over and over again.

‘How dare you… How dare you…’

Noah, as always, couldn’t hide her anger toward the ‘fake’ standing before her.

End of Chapter