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(And here we are! The starting point of our journey through the wonders of the Second Plane of the Dreamscape!)
Kran's dramatic introduction might have stirred some excitement, had I not found myself standing in the middle of a barren desert. Sand stretched endlessly in all directions, with nothing but dunes and a peculiar sky. The only thing that set this place apart from a regular desert was the sky itself, split into fragmented scenes like pieces of shattered glass, each showing a different landscape. I could feel energy lingering in the air—somnium—but that was about it.
(I'll admit, this isn't the most impressive place to start. But hey, it's better than the Abyss, right?)
One nothingness to another. At least I could stand on solid ground here.
"So... is this the Second Plane?" I spoke out loud, finding the mental conversations with Kran increasingly irritating. It didn't matter if I looked like I was talking to myself.
(This is one of the many worlds in the Second Plane. The sky proves it. Don't worry, there are much more impressive places than this. Although, I don't exactly know where we are.)
"You don't know?"
(Do you have any idea how many worlds are in the Dreamscape? I only know about the more central ones—the popular worlds where most Wanderers go to live. You're going to need a guide. It'll be best to find one in the first civilized world we come across.)
"What exactly does a guide do? Can't I just figure it out on my own?"
(A guide is... well, a guide. They navigate the vast Dreamscape and know the ins and outs of countless worlds. You could try traveling without one, but most of your journey will take you through worlds with dangers beyond your imagination. Ignorance alone could get you killed. Not to mention, only a guide knows where the gates to other worlds are. Without one, you might never leave a world like this.)
I frowned, processing his words. "So, I need a guide to leave a place like... this?"
(Exactly.)
"And in order to find a guide, I need to get out of here first... which requires a guide."
(Oh... I think I see your point.)
I sighed. I was stuck in this endless desert with no way out. Great.
"I'm trapped here, aren't I?"
I sat down on the hot sand, realizing that conserving energy might be wise.
(Hey, don't give up yet. There's always the chance we'll run into another Wanderer—someone with a guide. You might not be stranded here for long.)
"I'm not going to just sit here and wait," I said, pushing myself up from the sand. "If I do, I'll die of boredom before anyone passes by. I'm going to find someone."
(Look, a guide won't just fall out of the sky and land in your arms. Wandering aimlessly in a world like this for some slim chance is a terrible idea.)
Kran was right, but I wasn't about to sit under the blistering sun and hope for a miracle. The sun, I now noticed, didn't seem quite right. It was unusually low in the sky, almost like it was hovering just a few hundred meters above the ground.
Then, as if on cue, a scream came from the sky.
I looked up, squinting into the light, and saw a small figure plummeting toward the ground. I rushed forward, instinctively reaching out, and caught the falling figure just before they crashed.
To my surprise, it was a tiny girl—thirty centimeters long at most, with bat-like wings sprouting from her back. She wore miniature black jeans and a dark blue shirt, her entire frame no bigger than a doll's. Her hair was very dark blue, almost black and straight. She was unconscious, but breathing. Probably passed out from shock.
(Okay... I'll admit, someone did fall out of the sky and land in your arms. But we still don't know if she's a guide.)
"It doesn't matter who she is," I muttered, carefully laying her on the ground. "What's important is where she came from."
(You're surprisingly gentle for someone who didn't bat an eye when his entire race was wiped out.)
"I wasn't the one who killed them. I just survived. They didn't."
(Still, that's not a normal way for a human to think.)
"You're one to talk. You're still cracking jokes after witnessing the end of thousands of worlds."
(Those were just random people to me. But you—you just lost everyone you knew. It has to be affecting you somehow.)
I paused, staring down at the unconscious girl. "My sister is alive. That's enough for me. I didn't have any real attachment to anyone or anything else in that world anyway."
Kran fell silent, and I turned my attention back to the small girl, waiting for her to wake up.
---
A few hours passed in silence. The girl showed no signs of waking up, and Kran eventually broke the stillness.
(Hey... I'm just saying, there's no food here, and that thing looks edible.)
"I'm not going to eat her," I snapped. "And even if I wanted to, how would I cook her?"
(There are tools in the bracelet. You could use somnium to start a fire, too.)
I had forgotten about the bracelet ever since Zaram had given it to me. I started emptying its contents, laying the items on the sand. There was more in there than I expected—strange necklaces and rings, several knives made from a black, glassy material that seemed organic. There was also a spear and a sword made from the same substance. Small bottles of liquid and a handful of pearl-colored coins.
"These were your weapons?" I asked, wondering what kind of being Kran used to be.
(Something like that. Those coins will come in handy, don't forget about them. But for now, you'll need the middle-sized knife. It's the best for preparing food.)
"I told you, I'm not going to eat her!"
"P-please don't eat me!" A small, trembling voice interrupted.
I spun around to see the tiny girl sitting up, her bat wings twitching nervously. Her wide eyes were filled with terror, and she looked like she was about to cry.
She must have woken up while I was handling the knives and heard the tail end of our conversation. Great. This was my fault for not considering how that might have sounded from outside.
"Look, I'm not going to eat you," I said, trying to reassure her.
"But you were talking to yourself and repeating, 'I'm not going to eat her,' while holding a knife!" she cried. "How am I supposed to believe that?!"
"I wasn't talking to myself," I corrected, though I realized how ridiculous this would sound. "I was talking to someone in my head."
(That's somehow worse...)
She blinked at me, tilting her head. "Like... an astral bond or something?"
To my surprise, that explanation worked. She seemed to relax slightly.
(I am not an astral bond! Those things are just dead pets with extra steps!)
Too late. I guess you're an astral bond now.
"Yes," I replied, "I was talking to my astral bond. He was the one who suggested... eating you. I was saying no."
The girl let out a long, shaky sigh, visibly relaxing. "Phew... I thought I was done for. So... where am I?"
"I was hoping you could tell me," I said. "You just fell from the sky. I caught you."
Her expression shifted several times—confusion, realization, then fear. She seemed to wrestle with a dozen emotions before finally breaking down, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Huh? What happened now?"
"I got kicked out of my home," she sobbed, "then I got scammed, and then someone tried to kill me!"
That... was an impressively concise summary of a terrible situation.
(Wow, her luck rivals yours.)
I wasn't great at comforting people, but I tried. "Hey, it's okay. You're still alive, right?"
She stared at me, clearly unimpressed with my attempt to comfort her.
(That was the best emotional support ever. I still think she'd make a decent snack.)
Shut up, Kran.
She let out a small laugh despite herself. "Was that supposed to make me feel better?"
"I'm trying my best," I said, shrugging.
She wiped her eyes and gave me a weak smile. "Sorry about that... I didn't mean to unload that on you. My name is Remistia Somnira. I'm... well, I was the second daughter of the Somnira family. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Ashborn," I replied. "Just... Ashborn. Nothing more."
"Huh? No family name? Or which world are you from?"
"We didn't use family names where I'm from," I said, "And... that place is no more, so it's name doesn't matter."
Her face paled. "No more...? What does that mean...? it didn't just get destroyed completely, did it?"
(Spot on.)
"Actually, yes. That's exactly what happened."
Her eyes widened in shock, and she stared at me, completely at a loss for words. "I... I'm sorry for your loss? I mean, are you okay? I don't—"
I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing. Her reaction was just too awkward, too unexpected. It caught me off guard in the best way.
"Why are you laughing?!" she demanded, now clearly confused. "Was it a joke?!"
"No, it really happened," I said between laughs. "It's just... you weren't any better at comforting me than I was at comforting you."
Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she crossed her arms. "How am I supposed to know what to say to someone who lost their entire world?!"
"Sorry, sorry," I said, trying to calm myself down. "Don't worry, I don't mind it much."
She blinked, clearly baffled. "You... don't mind it?"
"Yup."
She seemed to relax a little, but her confusion lingered.
"Well... if you say so," she muttered. Then I asked her to change the subject ."So, what about you? How did you end up here? You mentioned someone tried to kill you."
Before she could answer, she interrupted herself with a question, her voice urgent: "Oh, I just- Wait... how long have you been here?"
I frowned at the sudden shift. "I'm not sure. Maybe five or six hours? Why?"
She didn't answer immediately, her eyes darting toward the sky. Her expression grew more alarmed.
"The sun... Has the sun moved at all since you've been here?"
The question took me off guard. I hadn't been paying attention, but thinking back... she was right. The sun hadn't moved an inch since I'd arrived. It was still hanging there in the sky, low and weirdly close, like a glowing orb just floating above, not like a actual sun.
"I guess... it hasn't," I said, not entirely sure.
Her face paled instantly. "We need to move. Now!"
(She's lost it.) Kran's voice rang in my head, dripping with skepticism.
But I didn't question her. Without hesitation, I packed everything back into the bracelet, and we started walking. Remistia floated just ahead of me, her bat-like wings fluttering uselessly at her back. Despite her size, she seemed to have no trouble leading the way.
"Where are we going?" I asked, my curiosity piqued. "And why?"
"You'll see soon enough." she called back, clearly frustrated. "I can't believe I didn't realize it earlier..."
We didn't have to wait long to find out.
Suddenly, the "sun" fell to the ground, crashing into the desert with a dull thud. As it hit, its light extinguished, plunging everything into darkness.
I barely had time to react before something else happened.
The ground started to move.
"Ugh... I hate this part," Remistia groaned.
(I think the little snack has a point.) Kran chimed in. (This... is disgusting.)
The sand beneath us began to writhe, as if alive, and then I saw them—countless worms, wriggling and slithering across the ground. They were small, no bigger than my finger, but their sheer number made it impossible to avoid them. The ground was a moving mass of them, undulating in every direction.
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