As we walk down the long candlelit hallway, I notice something strange happening with Murakami's necklace. It was glowing and floating lightly.

"Hey, what’s up with your necklace?"

She looks down her nose. “Oh, it usually gets like that when it has some difficulty stabilizing my soul… It's happened to me a few times before, when I've tried to use my power beyond its capacity.”

“…But I don’t see you using any right now.”

“Yes, I suppose that's a separate case.” Says her turning her eyes to me again “Ever since I entered this cave, I've been getting some shiver all over my body, as if it was resonating to something... Maybe that’s why my collar is acting strange.”

“Wait, what?! Wouldn't you rather go back and wait outside then? I can keep going along with Loveta.”

“Yes, yes! It's a great idea Master! It’ll become much more romantic without her~”

She sighs. “I appreciate the concern, but there's no need. If the necklace breaks, I just need to get another one from the bishop in Azurya.”

…That man? Shit, don’t like this idea. Don’t know exactly why, but I do feel apathetic towards him. Maybe it’s some kind of sixth sense?

“Gya? But would they gladly give you a necklace even though you abandoned them?”

“The bishop still values my health. I'm sure if I asked, he would give me one more.”

"…Out of curiosity, what does this guy look like?"

You never know. I wonder if this bishop is a Toyosaki-type stallion, but smart? And he would be giving Murakami favors just to get her in return? Tch! If that happened, it would be a big problem…

Murakami strange my question “His appearance? …Why would you be curious over it?”

“Ah, err… Don’t know, why I wonder, haha?”

Fuck! There is just no way I’ll tell her what I just thought! And also, I’m out of ideas to make a good excuse…

She looks at me suspiciously but smiles a bit. “Don’t worry much, really.”

Well… I think I’ll have to accept that for now.

“Hey Master, look over there!”

Hm?

Murakami and I fixate our vision where Loveta was pointing her finger and we come across a huge stone statue at the end of the hall, to which we soon get close.

It was the figure of a chimera. A creature that is nothing more than a hybrid mix between animals. This one, in this case, had the body of a bear, the paws of a tiger, the trunk of an elephant, the tail of an ox, and the eyes of a rhinoceros. Please, give this beast a prize for its ugliness!

…Impressive is its size, and the number of sculpted details. I don't know who made it, but it sure must have taken a lot of work. Although we are in the world of dreams, right? Yes, that would be entirely possible.

“Ugh! What a horrible taste from whoever created this!” Loveta becomes stunned as she stares at the figure. “And what's with that paw lifted in the air, was it trying to attack someone?”

"It seems so. Hm? Murakami, is everything okay?”

I look to the side and find her strangely looking at the animal as if she was in some sort of a trance. The necklace on her chest was glowing much brighter than before.

“Murakami…?”

Ignoring my words, she extends her right arm and fingers. “I feel like, I need to touch it...”

“Hey, hey, hey! Stop it! It can be dangerous!”

She again ignores me and approaches the statue even further.

Damn it! I can’t let this happen; I need to—

FLASH!

Just before a huge light followed by the unfrozen attack of the chimera hits us, I jump taking both girls to the ground.

ROAAAAAAAR!! The chimera roars as it comes back to life.

"Who dares to disturb the mighty Baku?!”

[System Warning: Extremely strong enemy detected. Level: 759. Chance of victory: 0%. Recommended Action: Escape]

Huh??! You must be kidding me!

Loveta and I quickly strike our combat poses.

Run away? Impossible! Murakami is collapsed on the ground! Never would I leave her alone!

The chimera stares at me like a reaper would do at the final moments before death, but then it fixes its eyes on Murakami.

Despite the stress, I quickly raise my bow and aim my arrow at the animal, which, for some reason, become startled. "No way, it can't be! That person is…!"

Without us being able to understand anything else, the chimera prostrates itself before her.

Wait… What??

* * *

"Okay, so let me get this straight... You said you served a master, or rather, a goddess. This goddess fought another god and lost the battle. As a result, she was forced to petrify you. And now you feel something inside Murakami that reminds you of that same goddess, is that it?”

“Precisely! My memories are still fuzzy, there are things I still can't remember, such as who these gods were or why this battle had started, but there's no doubt that this girl do have the essence of my lady!” Says the big one.

—?!

He starts smelling me.

Hey, stop it! It's weird!

"You're no stranger to me either. You don’t smell like any of those gods, but it seems familiar to me, um...”

"If your name is Baku, then would you be the dream eater?"

Now it was Murakami's turn to ask. She was much better now, and her necklace was also back to normal.

"Hohoho! I see, so you're a good student of mythology! I’m glad you remember me! That's right, devouring dreamians is my specialty!”

He then glares at Loveta, making her shiver from her ears to the tip of her tail.

“Gi! Stop this strange conversation! The only one allowed to devour me is my Master! You may be legendary or whatever, but I don’t like you, and I'm not afraid of you either!”

“Hohoho! Then should I show you a small portion of my strength?”

“You can try, but I doubt you succeed.” She grins.

Sparks fly between their eyes.

“Okay, okay! Enough you both!”

"Baku, if you're really the dream eater, does that mean you could help Earth's people have fewer nightmares?" Murakami asks hopefully, which isn't surprising, as wiping out episodes is one of her most incessant missions.

“Yes ma'am! But from the way you guys told me about the situation on Earth, I’m sorry to say I won’t be much of a help, after all, I can't be in two places at once. But whenever you need me, just call my name three times, and I will appear immediately to devour your terrible dreams! And oh, I also devour demons!”

“Demons!? Do they really exist?!” I got in shock.

“Oh, but of course! If there are gods it’s only natural that there are also demons, since demons are nothing more than their servants. Well, it's reasonable that you humans tend not to believe them, as they operate in another dimension of Earth, not visible for you”.

“Um, it makes sense.”

That’s right, until recently I didn't believe in all this craziness of gods or demons, but suddenly everything changed as soon as I got access to Aether. It surprises me how many true things exist that I believed to be lies...

Baku continues. "Is there anything else I could be of help? That's the least I could do for the ones that set me free after all.”

“Actually, there is.” Pronounced Murakami. “We're looking for a human boy who ended up walking into this place for some reason. But considering you were petrified; I believe you didn’t see him?”

“I may have been petrified, but I can feel the presence of anyone within the perimeter of this palace. Unfortunately, to your misfortune, I feel none other than our presence.”

So Taichi truly disappeared huh? Phew, now there's really nothing more we can do... It's almost time for us to return to Earth anyway. I hope he is all right at school tomorrow, and that what we saw today was indeed just a copy.

“Okay, so we're going now, Mr. Baku. Thanks for the help! And also, I almost forgot, on the way here we found the corpse of a giant lying on a bed.”

“Oh, I'm already aware of it. As I said, I don't remember much of the past, but I'll check it out after that. Thanks for the reminder anyway, and also thank you again for setting me free from petrification. Remember, don't hesitate to call me into your world whenever you're in trouble!”

“Right! See you later Baku!”

“Thank you for everything.”

"Grrrrr... I'm still not going with your face!"

“Hoho! Who knows, maybe we can have a duel one day or another?”

At the clash of eyes between the two, we left the palace.