Toma wandered across the colorful landscape. He loved frolicking in the dream realms. He gets to indulge himself in experiences not accessible to reality. Such was the life of the dream sorcerer.

He was skipping a path through a dream forest. The trees twisted in whimsical ways that weren't commonplace in waking forests. Their boughs were like mobiles with their leaves dangling on silk. As moonlight filtered through the foliage, the glass-like leaves scattered the light into numerous breathtaking rays. By the well-trodden path grew little weeds and herbs. The leaves they grew were like blades of grass but orange like copper.

The forest he frolicked wasn't devoid of animal life. Upon the branches that arched above him sat the humble songbirds. With their beaks shaped like musical instruments, they filled the atmosphere with radiant songs. It simply lifts his spirits hearing their songs that Toma could levitate if he so desired. Upon the ground wandered rabbits made of bread with ermine robes. They carried maces of gold and twirled them as they hopped through the forest floor. Blue stoats emerged from the hollows of the trees. They never truly leave their dens, and so their bodies stretched as their torsos crawl farther and farther away from their dens. Their lengthy bodies hang from the branches like tinsel and buntings.

In his wandering in the forest, he came across a cave. Fang-like rocks hung above like awnings. Deep ringing chimes echoed from the caliginous depths. Stinky stale air blew out the opening as though it was the breath of some large creature that lay at the bottom of the cave.

But Toma didn't bother himself with such implications. The sorcerer was inexperienced and merely regarded the dream realms as places he could play in. The dream realms were elfin ephemeral locations where the consequences of one's actions cannot catch up to you after you've woken up. There was no need for caution or compassion when visiting these realms, it was simply a waste when all of what you've done had no bearing on reality.

And so, Toma skipped into the cave, unheeding of any possible danger that may lurk in the darkness. But why would Toma even come to such conclusions when the walls of the cave were aglow with colorful crystals. Yond his steps striking the stone, the crystals emitted a calming ringing that filled the air. It was a beautiful symphony that accompanied his carefree wanderings.

The cave gently curved as he descended down the depths. He ignored the deep groaning and ominous chimes that came from the bottom of the cave. The path curved and turned and twisted with alarming regularity that it almost felt like he was walking down a labyrinth. Still, Toma tried to savor the dreamy sights the cave had kindly offered to him.

The calming rings and the beautiful arrangements of crystals simply allured him to go down further. Strange coral-like plants grew upon the stones of the walls. Despite the utter darkness of the deep earth, he was still able to see all the things around him. In the veil of darkness, he could spy the glowing outlines that defined the objects that scatter across the caves. He was happy to experience and see the beauty of these things.

Soon the cave opened to a large cavern. It was a spacious cavern that spread so wide that he couldn't the other side. Looking above, he could see the stalactites hang from the ceiling like swords and fangs. They threatened to fall upon unruly ones who put themselves under their points. The darkness that lingered within the caliginous cavern was more profound than anything else. They seemed to swallow everything in sight. The glowing outlines that once were visible to him in the gloom were now invisible and dark.

But even such a menacing environment did not deter him. He was fearless in the face of danger. After all, he was in the dream realms where all consequences were impermanent. Toma stepped forward, and suddenly, all the calming rings stopped. He was left in dead silence. His ears rang at the sudden loss of sound. It almost felt that he had gone deaf.

He tried to take a step back, but he only backed into a solid stone wall. He turned around and saw that the cave that had once been turning and twisting behind his back had disappeared without a trace. The thing that now stood behind him was a non-descript stone wall that blocked his passage.

He was suddenly assaulted with the realization of him being trapped within the depths. He was made instantly aware of the sound of labored breathing and slow heartbeats. They did not originate from within his body. Someone else was here, someone alive within this dank cavern. He wasn't alone.

He turned behind him and saw the beast that stood behind him. It was a humongous wolf with thick matted fur. The creature's presence was profound that it stood out in the darkness. Its fur was blacker than nothing that its shape was apparent even in the absolute darkness of the depths. Its eyes were a pair of onyx orbs that glowed black. Stinky drool drip out its smiling canine face. The teeth in its maw were black like its fur but appeared whiter than snow in his vision. How he knew they were black despite appearing completely white was a mystery.

Toma flattened himself on the wall. He reasoned that he couldn't be hurt in the dream realms, but he could help but be cautious. The wolf appeared as dangerous as it appeared. The beast swayed listlessly before him, but he could feel the malice emanating from the dark light of its eyes.

Then suddenly, like lightning, the wolf lunged to attack Toma. Toma was frozen, and his feet were rooted in place as the beast closed the distance in less than a blink. Its mouth was wide open, showing the full majesty of its dentition. Its claws whooshed as it sent them to cleave the boy in twain.

Toma closed his eyes in fear. His end was nigh. While he knew he would wake up from his bed no worse than when he slept, he'd rather not feel the pain of strikes that pulls him from the dreaming realms. He prayed that the strikes that would smite him would as painless as possible. He'd rather they not be so painful that the limbs that had been struck would be sore when he woke up.

Suddenly, the sound of glass chimes filled the cavern. The mouth of the monstrous wolf snapped just in front of his face, and the claws flew just a hairsbreadth from slicing him halfwise. The beast's stinky breath blew against his face.

Toma slowly opened his eyes and saw a bevy of pearly chains binding the wolf. They attached onto numerous shackles around the beast. Shackles everywhere: on its chest, wrists, neck, legs, and arms. There were multiples on its limbs. They tinkled and chimed as they shook against the beast's struggles.

"No! No! At least let me have him," the wolf's hoarse voice sounded. The chains dragged it back to the spot where he started. It dug its claws into the stone, but to no avail, the chains dragged it all the same. Its claws carved canyons as they were dragged across the floor. "I haven't eaten in a very long time... please, let me eat."

"You can talk?" Toma involuntarily said. The question simply escaped out of his mouth.

The beast gave Toma a questioning look. "Many beings of dreams could speak, sorcerer. I am merely one of them."

Toma gulped at that statement. Hopefully, it hadn't offended the beast. "I hadn't met anyone like you who could also speak."

The wolf snorted. "The summer dream realms don't tend to house monstrous mares such as me, dear sorcerer. Perhaps you should try to visit the winter dream realms."

"Summer realms? Winter realms? Actually, no matter. How did you know I was a sorcerer?"

"Your blood stinks of their magic, sorcerer. No dreaming man could wander the dream realms with such lucidity and opacity as you wandered here."

The wolf struggled some more against the chains. Their tinkling chimes resounded in the cavern, but they were resolute in keeping the beast bound. The beast couldn't step a foot closer to Toma with the chains attached to its limbs.

The sight of the beast unable to move emboldened Toma. He removed himself from the wall where he had flattened himself. He stepped a yard closer to the wolf and began examining the pearly chains that held the beast in place. At first, he thought that they bound the beast to the stone of the roof and the floor, but as he looked closer, he could see that they extended further. He could see the whole length of the chains, even when a portion of their length had been buried neath the surface. He saw the chains extend ever farther, stretching unto infinity where they faded into darkness.

Immensely curious of the chains, he approached one of the chains and began to investigate them closely. Like many real chains, they were a series of links connected together. They were made of a fascinating material that shimmered in many colors. As he watched the links, he saw them slowly change from one color to another; from pale yellow to baby fuschia to powder blue. Such interesting chains they were.

Toma put forward a finger to touch one of the many links. He expected it to feel smooth glass, but instead, he felt the warmth of a home. He felt the anticipation of waiting for his father to arrive with a bulging sack filled with goodies. He felt the joy of receiving the gifts his father had brought them one winter evening. The happiness he felt from sharing the experience with his brothers and the feasting upon the holiday dishes his mother had prepared had overwhelmed him, and he forcefully pulled his finger from the link.

Toma inspected his finger but saw that it was uninjured. He looked back to the link it had touched and saw that it had been drained of color. The link had lost the dancing colors characteristic of its brethren. In its place was a dull white link reminiscent to a piece of dead coral.

He turned to the wolf who seemed to be amused with his predicament. "What was that?" Toma asked.

The wolf giggled at the question. It picked one of the slacking chains. "These chains that bind me are forged from dreams, sorcerer. Each link of these chains had been forged from the hopes and dreams of countless dreamers, and together, they form chains stronger than any other."

Toma ruminated on the wolf's answer. "Why did they feel the need for you to be bound?"

"For you see, sorcerer, I am Masi, the most fearsome nightmare that had emerged from the dream sea. All of the dream realms quivered at my name as I descended into their dreams and razed them down to darkness. Sorcerers of yore had fought against me tooth and nail to seal away the evil that was me," the wolf explained. The smile on its face widened as its words escaped.

Toma was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to follow up after that explanation.

The wolf giggled. "I have introduced myself, sorcerer. Why don't you tell me your name?"

"It's Toma, Masi."

"Hehehe. You used my name." The wolf's smile grew ever wider. Its head was almost split into two by the smile that now wrapped around its head. "I have to thank you, Toma."

"For what?" Toma nervously asked.

Masi flexed one of its arms. It pulled upon one of the chains, but instead of pulling undeterred against the might of the nightmare wolf, the chain snapped. There was a weak link. It was the one Toma had touched. With the power drained from its vessel, the porcelain link was unable to withstand the strain and exploded into a shower of shards. Toma was caught in the spray and many of its fragments dug into his flesh. Numerous wounds on his face and body opened, and blood flowed out the holes that now dot his form.

He falls to the ground, wincing in pain. He looked up to the swagger of the beast with a smile of doom that now wrapped on its chest like a sash. It was giggling at his pain. It was amused by his injuries. The chains that had once held taut against the struggles of the beast went slack and now lay loose on the floor like limp snakes. Now the beast was free to act as it liked.

"For freeing me." Then the beast burst into a fit of laughter. Their mirth boomed in the cavern.