Chapter 59: Meeting With the Varlan, Part 2

In his dreams, Howard had spent the entire night trying to tame a strange beast with two wings and six tails. However, the strangest thing about this dream was that other people had seemed to also be trying to catch this strange beast, chasing it with such urgency he almost forgot he'd slept through the night.

Awakening with his arms stretched, Howard found Harley and Jenny had already left the bus. A few zombies got decimated by flames from a beautiful girl in a black leather outfit while next to her side a few pots had been set to boil.

The green mountains had just started to get painted by the morning sun with strange, awakening forms appearing as shadows underneath the patches of leaves. Looking down at his seat, Howard reached to grab his jacket before he felt a strange sensation travel up his arm.

'This-this place is giving me the creeps' Howard quickly transformed from his old clothes into a new set before running outside to help deal with the zombies ambling towards them. This morning, a zombie with two heads and four arms tried to bowl a few skulls in his direction. Holding out his hand, Howard caused the zombie to melt into the shadows, it's dust blowing into the wind as he sauntered over to Jenny's side.

"Did… Did you have any strange dreams last night?" Howard asked, leaning down into her beautiful figure as she leaned over a pot. "I-I had a strange dream. This creature wanted me to catch it so these other people couldn't get it."

"I dreamed about you, good morning," Jenny grabbed Howard's hand and pulled him towards the black boiling pot that she'd worked on all morning. "I-I was working on a Ki Rejuvination Formula. I figured you could have it after I bit you. It might even make you taste sweet."

"No, he's not drinking that," Barabin tapped Howard on the shoulder and pulled him towards the bus, sensing a strange feeling in his eyes that didn't match his normal character. Howard normally never seemed worried, even in the face of death, so seeing such a strange expression could only mean one thing.

'He's worried about someone else. Quite the opposite of the first Demon King, Howard seems to only get worried like this when it involves others. When it comes to him, he'd probably jump into an explosion if it give someone benefits!'

'However, I can't seem rattled. After that dream last night, I can't let it get to me,' Barabin opened the door to the bus and invited Howard to take a seat. "So… tell me Howard… What is this dream you had? What did it feel like?"

"Well, it's strange, but normally when I dream it's sort of simple, but last night it got really complicated," Howard said, brushing back his hair. "Ugh, some strange shadow forced me to chase it while three other distinct feelings also pursued it. Does that make any sense?"

"Kid, dreamscapes exist here because of the Ki Fluctuations. Do you think I would find anything weird," Barabin laughed and patted his shoulder. "No, I also had a strange dream last night. It could be because we're close to the Varlan."

"The Varlan sometimes use devices to enhance their dreams in order to find hidden locations full of swaths of treasures. However, don't worry, nothing to worry about."

"When I woke up, I felt like that shadow got disappointed," Howard shook his head, watching Harley slowly get into the bus with Reece and Jenny. "Oh well, nothing that strange can happen, right?"

"We're moving out," Barabin yawned, pointing at a seat by Howard's side. "Let's-let's both try and sleep again. We need to be well rested to deal with the Varlan."

###

Howard's eyes fluttered closed before a large field of ice appeared in front of him that cut the horizon in half. What looked like a mountain in reverse had appeared in the distance.

Noticing that he was falling, Howard helplessly watched himself crash into the mountain, causing thousands of ice bursts to shoot and block out the sky. Spinning further and further into the mountain, Howard suddenly felt a calm, hitting against the ground and landing in a hidden cavern.

Boom!

Dozens of strange shadows coated with a frosty hue dashed from his vision before he slowly arose to his feet. Noticing that he could stand on his own accord, Howard pouted, wiping off the ice chips scattering across him like a bad meal.

"Is-is anyone here?" Howard said, walking forward into the tunnel. "I-I feel you. Please come out!"

"RaRa!" A strange creature suddenly appeared inside the tunnel, forming from a vortex before it seemed to slash its way into the space. To be more specific, the vortex seemed to cut into reality, like dozens of swords had been used to cut into Howard's dream.

Seeing this, Howard couldn't help but scratch his head, seeing a woman with skin whiter than snow slowly rising from the ground. She had on a blue dress, and dozens of swords tied around her body that all seemed to knot around her chest. Standing at roughly 1.2 meters tall, she had an elegance that made him feel immediately drawn to her by a powerful force.

"You-you're my only chance," The woman said, walking towards Howard. "The Authoritarians want to protect you. For that reason, I must use you for a while."

"Use me?" Howard said, walking towards her. "What do you mean? Aren't I dreaming?"

"I-I'm known as a Dream Myth." The beautiful lady shattered the distance between them with a single step, gently leaning into Howard and touching his skin with a touch of her hand. "I-I'm being hunted by the Varlan."

"The reason they want me is because I can exit in both dreams and reality at the same time. I'm currently beside you in the bus." The lady smiled, and gently opened her hand, causing Howard to see himself sleeping with Jenny holding his hand while Harley and her whispered together about the upcoming day. "I-I'm right there. Outside the window."

"I don't see anything," Howard said, laughing. "However, I look so strange when I sleep! I had no idea I slept with my mouth open."

"This is important Howard," The lady bowed onto the floor. "If the Varlan catch me, I will be forced to enter dreamscape after dreamscape harvesting Dream Beasts. They are trying to form a pact with me, but I refused."

"Dreams are meant to be treated with reverence and granduire. They-they simply want to use them to make a profit! I will not allow it!" The lady stomped on the floor, causing the mountain around Howard to shatter into a million pieces.

All around, the scenery disappeared before they ended up in a strange black openness that extended well past as far as the eye could see.

"I-I know I'm using you Howard, but I'm very useful." The Dream Myth had dozens of abilities that could help anyone, so this would be an understatement. "My-my name is Praklen. I-I was created 300 years ago in these mountains."

"Uhm, I don't know how to help you," Howard said, shaking his head. "I'm just a teenager. The best I can do is maybe talk to you at night. However, I'm confused, how can you exist in dreams and reality at the same time?"

"It's called the folding principle," Praklen opened her hand, causing a globe to appear. "I was born folded between two spaces so I live in them simultaneously. On the surface, this can't happen because there is no Ki, however, Ki changes some of the properties of reality. It's perfectly possible since the rules are different."

"Jenny would understand better than me," Howard laughed, walking over to her and holding out his hand. "Alright, I'll do everything I can to help you. However, how dangerous is me helping you. I only have a week to get to the Ki Reservoir."

"The-the Varlan have a trading station set up down this mountain where they will be selling trinkets that they created in dreamscapes. All you have to do is get me passed that point, and I can escape. In exchange, I'll let you in on something I discovered. It might even save Monica's life."

"Monica? How do you know her name?" Howard suddenly felt a defensive fire start to kindle inside of him, causing the space to seem to ebb back and forth like a kindling flame. "What could you possibly know?"

Howard had been thinking about Monica tirelessly the last few days, even when he didn't want to. The feeling of her pink full lips touching gently against him, and her curves falling back into his arms when he went to sleep. Even with Jenny and Harley, without those hips he felt like a sense of loss. If anything happened to her, he really might burst into flames and shatter the sky.

"Tell me! What do you know!"

"I know that she's in danger," Praklen pointed at Howard's heart. "I-I can sense dreams from other people, okay! Do I have to spell it out for you that sometimes these dreams have secrets! One of the Varlan saw Monica, and they are telling the Aresoul about it! Apparently, the Exland Empire will give them a reward if they kill her. Something about Horned Nation trying to interfere with their business model?"

"You sure," Howard said, feeling something crack internally. The idea that Monica was in danger had always been in the back of his mind, but now that she actually was at risk, his concern sky rocketed. "I-I will do anything to protect her. All I got to do is get you passed the Varlan, right?"

"Yes, and then I can ride a dream current in her direction," Praklen said, snapping her fingers and causing a map to appear. "I-I just can't get caught! Please, if you help me, I can warn her!"

"Yes a thousand million times," Howard nodded his head and smiled. "However, just out of curiosity. Should I tell Barabin or keep it a secret."

"A secret. If he finds out he'd probably turn me over immediately," Praklen wiped the sweat off her head, feeling a sense of relief coming from Howard's gentle eyes.

This seemed like a mutually beneficial deal. Unfortunately, somethings heard in dreams shouldn't always be taken as accurate.

"I-I'm on your side, Howard. Now please, wake up will you?"