51. Morning
WHUUUUUUUUUUR!!!!!!
The train horn blared as the train roared through the fog. Maria couldn’t see it through the thick mist, but it was close enough for her to feel its presence.
"Scary isn't it? Where Skyline was made from dreams of anime. Interlocking is made from nightmares."
Maria looked up. The sky was still cracking as Leon was forcing the dream to come to an end.
"Why! This makes no sense! You want to relax! You want to play games and lay in bed all day! So why try to end this dream! Be my pillow! And I'll be whatever you want!"
Even with boundless energy and vitality, reincarnated in a fantasy world the likes of which I've only dreamed of; I'm still getting tempted to be lazy.
WHUUUUUUUUUUR!!!!!!
A train shot past him in the fog.
As if dying would change me.
Leon smiled to himself.
"I actually love trains! But they used to scare me! When I was a child I foolishly read the Nise Kisha ghost story, right before riding my first train. Naturally it was a fog day and I got separate from my Mom at the station. I wandered too close to the edge. This was back before the modern safety standards were put I place. The train came rushing into the station and almost hit..."
WHUUUUUUUUUUR!!!!!!
The train collided with Leon and pulled him underneath the tracks. His body bent and cracked as the train wheel tore through him on the rails.
".. pillow? BIG BROTHER!?"
"I'm ok!"
Talk about pain! Guess it's my fault for the monologue again... I get a 2nd skill and I immediately start my villain arc.
Leon pulled himself back up as his body healed back to normal.
"I'm good, but this is what I meant about the effects being mutual in Memory Flare. I have no way of knowing which way the trains are coming from."
"Why are you hurting yourself!? I don't get it! Pillow. Come to me and rest with me?"
I'm not getting through to her. She's too afraid of losing this endless dream to take the risk. As much as I want to try and convince her before we wake up, I don't know if I can.
"Don't worry Maria. Once we wake up, I'll show you that you can trust my promise. So please forgive this rude awakening!!!"
More trains started to appear.
whuuuUUUuuur....
....whuuuuuUUUUUR!!!!!!
WHUUUUUUUUUUR!!!!!!
Maria dodged between trains. Unaffected despite the fog obscuring her vision and the insane speeds of the unstopping vehicles.
Leon, meanwhile, had already been run over twice.
Note to self. Use Nise-Kisha Interlocking sparingly.
Another train came straight for Maria.
Without time to dodge, she gripped the rails with her feet and brought her hands forward to catch the train.
KRRRRRRRRRNNNNNG!!
The front of the train crumpled beneath her grip. Metal shrieked and twisted as the massive vehicle came to a forced halt.
The trailing carriages continued forward. They lifted off the tracks, flipping through the air before crashing to the ground in fiery explosions
What the?!... Can all the captains do that? She seems way too strong to be just Captain rank.
"There you are pillow!"
The explosions had lit up the fog enough to reveal Leon's shadows against the smoke.
Maria ran at him at full speed. Her claws and feet dug through the ground as her unnatural joints propelled her forward.
Leon looked up. The sky was almost fully shattered but he still needed more time to force the dream to come to an end
"Not good!"
Leon held both his arms out.
Sure enough, a train hooked onto his arm and pulled Leon along.
Maria chased down the train. Despite its speed, she was faster.
"Give me a break..."
I tired a dream. I tried a nightmare. Let's try a normal memory. One from reality!
"~Dream with open eyes~"
"No pillow! Not this time!"
Maria tackled into the middle carts of the train. Derailing the whole vehicle and sending Leon flying.
Maria lunged at him in the air
"~Memory Flare; Point Zero~"
In an instant, the two were blinded by sunlight. The morning rays spilled through the trees to wash away the last remnants of night!
The fog was gone. The blaring horns of trains had fallen silent. Replaced by birds singing somewhere in the canopy and soft wisps of wind through the grass. Warmth washed over their skin. The air smelled flowers and honey dew.
"Quiet Awe. My first moment in this world. Our senses are heightened to the point where you can't help but take in the mundane beauty of nature."
It was the ordinary Primeval Forest. No grand vista, no towering monuments, or inspiring landscapes. Just a tranquil stretch of woodland, growing as it always had. The quiet indifference of nature.
"...It's nice..."
Leon sat up and pulled the massive demon's head gently onto his lap.
"It is, isn't it/"
He petted Maria's Demon head as she rested it on Leon's thigh.
The sky had finally shattered.
Only for Maria to realise as she woke up in the mansion's garden.
"Shhh...you deserve more sleep. Rest on your pillow."
Leon petted Maria's human head as she rested it on Leon's thigh.
"Good night... big brother..."
"Good night. Sweet dreams."
"Wife number 3! Wife number 3!"
Tsukihi began chanting in the background.
"Well I guess she can stay if she behaves..."
"Though she's not allowed to use Leon as a pillow unless we're all present."
"Valeria! Celestine! Really?! You two are switching sides just like that?"
"Come on Rika! I told you she's wife number 3! Besides, didn’t you have a good time in your own little dream with Leon?"
"OF COURSE NOT! That stupid Farm boy and mare put us in stupid clothes and places!"
Valeria and Celestine began blushing as they recalled the dream.
"Actually mine was really nice..."
"Same. We got married.."
"Hey! You can't do that!"
"It's not my fault you didn't think of it."
"Why would I? I'm getting the real thing!"
"Yes, after me."
Tsukihi stepped next to Rika as Celestine and Valeria bantered.
"Come on, we can't kill her. I bet you had an amazing dream and you're just embarrassed now."
"Why would I be embarrassed about some stupid made up dream in that idiot's head."
"So Maria can stay?!"
"...Fine she can live. But I vote to kill Farm boy instead!"