Chapter 48: Demon of Joy
The young man with the bizarre prank—the very one that had thrown Dusk into this bad situation—was now leisurely sitting under a tree, pondering how he might seek out his next bit of fun.
Of course, he had no idea that the gift’s recipient had been Dusk, not Lysandra. Then again, it hardly mattered who opened the gift, for whoever it was would be granted the same delight, all thanks to a single word: "Surprise!"
Suddenly, his eyes lost focus, as if his consciousness had been ripped away in an instant.
His body lost its balance, slumping gently against the tree trunk.
Within a strange space—perhaps the realm of consciousness, or maybe something even stranger—he found himself standing alone in an undefined void.
"This is weird... Where am I, exactly? Did I pass out from exhaustion and start dreaming?"
He muttered question after question into the void, but none received an answer.
Scratching his head in confusion, he tried to sense his surroundings.
"Strange. Why do my senses still feel so sharp? Could this be... some kind of ultra-realistic dream?"
Suddenly, something in that dark space shifted. From within the veil of shadows, a pair of eyes and a bright red mouth emerged.
Judging by the expression, whoever owned those eyes and that mouth was smiling widely—perhaps even joyfully.
"Hahaha! Greetings, my dear friend—Jasko Merrigrin. I am one of the Primal Demons, the Demon of Joy!"