The Bottom of the Dream

Shirley felt herself sinking through darkness for a long time—sinking and sinking, as if the entire world had suddenly become nothingness, and she would sleep forever in that descent.

Until a tremendous force suddenly tugged at her arm, and A'gou's voice rang directly in her mind. "Shirley! Wake up! Wake up! Don't fall asleep!!"

Shirley finally jolted awake from that endlessly sinking dream, practically jumping straight up on the spot. "A'gou! Fire! The city's on fire again!"

The terrifying sight of flames spreading across the sky still seemed to burn in her lingering memories. The dreadful pressure of the entire city being devoured by fire made her heart pound wildly. She could not remember how long it had been since she had last had such a nightmare, to the point that when she woke, she could not tell whether she had truly awakened or fallen into another nightmare that was about to burn.

But A'gou's voice pulled her back from her panic. "Shirley, there's no fire. It was just a dream. There isn't any huge fire here..."

Shirley finally woke up completely. She shook her head. The scene before her was still somewhat blurry, but she could see lush green in her field of vision and hear the sound of running water nearby. She also saw A'gou beside her—at last putting her at ease. She instinctively leaned against A'gou and took several breaths. "That scared the hell out of me... So what happened before that... Why was the whole city suddenly on fire? And now we're..."

"We are in the Dream of the Nameless." Lucretia's voice suddenly came from beside her, instantly silencing Shirley's muttering.

Shirley looked toward the voice. The strange blur in her vision finally faded, and she saw the "witch" standing on a tree stump not far