Between Dreams, the stars shimmered in the distance.
Time and space meant nothing here. Rules had ceased to exist. Light emerged from the void, and Zaku idly nudged blazing stars about as if they were decorations.
He was waiting for Loa.
Zaku had endured more collapses of Between Dreams than he could count. He was in no hurry; time mattered least to him. He was simply waiting for an opportunity.
Hum.
A golden door suddenly began to tremble. A black crack appeared, no larger than a sesame seed at first, then spread across the entire door in a single breath.
Then—bang!
Golden light burst outward. The door vanished, leaving a pitch-black hole behind. The explosion seemed to disturb something. A slit opened in the darkness, and a golden eye slowly opened.
Only then did Zaku stop moving the stars and glance up.
Crack!
The eye abruptly filled with blood vessels. Dark red blood spilled from it, then swiftly vanished. The hole fell quiet again. The damaged Illusion Realm began to rebuild itself, and the faint outline of a door took shape in the same spot.
Loa's voice came from behind him.
"What was that, Zaku?"
"That was me too. The me from another Between Dreams."
Zaku seemed entirely unsurprised by Loa's arrival. He yawned and stretched.
"Between Dreams is a virtual space connecting illusion realms to reality, but it isn't the only route. He and I are like the two ways you can travel between the South Pole and the North Pole. You can get back to the South Pole without retracing your steps."
Loa was still in his Great Dragon form, but beside Zaku, whose body spanned countless planets, he was smaller than an ant would be to an ordinary person.
Zaku did not look down on him for