Late at night, after finishing his meditation, Annan had the maid Abby bring him what he needed.
A dining table, two chairs, and a lavish meal on silver trays. It looked as though Annan was about to hold a dinner party on his bed.
"Hmm... You can go now. Take Lily with you," Annan told Abby, who was giving him a strange look.
Abby picked up Lily and left the bedroom. The light from the corridor vanished as the door closed.
Annan kept still so the food on the table wouldn't topple over. After arranging the Magic Stones beside him, he folded his arms across his shoulders like a ruler lying among the burial goods in his coffin and fell asleep...
On the sweltering shore of the Lava Lake stood two chairs and a dining table laden with food. It even had a floral tablecloth, as though the barren Gravel Beach and scorching Lake of Magma around them were a golden beach and an azure sea.
Annan appeared alongside them and extended a hand, elegantly inviting the Flame Phantom to take a seat.
The Flame Phantom moved in front of a chair, but before it could sit, the wooden chair burst into flame with a hiss.
Annan frowned in thought, then raised a finger. "Wait for me!"
He picked up a rock to knock himself awake, only for the Flame Phantom to seize him by the collar.
"Oh, right..."
Annan activated a Magic Stone, then swung the rock into his forehead and woke from the dream.
Climbing out of bed, Annan took the Mountain Copper Armor from its stand, returned to bed, and slipped back into the dream...
The shore of the Lava Lake looked just as it had when he left. Annan set the armor on a pile of