Close out another day.

After your bath, you feel like puddy melting under the sun. It isn't hot outside--the opposite if anything--but after your time with Vivi followed by such a soothing, hot soak, you want nothing more than to lay out in the town you and your allies have created before the great castle doors, safely nestled between towering dark walls, further protected by the mountains of the Pecho Peaks. Thanks to Peony, the grass is softer than any you've felt, and filled with pleasant smelling flowers of colours--kinds you've never even seen before. There's likely a world of plants native to Abso beyond anything on Earth. Despite the sky being mostly clouds, it's difficult to tell the seasonal change. The trees around the castle aren't the kind to lose their leaves, and Tivera in general is more of a subtropic zone, meaning that even in the winter time, you don't expect a ton of snow. It stays relatively temperate, though the summers can be quite toasty. That's another advantage to living up in the mountains.

Maybe that's why outfits here are so skimpy, you think. Actually nah. It'd probably be the same either way.

After dinner, you tuck yourself into bed for a nice, deserved rest. You still have allies out there, gathering information, questing, and the like. While you worry for them, it feels quite nice to have that kind of reach. This goes beyond simply having spies. You have people who are extremely loyal to your rule as Demon King, and they're out there now, doing your bidding, and missing you just as much as you do them.

Some of your allies are certainly better at handling themselves on their own than others.

You drift off shortly after your reflections.

As the comforting blanket of twilight nurtures you to sleep, you find yourself fading away to another world--one of void, though despite the lack of light, you can look down to see your hands and body quite clearly as if lit. It feels familiar. While this is a dream, you're lucid, and despite the strangeness of it all, you don't feel afraid. Then you see her once again. The space shifts and twists around you, manifesting into a familiar shape--a silhouette of a woman, filled with twinkling stars and beautiful, colourful galaxies and other celestial bodies, as if you're peering through a person-shaped whole into the abyss beyond. Her eyes open to vibrant glowing orbs, and her hair flows back like a blue and purple nebulous cloud.

Aris--an etherite. She once described her people as, "walkers between the planes", and, "embodiments of space". It was she who created the series of pocket dimensional spaces she dubbed the Erotrain, which of course she used to challenge your stamina and your passion. Each cart within this train of planar chambers was personalized to one of a dozen girls who volunteered to test your skills in making love, and you not only defeated her trial, but bested her her sister Nae and an extraplanar dragon-like creature called an illidrake. You know she's friends with Lady Vex, though she certainly doesn't serve her like the rest.

Her voice reverberates. It's something you hear within your mind, as she has no mouth to speak. At least, that's how it seems. Etherites are strange, mysterious beings you know little about beyond the little Aris has told you. "It's good to see you again, Kyle. I spoke to Vexy recently, and it sounds like you mean to wage a little war."

"Hello, Aris. And I guess you could call it that. Did you come to offer your help?"

In nearly the the moment it takes to blink your eyes, she disappears with the space around her glitching like an old dying television, though at the same time, you feel her presence beside you. You turn your body slowly in the void to once again meet her gaze, albeit far closer now.

"There's little I can do in combat," she says. "However, I do believe my sister still works for this man you seek to defeat. This is personal for me. I'm not offering my help. I'll telling you that I'll be there, to stop Nae from doing something terrible. Anyway, I feel like I haven't thanked you nearly enough for not only participating in my Trial of the Erotrain, but also saving me in the end."

You offer a hand outstretched. "We'd be honoured to have you, Aris. Etherites are certainly amazing. As a bit of a planeswalker myself, I'd love to know more about you."

The two bright stars of her eyes glance down at the end. After a moment, she touches her hand upon it. Her grasp is soft, but in a way you've never experienced. You can barely put it into words. It's as if you're caressing the the night sky itself. It tingles, though not with discomfort. It's delicate, though not fragile. The gives your hand a firm shake, before her body once again vanishes away to once again appear beside you, now farther away. "Perhaps in time," she replies. "But I admit, I'd enjoy learning more about you as well. My people walk the border of space between the tangible world. Where you're from, I've never been, though the concept is known to me. If you're wondering if I can simply travel there at-will, no. I can't. This foe of yours is certainly formidable, and there's no doubt that Nae wishes to walk beyond this plane of ours as well, and into yours, or perhaps others if they exist in a similar manner. It would be a truly dangerous power, to be able to freely enter a world so different to our own. Though there are those I'd trust to do it safely, Nae isn't one, and neither is this Elok Daven."

"This world truly is an amazing place. I can't believe how many races live here. Species? Whatever you call it. Where I'm from, it's just humans, but we find ways to fight each other either way."

Bunnyfolk. Catfolk. Squeakins. Gnomes. Elves. Dwarves. Devils. Demons (gremlins, succubi, ice demons/tsuraras, anubians). Harpies. Goblins. Insectrin (bombus, formica, bombyx, eratigena, mantidae). Etherites. Magic Eaters/Stel'ae. Vampires. Pixies. Golems (or whatever you'd call the ALICEs). Dragons. Half-Orcs. Oni. Dryads. Ghosts (banshees). Jinn. Kitsune. There's likely more as well.

That's not to mention things those which lurk in the wild, like slimes, goblins (you've been lucky to find a few that don't immediately want to eat your face off!), and things you've heard about yet haven't had to face, such as trolls, gnolls, and the like. It's truly a world of wonders, yet one of danger as well.

"Is there anyone like me there?" she asks.

"... No. Not even close. But we have McDonald's. If you can eat, we'll go grab a burger if we ever get there."

"I'll hold you to that promise, Kyle." She casts her eyes off to the side. "Sleep now. I won't bother you any longer. If I need to reach you again, I know where to find your mind."

And with that, you don't remember anything more. Your mind fades away to the world of sleep until the sun rises and morning comes.