Sakamoto Mansion - Afternoon.

Following a long and stressful day at school, Reishi returned home.

Her mansion looked like a somber place compared to the loud,rush place that her school was.

Reishi: (Oh god…. I can't believe I agreed to that date….)

She thought in her head as she turned the doorknob and entered her mansion.

The first thing she did when she got home was lay down on her huge bed. She pressed her cheek to the cool, velvet pillows. The comforter was thick and irresistibly soft, like a billowing cloud. She toppled into it, relieved to rest her weary feet. It was like heaven to finally be back in bed again.

Juno: *Meow*

Her cat snuggled right next to her.

Warmth and darkness enveloped her. She soon succumbed to the call of sleep. Her eyes closed and consciousness began to slip into darkness….

"Say first, for Heav'n hides nothing from thy view Nor the deep Tract of Hell, say first what cause Mov'd our Grand Parents in that happy place, Favour'd of Heav'n so highly, to fall off 30 From their Creator, and transgress his Will For one restraint, Lords of the World besides? Who first seduc'd them to that fowl revolt? Th' infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv'd 35 The Mother of Mankinde, what time his Pride Had cast him out from Heav'n, with all his Host Of Rebel Angels, by whose aid aspiring To set himself in Glory above his Peers, He trusted to have equal'd the most High, "

Reishi could hear a weird hum in her ears as she slipped into a dream world. She expected to be transported into a fantasy kingdom like most of her dreams but instead she seemed to be inside of a black void which seemed to have no limits nor end.

Reishi: Mmph!

She couldn't move her body or even her lips.

Reishi: (am I dreaming…?)

She thought.

Reishi: (Odd… I can usually move in my dreams…)

Reishi tried once again to move her body but to not avail. She seemed stuck in the position she was in with no way to move out.

?: Sssssss….

She heard what sounded like a slithering sound come from the distance.

Reishi: …?

?: *Hiss*

Reishi: (I-Is that a snake?)

She pondered.

Her question was immediately answered, with a slithering snake working its way across the void of her mind, it's smooth, body using its incredibly powerful stomach muscles to propel it along, while never turning its beady eyes away from the prey it was advancing towards.

The snake lurched forward until it reached her toes, where it began to contort and begin to wrap itself around Reishi's body. Reishi breathed with fear in her biorhythm, it was the only thing she could do while paralyzed.

Snake: Ssssssss…..

It hissed.

Snake: Reishi…. You're Ssssuch a naughty girl… Sssssss.

Snake: You've been running away from my grasp for awhile….

The snake constricted reishi body even tighter.

Reishi: (Ah…..!)

Reishi moaned.

Snake: I've sent two of my shadowmancers after you and yet you've still resisted my clutches.

Snake: -It really Annoyssssss me….

The Snake bit into reishi's neck. Her slippery fangs bit into the flesh of Reishi's young body causing a stream of blood to spurt out. All Reishi could do was let out a shriek while the snake toyed with her.

Snake: Mmmm! You taste like sugar, M'dear.

The snake teased.

Snake: Please, Just know that I love you dearly! Not some puppy love, But real genuine love~

The snake said.

Snake: Come to me, My dear. Just leave yourself in a field… And I'll come to you. Give into the darkness and i'll comfort

Snake: You're the love of my life, Dear. -And I just want you to be safe~

The snake lifted its head to luna's ears and softly whispered a sweet lullaby before saying:

Snake: Klap Lige Hesten, Sweets dreams~

The snake kissed her on the cheek once again, Causing reishi to have a visceral reaction.

Reishi: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Reishi woke up screaming into the night. Her shriek carried through the night like a musical siren in distress.

Juno: *MROW!*

Juno also shrieked at her master's wail. She leaped off the bed in fear.

Reishi: *Pant Pant Pant*

Reishi started hyperventilating and panting like a dog. The images from the dream started to flash through her mind. The snake, The darkness, The hymns. All of it.

Reishi: Oh god…..

She started to regain her composure.

Reishi: Juno…. I'm so sorry.

She picked up the cat and caressed its back. Her silky smooth hand calmed the feline.

Reishi: I know your ears are very sensitive…. Sorry kitty.

She relented.

Reishi: My god though…. What was that?

Reishi: It didn't feel like an ordinary nightmare…. It felt like something else entirely….

Reishi: A snake wrapped around my body…. And began talking to me….

Reishi: (That snake…. It was talking about me as if I was some runaway puppy…)

Reishi: "Come back to me". "Return to me." It was as if the snake was talking to my personally.

Reishi concluded.

Reishi: -But that's impossible! Dreams are supposed to vaguely incoherent nonsense…. How could that serpent be talking directly to me….

Reishi: I wonder if this the work of the shadowmancers!?

She pondered such a ludicrous thought. The shadowmancers definitely had some sort of otherworldly powers, after all they do seem to be able to teleport around places, it wouldn't seem too far-fetched that they could infiltrate someone else's dreams…

Reishi: *Sigh* What am I to do…

Reishi rested her head back on the pillow. Juno was still in her arms and resting peacefully. She wondered if the torment that the shadowmancers were giving her would ever go away…..