Re-entering that giant void bubble that I later found out to be a Hollow, I felt an odd sense of comfort fill my being as it turned black for a while before I saw the familiar sites of long-abandoned construction sites and crystal-filled streets. The comfort felt akin to a good night's sleep, which I found odd, considering that Hollows are supposed to be dangerous and exhausting based on past experiences. But the real world felt more exhausting than being in here… though, I already miss being able to talk to people. Even the kid in charge of the company was enough for me. "It has to be just a dream, though. A messed up one, but it's not like this isn't something outright abnormal. Subconscious thoughts can lead to pain in some scenarios, and phantom pain exists… still, why the hell did that blue med spray hurt so much? Medical supplies aren't meant to hurt…" That still confused me. I had light pains at most from using those things as wounds tend to be sensitive, but it didn't feel like I was genuinely spraying fire or acid on me. It almost made me wonder if I was one of those 'Ethereals' I heard earlier in the conversation I overheard with Damon and his 'friend'.

Not that it mattered though. Even though I had no clue where Khors was or what I was, I had no other choice if I wanted to escape this dream. This is just my only hunch and goal that I currently have. Well, a goal that was sensible enough to pursue for a homeless man now; disregarding the fact that this is a world in which dungeons with zombie monsters are fought frequently. Plus, I don't have a phone I can actively use anyway, or an understanding of the local cultures, a fact that left me with a deep sense of irony that I couldn't recall precisely why was the case, which left me just simply staring at Damon's boxing gloves for a while as I tried to remember what I looked like before I took his body. "...I think I might've been a little paler. Or darker? Not this much muscle definition though."

I shook my head, refocusing on what I came here to do. I had to keep moving.

Moving through the streets was easy enough as it was during the night as it was during the day, forcing me to keep low as I traversed through the occasional outcropping of ethereal, or at least taking them out quickly before they could fight. While I hardly had a clue as to where Khors could be in all this mess, I managed to get more familiar with how the area around me seemed to work as I moved from building to building. First off, it seems that there's even more evidence that Ethereals are, in fact, space zombies, as space doesn't seem to make sense inside of a hollow. Secondly, each and every ethereal I killed had some sort of memory that I received as a result of slaying it, which usually was some random choice of final thoughts that I eventually tuned out as I moved on. Finally, some rifts didn't have the sound of the outside world, which made it nearly impossible to tell what was actually on the other side.

While I already knew this to an extent with the last encounter I had in this place, it became even more confusing when I decided to go through one of those weird, silent void rifts. Inevitably, I just tried climbing up to the highest buildings I could find rather than trying my luck with portals, and just sneaking past the many monsters as much as I could, listening closely to footsteps so I could avoid getting caught myself. No matter how much I tried to avoid it, eventually, I'd get caught, but thankfully not by the zombies that I was looking for confirmation on their being.

Before I could go up an elevator and see if it would connect to another building, I was suddenly yanked aside, and before I could make protests, I saw a guy dressed similarly to Damon staring me down, built roughly the same and all too. He was backed by a bunch of guys with bats and crossbows, some having molotovs at the ready too.

"Hey Damon," The brute would say with crossed arms after letting go of me. "What the hell gives? You ran off on everyone recently and didn't even bother to report back. You know we Adamant Wolves ain't going to ever beat those cowardly cats if we start separating, and the boss was wondering what happened to his left-hand man." As he spoke, one of the men came up next to me with some kind of scanner, a little nervous as he approached.

"Well, this was all self-explanatory. He did belong to some sort of gang. Still, I've only been gone for a day, I could use this to my advantage." Hesitating only briefly to let the man finish speaking, I immediately shoved the other big guy and glared at the guy approaching with a small growl, causing him to stand down. "What gives? How about the fact I was checking up on my family back home, my own personal pack? Is no one in this group allowed to check on the people New Eridu won't give a damn about when it doesn't come to resources?"

That caused them all to pause and look at each other. Hook, line, and sinker, all stuff easy to sway mobs like these; you hit them where they care most. That's how companies cheat people.

"Last I checked, we're wolves, proud of our brethren and our strength. And while we stick together, we also need to keep our young and weak safe so that our pack stays strong. We're not some manic bandits called Red Fang who'd act like rabid dogs!" I made up the name on the spot, carrying conviction. "We're wolves, and we fight so we can bring food for the people we protect. Not just traveling together."

The equally buff man stood before me, looking me dead in the eyes. "Is that all?" I stood resolutely. Or, at least I hoped I was doing so. I couldn't feel my face, so I couldn't tell if I was being defiant, but I definitely aimed my gloves a little closer to something that resembled a fighting stance. After a moment of silence, he'd crack a grin and loosen up. "Well said. Still, you missed out on an important clash. The Mountain Lions just hit us recently, trying to steal from our medicine supplies. Boss held them off thanks to Tusk's help, but we don't have the manpower to deal with another attack."

"Could we fix that with money?" I de-tensed as well. "I've got word that something very valuable to Belobog Industries might be in this hollow. Not entirely sure where it is, but given the amount of construction equipment…"

"That could get us more supplies, or allow us to outlast our rivals..." He'd hold a hand to his chin, humming in thought. "Always the strategist and treasure hunter, Damon. But what is this anyway?"

"The most valuable thing the new president of that company could get." I continued with my bullshit, knowing that this dream is going to shape a path for me anyways. "Everything that belongs to her father. I just need to get to some high ground so I can get an idea of where he's most likely at; I've got a pretty good idea of what happened to him."

"You think the bastard is hiding here? Of all places?" He'd raise a brow. "...Then again, much easier to stay out of the public eye if you've embezzled funds for all that medicine. We could take whatever he has left and then ransom him to the company for even more profit."

"Hot damn these people are ruthless. Also, embezzlement? I guess maybe those two brothers could've been doing a bit of that in the back of my mind… but then what about the other taking over the business?" I pondered for a brief moment, before shaking my head as I decided I wouldn't dream up something so depressing. "Sounds like a plan. If my intuition is telling me right, we'd be living easy for a while."

The man would raise a brow at my random head shake and then sudden agreement, before ultimately shrugging it off. "Hell yeah. Might even be able to de-throne the Mountain Lions. You lead the way; the path to his hideout will likely be dangerous either way." As if almost on cue, he and his men immediately fell in line behind me, ready to follow me around.

Far be it for me to ignore free help as I had no full intention of letting them find where Khors was anyway, I let them come along as we went to the tallest building they could find. Eventually, we had another one of those encounters with the space zombies, which I heard from them were 'Ethereals', quickly confirming my suspicions as the bunch of us didn't hesitate to go at them. We all were clearly inept fighters, as the other big guy who I learned was named Rangar pretty much fought like I did, just using muscle more than real technique. Or I at least guessed he was using no technique. I was never a boxer myself before all this, but I did watch enough media that I could get basics like jabbing, punching, and even looking for openings. However my 'allies' seemed to struggle harder than I did, which confused me as it seemed nobody even knew how to fight these things.

The monsters of course fought sluggishly and predictably though, and after my last encounter with them all rushing me I had a good idea of how a majority of them fought. They swung like the actors from Star Wars. No, not that trilogy, the other one… scratch that, what's a Star Wars? The point is, I don't see how Star Wars would apply to anyone but these weird-bladed ethereals that didn't even fight like sword fighters at all.

As soon as we had a breather after taking down some small-time Ethereals, I looked at my team, hoping my irritation was visible. "Is this all your first time killing Ethereals or something? Watch their bodies, not their glowing faces! They aren't flashing lights showing their intentions!" After I said that, everyone including the buff guy looked at me with some astonishment, acting as if it was some new skill they just learned. "No… surely the New Eridu government had to have given some pro-tips on how to fight Ethereals, right? Surely? Is that why Hollow Raiders exist, and Anton just told me to dress better?" I then suddenly had a sense of dread. How were we going to fight that armored wolf ethereal from earlier if none of us knew how to fight basic zombies? Already, I felt like I was walking into a death trap again rather than going on an adventure, and I didn't given Damon a rest yet… maybe-

"DAMON, SNEAK ATTACK!"

Almost instinctively at the sound of one of the Adamant Wolves calling out danger, I pivoted and leaped backward, just as a pair of claws landed just where I was standing. The armored wolf gave a battle howl as it looked to finish the job it started hours ago: My death. "Shit. I had to invoke the devil."

Rangar was quick to jump in and assist me holding off the wolf as best as he could as I tried to assess the situation, recalling my previous encounter with it. Like him, though, he had to remain on the defensive, as the beast was just too strong and too fast for him to handle, and the rest of the wolves just threw or shot whatever they could at the monster, which it didn't even so much as flinch. Rangar meanwhile was getting beaten up badly, with claw marks and bruises not even taking seconds to show itself on his body as he led the beast around. "Last I tried to fight it on my own, its armor was too strong to crack… but maybe if I use its momentum against my fist…" It was a stupid tactic all things considered; I probably would break Damon's arm if I tried it, but it was better than losing this body and allies. Especially since it would delay me from waking up; since hurting Damon doesn't seem to hurt me. Waiting for the monster to make a lunge forth, I jumped in as it attacked, countering its offensive assault with an overhead punch that met its armor.

My gamble worked out perfectly, as while I wasn't sure about Damon's arm, the beast's armor ended up having cracks everywhere, and so the monster's weakness was exposed to me. I looked to Rangar as the lion stumbled backward, and I wagered for a moment that it was surprised at how someone managed to push it back. "Attack it as it is rushing at someone else! That'll destroy its protection!" My voice seemed to get it to then focus on me, and I swear the growl that came out of it was one of pure, indignant rage as it jumped forth to try and cleave my head off- only for Ragnar to quickly react to my advice and counter its lunge with another well-placed punch. We did this as much as we could until the monster's armor broke, it stubbornly continuing to leap at us without an idea of how to get past our unstoppable teamwork, leaving nothing but a sort of dog creature without any armor to protect it anymore. From there, the beast was just as unimposing as it was to knock it around.

Rangar and I wasted no time as soon as we managed to make the beast chip away its armor, wrestling the monster into submission as we all piled onto it, and attacked it full force. It was still strong, of course, but my strikes as well as Rangar seemed to allow us to knock it around much easier, allowing the grunts of the group to get some real damage in as we all eventually managed to daze it into submission. From there, we didn't so much as allow it to move, leaving it in a bind that eventually made it turn into that weird purple dust after flashing, which once again went toward me and ignored everyone else.

This one was a weird memory. Rather than a voice like I heard from the ethereal I fought, I was looking through the eyes of some sort of fox-like creature. It was hungry, and it was looking for food while trying to protect its newly born cubs. It wandered around for hours on end- before deciding the cubs were the best food source around… and then it turned into what it was then. "Yeesh… I guess being in a hollow does turn you into a monster. Best not to stay around here then."

"Holy hell, Damon." Rangar would say with a laugh as the crew would quickly bring out medical supplies for him. "Here I was thinking it'd be time for the boss to get a new guard, but here you are proving me wrong. How'd you figure that as a way to break the armor on these things?"

I just shrugged in response. "Hey, stuff breaks when you hit them together really hard, right? Sometimes a break to observe how these things fight is how you can beat them every time… so don't focus on charging in. We work with less green grass than what Eridu's brazen brass gets." That was a lie; I don't even know if the city HAS an organization for these things… and if they do, they must unfairly kick or bar plenty of people out either way, due to the space zombie apocalypse, so it's not like I'm not bad-mouthing a corrupt government either way. "Besides, I fought one of these things on my own and lived. It's no biggie."

Yet they seemed to eat up the 'wisdom' and 'feat' I gave like it was fruit falling from the top of the tree that they caught. Murmurs of awe and renewed confidence in teamwork seemed to resonate throughout the crew, as everyone, even despite their injuries, found the second wind they needed to stand a little straighter. Rangar would stare at me dumbfounded. "...Since when did you become as smart as Bearverly? That was profound, boss."

I groaned on the inside, yet outwardly shrugged as I didn't feel any facial movements, so I just assumed I was still fish-faced. "I'm getting the feeling that there's a bear out there working for both Belobog Industries and this gang… makes sense anyways, if this dream is anything to nod towards. I just hope it ends soon. No way I'm in a coma with this much self-realization and lack of familiar faces… actually, can people dream if they're in a coma?" Shrugging the thought off as I was never much of a medical expert, I then turned away, moving to get to the top of the building. It'd be better to address that later; what's important is finding some new piece of mind.

"...Again with that weird voice in the back of my head. Why is it just wanting me to keep stealing bodies? Isn't one enough?" At this point, the voice was starting to annoy me, even though it hadn't talked much. "Why now of all times? I've never been wanting to get in other people's shoes this much."

Eventually, we made it to the top of the building… and it was at this point I realized I had absolutely zero clue of what I should really look for. Probably even below zero; how does one get themselves to exit a dream if pain doesn't work? I didn't have anything else to do, though, so I looked for the most open area I could find after asking for Ranger for some binoculars, which some of the crew he had with him already had. Far off in the distance, I spotted a rather open area with a tower and some sort of construction machine. I couldn't make out the details, but it looked like it was Belobog's make. Or, at least I felt it was. For some odd reason, the machine felt a lot more familiar than the many others I was seeing off in the distance; and it was standing near what I could only presume to be some distorted imagination of the Eiffel Tower. That's what the thing it was next to was reminding me of. Seeing as it was the closest approximation to the Eiffel Tower in this dream, I figured it was my best shot at trying to find this Khors. Dreams have to be somewhat built on things you've seen. So I pointed at it. "That tower right there. That seems like the spot."

"...A big open area? With a tower?" The bemusement was evident in Ranger's voice. "That doesn't make sense. Wouldn't he want to be somewhere high or enclosed, to hide from the ethereals?"

I paused, thinking of how to 'realistically' respond to this as I turned to stare at Ranger. "...Have you considered he could be hiding underneath that structure?" It seemed to work, as Ranger's eyes opened wide in response. "Precisely. So let's focus on getting there."

"You got it, Damon." Ranger would then turn to one of the goons amongst our crew. "Hey, Blue! See if the bangboo can plot our course to the structure he pointed out. We're checking it out."

"Bangboo?"

"On it boss!" I looked to the goon in question as he'd move to a bangboo. "Hehe, lead us to the treasure little guy. Then take us home!" I watched as he fiddled with the bangboo, going to some really small rabbit machine that I hadn't had the chance to notice up until now, swapping out some kind of data chip for another. I just nodded after it was finished, and watched as the strange machine bunny started moving to the location, following wordlessly as the Adamant Wolves cheered on about treasure. Ranger tried to calm them down, but I ended up spending time really trying to learn about the machine by how it acted as the course was plotted.

It appeared to be some kind of elephant with rabbit ears that had screws on this. Why they weren't elephant ears was something well beyond my technical understanding, maybe they were some kind of antenna? It was dressed in some kind of kimono or robe, and the nose seemed to puff out smoke whenever it felt threatened by anything that happened to be on our way. Though that wasn't to say it was completely defenseless; when an ethereal charged at it from out of nowhere after we started moving on, it shot out fire from the trunk as it leapt back, setting it on fire and making it incredibly easy to dispatch. Thankfully, it seemed to have selected a path of least resistance to our destination, so at most we had to do a bit of sneaking and maneuvering around barring the occasional fight. "What a strange, yet intelligent machine bunny… or is it an elephant still? But it looks like it'd sell big bucks, it's just perfect as a mascot. I should try and remember this idea for when I finally get to this 'Khors' and wake up in the real world. This weird story I'm spinning thankfully doesn't seem interested in throwing another twist at me-"

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I felt a bullet hit my helmet, causing me to stumble back as I had lost my balance from the impact alone, falling backward as I had no anticipation of it whatsoever. The rest of my crew immediately went on the alert as I watched a trio emerge from our blind spots. A white, short-haired girl wearing green clothes and headphones wielding a sword, a pink, long-haired girl with ribbons for bunny ears and a suitcase, as well as some kind of Deadpool-looking machine clone had ambushed us that wore a red jacket and pants, holding two pistols. The pink-haired girl announcing herself as she stared us down. "Rule No. 3 of Hollow Raiding: Never announce what you're about to stumble upon to others… unless you want to donate to the Cunning Hares!"

Ranger muttered under his breath. "Shit. And I told you all that we had to pipe it down too- Damon, why didn't you help?!"

Sometime before meeting the Adamant Wolves…

"So, you suspect that there's a guy… with severe amnesia and probably also no idea of who they can possibly contact… inside of a hollow right now? And is probably about to turn into an ethereal based on the weird amount of residual ether corruption that he left everywhere, and was last seen walking towards a Hollow" Nicole would ask with a raised brow, not really believing it at face value. Her expression was creased with disbelief yet concern as she listened to the man on the phone. "You do realize just how crazy this all sounds, right?"

Anton, who was looking at his phone with dead seriousness despite them being on a video call, simply nodded as Nicole's voice came through. "Yeah, I've heard that after my conversation with the others. It's crazy alright, but we can't pin any other explanation to this. Seeing as we don't have a proxy on standby at the moment and you're currently the closest to the Hollow with carrots at the moment… I'd just ask that you do some small unofficial business on the side here, and get him back before he gets turned. He's a good guy as far as I'm concerned; willing to help even in spite of the fact he didn't seem to know the world around him. I mean, how else can you explain not knowing the fall AND not knowing about dennies? Ben just about did a double-take when he heard from Foremon Thomas that he had to explain what dennies are! There's something seriously wrong with that dude… so I wanna send someone to pull him out, just in case. If nothing else, well, the evidence is there to show that he's clearly not normal. The amount of etheric energy he left behind is just simply not cool!"

Nicole hummed as Anby piped up, Anby going first. "It beginning to sound like that one story of an investigator who rescued his teammate from a hollow without realizing they're an ethereal, except without the investigator…"

"Ain't that the plot of that movie you're talking about again? The one you spoke of in the Cretan Hollow?" Billy would pipe up. "Look, if it is abnormal amounts of ether residue and it is that, shouldn't he be a dead man walking or something, or dead already? Not gonna lie, this DOES sound like a wild goose chase you're sending us on, dude."

"I dunno what else to say. Other than that it really happened, and we do have camera footage of him working around the site if you want to see it all for yourself. But I'd ask that we make it as speedy as possible- there's no telling what's gonna happen to him if he walks into a hollow as he is now. That is, if Anby isn't already right about him."

Nicole just motioned for the others to quiet down, looking at the hollow with some thought. "We're willing to take it. How much are you willing to pay for the risks involved?"

"58,000 dennies. Should be enough to cover a lot of costs, yeah? Best I could spare- and if your bangboo records him actually being a secretly evil ethereal." There's a palpable pause. "Well, I'm sure Public Security and the HSO or PubSec will give you some extra for the tip-off. Can't imagine just how much ruckus an ethereal like that could cause if left unchecked. Especially one hiding in human skin like a coward!"

"That'll suffice." She'd smirk, walking towards the hollow with Amillion leading the way. "We'll get this guy home, Mr. Ivanov. You just sit tight, and let us handle this!"