Millagua slept for time beyond our reckoning. He wasn’t awake for it, so he didn’t know anything. When he finally woke up, it was as if only moments had passed.

Well, that wasn’t completely true, because all those years, Millagua dreamed.

Dreams are good, aren’t they? I think dreams are the best. Because when you’re dreaming, the world is always safe. Even when things are scary. So scary that you don’t know you’re safe. The truth is that you are safe. Do you know what I mean?

I think you do.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Millagua knew. And he didn’t know, because not knowing is what it means to dream.

Millagua’s dreams were continuous. Events followed one another. Once upon a time there was a purple dragon who lived in a great sprawling nebula in space, who choked on a star, who held his throat and spewed cosmic dust in an attempt to expel the ball of energy like an unwelcome house guest.

How does an animal choke on something in space if it cannot breathe?

That question troubled Millagua when he saw the purple dragon, and he wondered whether the universe was real.

One thing you need to know about Millagua’s dreams is that, whenever he questioned reality, that was when Bagua came to torment him.

Sorry, what?

You want to know how I know so much about Millagua’s mind?

Forget that. Just let me tell you about Bagua, the terrifying were-bat.