In Hinata's dream, the encounter with the mysterious young man continued.
He had introduced himself as Bivisu, or rather as a shadow of Bivisu, a fragment detached from an infinitely greater being. His true body, he explained, remained sealed somewhere out of reach. This manifestation that she had before her eyes was only a limited projection of what he truly was.
Yet, even in this incomplete form, he still possessed enough freedom to travel through dreams, thoughts, and the mental landscapes of living beings.
This simple idea exceeded Hinata's understanding.
She did not even know such a thing was possible.
Bivisu slowly raised his eyes toward the immense gazes floating in the mist.
Those gigantic, silent, and inhuman eyes were still observing the scene without ever blinking.
— I am not the only one capable of moving through the psychic projections of the creatures of the Dream...
His voice grew deeper.
— They can as well.
Hinata followed his gaze.
The monstrous eyes of the Outergods seemed to multiply the more she looked at them.
— So... she murmured. Those things are real? They're not just nightmare monsters?
Bivisu turned his head toward her.
— No. They are real.
The silence that followed was heavy.
— They can intrude everywhere. They exist simultaneously in the real and in the unreal. In what is and in what is not. That is precisely what makes them dangerous.
He lowered his eyes toward the misty ground.
The mist seemed to decompose around his feet.
— Their bodies are made of what is called the Outer Substance. A corrosive matter. Corruptive. Something that should not exist anywhere in the Dream.
Bivisu's red gaze settled on Hinata.
— If I had not been present, your dream would have already been contaminated.
The young girl's heart skipped a beat.
— Contaminated?
— Yes.
He extended his hand.
Around them, the mist briefly took on a blackish color before returning to its normal appearance.
— All your mental projections would have been covered with that substance. Your entire psyche would have begun to rot. Your memories. Your thoughts. Your emotions. Even your own inner voice.
Hinata felt a cold shiver run down her back.
— And if you had tried to think... or simply to speak with yourself... you would have been directly exposed to the corruption.
Her legs trembled.
Bivisu gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
A strange calm immediately spread within her.
— Do not be afraid.
His voice was surprisingly reassuring.
— Even when they injure you here, I cancel their effects.
Hinata's eyes suddenly widened.
A memory came back to her.
During the previous dream.
The attack.
The blood.
The teeth torn out.
The pain.
Yet when she woke up, she had no injury.
No mark.
Nothing.
— So... she breathed. Last time... when they attacked me...
Her voice trembled.
— I would really have been injured if you hadn't intervened?
Bivisu gave her a slight smile.
Then he simply nodded.
— You understand.
Silence fell again.
The immense eyes in the mist continued to observe them.
Always.
Everywhere.
Like patient predators.
Bivisu slowly raised his head toward them.
His gaze darkened.
— Those things feel no compassion.
— None.
His voice echoed in the white immensity.
— To them, the creatures of the Dream are nothing but anomalies. Irregularities. Errors that should never have existed.
Hinata felt her blood turn cold.
Bivisu then turned his eyes toward her.
— Besides...
A faint smile appeared on his face.
— If you are able to look at them today without immediately losing your sanity... that is also thanks to me.
The young girl froze.
— What?
— Normally, a being like you would not even have been able to endure their presence for a single instant.
The immense gazes in the mist seemed to open wider.
The entire world began to tremble.
— You would have descended into madness long before our first conversation.
Bivisu stared at the Outergods.
And for the first time since she had known him, Hinata saw in his eyes something that resembled anger.
— If I were not protecting you... they would have already made your mind their territory.
Hinata abruptly stood up.
Her heart was beating rapidly.
— Why... why me? she asked. Why am I involved in all this? What do these Outergods want? What did I do to attract their attention?
Bivisu looked at her for a moment without answering.
Then he simply raised a hand and placed it on her head.
— Come...
As soon as that word was spoken, the entire landscape distorted.
The mist collapsed into itself.
The immense eyes of the Outergods disappeared.
The black sky tore apart like a canvas being ripped.
Then calm returned.
Hinata blinked several times.
She now stood at the edge of a vast lake with perfectly still waters. The trees of the strange forest surrounded the shores, their silhouettes reflected in the water like in a mirror.
A light wind made the leaves tremble.
After everything she had just seen, this silence felt almost unreal.
— Where are we?
Bivisu had his back turned to her.
His hands clasped behind him, he was observing the surface of the lake.
— In the forest where you and your friends are currently located.
Hinata frowned.
— What?
She looked at her hands.
Then her body.
Then the landscape.
— So I'm no longer in my dream?
Her anxiety immediately rose.
— Is this my real body?
Bivisu slightly turned his head toward her.
— No.
His answer was immediate.
— I simply moved your oneiric body here. Your real body is still sleeping beside your companions.
Hinata felt her stomach tighten.
— What do you mean?
She took a step back.
— Isn't it dangerous?
Her voice trembled.
— What if I get stuck here? If I can't return to my body? What will happen to me?
This time, Bivisu fully turned around.
His gaze had changed.
It was neither hostile nor cruel.
But something in his eyes resembled a silent judgment.
As if he were observing a weakness he had already seen thousands of times.
— I have traversed the dreams of humans.
His voice was calm.
— Those of animals.
— Those of spirits.
— Even those of entities isolated from any collective consciousness.
He paused.
— And yet, it is always the same.
His red eyes settled on her.
— You are afraid the moment you lose control.
Hinata remained silent.
Bivisu looked away for a moment.
As if he were thinking about something.
As if he had just remembered an ancient truth.
— Perhaps it is simply the nature of weak beings.
The sentence struck Hinata like a slap.
She lowered her eyes slightly.
Bivisu sighed.
Then his voice softened.
— You have nothing to fear with me, Hinata.
He stepped closer.
— Just listen to what I have to tell you.
— Then you will return to your friends.
— Nothing more.
Hinata swallowed.
The look he had given her a few moments earlier had deeply unsettled her.
For the first time since their meeting, she even hesitated to ask him questions.
How did he know her name?
How did he know so much about her?
And above all...
What could a being capable of crossing dreams like others cross a simple door possibly be?
As if he had heard every one of her thoughts, Bivisu gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
Hinata flinched.
— I can feel your anxiety.
His gaze was now much more benevolent.
— Do not be afraid.
— You do not annoy me.
A slight smile appeared on his face.
— As for your name...
He raised his eyes toward the sky.
— I know every creature of the meta-reality.
— You are part of it.
— It would therefore be strange for your name to be unknown to me.
Hinata was speechless.
How could he perceive her emotions so easily?
How could he answer questions she had not even formulated?
Bivisu observed the surface of the lake for a moment.
Then his expression became serious again.
— What I am about to reveal to you is important.
His voice grew deeper.
— Very important.
He fixed his red gaze on her.
— So I would like you to listen to me with a calm mind.
The wind blew softly through the trees.
The waters of the lake remained perfectly still.
As if the world itself was holding its breath.
— Trust me, Hinata.
— Because what is approaching concerns far more than just you.