The Tamuchaka tribe was a small and peaceful one, hidden away in a tiny pocket dimension inhabited by only a handful of sentient species. Out of them, these creatures were the most advanced and intelligent ones, possessing a rich culture full of tradition, harmony and respect for each other, which they practiced for thousands and thousands of years, without a single outsider observing it.


Their home, the small, fiery, volcanic planet they named Watuha, provided the perfect environment for them to thrive. Its surface burned at a steady 373 kelvin, which would, of course, have been way too hot to sustain any of the life we know here on Earth, but for them, it was paradise. Though vegetation was next to nothing, the many colorful volcanic minerals that lined the mountainous landscape provided enough color to give the planet an incredibly diverse look, which was illuminated by the glowing lava that flowed all across the land.


The creatures lived in small settlements, although because there were only a few thousand members in the tribe, there weren't too many of these tiny towns, and they were placed quite close to each other. They all lived and worked together in harmony, frequently coming together for big events or large projects, such as mine or farm constructions, after which they would commonly share the fruits of their labor. It was a wonderfully efficient society; they never had any ideas of government, laws or currency, as they only operated by a single guideline that was unanimously agreed upon by all: to be nice to each other. And that worked for them.


The two suns of the planet were too far away to give any proper light to the planet, so the sky was encased in eternal darkness… Or at least, it would have been, if it wasn’t for the shine of millions of stars and galaxies that decorated it at all hours of the day. Having two suns meant that it took an extremely long time for the planet to make a full rotation around them, and so every time it happened, a massive celebration was held among the tribe. They called it the Two Suns Celebration, and it was the largest cultural event that happened roughly every two thousand years in Earth time.


One might think that that’s an extremely rare event that only a few select generations of the Tamuchaka could experience, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. The inhabitants of this planet were truly remarkable little creatures. Although they probably never recognized how remarkable that was, they typically lived for several thousand years. The closest earthly thing to compare them to would have been armadillos, except they had more anthropomorphic features. They stood on two feet, used their front paws as hands, and had a common spoken language that they used to communicate with each other.


And communicate, they did. They were, in fact, very talkative creatures, always yapping away about something such as their hobbies, everyday lives, or very often about their one common religion: The Cult of the Volcano Dragon. If an outsider were to listen in on their conversations, he might have found them crazy at first with how much they talked about their one and only leader… But the Volcano Dragon was actually a very real thing.


The only surviving member of a species that once reigned Watuha, the last Volcano Dragon spent most of its time hiding in the deepest, darkest crater of the planet, as it found most days way too bright to be out and about. Only when the two suns were both hidden at the other side of the planet, did he emerge, signalling to the Tamuchaka the start of a new year, and of course, to start celebrating.


Taking a good look at this dragon, it was no wonder that the tribe, the members of which were only about two feet tall, treated him as a god. The crimson red scaled creature was 40 feet high and towered above them like a massive mountain, and the flaps of his wings created winds that were strong enough to kick anyone off their feet. If one was brave enough to look into its eye, he saw a bright flame burning inside, a flame that the dragon could also blow out of its mouth and nostrils, if it so wished. The small critters were understandably intimidated by the sight, but there was no fear in their hearts; they knew that the Volcano Dragon was their friend, and had no doubt that he would not hesitate to protect them if they ever needed it.


Of course, being the last of your kind and spending centuries in a dark cave was quite a lonely endeavour, so the dragon grew quite fond of the small creatures that celebrated his return every single time. He brought some of the rarest, most beautiful crystals from his crater as a gift to the tribe, and only expected one thing in return: for them to feed him, and thus allow him to live to see another festival.


This was the way things went for many, many millions of years, the Tamuchaka leading their peaceful lives, and the Volcano Dragon serving as their graceful leader without meeting anyone from any other dimension. In fact, they were quite convinced that they were the only dimension out there, and perhaps never even thought about other worlds or other species existing… Up until That day.


That day, that is the name that they gave to that very special date, when the fluffy alien dragon came to visit them. He came without any warning or indication, just appearing out of nowhere right before their Volcano Dragon celebration. The date couldn't have been a coincidence; there had to be a reason why they got the visit right then. And although they still can't fully explain it, they hold the event dearly in their memories, reminiscing about it whenever they get the chance. This is the story of that unlikely meeting.


–


Nemurin, as an exciting way to spend his free time, loved travelling between dimensions. The fluffy dream dragon was one of the only creatures in the universe who posessed such abilities, and of course, he LOVED using it. Although he had a very real and serious purpose for it- namely, protecting against evil interdimensional forces that sought to harm his home- he also liked just to utilize it as a means of travel and tourism; In almost every dimension he found himself in, he could find intelligent life, civilization, culture, and something new to learn.


The exciting part about interdimensional travel was that he never knew exactly where he would end up. He would start by tucking in tight into his magical bed decorated by powerful magic crystals, close his purple, starry eyes and drift away to sleep, where he knew he’d be teleported to a foreign dimension, where he would remain until he chose to wake up. The whole experience was a little bit like lucid dreaming, but Nem knew that it was all completely real; his interdimensional form really existed, moved, felt and sensed things just as vividly and truly as he did back in his home dimension.


On this particular day, when he finally drifted off, Nemurin began to witness a very hot, volcanic environment manifesting around him. Thankfully, his interdimensional form wasn’t susceptible to damage by the elements, but he felt that in his normal form, he already would have burned up in the hellish heat. Crimson rocks and colorful crystals slowly emerged from the ground, mountains formed, lava flowed all around him, and the breathtaking view of the star-filled night sky expanded vastly above his head. Nem had been to thousands, if not millions of planets in his lifetime, but he could tell with certainty that this was one of the most beautiful ones he’d ever witnessed. The only question remained: did any intelligent life inhabit this burning world?


He didn’t have to walk for long on the tiny planet before coming across the first signs of civilization: a town-like settlement, with primitive houses built of the crimson rock that lined most of the planet’s surface, most of which not much taller than the dragon himself. Notably, however, all of these houses seemed to be completely empty, with not a single soul inside. Nem, at first, thought that whatever civilization lived there must have died out recently, but the cleanliness and orderliness of the ghost town made that assumption of his a lot shakier. The only other explanation was that the entire population of the town must have been somewhere else at the moment… And so, he quickly set out to find them.


The fluffy dream dragon flapped his wings and took flight, soaring above the land for a few miles until he finally saw a sign of life down below: It seemed to be a massive table on the ground, with many hundreds of small creatures being busy around it, right at the edge of the most massive crater on the entire planet. The scene was quite fascinating for Nem as he couldn’t imagine what the little aliens were doing, so he wasted no time, quickly landing right next to the table.


The tiny creatures were all so busy with whatever they were doing at the moment, that at first, they didn’t even notice what happened. Only after a few seconds, did a couple of them finally spot the blue dragon, about twice as tall as them, just standing in the middle of all their preparations, and watching them silently with a curious expression on his face. Soon, all the others slowly turned to look, stopping dead in their tracks to admire the visitor… This was something quite unexpected.


“Is this the Volcano Dragon’s gift for us this year?” Some of them could be heard muttering to one another. “Is he here to help? Friend or enemy?”


Besides travelling through dimensions- which was already an impressive feat on its own- Nemurin also possessed the ability to understand any spoken or written language, no matter where it was from. He tried to be very subtle at first, not wanting to disturb whatever the small Armadillo-like creatures were doing, but as unease and concern grew more and more in the tribe, he found it best to introduce himself and explain what was going on.


“Hello to all! My name is Nemurin! I am a traveller, and just landed on your wonderful planet!” He spoke, the language coming out of his mouth sounding mostly like quiet chirps. The creatures didn’t have words for things like “dimensions”, and nor did they seem to have a general concept for it, so Nem knew he had to explain things in a way that wasn’t too confusing. “I am just here to observe and learn, you can disregard me if you wish! But if you’re feeling up to it, I’d love to be taught about your world and culture!”


The Tamuchaka put their heads together, debating whatever they should do; this seemed like a question for the Volcano Dragon to handle, but calling him out of his crater so close to the celebration didn’t seem like the best idea, so they just collectively decided that it wouldn’t hurt anyone if they gave an explanation to the traveller.


“We are in the middle of preparations for our Two Suns Celebration!” One, particularly brave and loud member of the tribe said to Nemurin as he made his way towards the dragon through the awestruck crowd. “This is the most prestigious event of our entire culture, and we would be honored to have you help us prepare for it!”


“O-oh, really!?” Nem was taken aback by the invitation and very much honored by it. For a while, he didn’t even know what to answer, but the friendly looks on the creatures’ faces showed that they were genuinely interested in involving him in their festival. “Well, I suppose if you explain everything… I would be very happy to be involved!”


The Tamuchaka, bravened by the enthusiasm of their strange visitor, immediately began to loosen up, getting more chatty and social with Nem. They described their culture, society, religion and traditions in very high detail, making the dragon’s head spin after a while from all the fun tales and anecdotes that bombarded him from all directions. The creatures seemed to be very delighted to share the stories with someone who had never heard them before; although they kept retelling them in their own circles, it was a completely different experience to see someone react to them after hearing them for the first time. In return, Nemurin shared some stories from his home as well, which the tribe welcomed with complete awe. They’d never heard of any other planets or peoples until then, and so hearing about it took them completely off their little feet, making the dream dragon quite popular.


While the conversation continued, Nem joined in the preparations for the festival. Firstly, he was tasked with putting up decorations: They were mostly made of crystals and other cool rocks, tied together with thin, glowing pieces of string that went on for many, many feet, taking quite a few members of the tribe to lift. This is where Nem came in so handy, as not only was he a lot stronger than the tiny armadillo-aliens, but also much taller, able to hang the string on houses and other high points with ease.


Every once in a while, when he wasn’t busy with anything else, members of the tribe came up to him to ask for help with basic things around their houses as well; on that day, Nemurin had also become a gardener, a roof technician, and a lifting crane. Every once in a while, he got some questions along the lines of “Are you our new god?” Which he quickly tried to dismiss, assuring them that he was none other than a simple visitor. Even though it was quite flattering, the last thing the dragon would have wanted to do was to disturb the religion of the tribe, which had been unaltered by outside forces for many millennia.


Besides decorations, of course, the most important part of the celebration also had to be prepared: The feast. Due to the fiery nature of the planet, there were very few places where food could be grown, and even though the Tamuchaka have evolved to only need to consume nutrients very infrequently, they still had to treat it as a very precious and scarce resource. Most of their plants came from tiny fields inside craters that were cold enough to sustain plant life, but also got enough sunlight to support their growth. Needless to say, there weren’t too many places like that on the small planet, so a celebration with so much food and drink as this one was very rare indeed.


The tribe seemed to be entirely vegetarian, as the only food served on the thousands of plates over the long table was fruits and vegetables. As expected, these plants were nothing like Nem had ever seen before: Most of them were round, colorful, and absolutely massive, even bigger than Nemurin himself. The creatures had their own specialized tools to cut them into manageable pieces, after which they could put them on the plates in very interesting patterns. The taste that they described sounded nothing like the dragon had ever experienced before, either… But knowing how hard these plants were to come by, he absolutely refused to have any for himself. He just helped wield the massive tools, stirred the pots of food with his long tail, and generally made himself busy in the kitchen with anything the Tamuchaka asked him to help with.


Although he was dead set on not altering the culture of the Tamuchaka, he still couldn’t resist the urge to introduce them to some tricks and customs of his own. He taught them how to prepare pies, fruit bread and other pastries; things that the creatures had never seen before, and were pretty much blown away by. Their palettes had been quite invaried up until then, choosing not to prepare their food much, so such inventions were absolute game changers to their tastebuds.


After several long days of preparations, it finally seemed like the table was just about ready. There was only one plate left empty- which also was the largest one by far- stretching long across the far end of the table with absolutely nothing on top. At first, the dragon thought that it would later serve as the base for some grand, breathtaking food statue, but when they felt like it was time, the creatures finally explained what the plate was for.


“You see, traveller…” A bit of an older member of the tribe spoke to Nemurin, looking at him very seriously. “With every celebration, we make a sacrifice to our Volcano Dragon God. We give him the greatest gift that Watuha has given us in the year, be it a wonderful gemstone or a particularly flavorful piece of fruit. But this year, we all have agreed that You were the greatest gift that we got.”


“W-wait, are you saying you want to… Feed me to him?” Nem looked at the creatures, confused, taken aback by the proposition. He knew that he could easily escape from the dimension if they ever tried to do any harm to him, but that would be an awfully impolite way to leave an otherwise wonderfully hospitable tribe.


“You will be consumed, but you will not perish!” The elder explained, stepping closer to the visitor to comfort him. “The Volcano Dragon does not consume matter, but he consumes energy. He will feed on the positivity that we, with you included, give him for providing us with such a wonderful and safe home. I give you my word, you will not be harmed in the process! Not even a little bit.”


“Hmm, sounds fair enough!” Nem smiled, knowing that the proposition was sincere and that he really would not be hurt. “So, what’s the plan? I reckon it could be pretty fun to turn me into a gigantic sandwich~”


Although the Tamuchaka didn’t know what a sandwich was at first, they nodded in agreement after their visitor explained exactly what it was. They’d never really thought about stuffing other food between two slices of bread- it seemed like an oddly overwhelming experience of too many flavors and textures mixing- but what they all agreed on was that it would be fun to try.


They were going to need the biggest piece of bread in Tamuchaka history to pull out this stunt though, so they had to get to work fast. Having the dragon among them was naturally a big help once again, as he was able to lift massive bags of flour, carry and pour barrels of water with ease, and could knead the dough by stepping on it with his big footpaws. He helped form it into the right shape, after which they lowered it into the mouth of an active volcano on a chain to bake it. Once it was ready, all they had to do was to cut it in half, after which Nemurin could just hop right into his warm, soft bread bed.


“Now cover me up!” He instructed, giggling as the creatures began stacking pieces of fruit and vegetables on top of him. They made sure not to leave any empty spots inside the sandwich, lining tightly around the dragon’s body, blanketing him with thin slices of food, and even sticking an apple-like fruit into his mouth to complete the look. Afterwards, they also spread plenty of thick, honey-like sauce all over him, to tie the whole display together and make it look even more appetizing for their god, who would surely emerge from his crater at any moment.


After hours and hours of meticulous preparation, during which he wasn’t allowed to move even a muscle, the tribe finally decided that the sandwich looked good enough and went ahead to press the second half of the bread on top of it all, finally sealing Nemurin inside. The dream dragon smiled, taking a deep sniff of the fresh bread on top of him; even though it had been a while since they took it out of their makeshift oven, the hot atmosphere of the planet made it so the bread didn’t lose any of its freshness. Cocooned between tons and tons of food, he felt quite cozy tucked inside… Who would have thought that being turned into food would be such a fun experience?


But of course, the most important thing still remained: To actually be eaten. After closing up the sandwich, the tribe decided to lower it into the volcano once again, just to melt all of the ingredients together and put a crispy finish on the bread, just like Nemurin had taught them to. Although he was still protected from the heat thanks to his magical powers, the dragon still sweated like he never sweated before, feeling as the ingredients around him melted and fused, and the bread was toasted on both sides. It felt like the most intense sauna he’d ever been to.


Thankfully, the toasting only lasted a few seconds, before the creatures lifted him out and set him back on the table, ready for their god to consume. They looked around proudly, a sense of satisfaction sitting on all their faces as they saw that all the preparations were done, and everything looked perfect- just like they imagined it. The only thing that was left was really the most important one: The Volcano Dragon! Everyone sat nicely around the table in their pre-established spots, and waited for the two suns to finally set, so that they could begin their celebration.


The minutes leading up to the celebration were always the most exciting ones. The Tamuchaka all watched as the suns slowly set below the horizon, making their planet darker and darker with each passing second. Of course, the stars in the sky still provided plenty of natural light, but it was still noticeable- especially to those with more sensitive eyes, like the Volcano Dragon himself. As the light dimmed, the glow of the crystal ornaments all around became even more pronounced and beautiful, as if they were flowers that only bloomed during the night. Not that our protagonist could see any of that though, as he was still stuck inside the sandwich, waiting for what would happen next.


Suddenly, it felt like the entire planet was shaken by a massive force. The members of the tribe stayed seated on their chairs, holding onto the table for stability, but even still, some of them had fallen off due to the extreme force of the earthquake. Nervous and excited looks darted all around, but nobody dared to speak a word, as they knew that something very special was about to happen. It could only have been one thing.


It took several long seconds for the shaking to subdue. Shortly, two pointy, crooked horns emerged from the depths of the crater, cueing massive, enthusiastic cheering from the crowd along the table. The dragon came out from his hiding spot, and stood up on his two hind legs, putting into perspective how huge he was compared to everyone else. His rough, yet shiny scales were mostly crimson red in color, while the softer parts, such as the skin on the inside of his wing, along with his horns and his claws were a matte black. His big eyes were glowing with a fiery orange hue, and flames spilled out around the corners of his mouth every time he exhaled. The air was noticeably hotter around him as he emerged, as if the entire creature had a fire burning inside. Several members around the table fainted in awe as they watched their god make an appearance after so long, and even those who didn’t, were profoundly stunned at the sight.


The dragon let out a roar so loud that it made the entire planet shake. Another shockwave was sent all over the land, along with a huge gust of wind summoned by the flapping of his wings, which he stretched out after thousands of years of inactivity. At first sight, it could have seemed like the roar was a cry of rage- the shaking Nemurin certainly felt like it inside of the sandwich- but to those who knew him well, it was more akin to a yawn. After all, who wouldn’t want to have a good yawn and stretch after sleeping for so long?


After he felt like he’d stretched enough, the Volcano Dragon finally settled down, assuming a sitting position and resting his front legs on the edge of the crater. He was right at the end of the table, looking down along it; the table was very impressive at every celebration, and this year was no exception. He could barely even see the far end of it, and there was barely a single empty spot all along, due to just how packed the entire thing was with food and decoration. The dragon was very pleased to see that; it looked like this year was quite prosperous.


Among all of the cheerful crowd, colorful and impressive food items on the table- many of which he’d never even seen before- there was one thing that really caught his attention. He looked down at the big plate made of gold in front of him, on which the Tamuchaka always offered his sacrifice, and saw something on it that he couldn’t recognize at all. His usual sacrifices were mostly statues made of the highest quality fruit grown during that year, or massive gemstones… But this one seemed to be neither. A long, shiny brown object cut in half, with food packed inside… Along with something, or rather, someone else hiding within it.


Given his reptilian nature, the Volcano Dragon possessed heat detector pits in his snout, so he could easily see that there was something warm… Something living inside of his offer. He couldn’t speak, so he only looked at the crowds of people with a sense of confusion in his eyes: What was this all about?


“Oh, dear Volcano Dragon!” One of the high priests finally spoke, sitting on one of the closest seats to the dragon himself. “We are so blessed to admire your presence once again! We have prepared a very special sacrifice for you: A visitor has come to our planet, and taught us many things!”


“He helped us prepare for the celebration and taught us ways to prepare food.” Another high priest continued, raising his voice so that the dragon could hear them better. “The sandwich, made of two pieces of leavened, cooked grain paste and other foods inside, is among his inventions. We have all grown very fond of his teachings, and decided to prepare it- along with the visitor himself- to you, our dearest Volcano Dragon!”


The dragon was quite intrigued by the offer, and immediately grew less sceptical after hearing the explanation. He indeed had never received a living sacrifice before, but he wasn’t going to refuse. At first, he only poked and prodded at the bread with his massive claws, noticing how soft it was, yet so crispy on the outside. Sauce spilled out of each end every time he pushed down on it, and he could feel the stranger wiggling and shifting inside as he tried to avoid being pressed too hard by the gigantic claw.


After thorough observation, the Volcano Dragon finally stood up again, launched his front feet into the air, and breathed out a massive, burning flame out of his open maw along with a long, deafening screech. His wings flapped, and his front legs clawed at the air like a rearing horse, showing a terrifying spectacle for those who didn’t know what they were looking at.


The Tamuchaka, however, weren’t terrified at all. Instead, they began celebrating: This meant that the Volcano Dragon had accepted the sacrifice, and that the celebration could officially commence. Music started playing from the background, and the members of the tribe looked at each other with a joyful relief: their god was pleased. As far as their recorded history went, there was not a single time that a sacrifice had been rejected by the Volcano Dragon. To him, it was always the intent that mattered, not even the contents; even if they just offered him a pebble, he would have been satisfied with it if he knew that it came from the creatures’ hearts. But this, of course, did not stop the Tamuchaka from anxiously waiting for their god’s judgement every time, and from celebrating in ecstasy when the sacrifice was accepted. Knowing that they were once again successful in pleasing their leader, and knowing they could expect another year of protection and prosperity meant the world to them, even if they got to experience it every time that the Two Suns Celebration came around.


And indeed, the Volcano Dragon did not waste much time before consuming his sacrifice. He came down to four feet again, and placed his long head on the edge of the crater with a maw wide open. Many members of the tribe had to look away, as they couldn’t handle seeing the horrifying, sharp teeth of the dragon… Or maybe it was his long, prehensile tongue, or the deep darkness that was his gaping throat. He extended his tongue onto the table, right in front of the golden plate; this was a sign for the high priests of the tribe to feed him the sacrifice.


As soon as he felt his plate being lifted up, Nemurin’s mind was overwhelmed by excitement. Even from his bread cocoon, he could hear the heavy breathing of the dragon, and could feel the toasty hot winds that blew from the inside every time he exhaled. Although he could not see it, he knew that the outside of the sandwich was probably already somewhat charred, and could feel that all the filling around him was melting, and seeping into the spongy bread below. He admired the diligence of the priests who carried him… And even felt a little bit guilty for being such a heavy load to carry. Sacrifices were no doubt usually a bit lighter than a massive dragon sandwich.


But if he thought that the priests saw this as an inconvenience, he couldn’t have been further from the truth. Partaking in this ancient, highly sacred ritual was the highest possible honor that could be assigned to any single member of the cult. Priests spent their entire lives praying and advancing in the ranks before becoming high priests- ones who were allowed to talk to the dragon directly- and among those, two lucky ones were selected to deliver the sacrificial plate into the dragon’s maw. It was not an easy task, due to the weight of many of the offerings and the hellish temperatures radiating out of the mouth, but they always did it with the greatest degree of honor and diligence.


This one was no exception. The two high priests grabbed the golden plate from each side, and lifted it up just enough to place it onto the end of the tongue. After that, they pushed it further and further into the mouth, letting the smooth plate slide on the slobbery tongue of the dragon, until it was so far back that they physically couldn’t endure the heat anymore. At that point, the dragon finally took over, and transferred the sacrifice deep into the back of his maw, before closing his mouth and finally consuming the gift.


Nemurin felt an incredible warmth after being closed into the maw that made the previous gusts of toasty winds seem like a warm summer breeze in comparison; it wasn’t only the volcanic heat that radiated from all directions, but also a different kind of warmth, something more… Spiritual. Just like the members of the tribe had promised him, there was no pain or discomfort at all, the dragon didn’t chew on the sacrifice. Instead, it let its tongue slide all over it, as if he was savoring the taste of the warm offering, which was definitely something he’d never tasted before. He let the sweet sauce melt into his mouth, and probed the crunchy surface of the bread with his teeth a little bit. Whatever he was doing, the dream dragon thought, he was surely taking his sweet time with it.


Not long afterwards, the sandwich finally started moving deeper, as the dragon’s tongue pulled it further and further into his throat. The heat was increasing noticeably, but that wasn’t the only thing that grew stronger. The magical sensation between Nemurin and the Volcano Dragon also strengthened, feeling like a bond of shared energy, from which the god drew positivity and fed itself. Although he was, in the literal sense, syphoning positive energy from the sacrifice, it didn’t mean that Nemurin had any less of what he gave away. After all, positivity could not be taken, only multiplied; and the more he shared, the stronger he felt it in himself as well.


As the ritual continued, music, chanting and singing could be heard from the outside, as the Tamuchaka celebrated this long awaited day. The rule was that they could start eating as soon as their god had closed its mouth with the sacrifice inside, so Nem was sure that they were already feasting away, enjoying the fruits that they grew, as well as the newly introduced foods that the visitor brought to their planet. The air was filled with cheer and happiness, and the dream dragon felt perfectly happy and content inside his sandwich bed, while he was slowly drawn into the throat and consumed.


Inside of the massive creature, the heat was higher than that of the surface of the sun; more than any mortal, sensing being was ever supposed to feel. Nemurin, of course, was still protected by his interdimensional shield, so he wasn’t burned up or digested like the rest of the sacrifice, and only floated among the flames for a couple of minutes while he let himself feel the fiery heat inside. He was full of positive thoughts, feeling happy for the tribe and their leader, and thankful for the wonderful way they treated him. He kept floating some more, feeling sleepier and sleepier in the process… Until he finally closed his eyes, and drifted off.


Nemurin awoke in his bed, still feeling the strong tingling sensation that spread across his body every time he went for an interdimensional journey. He slowly stretched, making sure to move every bit of his body to restore it to his home realm, and then sat up on the bed, rubbing his eyes and thinking about the adventure that he had just lived through.


For a bit, he debated whether he should head back to say thank you and goodbye… But ultimately decided against it. The Tamuchaka had already given him the parting ritual that they felt was the best for everyone… And besides, by the time he got back, the celebration would be over anyway. Time tends to work strangely across dimensions; sometimes, it only takes seconds in Nemurin’s world for centuries to pass on a planet, while for others, it works the complete opposite way. Either way, he was sure that he had already done everything that was to be done on Watuha.


So the dream dragon got up, saved the memory of the fiery planet in his mind as yet another treasure, and after one final, big stretch, went out to prepare some tea. For him, that was the perfect companion while he looked back on all his memories, and decided where to go on his following journeys. But then again, who could predict where his magical powers would take him next?