Epic Of Caterpillar

Chapter 2521: The Menace From The Dream Plane

Amaterasu volunteered to work on this mission without any hesitation, despite holding the most important position within the Sun, she knew that if she didn't join to represent the entire Sun, the other Gods would quickly lose hope. If they didn't see their ruler herself rallying them into this, nobody would've even dared to get into this dangerous situation.

Once the mission finally began, she was teleported to the area within Skyfall, accompanied by two Sun Gods and three Moon Gods, she rushed towards her destination while evading dangerous areas. However, unlike the more aggressive Demons, the Dream Realm Invasion

was...

Strange.

"This is... How do I even lure this?"

It was a gigantic mass of pink and purple clouds slowly moving and spreading toward all directions, everything they swallowed quickly disappeared, and any living being that accidentally got inside, such as giant flying creatures, never came back.

"That's a Dream Cloud, is it not?"

One of her retainers wondered, glaring into the distance. Amaterasu glanced at him and nodded, although it seemed easily avoidable, it wasn't as easy as it seemed.

Dream Clouds were rare before the Era of Chaos, created through the overaccumulation of people's dreams, back then only Freyja could tap into their power and then Kireina.

There was also young Hypnos, the young God of Dreams that was born, although he didn't possess the maturity or power to control such an element yet.

And yet, once the Era of Chaos arrived, the Dream Clouds, invisible to mostly all eyes became visible to everyone, and through them, giant cracks on space and time opened, leading towards this new dimension.

The Dream Plane.

Unlike the Spiritual Plane, and its inhabitants, which was already well known, and other Planes or Worlds out there, the Dream Plane, even now, remains a complete mystery.

Due to their strange behavior and how they never showed themselves at all, nobody else but Genesis and the Supremes knew the real identities behind these enigmatic invaders.

Amaterasu remembered Fate's words, after she showed her images of what was truly inside of those clouds, making even a goddess as powerful as Amaterasu feel fear.

"The Dream Plane is an endless, twisted dimension full of the dreams of all Reality mixed together. It is perhaps the most chaotic plane in existence... If we don't include the Chaos Plane itself." She explained. "Its inhabitants... Are similar to the Outer Gods."

"Really? Then perhaps..."

"But worse."

"Huh?!"

Fate's eyes shone brightly, as she glanced at the image she showed to Amaterasu, a monstrous, strange creature composed of countless images, paintings, moving silhouette, tentacles, eyes, mouths, heads...

It was something incomprehensible!

"This is an inhabitant of the Dream Plane, they're shapeless, strange entities that feed on Dreams and Souls. Whenever they catch prey, their minds, memories, and souls are instantly drained, and the rest of their body, blood, flesh, divinity, everything, is discarded and turned into Dream Soot, which feeds their ever-expanding clouds."

"W-Wha...?! How can you even fight such a thing?!"

"If Freyja or Kireina were here, both masters of the Dao of Dreams and Nightmares, it wouldn't be hard to deal with them, but they aren't here. We have to find... alternatives."

Fate glanced at Amaterasu with her serious and stern expression, the same one she always wore in her face at all times. She was well known as perhaps the most pragmatic and rational person in the world, whose calmness and stoic face had only been broken by Kireina's shenanigans.

"You have to bait them. Offer them what they want. Souls packed with memories, beautiful dreams," said Fate. "Offer them what they want, and the cloud might begin to follow you."

"You're asking me to sacrifice innocent souls for this?!" Amaterasu asked. "Hades! Are you okay with that?"

"...If like that we'll be able to protect our home, then it must be done, Amaterasu." Hades didn't say another word after that.

"..." Amaterasu, known as a Goddess of Light, the Sun, and also of Life and Motherhood, felt incredibly guilty when she had to release hundreds of souls in front of the dream cloud.

Especially because these were innocent, young souls from children that had died at early ages, specifically stored within Tartarus, where they were slowly being cleansed of the little memories they had and then going back to the cycle of reincarnation.

"I'm sorry..."

As the souls were released, the giggles and voices of children playing and being happy echoed through the sky, back then Amaterasu shed a tear, gripping her fists.

"I'm really sorry...!"

As the sky was filled with such sounds, making even the gods accompanying her feel terrible, the cloud...

RUMBLE!

Reacted instantly.

Like a hungry monstrosity, it began expanding and moving towards the souls, opening a black

hole within and devouring them.

"I-It's working, Lady Amaterasu!"

"T-This is despicable..."

"But it was the only way... R-Right?"

"...I don't know what to say about this, honestly."

"Remain calm," Amaterasu calmed herself and decided to lead them. "Come! We'll release the souls one by one, luring them towards the appointed place! Hurry! The clouds move

faster, if you get swallowed-"

TRUUUM!

Before she could say another word, however, one of the Moon Gods accompanying her, a young-looking man with four arms, blue skin, and silver, half-moon-shaped horns, was

swallowed.

"Aaahh!"

"Noo!"

The other Moon Gods that were with him screamed, Amaterasu quickly realized these younglings weren't used to war or losing their allies.

"Dammit, I said hurry!"

She expanded her Divinity, grabbing everyone and rushing forward. Their Divinities merged with her, powering up her movement speed and evading each of the clouds coming after

them.

Being touched by these clouds meant sure death!

Nothing that was ever eaten by them came back, they were the most lethal of invaders, yet also the most overlooked and enigmatic.

And yet...

RUMBLE!

The more the clouds moved towards the destination, the more something began emerging from within, something whose very appearance didn't made sense to even the gods' eyes. "Souls... Memories... Dreams... Give it... Give us more...!"

The aberrant beings started emerging by the dozens, chasing Amaterasu and her team!

"W-We're almost there!"

FLAAASH!

Her blazing aura finally reached their destination, as explosions and roars of battle echoed

everywhere.

"Hades must have lured the demons here already! Good!" Amaterasu nodded. "Come and feast, you horrendous things!"

Amaterasu smiled, as she brought with her a gigantic pink cloud full of strange, shapeless

beings.

One of them, among the largest, saw several tiny souls coming from beneath the clouds, and

rushed down, eating them while moving.

And eventually...

"GRAAAACK! LET GO OF ME, YOU FUCKER!"

Kralax was caught within its shapeless tentacles, countless illusions and visions within these

dreams twisting his perception of reality the more he glanced at them.

"UUAAAGGGHH!"

As he screamed in agony while his Memories and Soul were being drained, he glared at

Zagreus and his team escaping.

"YOU BASTARDS! WAS THIS YOUR PLAN ALL ALONG?! RAAARRGH!"

As he roared furiously, his flames rapidly began to burn through the Dream Plane Inhabitant,

whose tentacles turned into ashes and dissipated.

"Hmm..."

The thing only glared at its own body decaying, only for its core, a glowing pink eye, to spin

around, swirling its entire body structure.

FLUOSH!

"W-What the...?!"

Kralax gasped, as he saw his arms being pulled into a Dream Vortex, torn to shreds within

mere seconds.

CRAAASH!

"UNGH?!"

As Kralax gasped in disbelief while seeing his arms bleeding and being torn apart by an overwhelming force, the entity before it spoke.

"Arms... gone... facilitation... of... digestion of dreams, memories, and soul... Stay still, meal."

"M-MEAL?! DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME!"

Kralax, despite his bravado, began to finally experience true fear.