Despite the months I've spent here, I won't say I understand this world. There's still so much that feels far from my grasp. When I was a young vampire, born of both flesh and fang at the height of the Romantic era, the night sky felt like something I'd never touch. Despite what I'd come to know of the power a man could have and the unnatural darkness that lurked beneath our feet, I never thought either would ever walk in the Heavens.

Then, the years began to change. Man learned to harness the Earth's power and built machines, they found a way to send messages across the sea in seconds, they grew wings and called them airplanes, and eventually, those wings evolved and they planted a flag on the moon. At the time, I thought I'd never see something so miraculous again. Then, I arrived here, and I realized what a miracle really was—Unexplainable, yet unquestionable.

On Earth, everything had a scientific explanation. Whether it be the rage of a forest fire, the innate nature of an animal, or the lights that danced in the Northern sky, their beauty became demeaned when torn apart by rationally obsessed lab coats. Here, no one questions the reason for something's existence. They merely appreciate the fact that it exists. From a moon elf's healing touch, to a demon lord's ungodly power. Everyone here seems to be freer because of they choose to dance to nature's drum instead of over-analyzing it.

This is what I thought about most often when I had strange dreams here. An overactive mind is nothing new for me. From the time I was turned, I didn't get through a night's sleep without bizarre dreams and nightmares. I'm afraid what I've found myself in tonight is more than just a dream, though. Everything felt a little too real. My skin, I could feel it's frost, and my vision, it was so sharply clear.

I knew this wasn't the real world. The clothing on my body was mine, but I hadn't worn something as urban and modern as this since I was last on Earth. More importantly, the world that surrounded me had no ground, no walls, no perception of gravity entirely. I was surrounded by a void filled with glowing stars. Strangely, it didn't feel like I was in danger, but I knew I wasn't alone.

An omnipresent voice addressed me from the void, "You're pretty calm for an outsider." It was male, expressive, gentle yet attention drawing. An outsider, he said? He knew I wasn't from this world?

"I'm not like other people from my realm." I responded.

He laughed energetically, "No kidding! I've partied on Earth a lot, but I've never seen anything quite like you."

"Not to be rude or anything," I said, "But would you mind telling me why you've decided to invade my dreams?"

"Invade?" He remarked, "Baby, I just saved you!" Among the stars, the outline of a face materialized. It appeared as if it was made out of blue neon. I could make out a star shape, an eye, big lips and long hair. "There's a dream nomad I'm hunting down. It's against cosmic law for them to make contracts with the living, but there's one working for a demon lord."

"Nomad normally implies wandering aimlessly, but something tells me this one's pit stop through my head was intentional." I replied.

The present smirked, "Maybe, Baby."

Everything around me faded in an instant. I woke up, safe and sound in my coffin. What the actual fuck just happened? In the moment, it felt normal, but now that I'm thinking about it, I feel like I was just on an acid trip. Was that even real? Just in case it was, I should tell Ricky. He'd know about this better than I would.

I didn't like the idea of something having the power to enter my dreams, or a demon lord commanding such a being. Yet, I was actually hoping that was more than a dream. If it was real, that means there's someone out there who knows how to access the different realms. That... Thing, it talked about going to Earth like he was taking a weekend trip to Vegas. Here I thought the strength of a demon lord was insane, but something that grand, that otherworldly, was on a whole other level.

It was raining tonight, which meant Ricky was probably sound asleep. I don't want to bother him, but I can't leave this until morning. As I reached the staircase in the foyer, I realized I wasn't the only one awake. Across the banister from the stairs' landing, there was three gigantic windows. Sat tucked in the ledge of the middle window was a little elf in an oversize sweater, hot coco in hand.

"Can't sleep?" Yuu asked as he noticed me on the stairs.

"Strange dream." I responded, "Do you happen to know anything about dreams? Seems like it would go with the whole moon elf motif."

The look he gave me was abnormal, like he was troubled by me asking. Yet, he defaulted to his happy self, answering, "I'm a dream expert!"

No, I should trust my initial instinct to tell Ricky. I do trust Yuu, but the way he reacted, it left me uneasy. I told him, "Never mind," that it wasn't important. He simply smiled his beautiful smile and said goodnight to me. Fuck, this night has been weird enough as is. Even if this ends up being nothing, the comfort of Ricky's company would be nice right about now.

I slipped inside his bedroom as quiet as I could. Of course, it's still now quiet enough to get past him. He knows my soul too well now. His baby blue eyes cracked open the second I entered. Ricky groaned sleepily, running a hand through his hair. He was so damn cute. If I didn't need my coffin for mystic vampire reasons, I'd sleep in here with him every damn night.

"Tell me you've come just to crawl in bed with me." He grumbled.

"I wish." I spoke just above a whisper, "I had a dream, that I... I'm pretty sure it was more than a dream."

Ricky did that 'oh, fuck, I guess we're doing this' sigh and forced himself to sit up. "Premonition?" He asked.

"No. Well, I don't know. Not exactly. It came with a warning, but it wasn't a premonition." I sat myself down on the edge of his bed, continuing, "It was the most lucid dream I've ever had in my life. I'm convinced it wasn't a dream, even if it was as weird as one. I saw stars, and a star... man. He told me a dream nomad working for a demon lord tried to enter my dreams, but he stopped it. He also knew I wasn't from this realm and said he'd visited Earth before."

Ricky pulled his legs up to his chest, resting his head against his arms as he propped them over his knees. He was so sexy when he was sleepy and his long black hair was all messy. "Well, babe, unfortunately I'm the God of Shadows, not the God of Dreams. I've never even heard of a dream nomad."

"Maybe I should've asked Yuu, then." I muttered.

He snapped his fingers, causing the door to open on it's own. Suddenly there was a blonde elf falling on the floor. Well, I didn't take Yuu as the eavesdropping type. Frankly, I'm impressed. With each passing day, I learn he's less and less innocent that I initially assumed.

"Owe." He mumbled against the rug.

"Talk." Ricky sneered. He was grumpy tonight.

Yuu sat up, criss-crossing his legs beneath him. "I'm not supposed to talk about this stuff, okay? What I'm about to tell you, it's knowledge that's been protected by moon elves for generations." He took a deep breath and sighed. "There's a place known as the cosmic realm. It's essentially the hub of all realms. There are four deities that protect the cosmic realm and the properties that hold it together.

"You were visited by one in your sleep tonight. His name is Starchild, and one of his main responsibilities is protecting the dream world. Moon elves are privy to this knowledge because he's also the protector of the celestial realm, but I don't know anything about the other three, not even their names. I couldn't sleep tonight because I felt Starchild's power enter our realm. Now I know why."

"Thank you for sharing such sensitive information with us, Yuu. It won't leave this room. Hopefully, now, you can get some rest." Ricky kindly said. He seemed awake enough now to not be an asshole. Yuu got up, taking a hint, and excusing himself from the room. He closed the door as he left.

"Is it bad that I was hoping for a different explanation than 'you were visited by a cosmic deity'?" I wondered aloud.

Ricky leaned over and kissed my cheek. "You're special, babe. Don't complain about that. I have to admit, I do wish we had more information than this, though. For a demon lord to get control of a dream nomad, they'd have to know they existed first. Which means, either someone else has a moon elf in their ranks, or it was one of the big three. They're the type that would have access to that kind of information."

"But, then comes to question, why would someone with a rank that high bother targeting one of your servants?" I replied.

He sighed, falling back onto his pillow. "I don't know! We'll talk about it in the morning. My room's enchanted, so there shouldn't be any celestial vagabonds bothering either of us tonight."

There are days that he's a pillar of strength, a dark God with the rage of a titan and the refinement of royalty. Then, there are days where he acts like a spoiled child prepared to throw a tantrum at a moment's notice. It's endearing, in a strange way. I consider myself privileged that he allows me to see his sensitive, immature side. It's comforting to know Ricky has faults and layers to his personality.

Per his request, I went back to sleep with him. He fell asleep easy, but I struggled. I doubt that Starchild has a hotline that I can pick up the phone and call. My impression from Yuu was that was a once in a lifetime experience. However, I don't know how to face the reality that there is someone out there with the ability to take me home. It wasn't the difficulty of trying to find an audience with Starchild that scared me. I'd accepted that I'd never return to Earth. Now that there is a possibility before me, I'm not quite sure if I want to seize it. Is Earth even my home anymore?

—

a/n

comment question: who do you think the big three (Demon lords) are? :o

P.S. if this chapter feels weird, blame all the meds I'm on (I have a bad flu rip)