D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad - Chapter 2173 A Tail of Two Nights Part 2

Chapter 2173: Chapter 2173 A Tail of Two Nights Part 2

— Lily — Dreaming?

A few moments of silence later, or perhaps a few hours, or seconds. This was a dream after all and it was hard to tell how time was passing. “What sort of problems occur if Kat calls on you too often?” asked Lily.

KatE shrugged, “I can only speculate. I know what Kat knows, a few additional details about my own existence due to being more attuned to it, and perhaps your memories. I have not checked for that last part. My best guess is that Kat would damage her soul, and yet we are told that souls can’t be destroyed… but clearly there are some negative repercussions so perhaps it’s closer to mind or body damage? Or soul adjacent damage? I’m not sure.”

“Wait, why don’t you know if you can see my memories?” asked Lily. “Kat can see all of them… I think?”

“In practice perhaps she can but neither of us have ever attempted to view everything that you remember. In my case, I’ve never attempted to view any of your memories at all and as such I do not know if I can. I may be able to see Kat’s memories of viewing your memories though, so I can likely see some of them after a fashion,” explained KatE.

Lily nodded for a few moments before another big question came to mind. “Wait how are you so eloquent now? Normally you don’t talk much.”

“I am as I need to be. Perhaps if Kat did not love you so deeply I wouldn’t answer any of your questions but one of her major desires is to help you in any way that you need. Thus, as you ask me questions I am compelled to answer them. So I do. When I am fighting I have no need for banter, and Kat lacks the knowledge to properly use it as a fighting tactic, thus I simply do not,” elaborated KatE.

“Wait… so you have to answer anything I ask?” queried Lily.

KatE shrugged. “You have asked nothing Kat would not wish for me to answer, so the situation has not come up. Remember, I have no desires for myself, I simply AM. I cannot say what will happen should you request some dark secret of Kat’s that she may not wish to share. Though I cannot think of anything that she would hide from you, except perhaps a surprise intended for you, but none are planned for the moment.”

“I feel like this conversation is getting weirder and weirder…” mumbled Lily. “Wait so… why were you in a library and not… somewhere else.”

“Technically I am not in a library and I never was,” countered KatE.

“Right but I had to enter through one… and the door was there… so why a library?” asked Lily.

“I suspect it’s the beginning of your own meditation space. Perhaps it was simply time, or perhaps the fact Kat has had one for a while and you are both connected is speeding up your own mind’s development of one.”

“Why is it a library though? I thought they were meant to be elemental in nature?” asked Lily.

Lily felt like KatE was raising an eyebrow at her despite the fact that her expression hadn’t changed, and neither had her inflection. It made it… easier to believe she didn’t have any desires when she kept her face so still but her voice ALMOST had something in it. Though perhaps that truly was just an echo of Kat. “Is Paper not an element? It is after all your first magic.”

“But Kat’s is a pond, there’s no ice there,” countered Lily.

KatE shrugged. “I am simply giving you what guesses I can based on my own information. Perhaps Kat is more suited to it. Perhaps there is no ’ice’ style meditation art. I do not know. In this case, as you have always enjoyed learning, have an extreme fondness for books and use paper magic, I think it is highly likely that your meditation space will be a mental library but I have not seen it so I can only guess this much.”

“Sorry,” apologised Lily.

KatE simply stared back in silence after Lily’s apology. That, if anything, was perhaps the weirdest thing so far. No complaints about the fact she DID apologise or even an acceptance of it. There was just… no response. Lily didn’t know how to feel about that. Though she supposed it did confirm KatE wasn’t exactly Kat.

“Um… what about the ’how did I get here’ question? Because this is a dream… or it was, and I WAS in my maybe meditation space but now I’m apparently not… so why are you here?” asked Lily.

“I am here because I am here. Truthfully I do not know how… ’myself’ is perhaps the wrong word but I am not certain I am exactly as KatE is. I am treating myself as if I am for ease of communication and understanding, but I am likely some mix of Kat, KatE and your own mind.

“It is likely you searched for something in your sleep, and found your way here. Is this simply because you are sleeping away from Kat and wished for her presence? Yet she is awake and thus cannot properly interact with your dreams from a distance? Did your mindscape form somewhat close to ’my’ domain? I can once again, only speculate instead of provide you true answers in this instance,” explained KatE.

Lily rubbed the side of her face and as she did so it looked like the surroundings were melting for a few moments. When she tried to concentrate on it, things got worse so Lily quickly looked away to focus on literally anything else. Lily said nothing for a while, just in case, and when she looked back at the area everything was fine. *Not to self don’t focus on things too complicated or else it might wake me up.*

“I… I don’t even know what to ask after that…” mumbled Lily ’out loud’. Which of course, prompted no response. Lily sighed, trying to think of what else to say or ask but it was hard. So far all of her questions had been mostly stream of conscience and apparently thinking too much in a dream was hard. Or… “Is this even still a dream?”

KatE shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Will Kat remember this?” asked Lily.

“I don’t know.,” answered KatE.

Lily sighed. “I suppose I should’ve expected that one. Um…” Lily glanced around and noticed that the door she’d entered in had vanished. Probably a while ago. “Can I go back to my library if I want? Or like… how do I leave?”

“Waking up will likely work though I realise that’s not quite what you were asking,” answered KatE.

Lily rapped her fingers on the floor and it sounded like it was wood. A glanced downwards showed that it WASN’T, but as soon as that registered to her the sound stopped, as if it was never there at all. “What? Why did that stop making noise?”

“It made noise because you thought it should, and apparently you are most used to tapping your fingers on wood, likely wooden desks. So that’s what sound it made. Once you noticed there was no wood on the floor the sound stopped because you don’t know what it should sound like,” answered KatE.

“Wait is that why you’re part Kat? Because I think you should be?” asked Lily.

“Perhaps. That is a little more complicated because I seem to be able to run my own thought process here. While I mentioned earlier that I am required to answer you that’s more of an effect of Kat, not a rule of this dream. If I was simply a construct in your mind I would have no real choice about my actions but I DO seem to have them, even if it’s hard to tell completely. My main reason for thinking I am the actual KatE, or close enough, is that you would likely prefer Kat to be here instead of myself,” explained KatE.

“Um… isn’t that a bit rude to think that way?” asked Lily.

“We have been over this before. I have no desires myself. Think of me as a complicated computer program running on Kat’s memories if you must. I have no desire to replace Kat, I have no desire not to. I have no desires. Your preference for Kat over a small fraction of her being is of no consequence to me outside of how it would effect Kat’s thoughts on the matter,” explained KatE.

Lily rubbed her temple again as the walls started to distort. “Ok this is all getting a bit too complex for me I think. I don’t know if I want to wake up or not, but I don’t think I really want to continue this conversation.”

KatE simply starred at Lily after she made that statement. Lily had expected her to say ’well then simply don’t’ or something else along those lines… but she just didn’t. Because it wasn’t a question really, it was a statement. Though Lily’s own imagined answer was possibly true. Though wait, how did she imagine something while in a dream?

Lily opened her eyes, which surely had been open before right? Only now she saw a cave wall from her high perch. *What?*