"Human, your father."
"Is that… true?"
"You weren't abandoned? That's wonderful."
"But… I'm so hungry."
"I'm not joking, you know. Besides, this is something the Great Mother told me."
The voice continued, "You understand now, don't you?"
Fairies come from many origins—some were gods fallen from grace, others born from lingering grudges of humans or beasts, from unfulfilled yearning, or from inherited human stories. Ordinary fairies must feed on human intelligence to maintain their existence.
True fairies, however, are beings born solely from the Sea of Stars. They are the divine among fairies, known as the Great Mother or Great Father, fragments of the planet's very soul.
So the moment they heard that this was a message from the Great Mother, the fairies obediently handed Avia over. After all, from their perspective, no one would dare lie about such a thing.
But for Avia, he wasn't all that shocked to suddenly find himself with a strange "child."
The fairy's voice might have sounded heart-wrenching, but most of it was just for show. That line was just to deceive the other fairies. As for the so-called message from the Great Mother—clearly, that was just an exaggeration.
"Well then, I'll be taking him now."
Instead of accepting Avia from the fairies, the fairy first picked up the staff she'd tossed earlier in her act of panic. Then, using some unknown form of magecraft, she made it float again. Humming softly, she waved her staff and began walking through a world thick with magical energy.
Just when the other fairies thought she was heading toward the door, the fairy suddenly tapped the ground with her staff.
Tap. A gentle sound echoed.
In that instant, a vivid wave of color swept over both Avia and the fairy, like a tide crashing over them.
When the wave receded, they had both vanished.
By the time Avia came to, he realized he was once again back in the present world—on the island of Avalon. He could move again too.
"With how dense the magical energy was in there, a human should've started rupturing from the inside with just a breath."
As she spoke, the girl seated on the broken stone turned toward the silver-haired boy who was slowly rising.
"But if you had passed through that door, your body would've dissolved, leaving only your spirit behind. I saved you, you know."
Avia silently gazed at her. She looked familiar—like a younger version of that half-nightmare creature.
"Oh my, you seem quite happy to have met your daughter."
Amused, her breath carried a teasing tone. Though her robe was simple in style, it was woven from the finest threads.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows over her white hair and crimson eyes—eyes that looked almost like they were burning.
"I'm incredibly grateful for your help. May I ask your name?"
"How boring. I thought you'd have something more interesting to say."
She pouted for a moment, then smiled.
"If you must know, I'm a half-human, half-nightmare. My name is Merry."
As Avia had suspected, she was indeed the half-nightmare.
She was small—maybe 140 centimeters at most. Both her face and frame were still childish, which is likely why he hadn't recognized her at first.
According to Arthurian lore, the legend took place sometime around 500 to 550 AD. So, meeting a still-growing "Flower Magus" a century earlier… wasn't entirely impossible.
But Avia knew this female half-nightmare well. Though she appeared warm and kind, in truth she had no concern for others. She didn't mourn or feel pity. Emotionally flat, she was the embodiment of a being alien to the sentient life of this planet.
So the fact that she had saved him probably meant she wanted something from him in return.
Only now did Avia realize why he'd been unable to move when the fairies took him—it was simply that the magical energy there was too dense. His body had to acclimate. Now that he was back, it had to re-acclimate again...
"My name is Avia, a Hun."
"Why are you telling me you're a Hun?"
The young Merry squinted her crimson eyes and tilted her head at the silver-haired boy, then waved her staff.
"That doesn't matter. The point is, you're human. That hasn't changed."
"You gave me your name and origin. It's only right I respond in kind. I shouldn't hide anything."
Avia gave her a gentle smile, one that resembled hers, and met her gaze with clear, blue eyes.
"I'm deeply grateful for your help, Merry. I'll make sure your story spreads across the land. If there's nothing else, please allow me to take my leave."
"Ah—wait, wait! I saved your life, you know. Can't you stay and chat a bit longer? Don't be in such a rush."
Merry called out to Avia as he turned to go.
"A debt of life cannot be repaid. I will sing your praises for the rest of my days. The tale of the beautiful nightmare maiden shall echo through the ages, becoming legend."
Avia truly didn't want to be involved with this not-yet-grown nightmare. Not only was he already carrying the curse of the Rhinegold, but dealing with someone this whimsical was bound to be trouble. Who knows when she might drag him into a mess?
"Wait—!"
Actually, the moment Merry saw this human smile in a way so much like her own, she knew—this wasn't the kind of man who could be tricked into helping with a few sweet words. He was probably going to be a bit of a pain. But that was fine. She needed him to do something for her—go to Wales.
The reason she wasn't going herself wasn't fear—she didn't possess such feelings.
It was simply because when she had first been born, the parents who brought her here had told her:
Merry, no matter what, don't leave this place. Wait for us to return, and we'll be together as a family again.
Such a simple reason—that was all. And so, she had never entered anyone else's dream.
Merry was half-human, half-nightmare, a hybrid creature.
If she had been born purely as a nightmare, her instincts would have been to play in the realm of dreams. But through her human side, she gained a personality. And the ability to sustain herself not through others' dreams, but with dreams of her own—that was a blessing she appreciated.
She more or less liked humans. But she also clearly understood: "They're people. I am not."
Still, the younger Merry—this version—had one thing she needed to know—
"I want you to go to Wales and find news of my parents.
In return, I'll help you with one thing as well."
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