Chapter 41

Time in dreams differs from real time. While Muzan led his large force to cause trouble for the Demon Slayer Corps, Chinatsu was still spinning around in Doma's dream.

"Paradise Goddess, what are you doing?"

Doma cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted loudly at Chinatsu on the roof. Even though they weren't far apart, he made it sound like they were miles away.

Chika didn't want to talk to him.

To be precise, she didn't want to deal with him because he had amnesia.

So-called dreams are a projection of consciousness. The more closely related the dream is, the clearer it becomes, while the more distant or less important the dream is, the more blurred it becomes.

Therefore, dreams have certain boundaries.

"If you go beyond the boundary, you might wake up. And feeling weightlessness is also a way to go beyond the boundary."

With a thought, Chika decisively closed her eyes.

Doma stood under the eaves, tilting his head and watching her curiously. He watched as she tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and stretched out her arms, like a kite with a broken string, falling straight down from the eaves.

Her clothes fluttered in the wind, her long hair flew in the air, and she was breathtakingly beautiful.

In that instant, Douma almost instinctively reached out to catch the falling girl.

Then--

"Thump—!"

The elegant young woman precisely grazed his fingertips and landed solidly on the ground.

"Ouch—it hurts!"

Chika instantly curled up like a shrimp in pain, clutching her head with tears welling up in her eyes.

Seeing her rolling on the ground in pain, Douma tilted his head in confusion. He knelt down, supporting himself on his knees. "Lady Gokurakujin? What are you doing?"

Although it was a caring question, the corners of his mouth were turned up high, and his eyes were sparkling.

This laugh had a more genuine feel to it, but it was certainly ill-timed.

"Doma! You're actually laughing! How can you even laugh! This is outrageous! This is absolutely outrageous!"

She fell flat on her face, and this guy was actually laughing. Qianxia was so angry that she yelled, pounced on him, pinned him to the ground, straddled him, and reached out to pull at his perpetually smiling face.

"Waaaah~ Miss Elysium is so fierce."

Even though he was being suppressed, Douma didn't resist at all. Instead, as if he had discovered a new game, he teased in a lighthearted tone, "However, this kind of Elysium God is also quite interesting!"

"Who asked you to find it funny!" Qianxia pinched his cheeks and pulled them outwards, trying to distort that infuriating smile. "You watched me fall and didn't catch me, but you just stood there laughing! Where's your conscience!"

"Mmm~ Heart?"

Doma let her knead and shape him, blinking innocently. "That thing is on my chest. And, and, Lady Elysium jumped down by herself. I thought it was some kind of novel game."

As he spoke, he even adjusted his posture to make her sit more comfortably, and asked with a smile, "So, the God of Bliss isn't playing a game? Is he doing something else? What is he doing? Can I help him?"

Seeing his stubborn and even amused demeanor, Qianxia felt a lump in her throat. Trying to hit him was like punching cotton. In the end, she could only angrily let go and glare at his smiling face that had returned to normal.

"You're kidding me! I'm going to wake you up!"

Chika swung her fist and delivered a series of weak but powerful punches to his shoulder.

"Ouch~ That hurts so much~"

Douma groaned exaggeratedly, his body twisting from side to side in rhythm, but his smile grew even brighter. "Lady Elysium's fist, so light and airy, so comfortable~"

"Haha~ It's so itchy~"

Douma laughed heartily, "A little to the left, yes, yes, yes! Lady Gokurakujin even knows where I'm most ticklish, we really are close!"

Chika was completely exasperated by his outburst, and could only let out a desperate groan, "Ah—! This amnesiac idiot... is even more difficult to deal with than the original one!"

"Huh? Is that you calling me, you idiot?" Douma replied happily, as if he had heard some kind of praise. "I'm so happy to be called that so affectionately by Lady Elysium!"

He paused, looked at her with his seven-colored eyes that sparkled with pure curiosity and joy, and extended a sincere invitation:

"So, what do we play next? Role-playing? Or continue with the massage game we just had? I don't mind you pressing down on me at all, in fact, please stay a little longer~"

Chinatsu: "...Let me wake up, right now."

"Wake you up? What do you mean?" Douma smiled, his eyes crinkling. "Are we in my dream?"

Chika was stunned by these words. She looked at Doma, who was riding beneath her, and it took her a long time to regain her senses.

"Holy crap! How come I didn't think of that!"

Yes, this wasn't her dream, but Doma's dream. It seems someone dragged her into Doma's dream and altered his memories, making him forget that he was dreaming and forget her.

So! That's it...

This is the deepest boundary of dreams, the boundary where one becomes most lost and unable to distinguish between reality and dreams—the Lost Realm.

"Wake up! Doma! You're dreaming right now, wake up right now!"

Once she had thought it through, Chika suddenly grabbed Doma's head and leaned down to look into the depths of his seven-colored, shimmering eyes.

"Mmm, it's a dream, it's a dream! I knew it was impossible to see the God of Elysium in real life~"

Doma's cheeks were slightly distorted by Chinatsu's pressure, but he still smiled and dealt with her.

For a moment, Qianxia couldn't tell whether he was genuinely stupid or just pretending.

"Stop fooling around, Doma! This is your dream, where you can do whatever you want! Muzan is on his way to hunt down the Demon Slayer Corps, and I have to leave here to help him. You need to find a way to break through this place quickly."

Doma tilted his head as if deep in thought, then seemed to suddenly realize something, "This is my dream?"

Chika nodded, "Mmm-hmm."

Doma's seven-colored eyes suddenly shone with an astonishing brightness, "I can do whatever I want?"

Chika continued to nod, looking at him hopefully.

As Douma stared at Chinatsu, a smile slowly spread across his face. He said, "So, doesn't that mean I can play whatever I want?"

As if to confirm what he said, something invisible bound Qianxia instantly and pulled her up with a "whoosh."

"..." Qianxia suddenly sensed something was wrong.

The next moment, everything spun around, and the person pinned beneath them became her.

The surrounding scenery instantly distorted and rearranged. The quaint courtyard disappeared, replaced by a bizarre and surreal space.

Beneath my feet was a soft and bouncy rainbow floor, while off-key yet unusually cheerful background music played all around, and various cute candy-shaped clouds floated in the air.

"Hahaha~" Douma's voice was filled with undisguised excitement, "Interesting! Very interesting!"

"Wait! Doma, you've misunderstood what 'do whatever you want' means!" Chinatsu tried to struggle, but found that her wrists were gently wrapped by rainbow candy-like energy. It didn't hurt, but she couldn't break free either.

"Did you misunderstand?" Douma blinked in confusion, then smiled again. "But I think it's really fun!"

Before he finished speaking, the rainbow-colored ground beneath them rippled, lifting the two of them slowly upwards, instantly transforming into a giant sedan chair.

Doma naturally pulled Chinatsu up, wrapped his arm around her waist, and rested his head on her shoulder. "It's so nice, Goddess of Elysium~~ I'm so happy haha~"

"Who wants to sit on something like this! Can't you be serious for once?" Chika felt the warmth coming from behind her, her ears burning. "Think about something serious! Muzan! The Demon Slayer Corps!"

"Lord Muzan? The Demon Slayer Corps?" Doma tilted his head, seemingly trying to recall, but quickly gave up. He leaned close to Chinatsu's ear, his warm breath brushing against her. "Those things aren't important at all. Right now, Elysium Goddess is the most important. Hooray~ Look over there!"

He pointed casually, and a huge train immediately rose in the distance, its tracks winding and twisting, reaching straight into the clouds, while the carriages were shaped like fluffy rabbits.

"Let's go play that!" Douma exclaimed excitedly, pulling Chinatsu up to get up. "Train! Train!"

"I'm not going! Doma, get serious!" Chinatsu stood rooted to the spot, grabbing his clothes tightly. "Listen! You're Upper Moon Two! You're the leader of the Eternal Paradise Cult! You're not some idiot who just plays around!"

"Eternal Bliss...the Cult?" Douma paused, the word seemingly triggering something. The seven-colored light in his eyes flickered slightly, a fleeting moment of confusion passing through them, but it was quickly replaced by a deeper interest.

"Ah! I remember now! It's a place that brings joy to everyone! So, I am now putting its teachings into practice, making Miss Elysium feel unparalleled joy!"

As he spoke, he suddenly bent down and swept Qianxia up in his arms!

"Hey! What are you doing!" Qianxia exclaimed, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'll take you to experience the fastest joy!" Douma laughed heartily, holding Chinatsu in his arms. With a light step, the two of them shot towards the highest point of the rabbit train like cannonballs.

The wind whistled in her ears, and waves of weightlessness washed over her. Chika felt a growing difficulty breathing.

"Put me down! Doma! You idiot! Did you lose your brain too if you lost your memories?!"

She struggled in his arms, pounding her fists on his chest, but it was like hitting a metal plate. Unfortunately, she couldn't use her Nen abilities or Blood Demon Arts.

This is absolutely infuriating!

"Is Lady Elysium excited too? Her reaction is so cute! It turns out the saying 'spare the rod and spoil the child' is true." Douma looked down at her, his smile undiminished, but his speed increased even more. "Hurry up, it's time to sprint!"

"No way! Who said fighting or scolding is a sign of affection?! Doma!!!! When you wake up... you're dead! Aaaaaah!"

Just as they were about to reach the apex of the orbit, and Chika closed her eyes in preparation for the dive—

The cheerful music around us suddenly distorted and changed pitch, like a broken phonograph. The vibrant colors, like an oil painting soaked in water, began to blur and become murky.

"Hmm?" Douma uttered a questioning syllable, stopping in his tracks. "Who's here?"