The Loss Of A Loved One

[Ayla’s POV]

I open my eyes to find that I’m sitting in Barren’s control room while he taps away at a keyboard while staring intently at what looks like a map on the large screen in front of him.

"What is this?" I ask, moving forward so I can get a better look. "And what are those little dots?"

For the most part, the screen in front of me reminded me of a world map from one of Chandler’s RPG games, but I didn’t quite understand how this could exist here in the dreamscape.

"It’s a map of the dream plain," Barren explains. "Those dots that you see are people within a hundred-mile radius of us that are currently on the plain. Those," he continues, pointing to large blobs that seem to pulse with energy. "Are the somnium beasts that I have managed to track?"

Nodding, I take in the five creatures that are within range of us. So Barren wasn’t twiddling his fingers all this time. He was tracking the beasts alone.

"Since we know where they are, should we get moving?" I ask, not wanting to wast