New names, but always the same faces, marched across his dreams. How many times had the same drama played out with only slightly different variations? He'd lost count by now. Though perhaps this time, the soul had finally found rest. And then he felt a sudden dip, as though his foot had slipped off a ledge. Dreaming, he thought. He was dreaming.

That was fine then.

He relaxed into the fall, letting his subconscious carry him where it would. He passed through familiar currents, that became suddenly and violently alien. There was a burst of vicious green that flooded his vision, a sharp and sudden pain in his hand, and then dark unconsciousness.

The Medicine Seller awoke to the feeling of cold stone under his cheek and a voice ringing in his ear.

Noisy, was his first thought. His second followed the crackle of electricity, the metallic taste of a storm, and the overwhelming feeling of a presence. He knew the sensation in the vague way a river fisher could recognize a shark as a fish, even if he'd never seen one before.

This was new.

He dragged himself to his knees, forcing his eyes open. Ayakashi, he thought, looking over the pride demon. He'd never seen one like it, but that didn't really mean much - Ayakashi were as varied as gods or people. The process of dealing with one was, at least, familiar. He could work out the minutia of the strange situation when the hulking being had been dealt with.

He reached into his sleeves as the pride demon bared down on them, the electricity taking shape.

"You should duck," was his only warning.