Jesus Christ, if someone told you earlier that hiring Berial to be in your adventure squad was going to turn out that way, this whole thing wouldn't have happened.

You see, along with noble warriors and talented mages that you've encountered along your journey, and that decided to fight by your side, you were also unfortunate enough to meet Berial – a sinister jester and a hypogean of chaos with sadistic tendencies and trust issues.

Everything was meant to be simple; you two fight, he loses, and then boom – you move on to the next enemy. It was always that way, and you wanted to keep it stable. And yet Berial turned out to be smart enough to realise that he'll lose, and give up beforehand, offering to be loyal and fight by your side, in exchange for you to spare him.

And at first you thought it wasn't that bad of an idea. Just picture having a powerful malicious being of shadows in your team. Having him here would multiply your squad's power almost twice, so why not let him in? Welp. You've never regretted giving someone a second chance like you do now.

Why such dramatics, you ask? Because Berial turned put to be not just an annoying pain in the ass, but also seemed to quickly take a strange kind of liking in you, which meant he began following you everywhere. And it's not an exaggeration.

On adventure? He's walking right next to you. Resting? He's glued to your side. Eating? He picks a seat to be beside you. Hell, Pooping? He'll wait for you outside the bathroom door. There was no hiding from him, especially when he's the literal embodiment of shadows.

You were flattered by all this admiration; you love your fans, take Casadee for example. And yet this hypogean was too much even for you.

Like today, after another long daytime of fighting the enemies and saving your friends, you and your squad have settled down for a camp. Exchanging a few "good night" wishes with your people and Berial, you finally went to your makeshift tent to finally rest.

You put your plushie that you usually sleep with next to you on the pillow, before sliding under your warm blanket. (Why does a grownass magister sleep with a plushie? Noyb.)

You sigh, extremely tired and yet still content, you blow out the candle, letting the cozy darkness envelop the tent.

–"Good night, Teddy.." – You mumble sleepily to your plushie, as you did many times before in the past. And yet, not in any of those past times did the darkness answer you with its own –"Sweest dreams to you too, my dearest magister~"

Your eyes immediately snap open, and you mechanically sit up in bed and relight the candle with the help of your magic. You stare in disbelief at no one else but Berial, laying next to you, in your bed with jolly expression on his face. He looks at you with the most innocent look a creature like him could muster, and grin at you with his sharp teeth.

–"Whaa? Morning already??"