"No offense intended."
The figure spoke, and almost at the same moment, Sherry suddenly heard a 'boom' from somewhere unknown—a phantom booming that did not exist in this dreamscape nor in this memory; it exploded directly in her own mind, and with this boom, the distant sounds of flames burning and people's chaotic shouting instantly dissipated.
The whole world became incredibly silent.
The next second, Sherry found her body undergoing a change—she returned to her seventeen-year-old appearance, no longer wearing the familiar nightgown from her memory, but instead her usual black dress, and her arm that had been devoured by the Abyssal Hound was inexplicably restored to its original state—a pitch-black chain extended from her arm, at the end of which the dog seemed to be sleeping, quietly lying in the corner of the room, its eyes' blood-red glow flickering on and off.
Sherry sat up abruptly, staring in shock and tension at the figure seated on the bed.