[ He says nothing, simply looking at Aether for a moment. There's no suspicion in this gaze, only a clear sort of attention as he inspects the youth's face. Fighting dragons and gods is certainly a tall claim to make, but he doesn't suspect Aether of lying just from that. If anything, people who look young tend to have a higher probability of concealing hidden depths. ]

I see, [ he says finally. ] Thank you.

[ On the topic of nightmares, though... ]

Nightmares are dreams, and this is a world made of dreams. Thus, the fear and pain that nightmares bring will become tangible, similar to a form of corruption. You can think of it as a type of poison that has emotional side-effects. Simply cheering the affected individual will not remove the toxins from their dream bodies.