Budworm

Budworms (also known as the Dreameating budworm) are the name of a parasitic dark spirit that infests not only mortal minds but also the worlds in the Tree of Dreams. Budworms appear as worm-like creatures that devour the essence of dream worlds, draining them of their magic until they wither away. Most budworms are tiny and are largely considered pests which various dreamwalking organizations seek to eliminate. However, some of them can grow to enormous sizes and threaten the integrity of the entire Tree of Dreams.

Budworms were incredibly rare to see outside of the continent of Swen before the Cyber Era. However, with the expansion of the MagiNet and the Tree of Dreams, budworms eventually found a way to spread exponentially.

Budworms are preyed upon by certain types of light spirits to keep their population in check.

Effects

Budworms can infect individual mortals. The most obvious symptom of infection is that the person stops having dreams. While this may be seemingly harmless, over time, the person loses the ability to enter REM sleep and eventually is unable to fall asleep entirely. The person is afflicted with insomnia, and the Budworm continues to swell in size until it is removed.

If a Budworm is allowed to grow being the capacity of a single mortal, it will shift its prey to dream worlds within the Tree of Dreams. These Giant Budworms pose a direct threat to the health of the Tree of Dreams. Giant budworms feed by actively draining the life force from a dream world until it withers away into nothing.

The largest ever Budworm was named Choristoneura who grew big enough to threaten killing the entire Tree of Dreams. It was destroyed thanks to the efforts of SomniCorps.