Editing Corinthian (comics) (section)

==='' Nightmare Country''===
The second Corinthian continues his duties as humanity's black mirror and has developed several methods to keep his more volatile impulses in check including keeping a record of the memories of his predecessor. During one of his haunts in a dream he encounters and is drawn into the mystery of the "Smiling Man" a rogue dream like entity outside of Dream's control, who has a connection to several unexplained deaths. Discovering how widespread the Smiling Man has become he petitions Dream to allow him to re-enter the waking world and track the entity down with the aid of Maddison Flynn; a young woman who has had her connection to the Dreaming tampered with by unseen forces but has the power to see the Smiling Man in the waking world.

The pair follow a lead to a demonic night club where Azazel is working to harvest souls of unwary mortals in return for granting their hearts desires. One such victim being a young man named Max who is also seeing the Smiling Man. Azazel tempts the Corinthian to abandon Maddison by offering him a fragment of the original Corinthian that the demon had stolen from the Dreaming during his imprisonment after the events of Season of Mists. The demon claiming the fragment could break the restriction to kill that Morpheus had placed on him. While the Corinthian does go with the demon he seemingly remains concerned about Maddison's well being.

At the nightclub the demon continues to tempt the Corinthian to kill and embrace his original self but, the nightmare refuses. When Azazel has to take care of some business he slips away and comes across the reanimated form of Maddison's friend who is condemned to work at the club; tortured and mutilated at the hands of the depraved guests. He helps her treat some of her more severe injuries and the pair attempt an escape only to be caught by Max's boss Mr Teaugue and his Angel companion. A creature the Corinthian quickly recognises as something other than an angel.

Their battle is interrupted by Dream who intercedes and removes the source of the nightclub's power; a fragment of the original Dream that Azazael bit off in the events of Season of Mists. After taking back the power the group returns to the Dreaming where Dream ends Maddison and Corinthian's investigation. Having concluded on his own that the Smiling Man is some ploy of Desire and Despair's he removes the Corinthian's memories of the ordeal and returns him to the Shores of Night to continues his duties. Unfortunately this leaves Maddison without protection and she is abducted by the Smiling Man who has somehow managed to enter the Dreaming.