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nSilence.

nNick just looked at the ceiling in silence.

nHe had expected that things wouldn’t be as bad the second time.

nHe had been wrong.

nThings had been even worse the second time.

nBack when Nick had been underwater, the Nightmare had used subtle influences. 𝘪𝘳𝒶.𝘤𝑜𝓂

nThe next time, it had used horrors to stop Nick from moving to where he wanted.

nThen, it created illusions of Nick losing control and being swallowed.

nAnd now, it had just directly inflicted an unending amount of pain on him.

nThe Nightmare had lost all its subtlety.

nIt had transformed from horror into terror.

nNick just looked at the light at the ceiling.

nHe wasn’t sure what he was feeling.

nFear, apprehension, relief, anxiety.

nThis wasn’t like the last time.

nThe last time, Nick had been happy that he had managed to do it.

nBut this time, Nick was not happy.

nThe pain had been bad.

nReal bad.

nFor several minutes, Nick didn’t do anything.

nHe just looked at the ceiling with a worried expression.

nHe didn’t want to feel such pain again.

nHe never wanted to feel something like that again.

nJust now, his body had been torn apart one piece at a time.

nThis was a pain that should have killed someone.

nBut he was still alive.

n…

n…

nNick gulped in worry.

n‘I don’t want to do this again.’

n‘How many times do I have to do this?’

n‘What will happen next?’

n‘I can barely swim for a bit more than ten meters in pure darkness, and it’s already this bad.’

n‘This is one of the smaller blocks of houses.’

n‘There are blocks with no toilets, which means I have to look at the ceiling while under illusions.’

n‘And then, I need to go back.’

n‘Also, what about when I actually find the Dreamer at the ceiling in one of those?’

n‘At that point, I need to climb one of the pillars in pure darkness and catch it.’

n‘The Nightmare could easily show me illusions and make me move in the wrong direction.’

nNick just floated on the liquid as he looked up.

nSilence.

n‘I don’t know.’

n‘I have no idea how to find and catch the Dreamer.’

nFor over ten minutes, Nick didn’t do anything.

nNaturally, Nick knew that he couldn’t spend the rest of his life in the light of this little toilet.

nHe had to leave at some point.

nYet, he just couldn’t.

nThe terror he had felt just now was too much.

nThe pain was too much.

nHe was only 16 years old.

nHe had never undergone something this painful or terrifying.

nThis was not the work of some random weak Specter.

nNo, this was the Nightmare.

nOne of the only five level nine Specters.

nEven the strongest Zephyx Extractors couldn’t remain in the darkness for an extended period of time.

nThe Nightmare’s power was absolute.

nIt had killed tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people just by mentally breaking them.

nIt had killed people far more experienced and tenacious than Nick.

n‘I can’t do it.’

nSilence.

n‘I just can’t do it.’

n‘I have to do this one more time to get out, but I don’t think I can enter another block of houses.’

nNick felt his chest shiver and hurt.

nRegret, frustration, self-loathing.

n‘I’m not strong enough to do this again.’

n‘I want to turn my life around, not end it.’

n‘If I go through something like this again, I don’t know if I will ever recover.’

n‘What then?’

n‘I want to try my best, but if I fail, I fail.’

n‘It’s fine.’

n‘I can become an Inspector.’

n‘It’s not like I have some lofty and idealistic goal that requires me to become the strongest person in the world.’

n‘No, I just want to live a good life.’

n‘But what’s the point of living a good life when I wake up in a cold sweat because I keep re-experiencing the things I have seen and felt here every night for the remainder of my life?’

nNick looked to the side at the block of darkness waiting for him.

nAnd then, some tears appeared in Nick’s eyes.

n‘I’m sorry.’

n‘I just can’t do it.’

n‘I’m not strong enough.’

nSilence.

nThe only sounds down here came from the quiet scratching of the rats’ claws and Nick’s crying.

nIt was just too much for him.

nNick had just started his journey as a Zephyx Extractor, and he had already confronted one of the five strongest Specters several times.

nThis wasn’t something that he could deal with.

nThis was far beyond his current level.

nHe gave up.

nFor the next couple of minutes, Nick looked at the darkness around him.

nThen, he moved his head into the darkness and did a routine scan of the ceiling.

nMaybe he was lucky, and the Dreamer was actually here.

nIt wasn’t.

nNick took a deep breath.

nHe only felt fear right now.

nHe didn’t want to enter the darkness again.

nBut he had to.

nHe couldn’t remain here for the remainder of his life.

nNick took another deep breath.

nIt took a couple minutes for him to gather his courage, but eventually, he shot into the darkness again.

nAs soon as Nick entered…

nNothing happened.

nHowever, Nick didn’t let down his guard and just kept swimming forward.

nSilence.

nNick just kept rapidly swimming forward in silence.

nAfter a bit, Nick opened his eyes.

nHe saw the light of the “street” of the Dregs in front of him.

nHe was almost there.

nNick continued swimming.

nAnd then…

nHe entered the street.

nNick was now in the light of the streets of the Dregs.

nNothing had happened in the darkness.

nNick turned around to look at the block of houses behind him with suspicion.

nHad the Nightmare given up?

nHe doubted it.

nYet, Nick was back in the light again.

nThe Nightmare had no influence over Nick here.

nBANG!

nSuddenly, something hit Nick’s head!

nSplash! Splash! Splash! Splash!

nNick quickly shook his head and looked around him.

nRats!

n“Don’t wanna give me bodies, huh?” one of the rats spoke.

n“How about you give me your body then!”

nAnd then, the rats all charged at Nick.

nUpdatd from 𝙞𝙧𝙚𝒂𝙙.𝓬𝒐𝒎

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