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nNick’s eyes remained closed.

nOn the inside, Nick’s heart was still racing, and he felt very nervous, but on the outside, he seemed calm.

nHe wanted to open his eyes several times, but he forced them closed.

nTime passed.

nClink.

nNick’s eyes slowly opened.

nJust now, the Dreamer took a step forward, its black eyes fully focused on Nick’s eyes.

nIt was still as expressionless as earlier.

nNick covertly took a very deep breath and closed his eyes.

nClink.

nNick’s eyes remained closed.

nClink.

nClink.

nClink.

nClink!

nClink!

nCLINK CLINK!

nThe last two steps had come within a short moment from Nick’s right side.

nHe knew that the Dreamer was currently standing directly beside him.

nNick slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to the side.

nBlack eyes!

nNick’s body shuddered as his vision was almost completely taken up by two black eyes.

nWhile sitting, Nick could almost see eye to eye with the Dreamer, and right now, the Dreamer’s eyes were just 20 centimeters away from Nick’s eyes.

nIf the Dreamer just used its beak to peck him, Nick would probably lose one eye before he could react.

nThe more Nick looked into those eyes, the more he felt like they were empty.

nUsually, when someone got more familiar with something, they managed to see subtle signs that told them more about the thing they were familiar with.

nNot here.

nThe more Nick learned about the Dreamer, the more he felt like he was just looking into an emotionless ghost or something similar.

nThere was no disregard, hunger, rage, hatred, or whatever in its eyes.

nIt was almost like it wasn’t even conscious.

nIt was like it was just a dead statue.

nBut it wasn’t.

nAnd that was why Nick felt so nervous right now.

nIt felt wrong.

nNick felt like the Dreamer wasn’t supposed to exist.

nIt was not dead, but it didn’t act like it was alive.

nNevertheless, Nick took a deep breath and closed his eyes again.

nTime passed.

nMinutes passed.

nThe Dreamer had not moved ever since it had stepped beside Nick.

nAfter 30 minutes had passed, Nick wasn’t even sure whether or not the Dreamer was actually beside him.

nUsually, one could feel when someone was right beside them.

nBreathing, slight movements, the change in the wind, the smell, some noise.

nNone of that was here.

nThe Dreamer didn’t breathe, smell, or move, and since there was also no wind in here, it also couldn’t block it.

nIt was like Nick was alone.

nUsually, Nick would prefer this feeling.

nAfter all, most people wanted to sleep alone.

nBut the fact that he knew that the Dreamer, a Specter, was right beside him made it impossible for him to calm down.

nNevertheless, Nick did his best to calm down.

nHowever, Nick knew that this state of affairs would continue for a long time.

n‘How am I supposed to fall asleep with that thing right beside me?’

nIt was difficult enough to sleep under normal circumstances, but it was even more difficult when something you didn’t trust was looking right at you. 𝘪𝑟𝒶.𝑐ℴ𝘮

nBut Nick tried.

n“Nick,” came the quiet voice of Albert from one of the speakers.

n“Yes?” Nick asked quietly.

n“The Prephyx levels are slowly rising, but my scanner says that they are not in preparation for an attack. You should inform the next person of this occurrence lest they make a miscall and rush in.”

n“Tell me if you feel a change.”

nNick nodded slowly. “I will.”

nNick hadn’t opened his eyes yet.

nSome moments later, Nick’s mind was getting woozy.

nImages from what happened that day weaved in and out of his consciousness, and Nick felt like he was losing focus.

nThe next moment, Nick yawned deeply.

nHe was about to fall asleep.

nThat was when Nick noticed it.

nHe had just expected that he would be sitting here for hours, but now, he felt very tired and was about to fall asleep?

n“I am getting very tired, and I think I will fall asleep soon, Albert,” Nick said. “I think the Dreamer is helping me fall asleep.”

n“Noted,” Albert said. “Just fall asleep. I’m here if anything happens.”

n“If you are still asleep after eight hours, I will come in and wake you up.”

nNick yawned deeply again. “Sounds great.”

n“Good night,” Nick said in a sleepy voice.

nOutside, Albert was looking at the console with a complex expression.

n“Yes… good night,” he answered awkwardly.

nAlbert just threw a glance out of the window as if to confirm whether or not it was night.

n‘Why am I even looking outside? I can only see the sun through the upper windows, and the sun isn’t related to the time of day,’ Albert thought as he shook his head.

nInside the Containment Unit, Nick felt his mind melt into different scenes.

nToday had been a very busy day.

nAfter waking up in the early morning, Nick and Wyntor had prepared themselves for their excursion.

nAt noon, Nick had jumped into the sewers, and he had continually been swimming in them for over ten hours.

nThen, Nick had been tortured by the Nightmare, which had significantly drained his mind.

nAfter that, Nick had fought the Dreamer in a life-and-death battle before finally subduing it.

nAnd then, they even needed to walk several kilometers into the actual Outer City, at which point they had a short scuffle with some guards.

nAt least Nick had been able to take a short nap in the healing bath, but after that, he had spent another three hours in the company itself.

nThe fact that he had still been able to pay attention to Albert’s teachings after that much had happened was surprising.

nAnd now, Nick had been over half an hour in the presence of the Dreamer while trying not to open his eyes.

nIt was so much.

nSo much ** had happened today.

nBut now, Nick felt calm.

nHe could finally let go and get a good night’s sleep.

nAt this moment, for whatever reason, Nick had completely forgotten the presence of the Dreamer right beside him.

nSome seconds later, Nick’s back and legs became weak, and his body slumped.

nThe Dreamer kept looking at the sleeping Nick.

nOn the outside, Albert looked at the different graphs on the console, and he took a deep breath when one of the graphs showed a curve traveling upward.

nThis was the graph for Zephyx production.

nAt this moment, the Dreamer was producing Zephyx.

nNick was successfully working with it!

nUpdated from

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