Chapter 00041: Nightmare
# Nightmare
Chapter 41
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 41: Nightmare
It felt like someone was pushing, forcefully shoving.
It felt like being cornered at the back door of a classroom, kicked, insulted.
It felt like failing to pay tuition, being kicked out of school by a teacher, wandering the streets like a dog, crying, powerless, despairing, after realizing the truth, bowing one’s head, going door to door to seek a job and a place to stay.
It felt like being sent to a foster home, enduring cold stares.
It felt like being taken to a hospital, severely burned all over, as if on the brink of death.
It felt like… suddenly, once again, returning to ten years ago!
The nightmare's reminiscence never ceased.
It surged forward, brutally digging through all the fragments of the past, until it finally breached all barriers, effortlessly grasping the very core of despair!
"I found it."
The nightmare grinned sinisterly, reopening the real nightmare hidden within memories!
In that instant, the blue sky turned into a charred dome, crimson flames reflecting on leaden black clouds, the earth split apart, sparks rising from the scorched land.
Wails and cries extinguished amidst the ruins.
Raging flames burned atop the wreckage of a train car.
Ji Jue was once again engulfed by memories.
So calm.
This calmness puzzled the nightmare.
This was not a waking dream from which one could break free by recognizing oneself, nor was it an illusion that could not inflict harm if seen through.
This was the genuine source of pain, a malicious skill that would push the opponent completely into the abyss.
Yet at this moment, he saw no fear or despair on Ji Jue's face.
Only a kind of unsettling tranquility.
It was as if he had returned home, lying on a soft bed, casually looking around, allowing the painful memories to consume him.
He stepped forward, sitting amidst the ruins.
"Ah... how embarrassing."
Ji Jue scratched his face, letting out a soft sigh.
"Just the other day I said there was a chance I wouldn't return, yet unexpectedly, it seems I've been sent back here."
No one responded, only the distant echoes of song reverberated endlessly.
In that moment, the formless nightmare suddenly lost its power and fell into dust.
A cold wind howled by, bringing with it countless wails of death.
From his daze and shock, the nightmare looked down at the dirt and ashes on his hands, instinctively taking a step back, but then fell to the ground.
Dazed, he looked around.
His control over the dream had been taken away!
"What’s going on?!"
He instinctively stood up, wanting to regain his dominance, but saw the silver light gradually illuminating the ground, intricate contours resembling circuits, as if an invisible net had ensnared him!
Tick, tock, tick, tock…
The surreal sounds rang out in his ears.
So crisp.
At that moment, time came to a standstill, flowing backward, revealing all that had been sealed away.
In the scorched earth and ashes, blurry outlines and tortured bodies reassembled once more, returning from death, wailing, howling, praying, or perhaps roaring.
In the end, they, no, it, all turned back.
Looking towards the dazed nightmare.
On the shattered, charred faces, there were no eyes, just two pitch-black voids like caves leading to the abyss.
Yet suddenly, brilliant light surged from the voids.
The mountains ignited, the seas boiled, the heavens and earth crumbled apart amidst the tides of destruction.
That was, a true…
—Natural disaster!
From the last terrified scream of the intruder, that disaster which had annihilated everything a decade ago reemerged from the ends of the earth.
Genuine despair and destruction, coming in waves!
When the nightmare shattered, it was like a bubble.
When the soul was burned away, it was the same.
This was the final destiny of the Dream Eater.
"Sir? Sir?"
In the still of night, outside a private lounge in the airport, a servant knocked on the door again, gently reminding, "Your flight is about to take off, sir, can you hear me? Sir?"
No response, just a deathly silence.
When the door was pushed open, a terrified scream erupted, chaos spread, quickly sealed inside and out, barriers raised.
The arriving police raised their cameras, capturing the scene within.
The man on the sofa had already ceased to breathe.
That stiff expression twisted completely, frozen in a reflection of fear and despair that could never be resolved.
"Probably died suddenly in a dream."
The arriving coroner removed his gloves and made the conclusion, but before leaving, he couldn’t help but take one last look.
That curled, contorted corpse was simply incomprehensible.
Why did the body look like it had been burned to death?
When Ji Jue opened his eyes once more, he saw sunlight streaming through the window, warm and gentle.
Birds were singing on the branches, spreading their wings to fly into the sky.
In this indescribable tranquility, he lay on the ground, slowly stretching his body, letting out a contented groan.
It had been a long time since he had slept so deeply.
So tired.
He didn’t even remember when he had fallen asleep last night, having slept on the ground, yet he felt neither discomfort nor back pain, but rather, it felt like he had completely rested.
Content and serene.
It was like he had had a very long dream, but it was all jumbled up, and he couldn’t remember any of it.
Yet this ample rest assured him it had definitely been a good dream.
However, when he raised his hand, he couldn’t help but freeze.
On the progress bar, the number [1] had actually been filled halfway with gold!
More than fifty percent?!
Didn’t it seem to only just reach thirty percent before he slept? How could it have risen so much upon waking? Was the balance of work and rest this effective?
Ji Jue scratched his head in confusion.
It couldn't be that some fierce ghost entered his dream and filled his head with knowledge, could it?
Sleeping could actually raise the progress bar by twenty percent? Is there such a good thing in this world?
Ridiculous, but I like it! Bring it on!
He hummed a tune, swaying his waist, and after washing up and tidying, he looked outside.
The sun was bright, the sky was clear, truly a great day for working and collecting rubbish to raise progress!
The joyful labor was about to begin!
However, not long after stepping out, he saw someone not far away, with a scruffy beard, pale complexion, looking as if he wouldn’t last much longer, staring at Ji Jue as if he had seen a ghost as he left.
Maybe he was sick?
Ji Jue cast a sympathetic glance at him, hands in pockets, casually strolling away.
Only after passing by did Qi Qin stand rooted in place, staring in shock at Ji Jue’s disappearing figure, doubting his own sanity.
The opponent targeted by the nightmare had been tormented for so long, and yet the next day was still lively, ready to work?
Something was off!
He felt something was wrong, looking down at his phone where dozens of unread messages and unanswered inquiries lingered!
Something was definitely wrong!
What is going on?
He wished he could grab that damned guy and beat him like a pinwheel, saying: Damn it! I waited for you all night, whether it worked or not, just say something!
But no matter how he urged, called, messaged, or emailed, there was no response.
As if dead.
"You’d better be really dead, you bastard."
Qi Qin's eyes reddened.
At this point, seeing the other party pretending to be dead and not replying, how could he not understand?
That bastard probably really uncovered something last night and had already run away!
But if he truly ran away, that would be fine.
What he feared was if the other party thought his news was valuable and planned to find another generous employer to sell it at a high price!
What exactly did he dig up?
No one knew!
But time was running out for him…
"So you’re playing like this, huh? Just wait to die!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Qi Qin dialed the phone, “Boss, something’s wrong! The nightmare has run away!”
After detailing the situation, the elder on the other end was left in shock, suppressing his raging anger as only the sound of something breaking could be heard.
“You useless thing! If you want to die, just buy a coffin! Why drag me into this? Why tell me only now?!”
Qi Qin's expression twitched as he hesitated to speak.
He never thought that casually throwing a line would really hook such a big fish, and now the line was about to snap, not to mention he was being dragged into the sea!
What was weirder was that after the nightmare ran away, they had no way to confirm just what was hooked on the line.
It could be trivial ocean garbage or a man-eating shark that wouldn't rest until it was bloodied!
Whether ‘Ji Jue could potentially be the chosen one making a mess of half of Haizhou’ or ‘he had secretly been involved with someone from the Wen family for many years and even had a child after the full moon,’ they couldn't afford to dawdle any longer.
If the nightmare sold the news and Wen Wen caught wind of it, becoming alert, there might never be another chance.
Even if it was just a ‘potentiality’, if any trouble arose, would ‘they’ let them off?
Don’t make me laugh!
They, those rats scrounging for scraps in the gutter, usually did the most underhanded work for those great figures.
If they were useful, they would keep using them; if not, wouldn’t they just find someone else?
Night pots sometimes worked just like the law.
If you don’t do it, plenty of others will!
“Take action directly.”
Jiang Jin took a deep breath, “Find someone to catch that kid first! I’ll contact the chosen beings from the Xinshu side to dig up his background thoroughly!”
Qi Qin hesitated, “But he stays in Ye Xian’s workshop every day, what if she finds out…”
“He’s just an apprentice, not her own son. She might give him face to call him master, but otherwise? Would she dare to act?!”
Jiang Jin could no longer hold back and shouted, "Besides, can’t we just lure him out? Is this your first day on the job? Do you need me to teach you how to do it?!"
Smack!
The phone hung up.
In the harsh busy tone, Qi Qin instinctively shivered as if falling into an ice cave.
Then, a ruthless expression surfaced in his eyes.
He dialed another number again.
(The End of this Chapter)