Chapter 317: Nightmare in Hand
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 317: Nightmare in Hand
When the Ground Patrol finally got serious, even the most irrational crowds were forced to calm down.
Violence is the most effective way to communicate with those who refuse to listen to reason.
This moment was no exception.
However, when the Ground Patrol prepared to escort me to the safety zone, I politely declined.
"There’s no need for an escort. Don't forget—even if all these people attacked me at once, they couldn't cause me any harm. We belong to two different worlds."
"This... but it's still too dangerous here. There are Nightmares wandering about. If some unknown consequence were to befall you, then we..."
"Don't take me for some weakling. I am not a frail scholar who only knows theory. Move aside." I looked at the Captain of the Ground Patrol, my gaze icy.
For some reason, my tone and attitude toward these people were filled with coldness and contempt.
It was a disdain born from being completely out of sync with them. I didn't know how they had offended me; perhaps it was their attitude, or perhaps it was the way they lived their lives—lives they were so accustomed to—displayed before my eyes without any reservation.
"Scholar, please don't make things difficult for us. Protecting you is my duty. Even if you want to protect these little ones, we don't mind. Please cooperate with us. Even as an Outsider, the same rules apply. This is our home turf. Even if you are a noble scholar, we still..."
"You still need to move aside. You can't stop me." I interrupted him, then looked down at the Fool's Dreams beside me. "Stay here. I’ll be back after I finish some business."
I then walked straight toward the cordoned-off area. He instinctively tried to block me, but his hand passed right through me.
"Tsk... damn it... All Ground Patrol personnel! Enter the lockdown zone and protect that scholar!"
As soon as the order was given, the patrolmen looked at each other, wondering if the Captain was joking. He couldn't even touch the person; how were they supposed to protect her?
"Idiots... it's just for show. You lot go evacuate those fools. The rest of you, follow me. Whether we can actually do anything doesn't matter; we at least have to go through the motions to prove we tried, understand?" The Captain walked over to his men and growled under his breath before being the first to charge in.
The others finally caught on and followed. A portion stayed behind to disperse the crowd. After the Captain's display of intimidation, who would dare stay?
If a specific charge were pinned on them, they’d be ruined. "Inciting a mob to collide with a scholar"—no one wanted that on their record. Getting home quickly was the priority.
* * *
Meanwhile, I entered the area of the Nightmare invasion.
As I drew closer, I "saw" the residue of power and information unique to a Nightmare.
I walked into a residence and looked at a person who had already been invaded. I sensed the aura on them... and something I could actually touch...
When the people here are attacked by a Nightmare, does their consciousness leave the body to manifest a form within the dream?
I looked at a dream body that almost overlapped with reality. The Nightmare's aura was coiled around them. In the dream, they were still struggling, as if they had seen something terrifying; their reactions caused their physical bodies in reality to contort into hideous expressions.
Their reaction to a Nightmare attack seemed slightly different from us Outsiders. Perhaps this was worth researching, but I was more interested in the culprit behind it all—the Nightmare itself.
Nightmares have no concrete physical form. When I first arrived, my method for trapping one was simply using elements to weave a seamless cage. But now that I possessed the Dream Rewriting Spell, things were much simpler.
When my power touched the Nightmare, it flickered warily. Then, the pitch-black energy coalesced into a hideous human face, letting out a shrill shriek at me.
"That's it? You think this can scare someone?"
With a wave of my hand, I trapped the mass of Nightmare energy. The maneuver was effortless.
The suddenly trapped Nightmare seemed to show a hint of disbelief on its hideous face. It began to struggle frantically, but it couldn't break free.
"Yes, just like that. You're nothing but a fragment of a complete Nightmare. You dispersed your power so much to invade all these people—weren't you afraid of spreading yourself to death?"
At that moment, the Ground Patrol arrived late to the scene. When they saw the black Nightmare, they were so terrified they didn't dare take another step.
"The troublemakers have arrived, I see." I turned to look at them. Seeing their trembling legs and their refusal to step forward, I knew they were all cowards.
But looking at it from another perspective, the Ground Patrol were just employees working for a paycheck. Why risk their lives for a monthly salary?
"Standing there like that... don't you feel like you're in the way?" I held the wisp of Nightmare I had just caught. The splitting nature of Nightmares meant that without special means, one really couldn't do anything to them.
Furthermore, I discovered that even the smallest division of a Nightmare seemed to contain a Luck Thread within it. This meant these Nightmares had already been "assimilated" by the Script, becoming total tools—or rather, tool Nightmares.
"You... you... is that a Nightmare? You caught a Nightmare?"
"Just one of them. The big one hasn't been dealt with yet. This is no longer something you can interfere with. Don't you see? Not being in my way is the greatest help you can give me." I mocked them before walking past them to leave.
And this wisp of Nightmare in my hand... it would serve as my bait.
"Nightmare, if you don't come out now, this fragment of yours is going to vanish."
As I spoke, a fireball suddenly erupted in my palm. The searing heat stimulated the trapped Nightmare, causing it to dart around wildly, but it ultimately could not escape my grasp.
I looked around. There was still no movement. Was my threat not enough? Or was a fragment with only a single Luck Thread not important enough to the entity?
But in the next moment, countless wisps of black Nightmare aura converged from all directions within the lockdown zone, gathering into a massive Nightmare right in front of me.
The surging black mist seemed to solidify the surrounding air, making the following Ground Patrol members gasp for breath. Such a horrifying sight was something they had never seen in all their years on the force. If they had known the true form of the Nightmare they were blockading looked like this, they wouldn't have thought this was an easy job.
My eyes were fixed on the Nightmare. This was the first time I had looked so seriously at the existence of a Nightmare, but the information it fed back was incomprehensible. Looking at it for too long even made me feel slightly nauseous.
But the Nightmare didn't just gather there for me to look at. It formed a human-like face, opened a massive maw, and came howling toward me.
The intense aura brought by the Nightmare in that instant formed a massive pressure. Emotions of fear and terror swept over everyone present, and then these emotions began to fester in the depths of their hearts.
Without special spells to resist, relying solely on my own will and emotional control was becoming a bit much to bear. This clearly exceeded the scope of what could be suppressed by sheer willpower. If one didn't have equivalent Beyonder means and allowed this emotion to fester, the consequences would be unthinkable.
I had to admit the Nightmare's methods—at least in terms of emotions—were superior to mine. While this kind of attrition could temper one's will, I clearly didn't have the time to use this Nightmare as a whetstone right now.
The next moment, the human face formed by the Nightmare tried to phase through my body to deal a heavy blow to my mind. But instead, it slammed into something like a barrier, unable to advance an inch.
"Walking into the lion's den, indeed." With a wave of my hand, the Dream Rewriting Spell surged. The barrier protecting me transformed into a cage to trap it.
I had said that with the Dream Rewriting Spell, I was "invincible" within this dream. For them to resist the effect of this spell was, in essence, to resist the entire dream itself.
Or rather, "spell effect" wasn't quite accurate. The essence of this spell's effect was to replace the channels through which the dream itself received information. The resulting effect was actually the behavior of the dream itself—or rather, the laws of the dream.
That was why I said resisting this spell was resisting the dream. This was the core philosophy of the spell: utilizing the environment.
The massive, intimidating Nightmare was instantly isolated by the dream itself, turning into a swirling black sphere in my hand.
The contrast between before and after was, quite frankly, staggering. Especially for the Ground Patrol—when had they ever seen such a display?
"You're all here... indeed, it's time to clean up the mess." I turned to look at the Ground Patrol. At least at this moment, they were of some use.
"When you go back, you can explain the situation directly. I have taken the Nightmare. It will be contained at the Beyonder Research Base. I will dissect it and find a way to eradicate Nightmares for good. You know what to tell the public, right?"
"U-Understood..."
The middle-aged man who was the Captain of the Ground Patrol scrambled to his feet to answer.
"Good."
Seeing how sensible they were, I ignored them and took the Nightmare back to where the Fool's Dreams had gathered. But when I approached, they all instinctively showed looks of fear, their eyes fixed on the thing in my hand.
"Don't be afraid. I've trapped it," I comforted them. It seemed the fear of Nightmares was etched into the very bones of the Fool's Dreams.
Even though this had once been a part of them as dream creatures, once they decided they wanted to become true life forms, this instinctive repulsion toward Nightmares manifested.
"It's fine. If you run into trouble again, come find me directly. If I hadn't been with you this time, you probably would have suffered. Go back and get some good rest. I hope to see you in my laboratory tomorrow, full of energy."
I reached out, instinctively wanting to pat these little cuties, but my hand passed through thin air.
After bidding farewell to the adorable Fool's Dreams, I prepared to head back to the Beyonder Research Base with the Nightmare. Leaving on time was just my regular routine; at the base, pulling all-nighters was par for the course for those geniuses.
I needed to try and create a device to contain this Nightmare tonight. After all, what was currently trapping it was my spell. Once I stopped maintaining the spell effect, the dream would stop receiving the corresponding information, and the cage restricting the Nightmare would vanish.
The Nightmare would then regain its freedom, and I naturally couldn't let that happen. I still had many questions that I hadn't gotten answers to from this fellow.
I just hoped the people at the base wouldn't be too startled by this Nightmare.
* * *
At the same time.
On a street on the other side of the Underground District.
Bai Yu strolled through the bustling streets, constantly whispering something under her breath.
Her gaze pierced through the prosperity and clamor of the place. The passing pedestrians and the street thugs she saw—everything seemed to move in slow motion in Bai Yu's eyes. She looked through behavior to see essence, and through essence to see humanity.
The scenes here were things she had never seen before. These were things that would absolutely never happen in the world she lived in.
She saw people harming the interests of others for their own selfish desires; she saw people becoming selfish and greedy under their unmasked lusts. She wondered: Is this truly 'Ordinary'?
In her understanding, "Ordinary" was a state of being—a normal state of life. However, that didn't mean mediocrity, nor did it mean a lack of value or meaning.
If what these common people in this world displayed was their "normal state," then what was the value and meaning of such a state?
She needed to constantly engage in perspective-taking, to immerse herself in their perception of "Ordinary," but this undoubtedly clashed with her own concepts.
Bai Yu suddenly paused, standing still and taking a deep breath. As a Body Cultivation practitioner, the ability to control her own state had become instinct. Yes, Body Cultivation, not just Body Arts.
When it came time to choose a graduation project, she had chosen the most common branch of the Soul faction: Ordinary. This was because Bai Yu felt that if she had to use one adjective to describe herself, her journey thus far had indeed been far too ordinary. She had once been full of longing when she entered the Witch Academy, but reality had smoothed out her sharp edges.
Perhaps her Mentor was right; her experience at the Witch Academy was a process of constantly accepting that she was just one of the ordinary masses.
So, where exactly did the turning point in her ordinary life occur?
Was it... when Xiao Han decided to apply to the Witch Academy?
Bai Yu didn't know. She simply allowed these thoughts to fill her mind, hoping they would collide and produce an answer.
But once again, she was unsuccessful.
Bai Yu looked at the people on the street. They greedily satisfied their own desires, wantonly displaying the ugliness of their humanity. Was this their own fault?
Perhaps. But it was more about the environment. The environment shapes a person's character. The beauty and ugliness of humanity are intertwined, just like "Ordinary"—everyone's definition of it varies.
It seemed everything had returned to the starting point. Her perception of "Ordinary," her research into the subject... she had started by exploring the outside world, but ultimately shifted back to her own perception of it.
Perhaps she shouldn't escape like this, but rather try to understand. Just as she had spent so much time at the Witch Academy accepting and understanding her own ordinariness, perhaps she should also accept their definition of it.
She looked at a disabled person in a wheelchair passing by her. Even with a broken body, weren't they continuing to live their lives?
This was the truest face of "Ordinary," wasn't it?
Just as Bai Yu was thinking this, a woman wearing what was clearly a nurse's uniform hurried forward and grabbed the handles of the wheelchair.
"Are you trying to die, acting so crazy just to get some fresh air?! Do you even know where we are? Do that again and we're going back early, and don't even think about coming out for the next few days!"
"Your tone is a bit much for a patient, isn't it?" Bai Yu followed her heart and stepped forward to speak. After all, just a moment ago, this disabled person had been part of a vague revelation she had gained during her meditation.
"Who are you? If you've got an overflowing heart, don't show it off in front of me."
"No, I am simply questioning your treatment of a disabled person as a nurse."
"Questioning me? Are you the nurse or am I? Let me give you a piece of advice: don't pity this guy. His environment and other factors have ensured that his psychology is different from a normal person's..."
"Ooh... pretty little lady..." Before the nurse could finish, a discordant voice rang out.
The nurse instinctively pushed the wheelchair a bit further away, causing the reaching hand to grab at nothing.
"See how this guy's legs got broken now? Mind your own business."
At that moment, Bai Yu was stunned by what had just happened. The nurse's words echoed in her mind.
Yes... this was a problem she needed to face...
Whether innate or acquired, their disability meant they would be subjected to the strange looks of others. Growing up in such an environment, their psychology would naturally differ from that of a normal person... Perhaps they would become very wicked, or perhaps they would remain optimistic. These were all points she needed to face—points that wouldn't change because of her kindness or pity.
And how were the bottom-layer people living in this Underground District any different from that disabled man?
The environment and external factors had shaped them. They themselves were not at fault.
Bai Yu watched the white figure in the distance. She hadn't expected to be enlightened in such a way by chance.
"Ordinary" didn't just consist of beauty and happiness. Suffering and ugliness were also part of being ordinary.