I stood on the stairs when I saw two people wearing black cloth covering their faces coming above. As our eyes met, they quickly raised their gun at me, but the dream beast was already behind them, his criminal eyes shining like crystal, his smile widening.
One of the men also sensed something behind as he turned, the dream beast placed his hands both, and these two instantly fell into a nightmare. The Dream Beast didn't stop this time; he dragged their body into the shadows like they were never here in the first place.
I quickly jumped down from the stairs, going into the living room where Alina and others were. As I stepped in, I saw there weren't any more people, but instead there was just a sat man, or woman with long grey hair, a black hat covering half of his face. In front of the man stood Iris, while Alina and Alice lay unconscious beside her.
I went straight in with light steps; all eyes fixed on me. I ignored the man and picked up Alina's unconscious body from the sofa before leaving. I left a word behind and walked out.
"Leave…"
"Boy, you're really interesting. Let's introduce ourselves. I would like to know about you." A voice came from behind.
I stopped in steps, and I turned to him. Our eyes met, and all the lights went off. Absolute darkness, not even sunlight from the windows came in; the whole house seemed to be plunged into a dark world.
The darkness lasted for a few seconds before the light came back, but now there was no one left except Iris, who was grabbing onto Alice's body. I gave her a look before leaving from there.
I entered my room and placed Alina on the bed before going down again.
'With today's move, at least these people would know the price of me is higher than they expect; maybe they will halt in their steps and go after other people.'
When I went down, I saw Iris standing at the gate, carrying Alice's unconscious body in her arms. Her eyes were carrying a new fear.
"I am sorry because of me; these guys came here and threatened everyone," Iris said with a low yet clear voice.
"Hm, fixed the door before leaving." I turned around and went into the living room, fixing up the house.
It took me some time to tidy up all things. In the meantime, Iris and Alice left after fixing the door. After everything was done, I went to check on Alina, who was still sleeping, before turning to my shadow.
'This beast is growing too fast; it hasn't been a day since stepping into the 8th stage of the nightmare realm. Now, it is already halfway through the 8th stage. As my cultivation is growing, the speed of advancement is also increasing, but the suffering it brings is really terrifying.'
I sat there silently for a while when a sound broke my thought.
"Um… Lucian…" Alina had woken up.
"Hm". I nodded at her.
"Why am I here?" she asked with a bit of dizziness.
"You fell unconscious," I replied with a brief answer.
"Did Alice and her sister leave?" She asked again.
"Hm." I nodded.
After this short conversation, Alina left the room while I let my consciousness drift away from this world.
As I closed my eyes, the world fell into darkness. The next second, I found myself standing in a world made up of darkness, and a figure almost identical to me stood before me. His crimson eyes locked on me, ignoring him, I summoned the soul of that silver-haired guy.
The darkness surrounding me started to move, revealing a black shadow standing there like a puppet. My eyes locked on him in an instant, his figure turned into a cloud of darkness, entering my body.
When I opened my eyes again. I felt a little haziness in my eyes, as if the world had become slightly blurred, and a new thought had taken place in my mind.
'I… I want to set the dream beast free. So, he can get enough food to advance faster. The only way I can choose to survive this apocalypse. If I can't give my worst Nightmare, then at least I can let it feed on others.'
This thought was the simplest and most effective one I got.
'Well, I have known from the start that this path won't be easy. Luckily, the end is near, and I am just an observer and also a survivor. I don't need to interfere with this world actively unless it actively threatens me.'
Every passing second was making my self-reflection more and more insane.
'I had already started to lose control over my thoughts, a step closer to insanity. Not too bad.'
As my thoughts were drifting away from me, A voice broke in, awakening me from this so-called self-reflection.
"I made instant noodles; do you want to?" I front of me stood Alina carrying a bowl of noodles.
"Hm", I nodded at her.
She left the bowl on the table before leaving. I looked at the closed door before my gaze shifted to the bowl of noodles. I picked it up, blowing away the steam, and I started eating.
'Maybe, I don't need to plan ahead, just live in present. A seer only needs to watch things come and go, as long as I am not gone, everything is fine.'
After this peaceful meal, I fell asleep. This time, there was no suffering, no monster eating my body, and no fear targeting me. Absolutely calm.
In the peaceful void, I took a step forward with each step, causing all the darkness surrounding the world to move, forming an image of a colossal demon with a Bull's head staring at me like a demon waiting to devour its prey.
I ignored him and walked forward, and a new figure of a woman appeared with a red necklace sitting above a giant mountain of skulls. I still didn't stop walking forward, and a figure of a man appeared with pupilless eyes. I halted in my step, giving him a long glance before moving on. What came next was a golden gate standing majestically in the darkness.
I paused and turned around, and all the figures I had seen previously were replaced by a new figure. It was a shadow identical to me staring at me with a slight smile. I smiled back, and everything dispersed.