Gu Jun studied the familiar faces that had suddenly appeared around him. His eyes landed on this one and that other one, they were all smiling back at him.
“So this is the dream world?” The one who spoke was Xue Ba and it was followed by an uncouth curse by Lou Xiaoning, “We have finally gotten into this godforsaken place!” Uncle Dan followed up in concern. “Ah Jun, what’s wrong with your finger?” There were also members from the Demon Hunters, marksmen like Yang Henan and Zhang Huohuo. In fact, even Lin Mo who had retired from the frontline was there on the support of his artificial limb. The Arctic Wolf were there as well. Other than the Special Mobile Force, there were also people dressed in doctor’s robes. Most of them came from Eastern State’s Medical Department. After their narrow escape from this place, they had now returned voluntarily. “Ah Jun, we’re here to help.””It might not be much but we’ll offer any aid we can.” They poured their support towards Gu Jun.
“So this is the damn place which took everything from me...” Even Brother Qiang was here. He was supposed to be dreaming but his expression looked more alive than when he was awake. Wang Ruoxiang rolled back her sleeves and added with a smile, “Gu Jun, you have shocked me out of my bed last time, you really think there won’t be any consequences for that?”
Hearing this, Cai Zixuan sighed with the accompaniment of a poem, “Ever since our parting, I’ve thought of seeing you once more, How I’ve been dreaming of having your company.”
“Ah Jun.” Even Prof Gu was here. The old teacher studied his student whom he had not met for a long time and the many things that he wanted to say was compressed into a single statement, “You’ve grown aplenty.”
“Hmm...” Gu Jun regarded them and his eyes were turning red. Wu Siyu sighed. “Looks like I finally have the chance to rest.”
“Prof Gu is someone very important to you.” Prof Shen explained, “Your bond with him is incredibly helpful to help bring us here.” Gu Jun nodded, he noticed that not everyone that he knew was there, for example, he did not see the sign of Lee Yuerui and Wu Dong but Sister Liang who was responsible for his S value assessment was there. This led Gu Jun to the conclusion that the people who came had been filtered by Phecda; they had passed the test of consciousness and mental power. After the short reunion, the group turned towards the imposing old manor. They were both shocked and confused by the phenomenon that was only possible in the dream world.
“We haven’t been too late, have we?” Elder Tong asked. He frowned alarmingly when he saw the familiar faces of the dead Phoenix members gathered among the shadows behind the second floor window...
“You’re just in time.” Gu Jun said as he too turned back towards the window. “They are trapped here, from back then until now.” Elder Tong took a closer look and his face sunk. “Those are the children, aren’t they? The ones who have disappeared, the ones from the classroom...” Prof Shen added, “Tong, after this dream is over, we shall go for a drink.” Elder Tong replied, “With your inability to hold liquor, I’ll be my own company after half a glass.” The two old friends chuckled but it was laced with bitterness.
Right then, the watcher youth walked forward to ask in confusion, “Mr. Chandler, who are these people?”
“Itoch, can’t you see..?” Gu Jun answered, “These are all Carlot Doctors.” He started to chant the first chapter of the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan with renewed gusto, he could sense that he was summoning a greater power!
Prof Shen, Elder Tong, Prof Gu, Brother Qiang... Wang Ruoxiang, Cai Zixuan, Xue Ba, Uncle Dan, Lou Xiaoning... none of them needed to do anything, then again they couldn’t even if they wanted to. Once they entered the dream, they had handed their mental power over to Gu Jun, they propped up this dream together and Gu Jun was the architect behind it. At that moment, they could see the ripple of mental power around them, and they were enveloped by an indescribable strange feeling. However, their mind was firm. “Ah Jun, we will help you construct this sweet dream!”
The lightning lit up the world and thunder boomed. Endless unformed shadows burst out from the ground, they rushed towards the old manor like a swallowing wave. Some charged into the first floor while others leaped straight onto the second floor. The old manor was trembling slightly from this assault. Some tiles flaked from the roof and the lights inside the rooms were dimming. Gu Jun could feel that a small hole had been pierced through this nightmare, and their energy was pulling the hole bigger and bigger...
“So that’s all?” The wicked voice said again and the impatience in it had thickened. “Child, how many times do I need to repeat myself, it will never be enough!” The voice was practically screaming near the end. The old manor changed following it. It was already looking like a strange beast earlier but now, it was rapidly morphing into an inscrutable being. The monstrosity was so large that it shielded the clouded sky from view. Its body was made up from darkness and the head appeared to be taking on the shape of a deep sea creature. Many large and twisted limbs slithered out from underneath the head, giving it a resemblance to the monster which was depicted by that unearthed stone statue... This was a projection weaved together from many victims’ collective nightmare...
“Your arrival here has merely expanded the size of this nightmare, giving it more strength. Since you’ve tried so hard to come here, I shall reward all of you with the honor to be eternally trapped here!” The voice boomed louder than the thunder and it seemed to echo from within the giant monster. The dark sky felt like it was going to collapse and the storm picked up again. Even the sea that surrounded the island started to churn with violent waves. Elder Tong, Xue Ba and the rest’s faces were taut with exhaustion. The extremely strong mental assault caused them to quiver like a single leaf caught in the storm...
“Hang in there, people...””Do not look at it!””Clear your mind and focus!” The words of encouragement were for themselves and each other but even their frame started to flicker and their eyes started to glass over, this was the first sign that their souls were being drained. The chanting of the other Carlot Doctors turned stilted and slow...
“Hmm.” Wu Siyu looked at the ghastly faces of the people around them and her heart pounded with difficulty. ‘So it is still not enough?’
“Don’t worry, it is already more than enough.” Gu Jun suddenly mumbled. “We have managed to cause a wound, and with that opening, we will get our chance. After all, even a microscopic bacteria can claim a giant’s life. This is because bacteria knows how to fester and slowly consume the rest of its host. Dirty-minded Yu, listen to me...” He turned to look at Wu Siyu and said, “They are here in a lucid dream so they will return should they wake up, but it will be different for you. In a bit, I will try to use the spell that helped us enter the dream world to tear open a dimensional crack. If I succeeded, you need to try to follow them to return to the real world!”
“But what about you...” Wu Siyu frowned but did not continue because the answer already came to her.
“The crack might open for only a few seconds.” Gu Jun continued, “So do not hesitate, do not turn back, someone needs to leave with the result that we’ve achieved.” At the same time, Elder Tong and the rest heard the ominous portent in Gu Jun’s words. Their hearts sunk but at that moment, they had trouble even speaking, everything was swaying and blurring out of focus.
The storm was spine-chilling but Gu Jun’s eyes burned like the sun. He moved forward and all the Carlot Doctors trailed behind him as they headed towards the house of monstrosity. On the day he chose to return to Eastern State, he had already made a decision. Actually, he still had one more spell in his arsenal... but would that be enough?
Regardless, Gu Jun and all the Carlot Doctors stood their ground and chanted out this spell in foreign language as loud as they could, “???????????????????????,?????????????????,????????!”
Thy shell is my meal, thy soul and thy name are blessed by my words, I am thy creator!
Their chanting was louder than the thunder and gale, it drowned out the grunts of shock and anger of the monster. From that opening, a nightmarish energy like a billow of black smoke rushed towards Gu Jun, it carried with it the dead carcasses, the children, and the dead souls... and all of their shrieking and wailing.
This was the spell... used by the people from Afterlife Cult at the shrine of Riker City, it was a spell of consumption. Gu Jun’s face turned purple and green. His skin cracked pieces by pieces as blood pounded all over his body. Landon, Raybundy, Orlem... all the Carlot Doctors were going through the same thing. However, their chanting did not stop, if anything, every syllable had heightened in power, they were hellbent on draining and consuming every bit of this nightmare. Gu Jun could no longer differentiate whether it was the Son of Steel or the Son of Misfortune’s presence channelling his power, the sole purpose in his mind was to swallow, to consume everything.
Rate of corruption 15 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent...
“Ah Jun!” Many of his friends and mentors found their voices but it was already too late. They were already waking up.
“Child, why would you do this?” The voice demanded with hysteria as it tried not to slip into the endless nothingness. “This is not your path, no...”
“Because I do not like you.” Gu Jun walked forward with the rest of the Carlot Doctors. He stopped right before the old manor, he raised the scalpel and pierced it right into the ball of darkness. “And I am never one to be told what I should and should not do.” Yes, he would use this scalpel to cut through the darkness. “You might be a divinity or you might be the devil, it does not matter, we shall embrace destruction together, after all, the human world doesn’t need the intervention of these superhuman beings.”
Elder Tong, Prof Gu, Wang Ruoxiang and Xue Ba saw with widened eyes as Gu Jun’s figure was completely shrouded within the energy that poured out from the giant monster. Right at that moment, some of them were pulled out from the dream back into the real world. At the same time, Gu Jun used the last trace of mental power he had to chant the zombie spell. He sought out the connection with the rest of his friends and mentors. Just as he felt something being split open, he severed the connection immediately.
“Dirty-minded Jun!” Wu Siyu screamed in shock. A shimmering gash in the dimension appeared next to her. Gu Jun did not respond but she could hear his voice within her mind, “Now is the time, go! This is our only chance.”
For some reason, the telepathy that they had been trying but failed in the past somehow connected at that moment.
“But this will then turn into my own nightmare.” She said desperately.
“Everyone of us will have to make a sacrifice.” He said with finality. “Go!”
Wu Siyu’s eyes brimmed with tears but also determination. She hugged the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan close to her chest and leaped into the dimensional crack. “You are not dirty-minded, you are stupid! Stupid Jun!” Her shaking voice and her figure disappeared into the closing crack.
‘Adieu, Miss Tamarine, take our result with you and return.’ Gu Jun’s lips curled into a smile. ‘Tamarine’ also meant hope in the foreign vernacular.
“Don’t do this!” Cai Zixuan and Wang Ruoxiang shouted. Elder Tong cursed. “I knew you would have to be a hero...” But the next moment they were gone. All the familiar faces had been drawn out of the dream.
The giant monster staggered before it disintegrated and collapsed in wails of shock and disbelief. The millions of rooms shattered and endless glows of trapped souls escaped. After they had been trapped for so long, they flew right into the sky, it was like a majestic show of shooting stars, painting the black canvas of the night sky with their mesmerizing colors. The sound of illness retreated into silence, and it was replaced by a joyous cheer. It was the sound of release, the sound of freedom.
“Now, that should be enough...” Gu Jun grinned. As his consciousness wavered, he saw that the corruption rate in his mind had reached 49 percent. He collapsed onto the decaying ground. He turned to look up at the spectacle in the sky and his heavy eyelids closed unwillingly. With the last bit of his strength, he raised the scalpel to his throat. The nightmare had been contained inside his body and now it would dissipate along with his life.
So that all sweet dreams could return.
So that everyone would have a sound sleep again.
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