Nightmare Despair

Chapter 68 Desperate Situation Is Not a Deadly Situation
Hello, newcomer; I ignited this flame.

Opening the journal, on the endpaper, a line of fancy ancient Latin reads:

Zhou Kai's brows furrowed immediately, and many doubts arose in his mind, but he did not stop reading.

Keep reading, and your doubts will eventually be resolved.

The first page.

I've been to many places and had many names, but for over a decade, they've all called me 'Morning Star'.

Around 1921, I visited this otherworldly town, dragged into a nightmare, as an explorer… Today, the carriage reached the nearest safe zone, and after a long journey, I arrived.

This should be the first notebook left by Morning Star; I, on the contrary, got the second and third ones first.

This notebook is the thickest of the three, but it doesn't contain much content.

Apart from the first dozen or so pages, the rest were all blank... Zhou Kai quickly flipped through them and found that the blank pages in the last hundred or so pages occasionally had a few simple pen strokes, drawn so crudely that it was impossible to tell what they were.

Zhou Kai then focused his attention on the first fifteen pages.

This part is more like a diary, detailing Morning Star's journey from arriving on the outskirts of Soraka, to encountering the Willow People, lighting the fire, and finally entering the town.

Just as he had hoped, the journal answered many of the questions that had been weighing on his mind.

First, Morning Star's identity: where did he come from?

Zhou Kai once thought that Chen Xing was a pitiful person like himself, also plagued by nightmares, except that this senior was more than a hundred years older than him.

But he had already read three notebooks and had never seen a description of "entering a dream" even once.

It was as if Morning Star hadn't been forcibly dragged into the dream like him, but rather... had come here leisurely in a carriage for sightseeing.

How can I travel by carriage to a place that has disappeared?

There's only one possibility... Morning Star was originally from the Nightmare World.

Great, that question has been answered.

As a result, Zhou Kai's understanding of the entire Nightmare World was also refreshed.

The nightmare isn't just in Soraka.

Beyond the town of Soraka lies a vaster nightmare world shrouded in eternal night.

And the Morning Star comes from there...

From that vast world, a stronghold that can still resist the darkness.

That place might be a city dragged into nightmares in much more ancient times, or it might come from other invaded worlds.

Zhou Kai prefers to believe that Chenxing is from his hometown, from the same world as him... that ancient Latin handwriting is indirect evidence.

After all, how could someone from another world use a language and script originating from the ancient Saro Empire's Latim region?

Besides, Morning Star is very likely a member of the Twilight Church.

As far as Zhou Kai knows, Old Latin became a dead language more than a thousand years ago.

Apart from theologians, church personnel, and students like him who study classical literature, basically no one would study it.

Regardless, Zhou Kai was greatly encouraged by this...

In this boundless despair, there were still other living people.

This news proves that a desperate situation is not necessarily a dead end.

"Once I've completely settled things in this town... maybe I can try to find Morning Star and the others to join them?"

Zhou Kai shook his head, temporarily suppressing the thought, and continued to consider the next question. [Flame]

The journal entry reads: "The secondary spirit at the heart of this nightmare, along with many more innocent souls, are imprisoned within this monster. To end their suffering, I used 'Fol's' incinerating flames here… Burning away pain and sin may take hundreds of years, or even longer, but it's better than letting them wander eternally in this nightmare."

Leaving a gift for those who come after is a personal habit of mine... This time, I placed the gift beside the flames. Monsters capable of withstanding such flames are all extremely terrifying beings, but for them, obtaining these odds and ends is meaningless.

I would much rather have uncorrupted, or less corrupted, beings of light accompany me... like you, who are reading these notes right now.

For you, the flames of burning sin are perhaps just a gentle breeze...

Zhou Kai's face grew darker and darker, as if the burn marks from earlier had reopened.

In short, the fire set by Morning Star has a special effect on Nightmare Monsters. Only normal people who have not been corrupted, and powerful monsters strong enough to ignore the flames, can receive his gift unscathed.

No wonder the monsters in town acted like they were seeing their fathers when they saw the Willow Man; they weren't afraid of the Willow Man, they were afraid of the fire...

"A gentle breeze? What about me being half-burned to death? Does that mean I'm no longer pure, half human and half monster?"

Zhou Kai's lips twitched, looking quite helpless.

His nightmare corruption progressed to 4/9, and he will most likely have to take drugs for a long time in the future. Unless a stronger purification method than the fireplace is found, it will be difficult to reduce the corruption level any further.

However, there is one thing to be thankful for: he did not take advantage of his resurrection to recklessly increase the erosion process.

This is why he was ultimately able to withstand the damage and obtain the item.

If the corrosion level were any higher, reaching level 5 or even 6, he probably wouldn't be able to get even half a step close to the flames, even if he upgraded his arm armor to the highest level...

As for whether the flames will attract even stronger monsters, according to Morning Star, there seems to be no need to worry.

Just like when a person wants to pick up a gold coin on the ground, they won't pay attention to the ants passing by.

Even Morning Star felt like an insect compared to the truly powerful Nightmare Monsters, let alone Zhou Kai, who was just starting out.
The faint light emitted by a paramecium is probably too much for most people to even glance at.

Even if they do come, they'll put out the fire and then leave.

The third question is about the Willow People themselves.

The journal contained Morning Star's speculation. He felt that because the main soul carried by the Willow Man was the secondary spirit of the so-called "Nightmare Core," it simply had a persistent desire to return home periodically.

Under normal circumstances, you don't need to worry about it.

Unless you're incredibly unlucky and happen to find refuge in that spirit's house.

"I've never been very lucky."

Zhou Kai couldn't laugh; he simply accepted that he was the unlucky guy, and that number 777 was the home the Willow Man longed to return to.

But Morningstar also offered a solution, and it didn't sound difficult...

Just find another place to hide when the Willow People get close... but the time it takes to "hide" might be a little long.

This method is a method that is not really a method.

"But it's better than having no way out."

Zhou Kai took a deep breath, realizing that in order to avoid the Willow Man, he would have to carefully plan the time he would spend in the Nightmare.

Alternatively, you can stay away from dreams for the next three days and wait until the forced conscription and blood tide are over before coming in. At that time, you will have much more freedom of movement.

Alternatively, you can work yourself to the bone before the mandatory conscription, proactively survive the blood rush, and then strategically switch locations to avoid the Willow People.

When the risks are manageable, Zhou Kai has always enjoyed challenges.

Without a doubt, he chose the second option.

And it starts tonight!
(End of this chapter)