On the other side of the rift.

  The sky here was gorgeous and ethereal. Looking up, one could see countless colossal bubbles suspended across the heavens, each shimmering with a different hue, each holding within it a dreamlike world of its own, and each belonging to a powerful being.

  Even the place where the rift led to was a vast continent floating inside a lime-green bubble.

  The Dream Realm, also known as the Nightmare World, or Where Fantasies Come True, or the Realm of the Delusional, was a dimension apart from the boundless cosmos. It was where dreams of all beings intertwined.

  Unlike normal material worlds, the Dream Realm was ethereal. And like the Underworld, it existed across all the cosmos and could be reached from every place.

  Perhaps because darkness so often ruled the hearts of the living, since ancient times, it had been called the Nightmare World, even though beautiful dreams still had their place here.

  About twenty miles from the rift stood a massive structure built on the ground. It was a circular altar made from a vivid red stone, and all around it, thousands of creatures knelt, arms or legs crossed over their chests in a pose of prayer.

  Among that crowd were all kinds of species; there were humans and nonhumans, the old and the young, men and women, the large and the small. The humanoid ones wore all kinds of clothing: some were dressed in medieval garments, others had nothing but a strip of white cloth wrapped around their bodies, a few clad in crude animal hides, and some wore nothing but their natural fur or skin.

  The only thing they all had in common was that none of them had a head, to be more precise, their heads had been severed at the base of the neck.

  From the exposed cuts, thick blood poured out, trickling into grooves carved into the ground. The streams of blood converged, flowing toward the center of the altar where a pool of it had collected.

  There were two figures whose clothing was quite different from the rest: one was a woman dressed in nightclothes, the other a man wearing a T-shirt and jeans.

  Surrounding the area were hundreds of longnight spiders lurking in watchful silence. From time to time, one would emerge from the distant shadows, its claws clutching a living victim who screamed and struggled in terror.

  No matter how much the captives pleaded, threatened, or shrieked, the spiders forced each one to kneel at the altar. Then, without a shred of hesitation, they severed the victim’s head with their razor-sharp claws.

  After killing their prey, the spiders would cross the corpse’s arms over its chest, then drive a sharp spine straight through both arms to hold the body in that position.

  Amid the swarming creatures, there were dozens that looked like the same ferocious-rank spider Aaron had just slain, and five that were even larger and far more menacing.

  On the crest of a small hill nearby stood a woman, overseeing the entire scene. She wore a long black priestess’s robe, her hair was tied into a bun, and on her head sat a ceremonial headdress bearing a black circle sigil.

  Her hands were crossed over her chest, and she murmured an ancient prayer, her face radiating a solemn reverence.

  “… under the sable halo of Our Lord, we pray our sincerest plea …”

  Standing just to her left was another being. The upper half of his body was that of a young, muscular man with ash-gray skin.

  Red, web-like markings spread over his solid frame, extending down six powerful arms, each wielding a massive bone blade. His face was set with a stern expression, gray eyes unblinking beneath short hair of the same shade.

  But from the waist down, his form became that of a gigantic tarantula, with six pairs of legs armored in jet-black scales. His gaze remained fixed on the female priestess at his side, wandering across her figure now and then.

  At that moment, from the southeast, a beam of blinding light swept across the land, accompanied by a deafening sound.

  “Boom!”

  "Hmmm, isn’t that the only portal leading to The Origin?" the spider-man guy said with a thoughtful look flickering over his face. "Seems like your plan didn’t go quite as smooth as you hoped. In any case, you’d best make sure the payment is made in full."

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  He let out a low chuckle, the mockery in it clear as day.

  The priestess cast a brief glance in the direction of the explosion.

  "Light magic," she murmured under her breath.

  Then, as if entirely unbothered by what had just happened, she closed her eyes once more and continued her chant:

  “… His power shines through the Abyss, across the Earth and the Heavens, from the beginning to the end …”

  …

  After destroying the portal to Nightmare World, Aaron guided Tony’s family back into their home. A black-haired young man followed after them without saying a word.

  “We’ve dealt with the monsters and destroyed the passage that led to their lair,” Aaron said, his voice calm and firm. “Your family can take a rest now. I’m sorry that we couldn’t bring Diana and Josh back. That place is far too dangerous, and it’s beyond our abilities.”

  “No, no, you don’t need to apologize,” Tony shook his head. “If going after them meant putting yourselves in danger, then even if it cost me my life, I would stop you. What my family owes you … I couldn’t repay it in a lifetime.”

  If they hadn’t come, he might have done something he would never have forgiven himself for. Tony shuddered at the thought of the gun hidden in the bathroom drawer.

  “Let me cleanse the lingering nightmare curse for you,” Aaron said.

  He drew his flaming sword once more, channeling the power of the sun into its tip until it gave off a soft, golden light that spread through the entire room.

  The sunlight fell over the three members of the family, and faint sizzling sounds could be heard. Invisible threads began to burn away, turning into dark smoke that drifted off and vanished.

  After a short while, all three felt a sudden lightness in their bodies, as if a heavy weight had been lifted.

  Aaron stepped in front of Vivian and Derek, placing a hand gently on the top of each child’s head.

  “May the warmth of the sun bless you and shield you from the shadows of the past and the dangers of the days to come,” he murmured a quiet blessing.

  A sun-shaped mark flickered on their foreheads before both children slipped into a deep sleep.

  “They’ll forget the horrifying events of the past few days. It will help them feel a little better,” Aaron said with a soft sigh.

  “Thank you so much.”

  Tony gathered Derek and Vivian into his arms and began to sob, the crushing weight he had been carrying finally breaking apart, replaced by endless grief.

  “I don’t know how I could ever repay the two of you. I don’t have much cash on me right now … do you take bank transfers?” he asked.

  “You don’t need to worry about that. We already have someone who’s ... handling the payment. The important thing now is for you to take care of yourselves.”

  “Hold on, until now, I still don’t even know your names,” Tony said. “That’s so rude of me.”

  “Don’t tell him your real name,” Acher chimed in.

  “I’m… Arthur Powell,” Aaron said. “And this is Lucian Chapman.”

  “Would you at least give me a number I can call you at?” Tony asked. “Just in case the monsters appear again.”

  As Luther took out his phone and Aaron was about to respond, Acher interrupted him:

  “There’s no need. I can sense several individuals with magic approaching this place. They must be the security personnel he mentioned earlier. They’ll know how to handle things and help them. We should leave now; being caught here might be troublesome.”

  “Why would that be a problem?” Aaron asked. “I want to learn more about the magical communities on Earth, and this seems like a good chance to do it.”

  “So, if they ask about your identity, how are you going to answer? Lying to them? They’re officials; I’m sure they have ways to check up on you.” Acher said. “Do you realize how much trouble it’ll cause if news about a young Sunkindler gets out? When that happens, it won’t just be you; Luther, your family, your friends, everyone you know will get dragged into a huge mess.”

  Aaron:

  “…”

  He turned to Tony and said:

  “You don’t have to worry about that. The help sent by that Martin guy should be arriving soon. I’m sure they’ll be able to offer your family far more assistance than we could. We have to go now. Please take care of yourselves.”

  With that, the two of them said farewell and left.

  The two boys were walking down the quiet night street when a voice called out from behind them.

  “Wait!”

  …

  Martin Barnes thought that perhaps he, too, had fallen under the illusion spell of the malevolent creature that was tormenting Tony’s family.

  He was a second-year student at Summit Valley, a magic academy in Québec.

  While attending school, he also took on a few odd jobs to earn some extra money, since he came from an ordinary, non-magical family.

  As a druid apprentice, he could do a little more than a regular wizard apprentice, things like brewing a few basic magical potions, performing simple beauty treatments, or calming wild animals.

  After a minor accident at school, he had taken the chance to request leave under the pretense of needing to recover at home, turning it into a two-week break. At the same time, he began looking for short-term work in areas around New York.

  When Tony contacted him, Martin first thought it was a great opportunity to make money, since the payment Tony offered was quite generous. But the moment he arrived at the house to check things out, Martin had almost been scared out of his skin.

  He was sure that whatever that monster was, it was not something an apprentice druid like him could handle. Even the frostcats back at Summit Valley, creatures only at the common beast rank, had given him a lot of trouble.

  Judging from the leftover traces of magic, Martin was confident the creature in Tony’s home was at least a fierce monster, if not something even more dangerous. This was far beyond his ability since he was just an apprentice druid and only knew a few basic methods for dispersing evil spirits. Still, when he saw Derek and Vivian, he decided to help the family however he could.

  The first thing he did was call the nearest supernatural security office.

  “This is the Mariana Department of Ether Security. How may I help you?” a woman’s voice answered.

  “Hi, my name is Martin Banes, a druid apprentice and a student at Summit Valley. I need assistance with a level two supernatural incident,” he said.