Why would Mr. Emberlyn’s granddaughter come and visit me in the hospital?!

  The image of the golden-haired girl sitting next to Somnu’s unconscious body made him question a lot of things as his mind began to wander into the void.

  She was sitting one moment, then standing or pacing around the room another moment. That quickly confirmed to Somnu that the time between the real world and the first layer of the Nightmare Realm really did work differently.

  While he had fallen into his coma around 9 pm on Halloween Eve, and maybe spent around 4 hours or so in Abyss of Lethe time, from the looks of it, morning had already dawn in the waking world.

  However, that revelation led to a different question.

  If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean she’s spending way too much time in my room?!

  Somnu didn’t know whether to feel glad someone was actually there, especially the girl he had been crushing on, or whether to question the whole thing.

  As far as he knew, the girl didn’t even know him, let alone have a reason to be there.

  If Somnu had to think of someone who would actually be there, he knew it would be those two who always tried to talk to him.

  After all, he was supposed to be their adopted brother.

  ***

  It was only natural for a ten year old boy to be taken in by child services after his mother died and left him no other immediate family. Although a few old couples had stepped forward to take him in at the time, he was eventually adopted by two young parents with two children of their own.

  It was everyone’s hope that Somnu would find happiness in the embrace of his new loving family.

  The parents, Mark and Ashley, as well as the two children, Mo and Leyna, all tried their best to welcome Somnu into his new home.

  “We hope you can come to see us as your second family, Somnu.”

  That’s what they had said.

  “We do not want to replace your mother, we loved her dearly and want to make sure you are taken care of now.”

  “She would be happy to see you move on and live your life.”

  However, no matter how much everyone tried, every night, without missing a single night for months, he snuck out and ran all the way across the town of Duskville, back to the small isolated home his mother had left him.

  Then, every morning, the town’s sheriff or his new parents would come and find him shivering in front of the bloodied, grinning skull symbol on the wall, etched right above where he had found his mother murdered.

  “Mom… Mom…” He would mutter repeatedly before almost choking on his breath.

  And even though everyone agreed to paint over it, Somnu wouldn’t allow it. He would lash out at them, lock the door to his mother’s room and threaten to swallow the key.

  Hoping he would soften and wind down with time, the adults around him pitied him and allowed him time to grieve on his terms. The advice of his therapist, who he was forced to visit, helped convince them.

  “Taking that away from him might have detrimental consequences to his psyche. He seems to be seeing it as some kind of reality-check. He’s using it to remind himself of what happened.” The child had overheard his therapist report. “It is not something I have encountered before, for someone to be constantly reminding themselves of their trauma, instead of subconsciously looking for signs to reject it ever occurred.”

  Even when years went by, however, his behaviors never changed. His dissatisfaction and anger seemed apparent, even cutting his hair in a punk-like cut, piercing his ear and getting a few dreadful tattoos.

  He seemed basically ready to fight anyone who stood in his way.

  Naturally, that invited trouble. His bullies from even before the incident couldn’t accept his sudden change in demeanor, he was supposed to be the weird-looking, laughable scarecrow-obsessed kid.

  “You think you’re so tough now, little scarecrow?!”

  “Why don’t you just wear your scarecrow outfit for bed too? Or is your mommy not around anymore to tuck you in?”

  That’s what his bullies had jeered as they surrounded him behind the school.

  They had all ended up in a hospital with broken bones.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Somnu, on the other hand, had gotten off with a scar over his eyebrow. One he couldn’t remember getting.

  After all, he had blacked out completely during the altercation, only to come to when his bullies were all screaming or unconscious on the ground.

  “You monster!”

  “Look what you did to me! How dare you?!”

  This incident only served to strengthen the image Somnu had built for himself.

  And so, most of the town had avoided him until he turned 16 and became independent again. Having caused his second family nothing but trouble and headache, he simply moved out despite them asking him to stay.

  “You can stay here with us, Somnu!”

  “Listen to Leyna, you’re basically our brother now.”

  It seemed as if his adopted siblings were some of the few people who truly understood why Somnu had played the punk so far, befriending the wrong crowd and disappearing for days.

  He hadn’t been simply acting harshly out of frustration or anger. He didn’t hate anyone around him.

  He just wanted to be alone, wanted them far away from him as he pursued a single goal.

  And, after a much bigger incident, one that hurt the ones that still cared about him, that’s exactly what he got.

  For the next few years, he isolated himself in his home, simply relying on whatever funds his mother had saved up for him.

  Slowly, he once again changed. He dived into all sorts of entertainments to escape his reality, to spend his nights as fast as possible.

  And then, once a year, as he had for almost a decade, he would force himself to confront reality, to stand before the symbol and reminder of his mother’s murder.

  Eventually, he finally answered the knocking on his door, having ignored all previous attempts from anyone who came to check on him.

  “Kid, the town is in need of a professional scarecrow to help protect the farms.” Mr. Emberlyn had said. “Are you up for it?”

  At first, Somnu believed the old man was making fun of him. He had known Eamon Emberlyn ever since he was a kid. His late mother always seemed cheerful around the old geezer, both of them cracking weird jokes back and forth.

  “Fine…”

  Nevertheless, after thinking it over, he gave in and accepted the job.

  He naturally knew deep down they had made up the profession for him, but he was glad to be a scarecrow.

  Being cooped up for so long, the terrible loneliness finally caught up with him.

  He wanted to get out, to reconnect with people, to forge deeper bonds.

  To try and move on.

  ***

  They say life flashes between a person’s eyes before they die, but Somnu knew it was more than that.

  This Memento sure showed me a lot of unpleasant things, huh?

  After showing him his current physical state, it turned back time and played the memories he would have rather not remembered at the end.

  Maybe, I should have apologized properly to them… He thought, thinking of the two siblings who always tried to help. I just couldn’t do it, couldn’t look them in the eye again after what I had done to them… I didn’t want them to suffer again because of me…

  His time was finally up now, even his eyes had turned to stone.

  Those last moments had truly felt like an eternity to him.

  And now his mind was blanking again.

  “!”

  At the end, he felt his stone-body being suddenly pushed through waters at a great speed.

  Heh, what use is my body now to a Nightmare Creature exactly…?

  He scoffed inwardly, then his last thoughts echoed in his mind.

  I’m sorry, mom… everyone… I let you all down…

  Then he blacked out.

  ***

  “Hey! Are you with me?! Can you hear me?!”

  “!”

  “Did you swallow the lake water? Tell me! How much of it is in your body?!”

  “...”

  Somnu was coming to himself again, it seemed as though he didn’t die.

  Or perhaps, he actually had died and went to a different place now, just like he had when he first came to the Nightmare realm.

  His mind was very drowsy, the world around him went in circles as he laid unmoving on the ground, barely able to feel the chilly breeze on his face.

  There was no sign of Fala or Grudgekeeper, only a figure of someone asking him way too many questions.

  “Hey, I see your eyes open! Answer me, dammit!”

  Why… are you so loud…?!

  Somnu tried to shout out of annoyance, but his voice wouldn’t come out.

  “Seriously, and I dove so quickly after you too. How can someone get affected by so many restrictions at once?!”

  The figure Somnu was seeing blurred into multiple duplicates before coming back together.

  “Now I have to take care of you until you’re completely sober again.”

  Then Somnu finally realized what was happening to him now. He had been rescued, but that hadn’t been all.

  “Naked, drunk, and doesn’t respond… This is just going to be a lot of fun, huh?”

  Somnu’s reputation was already in shambles at the very first contact with another human being in the Abyss of Lethe.

  Except…

  “You…?!”

  “Oh, he speaks after all! Just naked and drunk, I guess! We should definitely celebrate!”

  The figure in front of him seemed to be covered in green-ish scales from head to toe.

  It wasn’t a human being at all, but some kind of lizardman straight out of a fantasy world.

  Here's the Patreon link for those who can't wait and want to read 30+ chapters:

  Rating and Leaving a Review goes a long way to support the series!

  !