[Congratulations are in order!]

  [You have slain the Nightmare, Blood Fiend.]

  [Blood Fiend was a hindrance to the mission.]

  [Blood Fiend killed and absorbed the essence of a total of 402 different Sleepers and souls.]

  [Calculating rewards…]

  [Congratulations!]

  [You have restored a piece of yourself!]

  What are you on about?! Just hurry up and tell me why I can’t use the System! Somnu screamed inwardly as he tried to check on what he had missed while putting an end to John Doe.

  Around him, he could hear the heavy footsteps rapidly chasing him. It had taken him a moment, but he had realized he was strapped to Aurora’s back as she ran, looking for a sign of any swamp to jump into.

  [Your Grudge has grown exponentially stronger!]

  [ERROR!]

  [You have directly consumed enough Terror Cores for a rank up!]

  What…?!

  [ERROR!]

  [Your Hollow Core has ranked up!]

  Wait! I didn’t tell you to consume anything!

  [Hollow Core Rank: Opal.]

  [Personal Rank: Soulbinder.]

  Dammit! Is it because I ate that paper, consuming John Doe and everything he had absorbed?!

  Somnu tried to find an answer, but his main concern was getting out of his current predicament. The only real reason he had consumed the paper himself instead of Grudgekeeper was with the hope that Fala would be absorbed by him directly, which could lead to a way to bring her back.

  For some reason, he had a feeling even if Grudgekeeper had swallowed the magical sheet of paper, it would have resulted in the same outcome. The System would still have seen it as directly consuming Terror Cores and would still have screamed errors when noticing he was about to rank up.

  [ERROR!]

  [You have obtained an additional Aspiration Class and Skills.]

  [New Aspiration Class: {Hollowbound Avenger}]

  What even is that?! Fine, whatever! Just give me something I can use to protect Aurora and survive!

  [ERROR!]

  [Unable to load new skills.]

  Crow-Shit! Not this again! Don’t tell me…

  [Processing…]

  [ERROR!]

  [Sleeper Somnu ERROR is defective!]

  [Recalibrating…]

  [Issue found with the new rank up.]

  [System has been temporarily shut down.]

  Damn you!! I can’t move! I can’t even equip clothes!

  The only thing he had left was the translucent crown on his head, which only activated when he forced it to, or when he was close to death.

  Which was right about now.

  “?!”

  He felt it dig into his head, trying to force visions upon him again.

  Seriously, give me a freaking break! It’s just one thing after the other!

  Somnu gritted and grinded his teeth, resisting the agonizing pain and the visions trying to take his consciousness away from the present. With the System shutdown, It was taking every ounce of his being to hold back the pain.

  “Somnu?! What’s wrong?!” Aurora called out as Somnu felt a slight warm touch envelop his body, likely the healing lights again. “I can barely use my skills, hold on!”

  “Dammit… If you killed Dreadbeasts on the way here… Can’t you… just rank up and reset?!” He managed to voice out through bated breath.

  “What are you talking about? You know I can’t rank up without going to the mind palace!” Aurora explained, jumping over something Somnu could not perceive. “Are you trying to save me again?! I already told you, I’m not leaving you, Somnu! Not this time!”

  “No…” Somnu started to mutter, but the pain suddenly got sharper. Instead, he finished the thought in his mind. I simply had no idea that’s how it worked! This damn System keeps blindsiding me to death! Is it because I don’t have a mind palace that this keeps happening when I rank up?!

  According to Mr. Emberlyn, it was because of that reason that the scarecrow monster appeared where Somnu was when he first got to the Abyss of Lethe and the forgotten lands of Nirvia.

  But if that’s the case, then…! Somnu’s heart skipped a beat at the thought crossing his mind. “Aurora… what’s the situation…?”

  “Hold on… I’ll get us to a swamp soon, I promise! I don’t know what’s going on, but something is slowing down the Dreadbeasts, killing them while chasing us… It can’t be a Sleeper, so it must be something far worse than a Dreadbeast.” The girl explained as she continued running with heavy breaths. “I should still be able to outrun it with my speed. Whatever that thing is, it’s too ferocious and deadly for me to fight, let alone a group of elite Sleepers together.”

  Dammit, I knew it… It’s that damned scarecrow monster again… Somnu figured, confirming his theory. Since I killed it in an upgraded form last time, it somehow counted for the first two rank ups, but it did say it would be back… Now that I’ve ranked up again after it had time to form itself, it manifested here for me to challenge it since I don’t have a mind palace of my own…

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Somnu based this thinking on the assumption Sleepers were sent to their mind palace to challenge a weakened version of their trauma before they could rank up their Ego Cores.

  That obviously did not apply to the defective, sightless, limbless, even systemless Sleeper, or rather, Sleepless.

  Issue after issue, errors after errors, problems after problems.

  It was becoming quite clear to the punk scarecrow what was going to happen next. After all, from the beginning, he had lied to himself with the slight hope that things might go his way for once.

  However, the complete opposite was happening now. Everything was turning against him.

  “Aurora… you have to go back… without me.”

  “What?!”

  “I can’t go… back yet.” Somnu strained his throat and lips to speak. “My active fears…”

  “Shut up! I won’t listen to any of your lies, Somnu!” Aurora spoke firmly, with a harsh, unforgiving tone. “I’ve had enough of your bullshit! Self-sacrifice isn’t noble, Somnu! Stop kidding yourself! It’s just fear! Fear of pursuing what you really want, the best ending! You said you’re fine as long as everyone survives, but you keep forgetting one thing. You’re not saving anyone by erasing yourself!”

  “...”

  Even though he had told the truth, she didn’t believe him. He had barely focused on her words as he tried to come up with a new plan to ensure she makes it out.

  However, after everything that had happened to him, the loss of his crow companion, along with his limbs and eyes, the System shut down, his own Nightmare Creature showing up amongst a horde of Dreadbeasts, none of it satiated the cruel fate constantly attempting to play with his life.

  For the last thing that remained was far more sinister than any of those things, combined.

  Out of nowhere, all of Somnu’s active fears activated, as though chilling spikes got stabbed through his entire body, his entire mind and soul.

  In combination with the crown trying to break into his skull, the blind Sleeper’s very being was beginning to shatter and collapse, bringing him ever closer to a blackout.

  A deep, distorted voice sounded from up high, beyond the sky.

  “The Last Unrested.”

  “!”

  The crimson moon spoke, the grin likely still plastered on its face.

  “With torturous impatience, I await you at the end of the Seven Layers.”

  The Faceless Forager! Dammit, that’s just what I needed! How does he know about my Personal Title?!

  “What is that?!” Aurora asked, the shaking panic evident in her voice.

  “Come if you dare, Prince of Nivia! Heir to the Sleepless!”

  “?!”

  Suddenly, all the active fears disappeared, allowing for just a moment of pause for Somnu to catch his breath.

  “The crimson moon…? It turned back to green?” Aurora voiced her puzzlement. “Was that voice talking to you? What was that presence?”

  “...”

  Somnu did not know where to even begin explaining any of it, so he simply urged for her to keep going.

  “I’ll explain… later… Just run…!”

  “Don’t tell me that’s your real enemy…?!” The girl no doubt was frowning as she had tightened the strap tying Somnu’s body to her back. “We really need to sit down and talk properly! Don’t think you can run or hide from me when we get back! I’ll even break into your home!”

  What is wrong with you Emberlyns and just letting me be?!

  “Ah! I see a swamp!”

  “!”

  “We’re almost there!”

  “Hurry… Jump in… They won’t follow us in…”

  Somnu felt a rush of adrenaline course through his body, seeing at least an end to all of this.

  To this long, harrowing nightmare.

  “They must have made it out hours ago in the waking world…” Aurora muttered, jumping over something again before loud crashes resounded behind them, growing ever louder. “They’ll be so happy…”

  Is she talking so I don’t realize we’re constantly being attacked?!

  “GRAWWWWGGHH!!”

  That shriek…! No doubt about it… It’s the scarecrow monster!

  “We’re there, take a deep breath!”

  As he felt her jump high, Somnu heard another crash below. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was to follow.

  “Here we go!”

  SPLASH!

  As soon as they hit the swampy, grotesque waters, the strap got loose, making Aurora wrap an arm around Somnu’s torso.

  “Don’t worry, we’re being pulled down!”

  Despite being fully submerged, Aurora was speaking normally. It took Somnu another second to realize he could still breathe for some reason.

  One thing was for sure, she was right. There was an unnatural pull that made them sink deeper. However, instead of sinking, it felt more like levitating, reminding Somnu of one of his visions again.

  And then…

  “!”

  Somnu felt a whip of straws wrap around his torso.

  “Hold on!” The girl screamed, pulling him back towards her.

  “Just go! I told you, I can’t leave!” With the pain of his crown subsiding in the water, he was finally able to speak freely again.

  “No! I’m not abandoning you… Not after what I did! Not again! I have to make up for it! I have to bring you back or-”

  “It’s okay, I don’t care…”

  “!”

  Somnu tried to headbutt the girl away from him, cursing his limbless body once more, but he only ended up bringing his forehead closer to hers.

  “You were right… I’m sorry. I won’t die here, so make sure to tell them I survived. No matter how long it takes me, I’ll fix this… I’ll find you all again, and then, we can live together in a peaceful, dreamful world.”

  “Somnu, I… I don’t deserve to be-”

  Just as she was about to say something, Somnu was snatched out of her grip. She barely managed to put her hands around his neck to stop him.

  The swamp constantly pulled her down to an awaiting paradise, while the scarecrow monster ferociously dragged him back up into the harrowing hell.

  Into the nightmare once more.

  “No! Cancel it! I don’t want to go! I’ll stay back with you!” Aurora shouted, likely at the System messages she was getting. “Noo! Somnu, please… don’t go-”

  “!”

  Somnu gritted his teeth as he felt the hands around his neck turn incorporeal. He wasn’t sure if she could still see him with her voice gone, but nevertheless, he forced his lips to depart into a smile.

  Before he realized it, instead of a smile, the numb senses of his body had forced an absurd, comical grin instead.

  Then, the force of the straw whip got stronger, fishing him out.

  Before it could, Somnu heard his own voice inside his head again.

  [Congratulations!]

  [You have found the exit to the Abyss of Lethe!]

  [Transfering Sleeper to Mind Palace!]

  [ERROR!]

  [Sleeper Somnu ERROR still has active fears on this Layer!]

  [ERROR!]

  [You are defective!]

  [You are unable to wake up!]

  As much as he wanted to survive after processing Aurora’s words, Somnu could no longer hold out any hope of that now.

  Unable to sleep, unable to wake up, trapped in a cycle of a nightmarish hell.

  “Seriously…?”

  He mumbled beneath his breath, awaiting his fate on the surface of the swamp.

  No rest for the wicked… Yeah, sounds about right.

  End of Volume 2 - Unseen Dreadbeast Of Lethe.