Chapter 5: Nightmare
The quieter a person usually is, the more terrifying they are when they’re angry.
A chill ran through Nelly, and she subconsciously took a step back. But she was already standing at the edge of the platform, her back instantly hitting the cold stone railing, leaving her with no escape.
For a moment, she really wanted to just climb over the railing and jump.
But Karsus was already in front of her. He expressionlessly grabbed her arm, and with a single pull, she crashed into his chest. His arm clamped around her waist, holding her so tightly that she was pressed against him, unable to see anything.
She felt the whistling wind of distorted space rush past her, but all she could see was the black of his clothes.
The hand on her waist was so strong that she didn’t even think of struggling. She trembled, racking her brain for an excuse, an explanation, but finally gave up. She had never been good at lying, and Karsus was too perceptive; she could never deceive him.
In her state of utter panic, Karsus had already dragged her to an unfamiliar corridor.
Rough granite walls stretched out, devoid of light, save for a faint torch that seemed to be lit at the far end.
Karsus grabbed her shoulders and pinned her against the wall, his voice hoarse as he asked, “Who was it? Why? Was it Odo? Was he going to escape with you?”
He was so close, close enough to kiss her if he just lowered his head a little more. The breath from each word fell on her face. His eyes held the hottest, most venomous flames, yet the words he spoke were as suppressed and controlled as ice.
Nelly choked back a sob and closed her eyes, barely able to form a sentence. “I…” She took a long, shuddering breath, then gritted her teeth and looked up at him, speaking clearly, “I’m not from this world. I want to go home. It has nothing to do with anyone else.”
Karsus’s fingers on her shoulders tightened, as if trying to dig into her very bones.
She frowned, biting her lip to hold back a cry of pain, and met his blood-red eyes, repeating word for word, “I want to go home. Please, I’m begging you, let me go home.”
In the dim light, Karsus’s skin looked even paler. He smiled, his eyes shining with a crazed light. “I won’t let you go. No matter who it is, I won’t let you leave me.”
His fingers quietly traced a path up to her cheek, gentle and tender. In the most harmless of tones, he spoke softly, “Nelly, you are mine. You can only be mine.”
Nelly trembled all over at his touch and couldn’t help but turn her head away, but he forced her face back.
“Look at me. You only need to look at me.” Karsus forced her to look into his eyes. The depths of those crimson irises held a maddening magic. Nelly felt her consciousness begin to fade. She tried to struggle out of the trance, but all she could hear was that cool, yet utterly insane voice continuing to whisper in her ear in a calm tone:
“Everything else, you can just forget.”
Everything plunged into darkness.
※
Nelly’s head was throbbing when she woke up.
The light from the floor-to-ceiling window spilled across the floor; it was already afternoon. She hugged her knees, trying hard to remember what had happened before she returned to her room, but her head felt like it was splitting open. She couldn’t remember. She couldn’t remember anything. Her memory had been crudely cut off from the previous afternoon. All she remembered was feeding Karsus the cheese, but she knew for certain that something else must have happened after that.
And it must have been something terrible.
Shaking her head vigorously, Nelly got out of bed barefoot. She glanced around the room and noticed two stacks of clothes on the dressing table by the bed. They were in a similar blue and white color scheme to the guide spirit’s attire. Shaking them out, she saw a knee-length dress, a short cape, and a full set of accessories. The fabric and tailoring were exquisite, but for some reason, they made her feel uncomfortable.
Nelly looked down at the white nightgown she was wearing. She couldn’t find her original clothes anywhere, so she had no choice but to put on the new ones. Just as she fastened the last button, there was a knock on the door.
She asked uncertainly, “Who is it?”
“I’ve brought afternoon tea for you, milady.” It was a kind, female voice.
Nelly opened the door a crack. A woman in a standard maid’s uniform stood there, holding a tray full of food. For some reason, Nelly felt a subtle sense of discord, as if something didn’t add up. She tried hard to remember who had brought her to the room before, but she couldn’t recall.
She decided to put it aside for now, took the tray, and thanked her politely. “Thank you for your trouble.”
The woman curtsied and left.
Nelly couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. She turned and placed the tray on the cabinet by the door with no intention of touching it—she instinctively distrusted everything in the Demon’s Lair and would never eat the food here.
Fortunately, eating wasn’t a necessity for a system spirit, so Nelly sat down by the window again to carefully sort through her thoughts. The abnormal gap in her memory could only be attributed to Karsus. If something was serious enough that it had to be erased, it must have interfered with his plans.
What is his goal?
Nelly’s head started to ache again.
As if in response to her confusion, there was another knock on the door.
“Who is it?”
“Nelly.”
Karsus’s voice made Nelly tremble involuntarily. She was surprised by her own abnormal reaction, and her wariness grew. She didn’t open the door, only asking, “Is something the matter?”
There was a moment of silence from outside the door.
Then, Karsus’s calm voice came through. “It’s nothing.”
Nelly waited uneasily for a moment. There were no further sounds; it seemed he had really left. She let out a long breath and dismissed the thought of going out to look for clues—running into Karsus again would be a bad idea.
So, until nightfall, Nelly searched every nook and cranny of the room, even taking out the books from the bookshelf and flipping through them. But there were no hidden notes between the pages, the cabinet didn’t seem to have any secret compartments, and the room itself was perfectly normal. There was none of the information Nelly had hoped to find.
She had to spend a third night in the Demon’s Lair.
The first night, Nelly had a whole night of forgotten dreams. The second night had vanished completely from her memory. The third night… Nelly began to dream again. The dream was pitch black, with only a voice whispering endlessly in her ear, repeating her name:
“Nelly, Nelly, Nelly, Nelly, Nelly…”
She couldn’t tell who was speaking, but she could feel the malice hidden in the voice. It was something darker and more terrifying than hatred or despair. With each call, it stirred restlessly, threatening to emerge from the darkness and devour her whole. She couldn’t help but cover her ears, trying to drown out the maddening whispers with her own voice:
“I’m not Nelly! I’m not from this world! My name isn’t Nelly!”
But the voice still cunningly slipped into her ears.
She woke up with a scream, but felt that the voice hadn’t disappeared. It still lurked in the silence of the night, disturbing her sanity.
She futilely pulled the blanket over her head, but it was no use.
The voice now sounded more like an alluring invitation in the dark night, gently luring her to follow its guidance into the darkness, to seek out the darkest, most desperate secret of this Demon’s Lair.
Nelly took a deep breath, got dressed, and pulled open the door.
The torches outside had all been extinguished. It was pitch black.
She felt her way along the wall, carefully moving in the direction of the voice. The corridor was instantly filled with only the sound of her footsteps, accompanied by the ever-louder whispers, each one knocking against her heart.
Nelly didn’t know where she was going, only that she had rounded a few corners and entered an area she had never been to before. The ground seemed to be sloping downward. By now, the voice was practically shouting in her ear, leaving her no room to discern any other sounds around her.
Another corner. Nelly stopped and rubbed her temples.
The voice was now deafeningly loud. Her head ached dully, and her temples throbbed violently, as if something were about to burst out of them at any moment.
The fear she had managed to suppress earlier came rushing back. Nelly stood in the darkness, not knowing where she was or where she was going. She was angry at herself for being so reckless as to leave her room. Gritting her teeth, she turned to go back.
But no matter how fast she walked, the voice calling her name didn’t diminish in the slightest. Instead, it seemed to be chasing her, following her like a shadow.
Nelly ran until she was out of breath, no longer paying attention to the path, just instinctively following the twists and turns of the walls, trying to escape that voice.
Closer, it’s getting closer, right behind me.
The moment the volume reached its peak, the surroundings suddenly fell silent.
Nelly crashed into someone’s arms.