Chapter 96 - 97: Nightmare
「That night.」
Cillian Forrest hung up the communicator and his eyes swept across the room.
When you live in a room for a long time, it naturally accumulates traces of its owner. The room was now filled with many things, almost all of them bought by Sophie Wexler.
It had gone from empty at the beginning to gradually being filled.
’Tomorrow, we’re leaving.’
In the darkness of the night, Cillian Forrest sat quietly in his chair, taking in the scene before him.
Suddenly, he sensed something unusual—a wave of spiritual power was leaking from Sophie Wexler’s room.
Unlike the gentle spiritual power a Healer-class individual normally displayed, this was turbulent, seemingly caused by its owner’s emotions.
Because their spiritual powers had once merged and blended, Cillian Forrest could even detect a trace of fear and terror within it.
At this, the man’s brow furrowed slightly.
He then stood up, opened his door, and went out.
Sure enough, the closer he got to Sophie Wexler’s room, the more he could feel the turbulence carried within her leaking spiritual power.
It was the most severe it had been in a long time.
For the first time, Cillian Forrest raised his hand and knocked on Sophie Wexler’s door.
"Sophie Wexler."
"Sophie Wexler, wake up."
There was no sound from inside. Sophie Wexler lay quietly in her bed, her brow knitted tightly, her forehead beaded with sweat.
She was completely trapped in a nightmare.
In the dream, Sophie Wexler saw someone who looked exactly like her lying disheveled on the ground, facing a group of people whose faces were blurred.
The person seated highest among them looked down on her from a chair. Their features were hazy and impossible to make out, but the gaze fixed upon her was exceptionally cold and harsh, as if coated in ice, without a single trace of warmth.
"She" scrambled up and looked at the person in power, begging incessantly, "I was wrong. I’ll never do it again. Please, spare me. Please, spare me."
"I was a fool who didn’t recognize my place. I shouldn’t have abused my position as a Healer-class to do as I pleased. I’ll never dare to again."
The woman’s voice trembled as she apologized over and over, confessing her faults and begging for mercy.
She was desperate for the person above to let her go.
All that came from above was a soft, cold laugh, followed by a voice that spoke with almost no emotion, "Throw her to the Barren Planet."
Speaking the cruelest words in the most casual tone.
In that moment, Sophie Wexler felt as if she had been plunged into an icy abyss.
It was as if she was no longer an observer watching the scene unfold but had become the person experiencing it.
She was the one facing the extreme pressure of the spiritual power, she was the one bearing the fury of the person above, and she was the one facing the overwhelming feeling of death.
Sophie Wexler felt her teeth chattering.
She wanted to say that she wasn’t that "Sophie Wexler," that she hadn’t done anything wrong, hadn’t hurt anyone, and hadn’t offended him.
But she couldn’t get a single word out, as if a hand were gripping her throat, silencing her completely.
She felt with terrifying realism as she was dragged out, thrown onto a Barren Planet, and surrounded by a horde of hideous insects. They bared their fangs and charged at her.
Watching helplessly as countless streams of the Swarm’s spiritual power rushed toward her, she could almost feel her own Spiritual Sea being shattered and destroyed.
She felt herself being lifted into the air by spiritual power, about to become a meal for the Swarm in the next second.
In an instant, the sensation of death washed over her as immense fear enveloped her.
"No!" With a sharp cry, Sophie Wexler’s eyes flew open.
Her mind hadn’t yet escaped the immense terror. Her eyes were unfocused, and she was gasping for breath.
Cillian Forrest didn’t release the hand holding her up. His expression was serious, his voice firm and stern. "Sophie Wexler, wake up!"
"Sophie Wexler!" A vast wave of his spiritual power followed his words, attempting to soothe Sophie Wexler’s turbulent Spiritual Sea.
Finally, as the man’s voice faded, Sophie Wexler heard him.
She lifted her dazed eyes to the person before her, an unshakable terror still etched on her face. Her lips parted and closed several times before she finally managed a sound. "Cillian Forrest."
"It’s me." The man’s voice was steady, carrying a soothing power. His large hand gently rubbed her back. "It’s okay. You just had a nightmare."
As he spoke, he continued to release his spiritual power. Because their powers had merged before, Cillian Forrest’s spiritual power could provide a degree of comfort.
Sophie Wexler’s breathing slowly steadied, her pupils began to focus, and she dazedly repeated Cillian Forrest’s word, "A nightmare?"
"Yes, a nightmare."
When he’d sensed the unusual nature of Sophie Wexler’s leaking spiritual power earlier, he had gone out to check on her.
But after knocking, there was no response from inside, and the leaking spiritual power was even growing stronger. He had no choice but to force his way in.
Upon entering, he saw Sophie Wexler lying in bed, drenched in sweat. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her face contorted in pain, and she was muttering something he couldn’t quite make out, only catching vague phrases like, ’I was wrong... I’m not...’
She was clearly trapped in a nightmare.
He didn’t know what she was dreaming about that terrified her so much, plunging her into endless fear.
Calling her name had no effect; she wouldn’t wake up.
In the end, Cillian Forrest had no choice but to lift her up and forcefully wake her.
Thankfully, with Sophie Wexler’s cry of "No," she had finally opened her eyes.
Sophie Wexler sat up in bed, her breathing gradually stabilizing. Finally pulling herself free from the dream, she looked at Cillian Forrest, then closed her eyes for a moment to compose herself.
The dream had felt too real—so real that she truly believed she was about to die.
"Have some water." With that, Cillian Forrest handed her a glass of warm water.
Sophie Wexler took it and gulped down a few mouthfuls.
After recovering a bit, she looked at Cillian Forrest and said, "Thank you."
Cillian Forrest naturally took the glass from her hand. "What did you dream about?"
’What did you dream about that made you so terrified?’
At his words, Sophie Wexler lowered her gaze and pressed her lips together.
"You’re reluctant to go to the Capital Planet," Cillian Forrest stated in a level voice. "It’s related to your dream."
This wasn’t the first time he had sensed her spiritual power leaking out, tinged with instability.
It just hadn’t been severe before, and she hadn’t shown any other unusual signs. He had assumed it was a normal phenomenon during the secondary growth phase of her spiritual power, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.
The leakage was caused by emotional instability stemming from her fear of something specific.
She probably hadn’t even noticed it herself.
There were too many unknowns surrounding her.
Her personality, which was completely different from before; her constant mentions of the Marshal, whom she supposedly didn’t know; and her resistance to going to the Capital Planet.
’What was all this about?’
Cillian Forrest’s deep eyes stared intently at her, as if trying to peer into her very soul.
The moment Cillian Forrest spoke, Sophie Wexler’s expression faltered.
She hadn’t expected to have a nightmare about the original owner’s tragic end.
Ultimately, it was because she had been on edge lately, and learning that they were leaving for the Capital Planet tomorrow had only made her more tense.
She kept thinking about the original owner’s fate, which is what led to the dream.
She pressed her lips together and lowered her eyes. "Yes, it is related to this dream."