“Ahem.” I coughed awkwardly due to the silence that reigned even after I had spoken up.It was clear they expected more and if I didn’t oblige, would I really be worthy of the position of leader?Okay, that’s a lame ass excuse but I definitely have to say something.I’m feeling really uncomfortable right now.“Right now, we have to focus on ensuring our survival in this Nightmare that seems to have no escape but do not be afraid for we have discovered an escape route. It is filled with untold dangers but we do believe that it is the only way out of here.” I took a pause to catch my breath at which point the crowd finally reacted.“There’s a way out?”“I thought we’d be trapped here till death.”“Awesome. Richard was indeed right. Jeremy Walker is worthy of being our leader!”“I can’t wait!”A flurry of excited voices rang out as the cadets showed their joy at the news.It brought a smile to my face but also caused my heart to ache.I had only told them half of the truth.But could I h

“How is that possible?” Leah asked with a shocked expression.Not only her, but myself, Isabella and Reginald had similar expressions.How was it that what happened just the night before had been quickly forgotten like it were a lie?Did that make any sense?I can understand the terrain changing since it is still just the nightmares of the Dreamer.But what about us, the inhabitants?We are still independent of the Dreamer so how come?“We don’t know how.” Richard spoke with an unsettled look. “We tried to remind them but they only looked at us like clowns that didn’t know what we were saying.“It was later on we realized that only Stigma Bearers still had their memories… well at least, majority of them.” He ended his talk as he glanced at Lincoln and then at Reginald.True to his words, it seemed it were only Stigma Bearers that were unaffected, but why were Lincoln and Reginald not affected?Was it because of their relatively high ranking?No, that can’t be it.It was then that Linc

“The second thing is the fact that the Dreamer would devour us in a set order. No matter what, it would try it’s hardest not to break that order as it could affect it negatively, so that works to our advantage.” I paused to catch my breath while a council member asked.“How do we do that?”Smiling at the question, I replied. “It’s simple actually. Those that are next on line are to be kept under watch for the next few days. We can’t be sure of when the Dreamer would attack again, after all, we can’t guess how long it would take for it to digest the energy of those it had eaten. It could be a day, it could be a week. Nevertheless, we can’t allow the sacrifices of those that died to be in vain. No matter what, we have to prevent the tragedy of last night from repeating itself.“That’s our duty as leaders.”Wow, I can’t believe I said that.Pretty cringe actually.Hah, but I’m not wrong though.I guess I’m just sharing what I truly feel. It’s not right that we allow the Dreamer to mess w

“We are being manipulated?”As I heard that question, a part of me broke.It was painful no matter how they thought about it.I could understand their emotions.Even though we tried to be strong, the truth was that we were scared.Scared that we’d never get the chance to run away.That we’d never get the chance to escape.“How can we win when we are already lost?”At first they had thought it was a lie but the more I convinced them, the more they realized that even the fact that they thought we were lying was just the Dreamer causing them to remain ignorant.Maybe it was because of their lack of control over spirit.No, that’s clearly the reason why the Dreamer targets them.If we let things be, they might end up falling completely into the control of the Dreamer.What then?So might as well get the alert now.Let them understand just how dangerous the situation was.The others might say I’m reckless for doing something like this but if I could do this again, I would.There’s no need

Isabella and I stayed up the whole night, talking about how different we are from one another.It sounded bad but it really wasn’t.She, just like Leah, happened to be a wonderful person.From her cold appearance, I thought she would be a cold beauty but she was actually quite easy to talk to.Sure there were some topics we couldn’t discuss because of how strongly she reacted but who didn’t have sensitive spots?Leah was same and I sure as hell have my sore spots.In any case, it was an enjoyable experience.It helped calm my nerves for what was to come tomorrow.“Why do you want to become an Explorer?” She suddenly asked.At this point, there was only at most 3 hours left until the sun came up.She looked me in my eyes as she asked, curiosity written all over her face.Taking a deep breath, I answered. “Because I want to complete my father’s dream.”“Oh, what was it?” She seemed interested so I naturally continued.“To wipe out the Otherworldly and reclaim Earth for humanity.” My wor