Nightmare Mythos

Jeremiah was the one watching everyone's backs as they pressed forward relentlessly. He saw their struggle, their backs against the wall, enduring the constant tingling sensation of the Nightmare's attacks. Blood and sweat poured from their efforts to continuously run, as every meter gained felt like a hard-fought victory.

From the start of their marathon, he had been in the far rear of the group to observe the situation which started to become his last job since he also had himself to worry about.

That's why he failed to see the situation Erin and Cesar were facing.

Not like he can do anything at this point.

"I said let go!"

Probably the exhaustion mounting over them, only Jeremiah noticed that scream coming from Erin and the scene where he was falling and thrown down from Cesar's back.

"What—!"

Jeremiah wanted to shout why Cesar was able to do such action when his gaze fell onto Erin.

He was left horrified by what Erin had become and quickly judged his situation after distinguishing that Erin had shown signs of being corrupted that slowly eroded his body as they continued with their marathon.

Being a squad leader himself and stationed from sites in his entire life, Jeremiah was no stranger to people turning into corrupted. To mundane humans, they will immediately turn to hideous monsters and any sense of reasoning will leave in their mind the instant they were exposed to any kind of Nightmare exposure.

But Shadeds were different.

If they turn corrupted, there's a slight possibility that they can be saved but it was very minimal. That is if it was treated or seen early.

After all, the dangerousness of the Nightmare Potion didn't end just after being able to drink it. They have to assimilate the power inside them into their own, and to do it, having to be physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy is needed.

This is what the academy had taught them.

But there are certain cases where Nightmare is involved. This type of case is where a certain exposure might trigger the hidden danger of the potion hence making the user susceptible to its corruption is bound to happen.

Unless it was made by a Nightmare itself.

Who knows if it was the works of the Nightmare Potion or the Nightmare itself?

All of these thoughts went inside Jeremiah's mind in just an instant making him grunt and face forward, as Erin rolled on the floor while his power remained active for the group to take cover.

Only then Cesar shouted from his position.

"There's a minute left till the disguise is out! Please! Continue running forward!"

His voice was filled with agony and remorse that Jeremiah seemed to be the only one who understood Cesar's pain. After all, he was responsible for Erin since he was his company half of their marathon.

"Nicotara!"

The cohort heard a shout coming from their back.

Its voice however was eerily ghastly, at the same time, recognizably familiar. Even so, a slight distraction might hinder their progress if they put a bit of their attention to it as they sprinted forward.

However, after the shout from behind them, the tingling sensation they'd been feeling began to decrease, eventually disappearing

The only one who could assess the situation was Quentin after seeing the Nightmare redirect its gaze from somewhere at the back and leave them. It was weird for it to do it as if really timed very well with their disguised running out of time.

It felt like a sudden opportunity had been granted to them. Quentin, for a moment, felt a wave of relief.

"Nicotara!"

Suddenly the same shout was perceived by everyone in the group as they remained on this continuous route until its voice slowly dimmed from their ears.

Thankfully, because of that bought time they received, they'll be able to venture even deeper into the table, leaving the Nightmare behind who was clearly distracted from somewhere on their backs.

In a minute, the disguised gum disappeared above providing a roof over their heads throughout the relentless marathon.

Nonetheless, that didn't stop the group from running forward.

…

"Hahh…"

Breathing raggedly while feeling nothing at the lower part of their body, everyone's legs and knees were shaking violently. Their backs were drenched with sweat and they looked like they would collapse any minute due to how fierce their breathing was, as if they would need to puke out blood just to make sure they'd made it out from that cursed place.

Cesar, on the other hand, was not satisfied with their result even though he was one of the people who were supposed to be exhausted.

He was in need of running, hungry even. He looked like he will do whatever it takes to even take a single step and get away from the Nightmare he was loathing.

His face was crazed.

"We…need to… go. Crawl if… you have to…! Reach the end… of this table…!"

His voice is filled with viciousness and culpability his raging emotions were noticed by the group. However, they couldn't make sense of what he was angry about when the distance they took was a little victory that could be celebrated and needed a break from.

Still, Cesar might be the only one who understood that this distance wasn't enough to put the difference between them and the Nightmare.

However, that's when he was wrong since the squad also gets that the candelabra isn't something that restrained the Nightmare. It wasn't entirely limited to it hence it couldn't be considered as a Bounded Nightmare. Stay tuned with m,v le,mpyr

That's why they had to run again, even if they were tired. Once they crossed the desolate table, only then they'll be able to rest… only if this was the end.

"Hey, where's Erin?"

Cesar couldn't help but shudder upon mentioning the name of the person which was the sole reason why they were able to escape in the first place.

Feeling guilt taking over him, Cesar avoided the gaze Quentin was giving to him since he was the one who raised the question.

That changed when all of them realized a single person missing in their cohort and all shifted in one direction, Cesar.

The mood around them dampened real quick.

After all, Cesar was with him for half of the marathon hence he should be able to know why Erin wasn't on his back any longer.

Confusion started to take over.

These seeds of doubt started to grow as they silently observed Cesar remain unresponsive even though his face was full of remorse.

He liked to tell them about it but it would look like he left Erin behind for his sake. After all, nobody would've known what transpired between the two of them. If they even believed him in the first place, that would've been great.

But he had already exposed himself that he had certain secrets that couldn't be spoken to them. Cedeit, the person he was calling out for in their marathon, was an example of a secret he didn't tell them about.

"Hey—"

Suddenly, someone touched Cesar's shoulder and tapped it gently. Looking at the group confidently, Jeremiah initiated to clear the doubts by saying.

"I'll tell you what happened so relax. I've seen it with my two eyes so clear your heads." Jeremiah paused, "Erin… Erin knew it wasn't anybody's fault,"