Olivia had a strange dream.
In this dream, she felt like she had become one of the walking dead, wandering aimlessly back and forth in a maze with no visible beginning or end. She moved in cycles, her very ability to think forgotten.
Illusionary and complex colors outlined the passages of the maze; the sky was not sky, and the earth was not earth.
Walking in such a maze gave one the sensation of being abandoned by the world, as if this place existed somewhere beyond reality.
If nothing unexpected had happened, Olivia should have continued walking in this Nightmare Maze indefinitely until the nightmare ended of its own accord, noticing nothing until that moment.
However, the moment she entered this maze, her soul began to tremble and struggle, seemingly sensing the presence of invisible shackles.
This struggle became more intense and obvious as time passed.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, there was a faint 'pop' sound. Her soul finally broke through that layer of shackles, allowing her consciousness to return to her brain.
"What's going on?"
Olivia's consciousness returned, and her eyes instinctively swept over her surroundings. her expression shifted rapidly.
Was she under attack?
She could feel that this was a power acting directly on the brain and soul, capable of making one lose themselves within it unknowingly.
But it was precisely because of this that she had been able to break free. Since her soul came from another world, it was fundamentally different from the souls of the people in this world.
'Magic mirror, magic mirror, what happened to me?'
【This is an ability from a Dreamwalker called Nightmare Maze, which traps people within a dream. Judging by the current effect of the Nightmare Maze, the caster is at least an Evolver.】
Olivia's expression immediately tightened.
Hadn't they said that high-level class rank transcendents were rare? Why were they popping up one after another so quickly?
She wasn't even a mid-level class rank transcendent herself yet.
Olivia quickly asked another question.
'Magic mirror, I asked you before I went to sleep if there was anything related to me, and you said no.'
【The opponent was outside my range of control at that time.】
'...Alright. Magic mirror, I need more detailed information on the current situation.'
Olivia maintained her movements, walking through the Nightmare Maze while inquiring about the situation.
The magic mirror quickly presented the answer before her eyes.
This was all related to Paradise.
Actually, Olivia had suspected as much the moment she realized she was caught in a Dreamwalker's ability. Now that she knew it was related to Paradise, she wasn't too surprised.
The good news was that she hadn't been caught because someone had broken into her home. The opponent's ability had been transmitted from a distance using Paradise as a link.
To be precise, a Dreamwalker named Nightmare was using Paradise itself as a medium to influence everyone from the Radiant Light Church who had entered Paradise, pulling them into the Nightmare Maze.
The opponent hadn't necessarily noticed her as Olivia; this was simply an indiscriminate dream attack.
But why would they do this?
Olivia continued her questioning, and the magic mirror provided an answer.
【They are capturing their prey. Based on various pieces of information, their prey should be Rose. At this moment, an anomaly has already occurred on Rose's side.】
Olivia's face changed instantly.
How did this involve Rose?
Prey?
Dreamland Paradise was treating Rose as prey? Capturing her through Paradise? What did that even mean?
Olivia continued to ask, but this time the magic mirror could not provide an answer.
This was because no relevant discussions had occurred within its range of control.
It could only offer some deductions.
'Magic mirror, how do I get out of here?'
【The current Nightmare Maze is not specifically targeting you, Master. You can simply use brute force.】
Almost the instant the magic mirror finished speaking, Olivia threw a punch filled with anger, slamming it heavily into the ground.
Immediately after, the earth shattered.
Countless cracks spread through the illusionary area. In the blink of an eye, the surroundings were covered in fractures.
Finally, with a loud 'bang', all the hallucinatory colors shattered.
...
88 Annus Street.
In the bed of the master bedroom, Olivia abruptly sat up.
She took a deep breath, got out of bed, and pulled open the curtains. Outside, the crimson moon still appeared bright and clear.
She quickly changed into her nun uniform, left her residence, and hurried toward the hotel where Rose was staying. It wasn't that far away.
At the same time, she didn't stop asking the magic mirror for various countermeasures, her brow constantly furrowed.
...
Rewinding time to a little while earlier.
In the hotel room, Rose was in a deep sleep as usual. However, even in her sleep, one of her hands remained firmly gripped around Annie's arm. No matter how hard Annie tried, she couldn't pull her arm away.
If she moved too much, she would wake Rose up.
This made Annie sigh involuntarily.
Rose could sleep soundly, but Annie couldn't. In truth, for someone at her class rank, the need for sleep wasn't strong. It was perfectly fine to go for long periods without sleeping.
"I've had enough of these days. When will it finally end?"
Annie gritted her teeth, her mind involuntarily fantasizing about what she would do once she was free.
If she could escape, she certainly wouldn't let that church nun who had been making her life miserable off the hook. She had already planned out exactly how to torture her.
As she thought about it, she even let out a low chuckle.
Suddenly, Annie felt something was wrong.
She noticed that Rose's grip on her arm had become slightly tighter, to the point of causing pain.
Confused, she looked toward Rose, but that single glance made Annie's eyes widen instantly.
Rose, who was lying there, now had long hair that had turned a pale, white color at some point. Even though her face was still that of a young child, the appearance of this white hair brought with it an absurd and eerie feeling.
"What's happening?"
Annie was becoming uneasy.
What happened next before her eyes made her skin crawl, filling her with immense terror.
Rose opened her eyes.
It wasn't the eyes in their normal positions that opened. Instead, an eye opened on Rose's cheek.
A crimson pupil stared intently at Annie the moment it opened.
Following that, more eyes opened in other places.
On her chin, her nose, her neck—they even began to spread down her body, including rows of eyes opening along her arms.
Every single pupil was a deep crimson, staring fixedly at Annie.
Rate on N.U.
