“By golly?! A new secret pathway?!”

  Everyone joined in Evu’Dral’s shock, all their eyes constricted into tiny marbles.

  Where could she have found that…? Somnu thought, holding his chin. Naga’s clones have looked everywhere, in every room they could sneak into.

  The scarecrow knew there could still be possible secret rooms, but those would only be available to the Luscairna. They were the only ones who knew how to control the fort, or rather, they were the only ones allowed to.

  From both his conversations and the ones Naga had spied on, Somnu had learned another important detail.

  The Luscairna were able to use Mementos. That’s why Bree’Niu had a magical book, and why the Mirewalker Fort in itself was special, it was a sort of Memento too. At which rank and level, Somnu couldn’t know, but he guessed it was likely at a higher rank, like his Veilbinder’s Diadem.

  He similarly figured Evu’Dral must be the one it belonged to as he was another special case. Beside being the Fortmaster, he was one of the very few Luscairna who manifested an ability outside of the Sleeper System.

  The fact that Luscairna were dream entities based on the hopes and imagination of Sleepers made them the direct opposite to the Nightmare Creatures. Somehow they ended up in the First Layer of the Nightmare Realm, but over the years, they adapted and some of them occasionally evolved.

  As silly as it was, Evu’Dral’s laughter was extremely contagious, to the point where it got magnified a few times over, forcing others to lose control of their bowels.

  Despite that, his authority over the fort was undeniable. Every Luscairna followed him because he kept them safe and gave them some semblance of authority over transportation within the structure.

  So, for a secret pathway to exist outside of Luscairna’s control was completely unheard of.

  “Due to one of my skills, [Protector’s Awareness], I was able to pick up on the fading light of the last victim before my disappearance.” Aurora explained, standing in the middle of the throne room.

  Everyone’s eyes were on her, awaiting her story. Her fierce expression slowly faded into a slight frown.

  “I couldn’t save her in time. When I got there, she was gone. My healing couldn’t do a thing.” She paused, clenching her fists tightly. “I couldn’t save her, but I was just in time to startle the murderer. When I came in, he had hid himself, waiting for me to check on her before running out the door.”

  “That’s when you pursued and alerted our guards?” Bree’Niu asked, fact-checking the story. “Why didn’t you ask for aid?”

  “Yes, I should rephrase. This Sleeper was extremely fast. Instead of running, it is more accurate to say he was jumping in and out of existence, as if using short distance teleportation repeatedly. To someone else glimpsing him briefly, it would seem as though they imagined it, taking but a blink.” The girl suddenly activated a skill, enveloping her body in a multi-colored aura. The sudden, almost palpable shift in the air made everyone fix their postures. “Using my skills, I could slightly keep up, locking in on his rhythm and light.”

  Sounds like she can see lights within people… Somnu thought, basing his assumption on what he was hearing. I wonder, why couldn’t she notice another light within Leyna then? And… Is there a light within my defective Hollow Core?

  “I pursued him all the way into the northern residential district, into another room. By the time I went in, he was climbing into an unfamiliar, eerie closet with teeth and tongues sticking out.” She reached for her stomach unintentionally, then with a slight wince, continued. “Even so, I followed, jumping head first after him. The other place, where I landed, was similar to the fort, except completely colorless and empty.”

  “Aurora, my dear, what of the culprit? Could you find him?” Evu’Dral leaned forward, asking while grasping at his armchairs.

  “I ran through the entire fort, alone with no one to see or find.” Aurora closed her eyes for an instance and shook her head slightly. “It took me almost an entire day to find the exit. It had kept repeatedly changing locations, until finally, I made it through and back here, only to find myself in my own room, coming out of my own closet.”

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  “...”

  “That’s when I saw him again…” She looked toward Leyna, and then away, narrowing her eyes slightly. “Standing over my best friend’s body… In a fit of ungraceful rage, I attacked him just as he teleported out of the room, only for him to land in front of our door, dead. You know the rest.”

  “Right, thank you, Aurora.” Arman spoke, walking up to her and patting her on the back. “You jumped into danger without consideration of what might happen to you. As a fellow Sleeper, I’m moved and proud to be able to rely on such a dependable person.” Then, he moved his hand and pulled on one of the girl’s cheeks, pinching it. “As someone who has been tasked with your safety for so long, I urge you to never do that again, yes?”

  “No promises…” Aurora muttered, holding her red, almost swollen cheek, then suddenly made brief eye contact with the serpent looking her way.

  “Who am I kidding… I never could advise a delinquent girl like you.” Arman let out a long sigh. “Well, now we need to look out for a closet-type Memento or Dream Catcher. Since it had disappeared again after Aurora came out of it, we have no way of knowing if it had belonged to the dead culprit, although it is highly likely.”

  As everyone continued their discussions and possible measures they could take, Somnu sank into deep thought.

  A closet leading to another parallel or pocket dimension… How is that even possible within a Nightmare Realm? Maybe it was a space created based on where the closet was positioned, rather than leading to another available location?

  Either way, this opens up different possibilities. Why haven’t I thought of this already? My mind has been thinking non-stop… But just like Bree’Niu’s book, there are ways of hiding within the fort, without being in the fort itself. Is this the missing piece?

  In that case, neither Naga, nor Carmella, would be able to sniff out the actual location of John Doe, assuming he is actually in such a pocket space. And if I can’t find it, I have to somehow force his hand somehow, lead him out of his hiding spot to face me directly…

  “Sorry, Leyna… I didn’t mean to bring that memory up again.” Having walked back to the gang, Aurora apologized, reaching for the back of her neck.

  “It’s okay…” Leyna winced, reaching for her mended heart. “I’m okay now… Thank you for calling me… your best friend.”

  “...”

  The two stood face to face, awkwardly avoiding eye contact.

  “You two, seriously?” Mo took a few steps towards them and with his long muscular arms, pushed them towards each other. “You already did yesterday, didn’t you? Just hug already.”

  Oh no… Catching the conversation from the side, Somnu’s ear twitched at his brother’s words. And if he knew anything about the Emberlyn blood… In these kinds of situations…

  “How did you know we did it last night?” Aurora said, suddenly tightening her grip over Leyna’s head, sinking her deeper into her chest.

  I knew it! She won’t let the opportunity of telling a joke slip away! The blind Sleeper took a few steps back, ready to ditch his stick and run for it, the entire fort be damned!

  “A-aurora?!” The shy girl called out, but it was too late.

  “Are you spying on me and your sister? Are you jealous maybe?” Aurora gave the big brother a wry, playful smile. “Would you like to join?”

  “W-what…?! I meant you hugged… what are you-”

  “Hah! She really got you Mo friend!”

  “?!”

  Everyone felt a shiver run through their entire bodies when Bro’Ski, who had been silently standing behind the gang as a guard, suddenly jumped into the conversation with a laugh.

  They all feared the worst. Aurora realized the grave error she had made, Bree’Niu immediately crouched down and summoned her transparent shield, covering herself and Arman next to her. The other scattered Luscairna ran around the throne room, desperately looking for a hiding spot.

  “Aha!! A joke! Who was it that said that magnificent joke! Ahahaha!” Evu’Dral, the Fortmaster of Mirewalker Fort, laughed.

  Every breath he unleashed, made everyone’s faces sink deeper into terror that perhaps they hadn’t felt even up against their active fears.

  “Scatter!”

  Arman managed to shout, picking up Bree’Niu in his arms.

  In a matter of brief chaotic seconds, the throne room was completely empty, filled only by the Fortmaster’s laughter.

  A few seconds later, silence quickly returned to the room.

  “...”

  Evu’Dral looked around, puzzled at the sudden change in atmosphere.

  “Where did everyone go?”

  He wondered, leaning forward and to the sides, checking if they had moved to behind the throne for some reason. Then, he relaxed back into his oversized comfy chair and caressed the fur on his chin.

  “Aha! A bathroom break then!”

  He wasn’t entirely wrong.