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Chapter 26: Nightmare's Reckoning
The ground trembled.
What started as a faint murmur beneath their feet quickly surged into a quake that fractured the terrain and twisted the very air. Trees split. Stones floated. The fabric of reality around them warped like rippling water, unnatural and malicious.
Then came the silence.
And then… the event.
Above them, the blood-red moon cracked open like an egg, oozing black mist that slithered across the sky. The world dimmed. Air turned heavy with dread.
Then the sounds came.
Thousands of whispers, stacked like broken records, echoed with a dissonance that bent the mind. Screams of beasts not born of any logic reverberated. The Nightmare had awakened.
A new event had begun.
And it was hell.
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Marlo's Team — Five Strong
Marlo stood near the edge of a jagged ridge, staring into the misty expanse of what was once solid ground. Now it churned with beasts—nightmare spawn, dripping black ichor, malformed and alien. Eyes without faces. Jaws on torsos. No symmetry. No sanity.
Behind him stood Vex with a grin wide and hungry, Lysa, tense and guarded, Torren, humming softly, and Riven, calm and silent, hands behind his back.
Marlo's voice was low. "Five of us… and eight left total. But that number might not matter soon."
Riven's eyes scanned the monsters, impassive. "The Nightmare doesn't want survivors. It wants performances. This… is its climax."
Lysa clutched her temple. "These monsters… they're not just attacking. They're… searching."
"For us?" Vex chuckled. "Good. Let them come."
Torren glanced skyward, eyes distant. "Souls are screaming already."
Marlo stepped forward. "We don't panic. We stick to the plan. Chester's group will be our priority."
He glanced at Riven.
"You said you could locate them."
"I can," Riven said simply. "But if you truly think this is just a hunt… you haven't understood him."
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Chester's Camp
Across the arena, the air had turned colder. Chester stared up at the rift in the sky, then down at the shifting ground. He didn't flinch. Instead, he opened his inventory.
Sword of the Lord of Chance
Dice of Providence
Storm Slice (1 use stored)
Shadow Step (1 use left)
*Luck: Fully charged
Behind him, Veyla and Keen exchanged grim looks.
"The Nightmare changed the game," Keen muttered. "It's not just survival anymore."
"No," Chester said. "It never was."
Veyla narrowed her eyes. "You knew something like this would happen."
"I prepared for it," he said. "Riven defected. That was the sign."
Keen's fists tightened. "So it's the five of them versus us three now."
Chester exhaled, letting the weight of it settle. "Let them bring monsters. Let them bring Pillars."
Then, without touching it, his Sword of the Lord of Chance began to glow.
It spun. The embedded die rotated violently, pulsing with mythical energy.
Random Activation: Lord's Gamble Triggered
It stopped.
Effect: For the next 10 minutes, your sword ignores all defenses and inflicts psychic feedback.
Chester's grin widened behind his mask.
"Well," he said. "That's generous."
Veyla tilted her head. "Did you activate it?"
Chester raised his hands. "Not me. Seems the sword has taste."
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Elsewhere — Marlo's Team Prepares
"Move fast," Marlo barked. "They'll be forced to fight the monsters. We use the chaos."
Vex cracked his neck. "And I'll take his head. That masked freak's luck's gonna run out."
Torren closed his eyes. "Don't underestimate him. He's more than luck."
Lysa's eyes flickered. "You've seen him fight?"
"Too close," she muttered.
And still, Riven said nothing.
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Final Cut: Fate in Motion
Chester unsheathed his sword, now glowing with violent, chaotic energy.
He took one step forward, eyes alight, grin wide.
"They have five. We have three. The odds? Perfect."
Veyla looked at him.
"You're serious?"
"I'm ecstatic," Chester said, stepping into the swirling mist. "Let's show them what real nightmares look like."
The Nightmare had released its horrors—but the true monsters were already awake.
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