Layers Of Nightmare

William was not surprised at how the person react. On media, the hotel always said that their first to fifth floor were reserved for 'special guests'. People always thought it referred to political figures and famous people, but little did they know that all the rooms in those floors were meant for Dream Treaders.

Moments later, a middle-aged woman came from the passage behind the counter. She carried a natural smile on her face, and her blond hair was shoulder-length. Although, she dressed herself professionally—in suit, William could feel that she was a very approachable woman.

"Hello, William. I was expecting you!" she said in a zest-filled tone, then offered a handshake. "I'm Ines, the one responsible for greeting the 'special guests' here. P.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you!" William shook her hand firmly.

"Please, come on in!" Ines pushed open a part of the reception counter.

"Thanks."

Ines walked to the front, guiding William into the pathway whence she came from. Clearly, the path was not meant for normal customers.

"Madeline told me about you, I heard this will be your second instance?"

"That is so."

"Are you nervous?" Irene asked casually as she pressed an up button to the elevator.

"I am."

Right then, a melodious "ting~ tong~" resounded, accompanied by the elevator door opening.

"After you," Ines said.

William nodded, then went in, followed by Ines.

"Now, let me show you how to use this screen." Ines gestured. Embedded on the wall on the right side of the cabin was a simple two-lines 8-bit screen with a punnet keyboard underneath it.

"First, you will have to type in the country name from whence you sign the parchment, then press enter. After that, type in your Dream Treader's ID, then enter."

"Got it." William nodded, making sure to take a mental note.

"We're not done just yet." Ines pointed at the black sensor panel above the list of floor numbers by the door, which only had number 5 to 1. "Tap your room key card there and you can then press the floor button."

"Okay." The last one was pretty standard.

"Alright! I won't follow you up from here. One last thing..." Ines stopped to take something out of her suit's inside pocket. "Here, take this."

"A bell?" It was a fist-sized hand bell that could not be any more normal.

William shook it once and a crisp ringing melody entered their ears.

"It's a bell to call for reinforcement during your instance. Just ring it and the association will send you backup immediately."

"Oh!" William was surprised at such wonderful item. "Is it reusable?"

"Absolutely, that bell is yours now. Also..." Ines gave William a pat at the back. "You don't have to be nervous. This second instance shouldn't be too difficult, and what's more, you got a veteran like Madeline by your side!"

"I'll try my best, thank you." William smiled.

"Okay then, good luck and see you tomorrow." Without waiting for his reply, Ines went out of the elevator and back to whatever she was doing before.

William proceeded to do what Ines had showed him. He typed his ID on the screen, tapped the key card on the sensor, and pressed the button. Soon, he arrived on the first floor.

When the elevator opened, he saw that the floor plan was actually really simple. There were only two corridors in the floor that has the shape of the letter "V", on which the emergency exit and the single elevator were located at the middle part. But upon closer look, William noticed that there was an emergency exit at the end of each corridor as well.

'They really took considerations for escape routes huh." William clicked his tongue.

Room 109 was exactly to the left of the middle emergency exit. He first knocked on the door, then tapped the key card. Just as his hand landed on the handle, the door was pulled open from inside.

Madeline's face popped out between the gap. She wore a refreshing smile, while a waft of fragrance exuded out from her moist hair.

"Come on in," she said.

"Thanks," William replied.

Just then, he could finally see what Madeline wore, and almost choked as a result. His jaw hung open, whereas his blood began to flow to a certain part of his body.

"Y- you…" William stuttered.

Madeline was wearing a single set of black latex cloth article that covered every inch of her body below her neck. But what distracted him was the fact that it was skin-tight, hence, her ample b.r.e.a.s.ts and curvaceous figure was as clear as day.

Madeline could feel William staring her intensely. Her white cheeks turned bright red quickly, as she covered her c.h.e.s.t and crotch area with her hands.

"Please don't stare too much."

"Sorry!" William turned his head in panic. Before his imagination ran wild, he asked in a hurry, "Why are you wearing that?"

"This is a standard protective gear released by the association!" Madeline still squirmed uncomfortably where she stood.

"Protective gear?" William asked dumbfoundedly. His gaze landed on Madeline again, unconsciously so to her c.h.e.s.t area. 'F.u.c.kin sure that's a latex!'

"Anyway!" Madeline yelled to distract William's untoward gaze. "Come over here and get your gear."

Madeline dragged William by his hand into the room. Inside was actually much normal than he thought, with a king-sized bed, a make-up table, and a couch. It was plain, not a quality that 5-star hotel would have; it did not even have a TV, minibar, or any decorations.

'Did they remove any items that has danger potential?' William thought to himself.

"Wil! Earth to William!" Madeline pinched his arm. "William!"

"Ouch!" The pain finally snapped William out of his thoughts. "Sorry, what is it?"

"I told you to get your gear!" Madeline shoved a bigger-sized latex suit to William. "Here, try it!"

"..." William lifted up the latex suit with both of his hands, staring incredulously. "You're not joking with me right?"

"Why would I joke to you at this?!" Madeline snarled. "Hurry up and change so that we can start the instance early!"

"Okay, okay!" William rushed to the bathroom, not expecting that the shy girl can be fierce at times too.

William stripped off to his u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r. He then opened the front zip and put on the latex suit from his feet, all the way up to his neck.

Mirror on the front, William looked at his ridiculous self in the latex suit, thinking if police would catch him upon sight.

Then, he noticed an unnatural bulge in his crotch area…

'Shit!' There was no way that a healthy young man like him would not get excited at the previous stimulating view.

The fact that he was a v.i.r.g.i.n made Madeline's charm even more irresistible to him.

'Calm down, calm down…' William took a deep breath in and out.

After repeating the process a few more times, he could feel the bulge getting smaller. But then, Madeline barged into the bathroom.

He forgot to lock the door!

"What took you so-" Her voice halted as she noticed the slight bulge on William's crotch. "Long…"

Madeline blushed so hard she felt her face burning as soon as she said that. She knew that her cut-off sentence was so misleading.

'F.u.c.k!' William unconsciously moved his hands to cover his crotch. A thousand curses flew inside his head as he had an urge to dig a hole.

"I- if you're done, hurry and come out!" Madeline slammed the door close.

"..." William opened the door listlessly, then said, "Sorry-"

"Don't mention it!" Madeline kept her head low as she sat crossed-leg on the bed. "Come and sit here!"

"Yes!" William shivered at the thought that Madeline was furious.

Fortunately, that was not the case when he see no stiffness on her expression when she pulled a silver ball out of her spatial bag.

William was secretly relieved, but little did he know behind her calm countenance was a heart beating rapidly.

"Hold this with both of your hands."

"Alright…" William took the ball the size of an a.d.u.l.t head, feeling the cold sensation of metal transmitted to his palms and fingers.

After that, Madeline also put both her hands on top of the ball.

"Is this the item which allows one to intrude other's Nightmare instances?" William asked.

Madeline nodded. "This is only one of the many varieties, though. We're using this one because it's only me who will go with you. It will be different if there are more people joining."

"I see…" William then asked another, "I've been wanting to ask this, can't you skip the instance if you don't sleep that night?"

"Hm? Haven't you read the parchment? It should be in there."

"Is it?" William tried hard to recall. However, he soon shook his head. "I might have missed it. Can you tell me?"

"Sure, it basically says that even if you intend to not sleep that night, the Nightmare will forcefully drag you to sleep when midnight comes. As such, it's suggested that Dream Treaders should always come home before midnight."

"Ah…"

Everything made sense now. If the Nightmare instance was avoidable, the Dream Treaders would have used a different approach and strategy.

"Is that all? Are you ready now?"

William took a deep breath and said firmly, "Ready."

"Okay, now squish the ball with all your strength!" Madeline exclaimed.

William did as instructed. He clutched the ball between his hands, and suddenly,

PING!

The metallic ball unexpectedly broke into pieces under the pressure!

Before William could react, the small pieces transformed into two sharp blades flying to pierce their c.h.e.s.t. He s.u.c.k.e.d in a cold breath, but actually saw not even a mark remained on his c.h.e.s.t area when he touched it.

Madeline laughed at William's shocked face. "Don't worry, it won't hurt you. However, the Nightmare realm will drag us a minute after using these kinds of items."

"A minute?!" Looking at the clock on the table, it was still 9.46 p.m. He could have had at least another two hours to prepare himself!

"Wai-" Before William could finish what he was saying, he saw Madeline collapsing in front of him. Soon, a strange pain muddled his brain as an irresistible urge to sleep hit him.

...

[Silent sound of the forest beckons the dead and the restless...

A yearning mother searching for her missing son...

A dancing couple yearning for eternal peace...

A nameless n̶̨͞o̡҉̸̨t̶͡͠h̷͟i҉̨ń̢̧g͘͏̨ wandering through the void...

Welcome to the blind forest!]