Layers Of Nightmare

Alex asked William to follow him, so here they were, standing outside an old building. If it was not Alex specifically bringing him here, William would not know that this building exist at all!

The building was located at the edge of the campus, through secluded alleys behind tall trees and wild shrubberies. On the way here, they ended up walking on soils instead of the brick paths like everywhere else on the university grounds.

When William first enrolled, he remembered that this location was announced as an abandoned building project. They said that the ground was not stable and for safety reasons, no one was allowed in. Who would have thought that it held such secret.

The building was of Victorian era with several pointy rooftops and painted in a light brown color. It has a width greater than its two-storey height—probably to keep it hidden behind the lush vegetation and trees.

"Come on," Alex said, stretching his head in inviting manner.

"Ah."

A creaking sound entered their ears as Alex pushed the door open. When William walked in, a waft of stale wooden smell greeted his nose. Unlike other old Victorian-style building in the campus, the interior of this building looked like an old mansion without much remodelling.

The floor was still made out of wood, chandeliers hanging at the ceilings, and old pictures decorated the wall.

In front of them hung a specially large black and white picture of a group of people. All the gentlemen wore suits, while the ladies dressed in gorgeous gowns.

"Who are these people?" William asked as he tilted his head up.

"Ah, those?" Alex stopped and looked up as well. "They're the first..."

"First what?"

"The first Dream Treader's association!"

"Dream… what?" William had a weird look on his face.

Alex did not mind his reaction, he was all smiles, saying, "Just follow me, I'll explain everything as we go."

Both of them took the left corridor.

Alex asked, "You should have known that what you went through was not a regular 'dream', yes?"

"Yea…" William replied hesitantly, still unsure of his experience. "What's it actually?"

"I don't know."

"You… don't know?"

Seeing William frowned, Alex replied, "What I mean is that no science can explain it yet. Though, there are lots of hypotheses and conspiracy theories going around about it.

"For now, you can think of it as a sort of parallel dimension that forcefully transports random people during their sleep."

"Dimension..." William gasped. "Parallel dimension?!"

Alex sneered then said, "Sounds ridiculous, yes? Long ago, I couldn't believe it myself either." He shrugged. "But I know that you know that it's a plausible reason."

William got reminded about his experience, an experience that was too real to be described as a 'dream'. Not to mention the magical pill and paper that were able to cross this 'dream' to reality.

William took a deep breath, then asked, "You mentioned that the dimension will randomly transport people? Does that mean there's only a small chance for each person to get dragged to that dimension again?"

Alex shook his head with a bitter expression on his face. "Unfortunately, that's not the case. Anyone who has been dragged to the dimension will need to go through it constantly.

"We, who are constantly being dragged into this horrible dimension, are known as the Dream Treaders."

"Ah…" William nodded—that was one question answered. Still, many to go. "What about those people in the picture? How long has this actually happened?"

"Oh boy…" Alex chuckled. "Centuries. At least before the first camera was invented."

"Huh? But that picture- oh!" William got the answer to his own question midways.

"You guessed correctly! That photo was taken after the first Dream Treader's association was formed. However, the Dream Treaders has been in this world for a long time!"

He continued with a slightly sad tone, "But, for how long ago exactly? We don't know."

"What about those monsters and weapons, then? And what about that machine voice and screen prompt?" William blurted out another questions.

"Slow down." Alex laughed. "We won't miss any of those questions. But before that…"

Alex stopped before a door, likewise, William did so too. He turned the door knob and pushed the door open as he said, "Come on in, William. You will spend a long time with us here from now on."

Behind the door was a lounge and four people of various nations. William first notice a familiar girl with a brown ponytail, if he was not wrong, it was the same girl who called Alex as her dad the previous night. Currently, she was talking cheerfully with another girl in a wheelchair.

The girl was an exquisite European beauty. She had a blond curly hair and a pair of sapphire eyes, just like a doll. Due to her lilac skin and traces of baby fat on her cheeks, William was not sure that she was a fellow university student.

At this moment, the little beauty seemed to notice William's stare. She turned her head and nodded at William while smiling.

"Hello," she greeted.

"Ah, hello." William returned the greeting.

Next, his sight fell onto a hulking man standing at one corner. One of his eyes was cloudy, while the other one could barely open. The man was slightly obese and held a white cane in his hand. At first, William thought that the man was blind, but he had been staring at him for a while now with a smile on his face. Perhaps, it was the sound?

The last person was a cold-looking slim person with an eagle-like eyes and thick brows. He was sitting on a sofa, drinking something from his teacup and ignoring anyone else around him. Occasionally, he would put the teacup down then write something on the paper on the table in front of him. He seemed unapproachable no matter how William looked at it.

This time, Alex frowned. "Why is it only you guys?"

"Some of them said that they need to study for exams," the hulking man replied, his voice was as deep as William expected. "Others said that they have no interest in newbie."

"Study? Bah, what bullshit!" Alex scratched his head. "Also, they were once newbies too!"

After enough blabbering, Alex turned around and said to William once again, "Anyway, we warmly welcome you once again, William...

"Welcome to the Australia's Dream Treader Society!"