Nightmare Mythos

"I don't see any fountain,"

Driving nearer to the sea as they got close to the village nearby, Cesar couldn't help but ask.

"Well, you think a fountain will just spring out of nowhere in the sea? Something flashy as that will immediately alert not only us but also the local residents. By the way, if you don't know, we're located at one of the seas that we possess. It's called Hidden Seas,"

"Huh…"

Cesar muttered as he was bored to death.

But he liked this boring situation.

If it was any scene where he'd have to go through another worrisome situation, which he prayed that he would not, Cesar would straight up die.

So, until he was healed, Cesar knew he had to be careful about his actions.

However, it seemed that the situation was bound to happen soon.

Cesar's senses seemed to have heightened as his intuition were telling him that something was wrong in the city they were trying to approach.

He looked at the side and saw that Arnold was already frowning as they drove towards the quiet village.

Only their reeving vehicle was making noise, and that was already quiet since it's a military vehicle. A few bumps and there but that was just it.

The Hidden Sea's village, which goes by the name, Hidden Village is as its name suggests. No one would even know that a village and a sea would exist here if the forestry was not there to cover it.

They have to cross the vast forest just to get into the sea.

The sole reason why it wasn't being used was because the Army didn't want to reveal to the world the Fountain's existence.

But then again, traitors are rampant towards the powerhouses that it was impossible to know which is which possessed the intel.

'The village is very ordinary and designed as what a house is on the seaside. But why…'

As they got closer to the walls of the city, Cesar and Arnold took glances at the city.

"Has the city always been like this?"

Cesar asked with a frown as tried to see any living being on the roads or any houses they passed by, but it was clearly nothing.

Arnold took their vehicle to stop as he answered, "I've only been here for a countable amount of days but it wasn't like this. Visitors usually got greeted by outsiders yet I don't see a single soul in here,"

Cesar paused, "Should we put our attention to it?"

Arnold pondered very deeply before shaking his head, "My mission here is to show you that there's a reason why we're keeping close ties with some Nightmares. The Fountain will show it to you. As for the weird situation at the village, I'll report it after we get out of here,"

Fully ignoring the weird presence that the Hidden Village was giving, Arnold started the vehicle once more and went to the site where the Fountain of Promises was supposed to be located.

Cesar leaves the image of the village at the back of his mind before putting his attention solely on the sea.

After leaving the village behind, their vehicle made a complete stop just before they reached the shores.

"Let's go," Your journey continues with empire

Getting outside of their vehicle, Cesar saw Arnold continue walking towards the sea without using any kind of equipment.

"What are you doing?"

Arnold continued walking toward the dunes until he finally reached the raging seas that almost touched his shoes.

Looking back to Cesar, he smiled.

"Look at this,"

The instant Arnold took another step, it looked like his legs got swallowed by an invisible wall. Then, he took another before his whole figure disappeared into the raging seas.

Arnold didn't even touch the water.

Cesar took a surprised gulp under his mouth before slowly trod forward.

The moment he was on the same line, Cesar braved himself forward and entered an entirely new dimension.

Instead of feeling the water under his toes, Cesar saw an entirely new image.

A crescent-shaped castle was laid out in front of his eyes, and it wasn't just an old and broken one. Instead, it was made of pristine water that seemed to be shining even without a light to reflect its radiance.

In the middle of this castle which seemed to be the center of attraction was a gigantic fountain.

Nothing out of it excludes the ordinary.

Cesar went closer to the fountain, right beside Arnold, and saw a bunch of coins under its waters.

"It looks like a wishing fountain," Cesar voiced out.

Arnold then explained, "It's because it is indeed a wishing fountain. The coin we're throwing inside is a catalyst to form a contract between people."

Arnold grabbed two normal coins from his pocket and handed Cesar one of them.

He then continued, "The contract will begin to happen once you throw coins in this fountain. The moment you do, make the words about what kind of contract you'll have. If you don't want to trouble yourself, you must time or already plan ahead your actions."

Cesar gets the gist of the procedure. But then he clarified.

"So the moment we throw the coin, we must already have words to prepare. How does it end?"

Arnold rolled out his sleeves and showed a droplet of marking from his arm that almost looked like a tattoo.

"This,"

Cesar nodded after seeing the tattoo before coming back to the topic,

"How am I going to see that your actions are necessary then? Am I going to discover something that should be kept secret again?"

Arnold took a halt before walking towards the fountain, his shoes finally touching its waters.

'Woah, isn't that kind of action sacrilegious?'

Cesar mused inwardly before watching Arnold grab a dozen coins from inside as if he were robbing them.

As if he knew what he was going to pick, Arnold went back beside Cesar and handed him over thirteen coins.

"And?"

Arnold immediately replied, "Just insert a bit of essence from the coins. After that, you'll hear the voices of those who wished at the fountain."

Cesar looked suspiciously at Arnold before he gave up on prying since he'll know about it now.

Cesar inserted a bit of essence into the coins, and just as Arnold had stated, whispers began to enter his head.

"Hi, what we're going to do here is beyond my code as a human being." The man paused, "But if that's what all it takes to make us survive, I'm willing to put my life on it,"

The voice that whispered in his head began to recall the events as to what lead the humanity to make a deal with Nightmares.

He started by saying, "Desperate times call for desperate measures. That's what I aim to achieve by doing these actions… that my future children will hate me. But pulling a future in these desolate times is something that should be done. By the way, my name is Reo Langston, one of the powerhouses under the Association,"

'Langston… Reo?'

Cesar had his eyes widened when he realized it was another Langston, a Pioneer that made the interconnecting and intersecting Bridge known as the Langston Bridge.

Reo then chuckled, "First, I wanted to apologize. Making the Langston Bridge is a project that is deemed impossible no matter what anyone says. However, this is the time that I made a deal with a Nightmare that will help us built this impossible. It goes by the name Phantasm… and it is currently watching me making this deal in this Fountain,"

Cesar shivered as he involuntarily swerved his head all around the fountain to see if a Nightmare was watching him.

Arnold who could understand what he did immediately let out a short sigh, knowing that he made the same reaction while hearing the whisper inside his head as if it was some sort of recorder.

Reo then continued, "To my future people in the world, you have to understand that this is a necessary action. I can see countless possibilities upon making this bridge that can keep us protected… and with the help of a Nightmare. Yes, it left a bitter taste in my mouth but insanity is what keeps us alive."

Reo let out a short chuckle before ending his statement, "Man, I wanted to see the fruit of building this project in the future. It might take long, which will surely happen, but I believe it will be made in the end. That's all…"

The coin's recording seemed to have ended before Cesar kept silent.

He didn't know what to react when the wonderful Langston Bridge that he had known received a help from a Nightmare just to build it.

'I mean, isn't that supposed to be natural? Making Langston Bridge already transcended human capabilities… Hahaha, unbelievable.'

Cesar wanted to laugh off one of his ancestors but he get where he's coming from.

Why would he complain now when he's receiving the benefits of the bridge itself?

Cesar let out a low sigh as he injected his essence onto the next coin available.