“What?!” Somnu twisted his face into a frown. “What are you talking about?!”

  “Just what I said, brother.” Mathros said in a calm tone. “You should go to the fort without us.”

  “...” Somnu clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

  This was exactly what he had been afraid of ever since the fight with Henry and John Doe was over.

  And there was nothing more he could do to change this outcome. No plan could help him, no tricks would do any good.

  This puzzle in front of him now was already complete, it just wasn’t the end result he had wanted.

  “... Why?!”

  Even though he knew, he still asked, hoping something could come of it.

  “You should understand the reason why already.”

  “Tell me.”

  “... We can’t keep up with you.” Mathros held on to his calm tone, switching his gaze between the campfire and his friend. “As we are now, we won’t be of any help, just burdens for you to carry along.”

  “You’re not a burden!”

  “You know that’s not true.” The bunny girl chimed in from the side, her brow already furrowed. “We barely did anything back there. Even up against the Dreadbeast, you did most of the work, we just tagged along to get you out of the water…”

  “Then you fought Almon… no, John Doe, on your own and risked your life to hunt a Nightmare Creature for Lulu.” The lizardman continued the bunny girl’s point.

  “Still, we should stick together!”

  “If we go together, we’ll only become toys for the enemy to play with. There aren’t many chances to level up in the fort itself either, not with the number of Sleepers contained within.” Mathros explained before tracing the scar over his neck. “If we are going to grow stronger, we’ll have to do it out here first.”

  “...”

  “Don’t even consider it, brother.”

  Studying his face, the lizardman immediately shot down Somnu’s plans. He was just about to suggest staying behind with them before remembering the possible dangers his siblings might be in.

  The empty eye sockets were now a constant reminder of the one missed vision that was possibly warning him about a dire situation.

  “You go on to the fort without us, and we’ll come join you after we’re ready.” The Grodran explorer curled up his scaly lips. “Only then can we properly support each other.”

  Somnu knew it. He realized their decision was right.

  Earlier, before Carmella had interrupted him, the thought had crossed his mind. But it meant he would have to let them go beyond his reach, unable to protect them if anything were to happen.

  What if John Doe attacked them again through another pawn?! What if another Dreadbeast showed up against all other odds again?! What if the restriction of Mathro’s last active fear ended up causing both their demise?! What if-

  “Calm down, brother.”

  “Master?”

  Before he realized it, Somnu’s breaths had grown heavy enough for him to fall from his chair on one knee, his right hand grasping at his heart.

  “Relax, breath in, breath out!” Carmella immediately buffed him with rejuvenation and some kind of glitter that covered his body for a moment before disappearing. “Take it easy and sit back down.”

  Her soothing voice forced his nerves to calm down as he regained control of his breathing.

  Dammit, if I keep showing her my weak side… Somnu gritted his teeth, then looked at Carmella’s face through Fala’s eyes flying above him. “!”

  The expression on her face no longer seemed conflicted or in doubt, she simply looked genuinely worried about him.

  Was I really wrong about her…? If so, how is she forgiving me this easily…? He clenched his fists, sitting back down. Why are they all always so… Just let me be the one to protect you! Please… It’s the only thing I can do… for you…

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  His mind grew hazier by the second, clouded with too many thoughts for him to process them. The constant hums invading his ears didn’t help this time.

  “Stop, I’m fine.”

  “I think you should sleep a little…”

  “I can’t…”

  “Listen to her brother, we can talk later.” Mathros jumped in, both he and Lulu had run closer to check on their friend.

  “If she can put you to sleep…” Lulu turned her head away. “Let her, you need it after everything.”

  “I can’t sleep…”

  “Why not? I can just sing-”

  “I CAN’T SLEEP! At all! Okay? I lack the ability to fall asleep! I always have! The only reason I’m even here is because I’m in a coma!” Somnu blurted out, punching his own knees. “They might pull the plug on me at any time too, I don’t know why they even waited this long to do so, but if I can’t at least protect the ones I care about… Then what am I still living for?!”

  “You…”

  “Since the start, you couldn’t sleep…?!”

  “During that month and a half…?”

  “I just blacked out, I have no memory of what happened during that time, but I can say for certain I never slept a wink!”

  Carmella, Lulu and Mathros stood with their mouths half agape.

  Blindness existed, lacking the ability to hear or speak as well. Even not needing any food wasn’t that unheard of for some races, but the one thing every living creature had in common across the board was sleep.

  Some might enter a half-asleep state, or lowering their brain activity to a complete resting stage, but none could go through life without the sleep that recharges the energy inside their bodies.

  “That’s why your eyes were always open during that time…” Lulu muttered beneath her breath, a hand covering her mouth.

  “Every night, you just pretend to sleep, only to keep watch over us…?” Mathros furrowed his brows.

  Crow-Shit… I just managed to make this all about me now. I shouldn’t even have said anything. Why did I do that all of a sudden?! Somnu reached up and rubbed his aching forehead. “Just forget I said anything, it’s not that big of a deal. I’m used to it, so let’s just get back on topic.”

  “How is it not a big deal? Why do you always underplay your own pain?!” Lulu let out with a grunt.

  “I’m not, I can handle a little pain if it means everyone is alive and safe-”

  “She’s right, dear.” Carmella agreed with the bunny girl, her eyes slightly narrowing from the side. “I haven’t known you for long, but even I have noticed it. You’ve lost your arm, your eyes, you do all you can to help your allies, and in the end, you can’t even close your eyes and get some rest… Not even with my voice…”

  “It’s enough for me to just relax for a few hours and then I’m good to go, especially with the System’s boosts and upgrades now.” The scarecrow tried to explain. “Everything is fine, I can handle it. We can handle it, so…” He paused for a moment. “Just come with me to the fort.”

  “...”

  “Whatever happens, we’ll face it together as we always have. Whether a Nightmare Creature, John Doe or a pawn of his again, we can do it!”

  His bargain continued to fall on deaf ears, only making the faces of his two friends show more and more frustration.

  “We can’t do that, brother.” Without a shred of hesitation in his voice, Mathros relayed the final decision. “Now more than ever we need to use this time to grow stronger. If we don’t, we’ll regret it dearly when the time comes.”

  “Just accept it instead of showing us this side of you… It’s not like you…” Lulu clicked her tongue, moved her head away and crossed her arms.

  Accept it? How can I do that when you could die from all the possible dangers?! If we’re all in one place, we can just protect each other! Leyna, Mo and Mr. Emberlyn’s granddaughter would join us too! Somnu gritted his teeth as he ran through his thoughts again. All of us together… Even John Doe wouldn't…

  He stopped himself from finishing that thought. After all, he knew it was a lie.

  Somnu had no idea how many pawns John Doe really had, not to mention if he was a Savant or, worst case, even a rank higher.

  For the murderer, it could simply be a matter of brushing off his hand to kill a couple of Dreamers.

  This was especially the case if even Somnu could do it at full strength. Then what about a murderous freak who’s enjoying killing Sleepers, instead of growing his army? Doesn’t that mean he’s already too confident in what he has already amassed on this Layer?

  The scarecrow calmed himself down and thought logically. He had let his emotions cloud his judgment.

  He naturally had cared for his friends and wanted them to stay safe, but the safest they could ever be was if they grew to even surpass himself.

  Why did I not think about this from the start? Did I really let my emotions get the better of me? What am I… a hypocrite? He scoffed at himself, the possibility of lying to himself terrifying him. Worse case, I’ll have Fala help them if necessary… She could kill most Specters now assuming they didn’t have some weird restrictions…

  “...” After a long pause, Somnu suddenly raised his head and put on a strained smile. “Alright, I’ll be looking forward to seeing how much you two grow… Even though I don’t have eyes of my own.”

  “Is this really a time for jokes?!” Lulu cried out, resting her arms on her hips. “That was way too fast of a change, what are you planning now?”

  “That’s the brother I know, I’m glad to see you back to normal!”

  Mathros and Carmella chuckled, watching Somnu scratch his cheek anxiously.

  “In that case, let’s start discussing our plans!” The lizardman called out. “First, let me tell you about the Fortmaster! One of the non-Sleepers fighting against the nightmares!”

  “?!”