What am I doing…?

  Somnu strolled towards the nearest swamp, an empty bucket in hand. He had one last task before everyone would be heading to sleep. Well, everyone, but him.

  He pinched the inner corners of his eyes together, the most recent encounter still engraved in both his mind and body.

  Did I really just do that? Should I really allow myself to revert back to that…?

  Last thing he remembered, he had lowered the fainting Carmella to the ground and in another whisper, told her to keep everything a secret between just the two of them.

  He had barely grabbed the bucket and walked out of there before breaking character.

  Now that she figured out I’m ranked up, it will only be a matter of time before she tells Henry… The scarecrow assumed, his eyes narrow in thought. But she didn’t expect to see another side of me so suddenly, a side that puts her infatuation with that guy into question.

  Ever since Somnu had spied on the two potential enemies making out through Naga’s eyes, something hadn’t felt right about their relationship.

  There was no affection between the two of them…

  Instead-

  “Care to explain yourself?”

  “...”

  Somnu turned to face his pursuer, his perception having picked up on the presence since the moment he had walked away from the campsite.

  His recent risky endeavor should have been out of normal earshot or sight.

  However, that didn’t apply to two long bunny ears.

  “... Lulu, I have a plan-”

  “You know, I’m starting to get tired of hearing you say that.” Lulu walked closer, stepping into Somnu’s personal space. Her big eyes glared with unwavering vigor. “All your plans are risky and dangerous.”

  “I can’t deny that…” Somnu dropped his gaze for a moment, then raised his head back up to face her. “But even so, I want us all to survive any desperate situation that comes our way. That no matter what threatens our peace, we are still able to push through it.”

  “And what if you die too?” Lulu furrowed her brows, then her eyes slowly grew a little distant. “What if what happened to Benji…”

  “That…” Somnu trailed off for a moment. “I’d like to prevent that too.”

  “...” Lulu turned away to walk in half circles, stomping the ground beneath her feet. The huffing from her nose was audible, almost masking the grinding of her teeth. “Why did Benji entrust it all to you…? Did he even know how you really are…?”

  This was bound to happen… Somnu thought, watching her mumble beneath her breath. I don’t know what they saw during the time I was blacked out, but ever since I came to, they had met this version of me. The version that was still resisting my true nature ever since coming to the Nightmare Realm… but now, Lulu saw someone else…

  Who was Somnu really?

  The honest and straightforward kid his mother knew?

  The deceitful punk that terrorized Duskville Town and the people around him?

  Or is he the scarecrow he forced himself to become in order to protect the crop, the people he cared about?

  None of these versions worked well with another. He could feel himself switching between them on different occasions, blurring the boundary between doing things the right way, cheating, or crossing into a territory he had vowed never to cross again.

  “...”

  While his mind was going in circles, he simply turned around and continued walking down the path to the nearest water source.

  He had no answer for his own question, nor could he give the bunny girl a lie. At the very least, he didn’t want to lie to the ones he truly cared about. He didn’t want to lose them that way. Not again.

  “Hey! Don’t just walk away!” Noticing his sudden disappearance, Lulu hopped after him. “You owe me an explanation!”

  “... Why? Is there an explanation where you change your mind about what you saw?” The scarecrow kept walking, his eyes focused on the coming pond.

  “I won’t know until I hear it!”

  “Fine…” He sighed. “We don’t have much time, so don’t interrupt until I’m done.”

  The moment they reached the pond, Somnu sat down, allowing the resisted cold breath to brush against his skin. Lulu quickly followed suit, the scarred arms crossed and the expected big eyes glaring into his.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  He scratched the back of his head, considering his next words carefully.

  “When I looked through my familiar’s vision earlier, there was one thing I learned.” Somnu paused, studying Lulu’s subtle face expressions. Then he realized she was taking the no interruption rule seriously, meaning no question would be coming. “Henry and Carmella are in a weird relationship, with no affection or trust.”

  “...” Lulu raised an eyebrow suddenly, clearly unable to see the correlation.

  “Instead, it feels like they are using each other to get what they want. Henry is asserting his dominance, keeping his followers in check, while Carmella…” Somnu pursed his lips slightly, thinking of the implications. “She’s following the strongest, it doesn't matter who, just someone who can give her security and protection.”

  This had become apparent to him from Carmella’s reaction to his assertive action. She had tried to manipulate him for her own ends, but was instead caught within the very spidernet she had weaved herself. The fly she had caught in her trap turned out to be a predator far more vicious than her.

  Or at least, that’s what she was led to believe.

  “Now, she is conflicted.” Somnu added, closing his eyes for a moment and checking on the woman in question through Fala’s bird-eye view.

  She was currently sitting back on the rock, biting her nails, her face twisted in a frown. Mathros was keeping the fire lit in front of her, but she didn’t bother to fix her hunched posture.

  “She is considering who can better support her now, who can offer her a better outcome.” Somnu opened his eyes again, meeting Lulu’s gaze once more. “If I do this right, we can have her dance to our strings, instead of that guy’s.”

  “If you do what?” Lulu blurted out, ignoring the established rules of the conversation.

  “By cheating, as you just did.” Somnu let out a slight chuckle, then rubbed the back of his neck. Whether it was the lack of actual clothing on his body, or the current conversation, he almost felt himself bare and at the mercy of the chilling reputation that might follow. “But I… really don’t like doing that. It brings back some bad memories…”

  “...” Lulu narrowed her eyes for a moment, then scooched a little closer to face Somnu directly. “Would you be putting any of us in danger?”

  “No, not this time.”

  “Not even yourself?”

  “I don’t have to be there personally…”

  “... Then do it.”

  “!” Somnu’s raised his head suddenly, his eyes wide open. “What are you-”

  “Benji was honest, and good.” Lulu turned away, looking over the pond. “And I… I loved him because of it.” Closing her eyes for a few seconds, she turned back to the one still in front of her. “But he died because of that, because we all refused to change to who we need to be to survive this nightmare.”

  The scarecrow shuddered, a sense of deja vu quickly enveloping him.

  “If being honest and straightforward is going to get us killed, then cheating sounds a whole lot better, even if it is a bitter pea to swallow.”

  “...”

  “Sometimes, to get what you want, to win… It’s okay to cheat a little.”

  His mother’s words came rushing back into his head.

  “Even if I have to do something immoral?” He asked, his head hanging low.

  “Do it.”

  I was stupid… I keep doubting them even though they have done nothing but help me. He bit his lip, remembering all the times Mathros and Lulu were there for him. Maybe I haven’t known them long, but everything that happened has only brought us closer to each other…

  He didn’t want to lie to them, didn’t want to lose them.

  If they are okay with this version of me…

  If embracing that version would truly help everyone survive this hell…

  “Alright.” The scarecrow raised his head, meeting Lulu’s piercing gaze with a newfound determination. “I’ll do it.”

  “Good.”

  I’ll fully accept this side of me… Somnu thought, clenching his fists. I just hope Leyna and Mo will forgive me for it… The debt is already stacked on that front.

  He had fought himself on this for far too long, but ever since coming to the Abyss of Lethe, his goal had always been the same.

  To protect.

  “So, what is the actual plan?” The bunny girl leaned forward with shimmering eyes, an almost crazed grin forming on her lips.

  “Since you haven’t asked, I assume you don’t trust them either, right?” Somnu let out a slight chuckle.

  “How could I? The stench of those two with them is horrible!” Lulu tried to block her rabbit nose in an exaggerated gesture.

  “Right.”

  Somnu had sneaked a few glances through Naga’s clone, watching Henry and his two henchmen walk to their camp. The possibility of there being more of them waiting crossed his mind, and seeing another two henchmen close to Black and Blue’s stature and glum bearings, only served to confirm it.

  However, the most concerning realization was…

  “Those two don’t seem alive at all…”

  “Yep.”

  There were only two other options Somnu could think of for not being able to see the Systems of the new party members.

  They were either lifeless bodies, or they had killed other Sleepers and were being punished by the System as the scarecrow had been after causing Almon’s death.

  And considering how long the punishment was taking if it was the latter option, that would mean it hadn’t been their first time killing Sleepers either.

  The third option would have been the possibility of them following another deity, but according to Mr. Emberlyn, there was only one more left, the Faceless Forager. The followers of that deity were usually known to have the [Unseen] Personal Title, a passive skill which hid their faces entirely.

  The thing that terrifies me most though… Somnu resisted the intense shaking, creeping from within his body. The next thought horrified him to the point his breathing had stopped for a moment. With everyone that John Doe has murdered… He was still able to use both his and Almon’ skills immediately after killing Benji…

  The implications of that alone made Somnu shudder.

  Is the Faceless Forager able to affect the System directly somehow?