NOVGO.NET Chapter 401: How do we treat the problem?
Chapter 401: How do we treat the problem?
“…”
“…”
Silence fell in the room as Lavinia stared at Vitaria and others. The Bonds stared at each other with solemn looks on their faces as well.
“He didn’t forget about it.”
Igni spoke in a low voice.
A lot of things had happened after Kael killed the Stonefangs, so a part of him was hoping his father would forget about it, but that didn’t happen.
“If only someone hadn’t acted unnecessarily.”
Cirri snorted, glaring at Vitaria. The Fox lowered her head, her ears flopping down as well, showing her guilt.
“She did what had to be done, it wasn’t her fault.”
Lavinia, however, shook her head.
The rest of the Bonds turned towards her, somewhat taken aback.
“…?”
The Mage frowned at the sudden reaction. Soon, however, she realized what they were thinking and questioned with a tired sigh,
“You didn’t expect me to believe a Stonefang Warrior, who even I could defeat, managed to outsmart and capture her, do you?”
“…Papa believed it.”
Nyrri spoke in a low voice.
“He is a fool for his children. He already believes the entire world is out there to get all of you, of course he would believe it.
Of course, he will realize the truth eventually, when he gets a few… things out of his mind.”
The Mage spoke, once again looking at Kael.
“…”
“…”
The children turned silent.
The Spirits seemed worried about Kael too. They moved near him and tried to ruffle his hair, but there was only so much they could do.
“Is there any way to help him?”
Lavinia questioned, staring at Vitaria.
“…”
The Fox didn’t say anything. Her mind had already started blaming herself for her father’s condition. If only she hadn’t pushed Kael to make a move, this wouldn’t have happened.
If only—
“Vitaria.”
While the Fox was falling deeper and deeper into the hole of self-blame and hatred, Lavinia suddenly grabbed her paw as she leaned forward, bringing her out of her reverie.
“…?”
The Fox slowly glanced at the Mage and—
“We need your help.”
Lavinia began in a firm, urgent tone.
“You understand Kael’s current situation better than any of us. If there is a way to help him, only you would know it.
So stop getting lost in your thoughts and start working with us.
How do we help him?”
The Mage repeated her question.
Vitaria slowly turned towards Kael. Seeing her father’s trembling body and sensing the unbearable amount of heat it was generating felt… suffocating.
She then turned back towards Lavinia and—
“As I said before, the nightmare he is seeing is created by his consciousness that believes he deserves to be punished for all the Stonefangs he killed today.
It is called a Dream of the Condemned, a vicious nightmare that will continue repeating until the dreamer stops blaming himself for what happened.
Dream of the Condemned has made life difficult for thousands of beings, taking their sleep away. It gets to the point where one’s body forgets the very act of sleeping and while there are not many physical effects at first,
Soon, the lack of sleep begins catching up, weakening not just the body but the mind too. Even magical abilities are later affected by it.”
The Fox explained. Her words instantly made Lavinia and others worry. Knowing that, the Fox nodded in a calming tone.
“Of course, I can enter his nightmare and relieve it, so Father would never experience all that.”
“Then why aren’t you doing anything?”
Cirri questioned impatiently.
Her father’s condition worried her. She wanted it to be over as soon as possible. The fact that she was helpless here and could not help her father in any way did not sit well with her. It made her recall the time when her father and brother were fighting back in Infernal Crucible and she could only watch it from the Sanctuary.
“Less talking, more working!”
The Dragon commanded.
“Vitaria, what are you thinking?”
Lavinia, on the other hand, was much calmer.
She knew these children’s personalities. If Vitaria could have helped Kael, she would have done it already.
If she was taking the time to discuss everything with them, then there was something else they did not know.
Vitaria glanced at Lavinia and nodded,
“I can use my powers to enter his nightmare and influence it, but that would essentially mean destroying his nightmare.
Dream of the Condemned is created by one’s mind. Even if I destroy it once, it will reappear when Father sleeps tomorrow.
What I would be doing is no different than relieving the symptom, not treating the problem.”
She explained.
“How do we treat the problem?”
Cirri questioned.
Vitaria turned towards her elder sister and—
“The ideal way to treat Dream of the Condemned would be for the dreamer to stop blaming himself for whatever happened.
In Father’s case, he needs to stop blaming himself for the Stonefangs’ deaths, but that is obviously easier said than done.
If he could simply stop blaming himself like I said, he wouldn’t be seeing the Dream of the Condemned in the first place.”
“What’s the ’non-ideal’ way?”
Igni questioned.
“External stimulus.”
Vitaria answered, making others frown at those words.
“External stimulus…?”
Cirri tilted her head, confused.
“It is similar to me entering his nightmare and influencing it, but in this case, we are not using any energy. We are using the most natural way to influence his nightmare, changing it into something that… will not hurt him.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
Imperia frowned in confusion.
“We are essentially destroying the nightmare, won’t it repeat the next day?”
“It will.”
The Fox nodded.
“However, it is different from when I do it because my powers do not have any effect on one’s physical condition.
But this method is different. Physically influencing the nightmare will destroy it, but because the effects will also affect Father’s physical body, his nightmare will slowly start adapting to it.
In simpler words, the changes we make using external stimulus are more… permanent.
So after some time passes, these changes become part of the nightmare and instead of a nightmare, the entire thing turns into… something like a beautiful dream that would make Father’s sleep better instead of weakening him.”
Imperia frowned at those words. She looked at her sister with a skeptical look on her face. For some reason, she didn’t buy her story. Vitaria, however, quickly avoided Imperia’s gaze and turned towards Lavinia, waiting for her response.
“What is this external stimulus you are talking about?”
The Mage questioned without missing a beat.
“It could be anything.
Someone holding his hand, or hugging him,
Anything that makes him comfortable.
Anything that makes him relax.”
The Fox explained, and before Lavinia could say anything—
“So I just need to hug Father?”
Cirri spoke up as she stood, ready to help her father. Vitaria momentarily stared at her, then she shook her head—
“Not you, you can’t do it.”
“What does that mean?”
Cirri frowned.
“…your body temperature is too low.”
“…what?”
Cirri tilted her head. Now the Dragon was even more confused.
“Father needs to be able to sense this external stimulus. Your body is not hot enough for him to be able to sense it properly. A hug from you would be similar to hugging a wet pillow, it wouldn’t help Father. If anything, it might make this even more difficult for Father since his mind might link the ’wet’ pillow to something bloodied.
Your hug might be interpreted as him holding a bloodied head. Nyrri is the same, his body was quite cold as well. Imperia’s body is too small to make any impact, while I need to stay in my position to continue monitoring Father’s dream, making sure nothing out of expectation happens.”
“Then…”
Igni stepped forward, seeing as how he was the only one left, but—
“Brother cannot do it either.”
Vitaria shook her head again.
She looked around for a moment and then—
“Your body is too hot!”
“…my body was cold and brother’s body is hot…?”
Cirri commented, narrowing her eyes.
“Yes.”
Vitaria nodded confidently.
“Not to mention brother’s body is too scaly, too hard, it would feel like Father’s holding hot magma.”
Igni stopped, he then patted his stomach with a pout and—
“My belly is soft…”
“Yes, but we wouldn’t know what to do once Father’s hands move away from your belly to your scales, now would we?”
Vitaria replied and in the end, the firstborn turned silent and lowered his head.
“If none of us can do it, then why did you even suggest something so foolish?”
Cirri questioned. Now she sounded even more annoyed than before. Vitaria, however, tilted her head in confusion and—
“When did I say none of us could do it?”
“You ruled every single one of us out!”
Cirri raised her voice.
“Me and Nyrri are too cold, you cannot leave your position, Ria is too small, brother’s scales are too hard and warm, who else is left!?”
The Dragon questioned and the Fox turned towards the only person left.
“…me?”
Lavinia blinked and the Fox nodded.
“Yes, you.”
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