Chapter 108: The Vault of Forgotten Dreams (Part 1

The battlefield had become a storm of fire, ash, and broken stone.

The Nightmare Hotel stood behind its defenders like a wounded giant, its towers cracked but still glowing with protective magic. 

Every alarm system Athena had installed screamed warnings throughout the structure, yet the fortress refused to fall.

Gene stood in the center of the chaos.

Across from him stood Elias Crowe.

Or what remained of him.

The man Gene once knew was all but gone.

The person who had taken his life in another world had become something else entirely. 

His body stretched unnaturally beneath his armor of mutated flesh.

 Dark tattoos crawled across his skin like living creatures, twisting and moving as if they had minds of their own.

The Pale Watcher tilted his head.

“Why are you still fighting? We know that your demise is already certain.”

Gene tightened his fist.

“You shouldn’t be so sure you…. weird lizard creature.”

Elias laughed.

It was a horrible sound.

A sound that seemed to echo from multiple voices at once.

“That’s what I’m talking about! See only you can understand what I was going for with this form. You have no idea how long I waited for this.”

The tattoos covering Elias’s arms suddenly peeled away.

They moved like black snakes, rushing toward Gene from every direction.

Gene activated his slime armor.

The living material exploded across his body, forming layers of dark protective plating.

 The first attack slammed into Gene’s shoulder, forcing him backward.

The second wrapped around his arm.

The third pierced through the ground where his body had been moments earlier.

Gene twisted, grabbing the living tattoo and slammed it into the ground.

The earth cracked as the creature exploded into a tar like puddle.

Elias smiled.

“So you still have strength to fight back.”

Gene looked up as his slime armor turned orange.

“Believe it.”

A blast of energy erupted between them.

The two forces collided, creating a shockwave that sent nearby soldiers flying.

⸻

Far beneath the enemy castle…

Lilith walked through an ancient stone hallway with Fluffy beside her.

The underground vault was nothing like she expected.

She expected piles of gold.

Maybe weapons.

Maybe magical armor.

Instead, she found something much older.

The walls were covered in symbols that glowed faintly in the darkness. 

Strange paintings showed forgotten civilizations, creatures made of dreams, and ancient warriors holding gemstones.

Captain Stringer slowly examined the carvings.

“This place predates the current kingdoms.”

Wilbur looked around.

“So whoever built this was here way before everyone else. Maybe even the red queen.”

Lilith’s eyes widened.

“That means…”

She smiled as she pulled on a headlamp helmet.

“Really really old treasure.”

Everyone face palmed.

Even Fluffy looked embarrassed.

⸻

The group continued deeper until they reached a massive chamber.

Inside were dozens of treasure chests.

Lilith immediately ran forward.

“Treasure!”

Captain Stringer held her back with strings.

“We must… Check for traps.”

Lilith stopped.

She looked at the chests.

Then looked at him.

“Ok Fine. Safety first.”

The marionettes carefully inspected everything.

Surprisingly, the treasure chest was really used to hold valuables.

Inside were:

Magical jewelry.

Gold items.

Books written in forgotten languages.

And a collection of strange crystals.

Lilith carefully picked up a small golden statue.

“This looks like a tiny warrior.”

She smiled.

“I will call him Kenny from now on.”

Lilith then turned and began shoving handfuls of gold into her bag.

Lyra laughed.

“You really do like treasure.”

Lilith nodded proudly as she pocketed a shiny golden rod.

“Treasure likes me too.”

⸻

Beyond the treasure chamber were several locked doors.

Each door had a circular socket in the center.

Everyone became quiet.

Athena’s voice came through their communicators.

“Energy readings detected.”

Captain Stringer approached one of the doors.

“This looks like… we need to find … a certain key.”

Lilith touched the empty socket.

A faint vibration traveled through the room.

Nobody knew why.

But everyone felt it.

This vault was hiding something.

Something was missing.

Something important.

⸻

Fluffy suddenly growled.

The three-headed creature sat turned toward the center of the room.

There was something there.

A small pedestal hidden beneath a layer of dust.

On top of the pedestal sat a single stone.

Black.

But not like an ordinary black.

The stone seemed to contain a small universe trapped inside.

Tiny lights moved just beneath its surface.

Athena scanned it and suddenly changed her tone.

“Unknown artifact detected.”

“Magical classification unavailable.”

“Warning.”

“Artifact appears sentient.”

Lilith tilted her head.

“It’s alive?”

The gem seeming to know its cover was blown, lifted up from the pedestal.

Captain Stringer stepped forward.

“Don’t you dare move.”

The gem ignored him.

It floated toward Lilith.

She blinked.

“Me?”

The crystal suddenly accelerated.

Lilith barely had time to react before it stuck onto her hand.

Dark energy attempted to crawl across her fingers as the gem attempted to merge with her.

Lilith pulled it off her and threw it anyway. 

The entire room went silent.

The gem pulsed on the ground a few times before levitating again.

Lilith looked offended.

“You are such a rude stone”

The crystal pushed forward again.

Lilith slapped it away.

The gemstone flew across the room and crashed into a wall.

It pulsed a few times before staying still.

Everyone stared at it.

Wilbur slowly lowered his weapon.

“Did you just hit an ancient magical artifact?”

Lilith crossed her arms.

“Yes! It needed punished for trying to touch people! Papa told me that if anything touches me without my consent can be punished as self defense.”

The gem floated back up.

This time it attempted to fly faster.

Lilith sighed.

“You are really bad at listening.”

The crystal rushed towards her again.

She pulled out her magic bag.

“Looks like you have to be put into a time out.”

The gemstone stopped.

Almost like it understood it messed up.

The marionettes moved.

Strings blocked any escape route for the gem.

Lilith opened the bag wider.

The gem fought against the pull.

Dark energy exploded through the chamber.

For a moment, everyone thought it would escape.

Then Fluffy barked at it from behind.

A burst of combined elemental energy pushed the gemstone forward.

Lilith caught it in the sack.

“Got you now!”

She quickly tied the magic bag sealing it shut.

The bag shook violently.

Once.

Twice.

Then stopped.

Lilith tied a knot to make sure the bag is secured.

“There.”

Athena analyzed the bag.

“Containment successful.”

“However…”

Everyone waited.

“The artifact is attempting communication.”

Lilith looked down.

The bag moved slightly.

She frowned.

“Nope you are in timeout! We can talk later.”

⸻

Back above ground…

Gene stumbled backward.

Elias’s attacks carved through the battlefield.

The Pale Watcher moved much faster than before.

Every time Gene damaged him, the wounds seemed to be shallow and they rapidly repaired themselves.

“You can’t defeat me with how weak you are now!”

Elias’s voice echoed.

Then the Pale Watcher screamed.

The tattoos erupted around him.

The battlefield shook.

Gene prepared himself.

But before Elias could strike…

A massive figure stepped in between them.

The Caretaker.

Silent.

Still.

His mask reflected the flames around them.

Gene looked surprised.

“You came to help.”

The Caretaker turned and nodded slightly.

That was all the answer Gene needed.

A small smile appeared.

“Thanks big guy. Let’s double team this guy.”

Gene raised his weapon.

Elias stared at the two of them.

Then laughed.

“Interesting choice of words!”

His monstrous grin widened.

“The creator…. And his monster.”

The Caretaker tightened his grip.

Gene stepped forward.

The final clash was about to begin.

The Caretaker stood beside Gene.

Across from them, the Pale Watcher slowly rose from up the crater.

There was no pain.

No anger.

No hesitation.

Only hunger.

Gene stared at the creature that used to be Elias Crowe.

For a brief moment, he remembered another world.

A different life.

A different death.

But the thing standing before him was not the man who killed him.

That man was gone.

The Pale Watcher tilted its distorted head.

“You keep looking at me like you expect to find something.”

Gene tightened his grip.

“There is no humanity in you left, is there?”

The monster smiled.

A mouth stretched too wide across its ruined face.

“There was never anything left in the first place.”

The Caretaker moved first.

His fist slammed into the Pale Watcher’s chest.

The impact shook the battlefield.

The monster flew backward, carving a trench through the ground.

But before it stopped moving, black tendrils exploded from the dirt.

They wrapped around the Caretaker’s arms.

The Pale Watcher pulled.

The Caretaker was dragged forward.

Gene rushed in.

The two attacked together.

For several minutes, the battlefield became a storm of movement.

Gene’s slime armor changed constantly.

Blade.

Shield.

Chains.

Claws.

Every weapon he created was countered by Elias’s impossible body.

The Pale Watcher did not fight like a warrior.

It fought like a natural disaster.

A monster that existed only to destroy.

⸻

Then Athena’s voice interrupted.

“Gene.”

He ignored it.

“Gene.”

A warning tone sounded.

“Priority alert.”

Gene blocked an attack.

“What?”

Athena’s voice became serious.

“The underground vault has been breached.”

Gene froze.

“What?”

“The cult infiltration team has reached the central archive.”

His expression changed.

“The archive…”

Athena confirmed.

“The Horror Codex has been taken.”

The book.

The one that started everything.

The book containing Gene’s knowledge.

His designs.

The instructions for creating creatures that should never exist.

Gene looked toward the hotel.

“No way… how did they-”

The Pale Watcher laughed.

“Looks like everything is done! Finally.”

Gene looked back.

“What?”

The monster’s smile widened.

“You thought I actually came here to kill you.”

The tattoos covering its body moved.

“I merely came here to keep you busy this time around .”

The battlefield went silent.

They immediately understood.

The attack.

The army.

The invasion.

It was all a distraction.

The cult never intended to win this battle.

They wanted just one thing.

And that was Gene’s knowledge.

⸻

Deep beneath the Nightmare Hotel…

A group of cultists stood inside the forbidden archive.

The room was filled with containment cases.

Ancient artifacts.

Research notes.

Summoning records.

At the center was a single object.

A black leather book.

The Horror Codex.

A cult priest reached toward it.

The moment his hand touched the cover, the entire room shook.

The book rejected him.

Pages violently flipped.

Images of monsters appeared.

Creatures Gene had imagined.

Creatures that had never been summoned.

The priest smiled.

“Excellent.”

Another cultist stared.

“Can we control it?”

The priest laughed.

“No.”

He lifted the book.

“We don’t need to.”

“We only need to learn from it.”

⸻

Back on the battlefield…

Gene stared at the Pale Watcher.

“You planned this.”

The monster slowly stepped backward.

“Nope I don’t do the planning. I will be seeing you again very soon.”

The Caretaker charged at him.

The Pale Watcher disappeared into a cloud of black smoke.

Gene looked around as Elias’s voice echoed.

“The Hollow King will enjoy making your creations.”

Then the smoke vanished.

The Pale Watcher was gone.

For now

⸻

The end of the battle did not feel like a victory.

The cultists began retreating.

Their mission was complete.

The Nightmare Hotel forces watched them disappear.

Nobody celebrated.

Gene walked slowly toward the damaged entrance.

Athena displayed the missing archive.

The empty space where the Horror Codex had been stored.

Gene stared.

That book was more than a weapon.

It was his history.

His memories.

The foundation of everything.

Selene arrived beside him.

“They took it.”

Gene nodded.

“Yes.”

Lilith appeared through a portal, holding the bag with the sealed Black Gem.

She looked worried.

“Papa what’s wrong?”

Gene looked at her.

For once, he didn’t have an answer.

Because for the first time since creating the Nightmare Hotel…

Someone had stolen the one thing that made him unique.

The ability to create nightmares.

Athena displayed a final warning.

UNKNOWN ENEMY ACCESS DETECTED

HOLLOW KING CULT HAS ACQUIRED SUMMONING KNOWLEDGE

Gene closed his eyes.

The war had changed.

Before…

They were fighting against monsters.

Now…

The enemy could create them.

Gene opened his eyes.

“Everyone.”

The survivors gathered.

“We need to prepare.”

Selene looked at him.

“For what?”

Gene stared toward the horizon where the cult had vanished.

“The next generation of nightmares.”

And somewhere far away…

The Hollow King Cult opened the Horror Codex.

The first stolen page began to glow.