Chapter 110: The Nightmare They Could Not Control

The battlefield was very quiet.

The kind of quiet that came after something terrible had happened.

The Nightmare Hotel still stood, but it looked different now that a major battle had taken place.

The once-impenetrable fortress had scars now. 

Cracks ran along several towers. Sections of the outer walls had been rebuilt with emergency magic.

 The halls were filled with injured soldiers, exhausted defenders, and workers desperately repairing what they could.

But the thing that worried Gene the most, was not the broken items.

It was the now missing Horror Codex.

The book that that contained years of imagination, designs, and knowledge from his previous world.

The cult had stolen it.

Or at least…

They thought they had.

⸻

Far away from the Nightmare Hotel, inside of one of the Hollow King Cult’s hidden chambers, the stolen book rested upon an ancient altar.

The high priests surrounded it.

Candles burned with unnatural flames.

Dark symbols covered the floor.

The priests were looking at the book like they were staring at a treasure beyond value.

“We finally possess it,” one priest whispered.

“The knowledge of the nightmare creator.”

Another priest reached forward to gently finger the pages.

“With this, we can create armies stronger than anything we have tried summoning  before. ”

The oldest priest nodded.

“Begin the ritual!”

The nearest priest opened the Horror Codex.

The pages moved open by themselves.

Images of creatures appeared.

Monsters.

Entities.

Beings created to cause fear.

The priests began chanting.

Dark energy gathered around the room.

A summoning circle formed around them.

One priest smiled.

“Behold! This will be the first nightmare summon that will belong to the Hollow King.”

The magic around them exploded.

A creature began forming.

At first, it appeared exactly how they wanted.

A towering beast.

A monster of claws and teeth.

A creature built for war.

The priests cheered.

Then the creature opened its eyes.

Everyone froze as the monster looked around.

It did not look at the battlefield preparations nor the priests. 

It’s eyes find and stare at the book.

It was a creature with intelligence so it quickly understood something the cultists didn’t.

It knew that the cultists didn’t know there were rules for summoning horror entities.

The high priest stepped forward.

“Obey us.”

The creature stared.

The priest raised his hand.

“You will go and attack our enemies.”

The monster did not move.

“Hello… Did you hear me?”

The creature slowly turned its head causing the priest to back up a step.

Then it laughed.

A deep, unnatural sound.

“You weaklings dare to summon me.”

The priests stepped backward.

“You stole and used something you know nothing about.”

The creature looked at the book.

“You do not understand, nor respect horrors.”

The summoning circle began breaking apart.

The priests panicked.

“Control it!”

“We’re trying!”

The creature stepped forward.

“You wanted monsters.”

Its claws dug into the stone.

As it pulled the book off the ground it glowed brightly .

Inside the book, the security talisman activated and released 2 hidden monsters.

“Now you guess can experience them all you like.”

The room erupted into chaos.

⸻

Meanwhile, Back at the Nightmare Hotel…

Gene stood inside the command room.

Everyone had gathered.

Selene.

Lilith.

Mother Sarah.

The Caretaker.

Jesse Belle.

Cassian.

The resistance leaders.

Athena projected the current situation.

“The cult has begun attempting to use the stolen Horror Codex.”

Gene looked at the screen.

“And?”

Athena paused.

“They are experiencing difficulties.”

A confused silence followed.

“What kind of difficulties?” Selene asked.

Athena displayed a recording.

A horned summoned creature attacking the cult.

Lilith blinked.

“Did the monster just ignore them?”

Gene nodded.

“Yes.”

Cassian looked surprised.

“Why?”

Gene looked at the stolen book symbol.

“Because they don’t understand what they stole.”

Everyone looked at him.

Gene sighed.

“The book isn’t a weapon manual.”

He walked to a nearby window and looked out.

“Surprisingly it isn’t a spell book either.”

“It’s a collection of ideas.”

He looked around the room.

“Every creature inside that book has a reason for existing.”

“The monsters aren’t just designs they are their own characters.”

Selene smiled slightly.

“Your creations do have wonderful personalities.”

Gene nodded.

“Exactly.”

Mother Sarah folded her hands.

“The cult attempted to command nightmares.”

Gene looked toward the damaged walls.

“And my nightmares usually don’t like being controlled.”

⸻

Cassian crossed his arms.

“Then why did they manage to steal it?”

Gene looked away.

Because in truth…

He had prepared for this.

Gene walked toward a hidden panel.

He placed his hand against it.

The wall opened.

Inside was a smaller chamber.

Everyone stared.

There was another book.

A second Horror Codex.

Selene looked shocked.

“You had another one?”

Gene nodded.

“I planned for this.”

Lilith smiled.

“Ooooo so you tricked them.”

Gene picked up the smaller book.

“Yeah but not exactly.”

He opened it to show that pages were missing.

“The archive contained half of my ideas.”

Everyone became silent.

“The other half?”

Gene tapped his head.

“I never stored it.”

Athena confirmed.

“Gene separated the information into two sections.”

“The first half contained general concepts and a few trap Summons inside. The second section contained the most dangerous creations.”

Cassian smiled.

“So they stole incomplete information.”

Gene nodded

“They have enough to cause problems.”

“But not enough to create the things they really want.”

Selene looked relieved.

“You knew someone might try this?”

Gene shrugged.

“When you build a fortress full of monsters, you learn to prepare for people trying to steal them.”

⸻

Later on that evening…

The resistance leaders gathered inside the strategy room.

They met to discuss Queen Rosanelle.

The corrupted ruler had been captured during the battle.

Her armies had been defeated.

Her castle had fallen.

But she was still extremely dangerous.

A resistance commander placed a report on the table.

“What do we do with her?”

Nobody answered immediately.

The queen was powerful.

Unstable and Violently unpredictable.

Cassian looked toward Gene.

“Execution would be simple.”

Selene shook her head.

“No.”

Everyone looked at her.

“Although it is true that she is responsible for so many terrible things.”

Selene paused.

“But if we simply kill every corrupted person, how are we different from the Hollow King?”

The room became quiet.

Gene nodded.

“We keep her alive.”

Mother Sarah looked thoughtful.

“Then where?”

Athena answered.

“Recommendation.”

“The underground levels can be used for her  containment.”

Gene agreed.

“We can give her,,Her own floor.”

⸻

The underground section of the Nightmare Hotel was expanded.

A special containment floor was created.

Not exactly a prison.

Not a torture chamber.

A place where Rosanelle could be watched safely.

The walls were reinforced with magic.

The doors contained multiple locks.

Athena monitored every movement.

The queen sat inside her new room.

For once…

She was quiet.

The many voices inside her head were still arguing but Unlike normally she did not scream.

Not today, she sat the small table seat near the window.

Food.

Books.

A place to rest.

A chance.

Whether she deserved one was something everyone would decide later.

⸻

Gene stood outside the containment floor.

Selene joined him.

“You think she can change?”

Gene looked through the glass.

“I don’t know.”

“Then why give her a chance?”

Gene thought about it.

Because he had built the Nightmare Hotel on one belief.

That monsters were not born evil.

They became what the world made them.

But some monsters…

Some monsters chose what they became.

“I don’t know if she can change.”

He looked at Rosanelle.

“But I know we shouldn’t decide she can’t.”

⸻

Above them, Athena delivered a final warning.

“Gene.”

He looked up.

“The cult will most likely continue to study the Horror Codex.”

Gene tightened his hand around the remaining half.

“They’ll learn some ideas out of what’s there.”

Selene nodded.

“And when they do?”

Gene looked toward the horizon.

The war was no longer about defending the hotel.

It was about stopping the Hollow King before every world became another nightmare.

“When they learn…”

Gene said quietly.

“We will teach them the difference between creating monsters…”

He looked at the damaged fortress around him.

“And creating a true horror existence.”

The next battle had already begun.