Chapter 7

The wind picked up around them, sending a shiver down Viktor's spine. The red tree of lightning crackled with a ferocity that seemed to reflect Dream's mood. "But why do you look like me?" he managed to ask, his voice barely carrying over the growing cacophony of the elements.

"Ah, that," Dream said with a shrug, its features morphing slightly, the edges of its smile becoming more sharp, more predatory. "Well, your mind is quite the quirky place. The two Codexs, both control or atleast use the subconsiousness," it pointed out, "Therefore we look alike. But the concepts are the exact opposites of each other. Therefore we have a couple of differences. Do remember," it added, the white pupils glinting dangerously. "I am nothing like you."

For a brief moment, the aura around Dream grew darker, the air thick with a palpable sense of malice that made the hairs on the back of Viktor's neck stand on end. The greenery of the dreamscape seemed to wither and die in its presence, only to flourish again as the aura vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "But fear not," Dream's smile grew wider, "I'll be your shadow, your silent companion through the waking world. We'll be like two peas in a pod, forever linked."

The wind picked up around them, the branches of the trees began to sway. "We'll be able to communicate," Dream continued, "Since the connection has been established, there won't be any problems. But," it said, its smile fading, "I'm curious, how did you survive having 2 oppos-"

But before Dream could finish its question, the world around them began to wobble like a poorly painted canvas. "Ah, it seems our time is up," Dream said with a sigh, its form already starting to fade into the shadows of the mesa. "Your mind can't handle this for much longer. Time to wake up, Viktor."

The wind picked up into a howling storm, the trees and the stump and the statue all shivering and shaking. The lights grew dimmer, the sounds quieter, and the cold stone beneath his feet started to recede into the distance. And then the dream fell apart...

----

Suddenly, the world around Viktor shattered into a million fragments, the cold stone beneath his feet giving way to the soft, familiar feel of the chair and desk he had fallen asleep on. His eyes snapped open, and he found himself lying in the Elena's secret lab, underneath the appartment. The lights were flickering, the screen was displaying all of the files Elena had left behind for him, with the Echo's formula and description being currently shown.

Out of now where, he felt something within him shift. Dream's words echoed in his head, 'Ah, that's how you survived. Makes sense. Lucky...' The presence grew stronger, sending a slight shiver down his spine. He realized he wasn't alone in his mind anymore.

'Relax, Viktor.' The voice was inside his head, but it was unmistakably Dream's. 'Your body's just reacting to the sudden transition. It'll pass. Besides, I already told you. I do not wish to take over. '

"Good morning, Mr. Gunter," the AI's calm, soothing voice filled the room as the lights flickered back to their normal brightness. Viktor blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the sudden shift from the vivid dreamscape to the stark reality of the lab. He took a deep breath, feeling his chest tighten as the gravity of what had just happened settled in.

'Oh! An AI. How fancy.' Dream's voice had a tinge of sarcasm that made Viktor's head spin. He sat up, his hand going to his forehead. The room remained silent, the AI's gaze fixed on him, seemingly unaware of the turmoil within.

"According to protocol G0n3, as the new owner of this AI, you have the privilege to rename me," the AI said, its voice as calm and unassuming as ever. "Please state a name that is no longer than three syllables."

Viktor took a moment to process this, his thoughts still reeling from his dream encounter with Dream. He looked around the lab, when suddenly an idea came to mind. "How about... Dream..er?"

'Hey! HEY! What's going on?' Dream's voice was a sudden burst of noise in his head, panic lacing through its tone. 'You can't name the AI after m-"

"Ah, an excellent choice, Mr. Gunter. From this moment forward, I shall be known as Dreamer," it said. "Now, let's proceed with your orientation. My current calculative capacity is 7th gen. Therefore, I am programmed to provide you with information, help you schedule tasks and manage your assets. In addition, due to Mrs Gunter's modifications to my hardware, I am also capable of answering most questions you may have, as well as assist you in simulating experiments with accurate result."

Viktor nodded slowly, his mind still racing from the encounter in his dream. "What can you tell me about the Nightmare Codex?" he asked, his voice calming down as he relaxed.

"Accessing data relate to topic 'The Nightmare Codex'," Dreamer said, with the same calmness, " Data found. The Nightmare Codex is a theoretical Codex, mentioned in the Codex Index written by the Professor of the Subconscious, Marshall Mind. It is believed that the Nightmare concept is completely unrelated to the Dream concept. It is a vague concept that branches out to many other concepts such as Fear, Dream, Thought, Hope.... It is considered to be one of the few Supreme conceptual Codexess due to the vastness of its use. However as the Equillibrium Law states, the more powerful a Codex is, the rarer and harder it is to control. To this day only one case has been recorded of a Nightmare codex been seen. However it has never been truly proven."

Viktor took a deep breath, his mind racing. "And what was that case?"

"The recorded case of a Nightmare Codex was an anonymous report, logged into the Codex Registry as 'Incident 02e352', Date of Entry: March 26th, 2103" the AI replied, the monotone voice pausing for a moment before continuing. "The individual in question was said to have summoned a terrifying being before they disappeared."

Viktor's pulse quickened. '17 years ago.' The thought of someone else out there with the same power as him brought him hope. "Where did this happen?"

"The case was reported at an address on the outskirts of the city," Dreamer said, displaying the coordinates on a nearby holographic screen. "The specifics are limited due to the sensitivity of the incident. However, the location is still accessible."

Viktor took in the information calmly, his mind racing with questions and concerns. He stood up, his legs feeling a bit shaky from the intense dream from before. "Alright," he said, "I need to go there. If I can find them, then maybe they can help me keep myself sane"

'Don't get your hopes up,' Dream's voice was firm in his head. 'A lot of things can happen in 17 years.' Viktor nodded, stepping away from the desk and out of the lab. He made his way to the apartment's living room, his hand running along the wall as if to reassure himself that this was real. The real world, with all its coldness and reality.

With a deep breath, he called for a hovercraft on his wristwatch. The AI's voice filled the room, calmly informing him of the location of the nearest available vehicle. He grabbed his coat and headed out, the cool night air slapping him in the face as the doors slid open. The city's lights danced in the night sky, a stark contrast to the silent, dusty apartment he had just left behind.

'I should clean it, when I come back,' Viktor thought absently, as he began walking over to the hovercar nearby. The city's neon lights filled in the sky with an artificial aurora, the grey apartment buildings shooting up into the sky like steel giants. The sound of his shoes was drowned by the nightlife's buzz as he approached the hovercraft. The sleek, black machine hovered a foot above the ground, the door sliding open at his approach. He climbed in, the leather seats hugging his body comfortably as he punched in the coordinates into the car's terminal.

The journey was silent except for the slight hum of the hovercraft's engines and the occasional voice from the hovercraft, updating him on the traffic patterns and the estimated time of arrival. The city passed by in a blur of lights and sounds, and by the time he realised it, he had arrived at the coordinates provided by Dreamer.

The building itself was located in an abandoned section of the area. The grey building was overgrown with moss and vines, reminding him a bit of the tower he saw not long ago in his 'Mind', whatever that meant. The hovercraft's headlights lit up the structure in a stark white light, revealing the remnants of a sign that once read "Laboratory Asm-" The rest of the letters had been scoured away by time or perhaps something more sinister.

As he approached the entrance, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. The door was a metal slab, rusted and covered in black scorch marks. He pushed it open with a grunt, the hinges protesting with a screech that echoed through the corridor. The place was eerily silent, save for the distant sound of water dripping. The walls were scarred and pitted, as if something had tried to claw its way out.

Inside the building, the floor was littered with shattered glass and twisted metal. The air was thick with dust and the faint scent of ozone. It was clear that something had gone very wrong here. Taking a look around, Viktor noticed a few iregularites.

'You noticed it too, huh' Dream's voice was almost a whisper in his head as he stepped into the laboratory. 'If people had worked here, and something happened, there should have been blood spilled everywhere. But-.'

"But its clean. Too clean." Viktor's voice was a whisper in the silence of the abandoned lab. The messy but clean condition of the floor, the untouched dust on the counters, it was all too perfect, too staged.

He walked down the corridor, his footsteps echoing through the emptiness. The marks on the walls grew more frantic, the deeper he went. As his eyes followed the lines, Viktor realized they formed a pattern. A pattern that strangly began to resemble a crossed out eye.

'Shit! Illusion!.' Dream's voice was a sharp intake of breath in his head as he stared at the etched walls, the panic clear in its tone. 'You need to get out of here, now!'