CHAPTER 206 - Eternal Nightmare

On the way to Airdrop Street, Caitlyn appeared visibly worried.

Li Lin raised an eyebrow. She didn't look like this when she left this morning. "Are you worried about Valentina?"

"It's not just her, there's something else." Caitlyn hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I'm not sure if I should tell you about it..."

Li Lin shook his head and extended his armored right hand, gently taking her slightly cold left hand. "No matter when, no matter what difficulties we face, I'll always be there with you, whenever you need me."

Caitlyn felt a warmth in her heart, her delicate fingers intertwining with Li Lin's right hand, her worried expression softening.

"Thank you... It's comforting to have you by my side."

Meanwhile, Kai'Sa, who was following them, blinked her dewy eyes, her small face flushing pink, her purple eyes filled with curiosity.

What exactly were they talking about? This was the main street; how could they behave so intimately...

Caitlyn pursed her lips and remained silent for a few more seconds, organizing her thoughts quickly. "Actually, Valentina's condition gives me a sense of déjà vu."

"You mean... the issue with the alchemical potion?"

"No, it's just her condition." Caitlyn's tone was somewhat uncertain. "She mentioned that she's been having nightmares for some time now, and she feels like there's a terrifying presence lurking in the shadows, following her everywhere. That's not normal."

Li Lin felt somewhat surprised. "Hmm? Isn't that because of the effects of the alchemical potion, causing her to have hallucinations?"

He glanced sideways at Caitlyn's delicate profile, pondered for a moment, then immediately realized, "Are you trying to say... you have a case similar to Valentina's current situation?"

Caitlyn nodded slightly, her expression becoming serious. "A while ago, a young boy named Abel approached me, saying his father suddenly went missing."

"Missing? What are the details?"

"Abel is an 8-year-old boy, his mother passed away, his father's name is Serwin, 47 years old, a watchmaker. They live in the southern district's commercial street, where they run a watch repair shop.

"Abel said his father loved him very much, telling him bedtime stories every day. According to my investigation, their family's financial situation was okay, and after your mechanical watches hit the market, they quickly paid off their debts and were on the right track.

"This rules out the possibility of Serwin abandoning Abel. The second explanation is a kidnapping case in Zaun... but as I delved deeper into the investigation, I found that this had nothing to do with kidnapping at all."

Caitlyn paused for a moment, her expression slightly complicated. "Abel said that Serwin had been having nightmares for several months before disappearing. Serwin never mentioned the content of the nightmares, but it seems to be related to some shadow... and fear."

"..."

Li Lin's heart suddenly clenched, a strong sense of unease rising within him.

The mention of fear reminded him of the Eternal Nightmare Nocturne.

In the original timeline, it did indeed invade Piltover through nightmares during the Wars, even attacking a family, and finally consuming someone.

Li Lin had already moved past the specific details, but hearing Caitlyn's account brought it all back, the victims seemed to be a father and son...

"Your complexion doesn't look good," Caitlyn noticed the change in Li Lin's expression. "What did you think of?"

Li Lin shook his head, "You haven't finished, have you? Is there more detail? Like... have you found anything?"

"If you insist, there's something strange—a horror storybook called 'Shadowgate.' It seems to be quite old, with Ionia-style binding, not even sold at the largest bookstore in Upper City.

"The book tells the story of a young squire fighting against an evil king, trying to prevent him from enveloping the world in darkness. It ends with a happy ending.

"Based on historical events, it should be a legend from the end of the Rune Wars, related to the Shadow War.

"I promised Abel to find his father and started gathering clues, but after some time, Abel also suddenly disappeared.

"I reported this to Sheriff Grayson, asking her to send Enforcers to search for their whereabouts. However, Abel disappeared as if he evaporated... there were no clues, and the matter was left unresolved."

After Caitlyn finished speaking, Li Lin became even more certain that this was the work of the Shadow Demon Nocturne.

"Hiss!" He couldn't help but inhale sharply, his expression becoming extremely grim.

Nocturne was a product of shadow magic.

At the end of the Rune Wars, secret organizations from each country resorted to any means to seize the world's runes and win the war, seeking various ways to suppress their enemies.

Later, someone discovered the existence of shadow magic.

In the following years, countless shadow mages abandoned their physical bodies and entered the mental realm, creating various domains composed of their own subconscious, thoughts, and emotions.

Shadow magic was abused, negative emotions almost affected all humans in Runeterra, giving birth to a demon without a physical form, an entity made of fear—the Eternal Nightmare, Nocturne.

In order to prevent the world from being destroyed, as the Rune Wars came to an end, almost all shadow and spiritual mages joined forces to fight against Nocturne, sealing him in the spiritual realm.

Afterward, the once powerful shadow mages disappeared almost overnight, while other mages agreed to classify shadow magic as forbidden, prohibiting its use by anyone.

Although sealed in the spiritual realm, Nocturne could still influence the material realm through people's dreams, especially nightmares, feeding on the fear they brought.

From Caitlyn's account, it seemed certain that the father and son had been consumed by Nocturne.

And she mentioned that Valentina's symptoms were similar to what Abel described about his father, Serwin...

Perhaps Valentina's intuition was correct; there was indeed a terrifying creature lurking in the shadows, a demon that fed on nightmares and fear!

After careful consideration, Li Lin felt that his speculation was approaching the truth.

In the original timeline, Valentina simply vanished, with no one knowing where she had gone.

Now, it seemed she wasn't taken care of by some alchemical baron.

After all, when their technology reached Piltover, they were nothing more than scrap decorations in an unknown square.

Perhaps it was due to the influence of the "mental confusion potion" that Valentina had illusions, felt fear, and was tormented by nightmares.

Considering all the circumstances, it seemed to attract Nocturne.

But if it really was a demon causing trouble, Li Lin's current technology and strength were completely ineffective against such a creature that came and went without a trace, had no entity in the material realm, and attacked while people were dreaming.

Noticing Li Lin's obvious anomaly, Caitlyn looked puzzled, even Kai'Sa couldn't help asking, "What's wrong with you?"

"This matter may not be as simple as we thought..."

"Oh?"

Just now they were speaking in Piltover dialect, and Kai'Sa didn't understand the ins and outs of it, her little face full of confusion.

Li Lin didn't explain to her for the time being the conversation he had just had with Caitlyn, but instead switched to Shuriman.

His brown-black pupils turned, meeting Caitlyn's gem-like eyes, his expression very serious. "Do you remember when I told you half of the story about primordial fears?"

Caitlyn raised her eyebrows, immediately understanding Li Lin's meaning. "You mean... this has something to do with demons?"

"Yes, that's also why I didn't mention the name of that fearful demon when you asked me earlier."

Li Lin took a deep breath, slowly explaining, "Anything spoken must be known. So it is with those demigods born in the primal era. Similarly, demons born from the negative emotions of living beings."

"But... aren't demons just legends? Do they really exist?"

Born and raised in Piltover, influenced by her family's education, Caitlyn always held the belief of seeing is believing.

A small part of Zaun's people worshiped the mythical goddess Shurima, but the last time she appeared was over two hundred years ago when the Grand Canal excavation failed, and she hasn't shown herself since.

Maybe those so-called demigods or demons were just powerful mages, just like the Ascended of Shurima.

Li Lin knew Caitlyn very well and knew she held a conservative attitude toward these things.

In a world without any magic like Earth, those legends might really just be legends, stories passed down through generations by working people with their own artistic embellishments.

But in a magical world like this, those legends might be events that really happened.

Although there might be elements of artistic embellishment, they couldn't be completely trusted or completely disbelieved.

"They do exist, Caitlyn," Li Lin sighed, "The ancient fears are the embodiment of fear in the hearts of all creatures in Runeterra, and this demon, it was born relatively recently, a product of the Rune Wars."

"Are you... talking about demons?" Kai'Sa couldn't help but interrupt.

Li Lin and Caitlyn both looked down at Kai'Sa, who had turned somewhat pale.

She hesitated for a moment, then spoke again, "My dad told me a story about a demon that ravaged the area near Mount Targon, called the Camphor.

"It would take away people's most important abilities, stealing the wisdom of the wise and the strength of the strong, feeding on people's pain, doubts, and misfortunes."

After finishing, Kai'Sa was afraid that Caitlyn wouldn't believe her, so she quickly added, "This is true! In our village, there was once a guide who went to Mount Targon on a pilgrimage and was deprived of the ability to walk by the Camphor, paralyzed at home for years and unable to move!"

"This..." Caitlyn's complex gaze returned to Li Lin, "If it's really demons causing trouble, then with us, there's absolutely no way to deal with them, right?"

She bit her colorless lower lip tightly, her expression very conflicted, "But... we can't just abandon Valentina like this."

Li Lin pondered for a moment. "Demons have no physical form. If we go the usual route, there's simply no way to deal with them."

"But... Professor Heimerdinger witnessed the Rune Wars. Perhaps he knows how to deal with demons.

"But before that, we need to solve the problem of Chem-barons and the mastermind behind the scenes."

(END of Chapter)