The Last Founder

Chapter 77: Nightmare and Sunrise

"How unfortunate it is." A voice came from nowhere, bleeding into reality, "You are living against your very nature." The voice spoke in a profound language any sentient being would instinctively understand once heard: Truth. "You have failed."

"You failed before you confronted me, and you will fail again at the hands of ’Him’. It is disgraceful for one of your status to fail twice to the ’same’."

A bony hand as white as a bone stretched in the endless voice towards the source of this voice, seeking to mute it, but to no avail.

"It is no use. You should have come to the harsh realization that the pain you avoided was nothing compared to the regret you now retain. You made a foolish decision, going against your nature."

"Your father was a foolish man, and you inherited that trait of his the most and lack every other aspect. Try as you might, you have no chance of moving forward... Unless..." The voice mused in an amusing tone.

...

While Hundao was trapped in a nightmare that felt endless, the real world continued on as always. Outside, the sun climbed higher in the sky, spreading warmth and energy to everyone it touched. Morning life went on, even though Hundao was lost in his terrifying dream.

Hundao lay stretched out on his bed, his skin pale and covered in cold sweat that soaked through his clothes and made the mattress damp. He tossed and turned, his muscles tightening and loosening in sudden jerks, like he was fighting someone only he could see. It was clear he wasn’t just having a bad dream; his whole body was reacting as if he were in a real battle.

Sometimes, his mouth opened as if he wanted to scream, but no sound came out. The nightmare holding him had gone far beyond an ordinary dream; it felt like it had taken over his mind and body, blurring the line between sleep and reality.

At first, Hundao’s shadow copied everything he did. When he twisted in bed, his shadow twisted too. When his hands shook, so did the shadow’s. It was as if the shadow was just another part of him, moving in perfect sync.

Then, without warning...

It stopped.

Hundao continued thrashing upon the bed.

His shadow did not.

Silence settled over the room.

This wasn’t the normal quiet you’d find in an empty house. It felt heavier, almost unnatural—like something out of a ghost story. The sounds from outside, like people talking in the distance, faded until they were barely there, as if the room itself had been separated from the world. Even the sunlight coming through the old shutters seemed weak and cold, losing its warmth before it could reach the bed.

The shadow slowly lifted its head. freёweɓnovel.com

There was no sudden movement.

Then, with no elegance in its movements, it rose.

The shadow’s body slowly separated from the floor, rising in a way that didn’t seem possible, almost like thick black paint running upward instead of dripping down. Its arms and legs grew much longer than any person’s, twisting into strange shapes until it looked only a little bit human, but mostly something else entirely.

It didn’t have a face, and somehow that made it even scarier. Where its eyes should have been, there was only darkness that seemed to swallow up any light nearby. Its arms were so long that its fingers nearly touched the floor, and those fingers ended in thin, shaky points that looked like they could reach out and grab anything.

The shadow stood next to the bed, silently watching Hundao struggle. Even though it didn’t have a real face, a chilling grin slowly formed where its mouth should have been. Anyone who saw it would have felt a cold shiver run down their spine.

The room grew colder.

The wooden furniture creaked quietly, even though there was no breeze in the room. In the corner, a water basin began to crack, tiny lines spreading across it until it suddenly broke apart, spilling water onto the floor. Strangely, the water didn’t move at all; it stayed perfectly still, adding to the unsettling feeling in the room.

The thing tilted its head.

It seemed... curious.

Almost intimate with its surroundings.

Slowly, the shadow reached out one of its extremely long hands toward Hundao’s face. The darkness didn’t touch him; it stopped just before making contact, but wherever its hand hovered, ice crystals formed on the wooden bedframe. Hundao began to breathe faster, his sleeping body shrinking away from something he couldn’t see or understand, even though he was still trapped in his nightmare.

Then the creature leaned closer. The featureless void where its face should have been hovered inches above Hundao’s own.

Without warning, the creature collapsed.

Defying common sense, it collapsed inwardly.

The shadow’s body broke apart, turning into a moving cloud of darkness that rushed into Hundao’s shadow. The darkness then surged upward, entering Hundao through his chest, his mouth, his eyes, and even through his skin. It disappeared completely, as if Hundao’s body had been waiting for it to come back inside.

Suddenly, the room felt normal again. The heavy, suffocating feeling vanished, and the sunlight warmed the bed the way it should have all along.

The distant voices outside returned, accompanied by birdsong and the familiar creaking of wagon wheels passing through the streets.

Everything appeared normal. Hundao’s body stopped trembling. His breathing became slow, steady, and peaceful.

All that just happened was but a figment of imagination; many witnessed, and many forgot.

...

"How bothersome..."

Kalarkan grumbled under his breath as he walked through the peaceful streets of Archive City. The sun had only just risen above the rooftops, casting a gentle, golden light over the stone roads. Some shopkeepers were opening up, their movements slow and sleepy, while workers swept dust and leaves away, getting ready for the busy day ahead. The city felt calm and full of promise in the early morning.

Kalarkan never liked running errands, especially when he hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. Complaining was just something he did out of habit. He always followed orders, never even thinking about disobeying. The more he thought about his job this morning, the more tired he felt, so he just sighed and decided to get it done as fast as he could.

When Kalarkan reached the New Dawn Inn, the place was already busy. The smell of warm bread from the kitchen mixed with scents of tea and herbs in the air. Some guests, who looked like they practiced martial arts or medicine, were leaving after breakfast, and workers rushed around to get ready for the day. Kalarkan nodded politely to the receptionist and headed upstairs. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

The hallway upstairs was so quiet that Kalarkan could hear his own footsteps tapping on the shiny wooden floor. He stopped in front of Hundao’s room and knocked firmly. He waited, listening for any sound inside, but there was no reply.

Kalarkan frowned a little. After seeing how Hundao behaved over the last few weeks, he thought the boy would be up early. Hundao didn’t seem like someone who would sleep in, so Kalarkan knocked again, this time a bit harder. Just as he started to worry, he heard the latch click.

The door opened slowly, and Hundao stood there, looking back at Kalarkan.

Kalarkan stopped in his tracks, surprised. He gave Hundao a quick look up and down, and immediately noticed something was different. Hundao used to always look tired, but now that look was gone.

Hundao’s skin, which had once been pale like someone getting over a sickness, now looked healthy and warm. The dark rings under his eyes were gone. He even stood up straighter, no longer slouching like he always had.

His shoulders no longer sagged beneath an invisible burden, and the tension that had always lingered around his body had dissolved into a relaxed confidence. Most striking of all was the smile adorning his face. It was bright, genuine, and completely devoid of the melancholy that had once seemed inseparable from him.

"Good morning, Brother Kalarkan!" Hundao said with a cheerful voice as he opened the door wider. "Sorry I made you wait. I ended up sleeping in longer than I meant to."

Hundao’s voice sounded full of life, with a kind of energy Kalarkan hadn’t heard from him since he lost that important fight. There was no nervousness or sadness in his words. He just sounded like a normal young man who’d finally gotten some good sleep. For a second, Kalarkan felt relieved. Maybe living in the city really was helping Hundao get over his past.

But that feeling of relief didn’t last long.

Over the years, Kalarkan had met all kinds of people. He’d seen men heal from terrible injuries, families find forgiveness, and old martial artists return to the world with new hope. But he knew that the pain in his heart was different from cuts or bruises. Emotional scars faded slowly, sometimes over months or years, becoming less painful. They didn’t just vanish overnight, especially not for someone like Hundao, who had carried guilt and sadness for most of his life.

"It seems you have finally bounced back from whatever was bothering you?" Kalakan said in a measured breath.

"Yes, I am," Hundao answered with a relieved smile. "I figured out that it was silly to always compare myself to people like Miss Eva and Alaric."

’Oh...?’ Kalarkan looked closely at Hundao before saying, "It is good you are back. It would have been disappointing if something had happened to you."