Nightmare Revenge

"A-are you a system?" Dean stammered, staring at the man who stood tall, twirling his cane in front of him.

The man, calling himself Nightmare System, looked at Dean, his face serious, but then he looks annoyed and rolled his eyes as if Dean's question was truly pointless and made him tired just to answer it.

"Where do you think you are right now? You're in my world, the nightmare world," he said, gesturing around as if to show their surroundings.

Dean looked around. Everything was still black and white and completely motionless. But suddenly, the scenery around him changed. He was still lying in the same position, but the entire room became "alive," like he was inside the belly of a huge beast, with pulsating, veined, fleshy walls. He also saw Zack moving again, but his form was indistinct. Then, Dean stood up and stared at the terrifying man in front of him, who was also staring back, twirling his cane.

"So... want to work and live... or die, because you won't survive when you return to your world... or become my collection?" NS asked.

"Die? What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"As you can see, you're now in my world, the nightmare world," NS said, pointing at Dean's body with his cane. "In the real world, you're dying there, and as soon as you return, you'll go straight into your body and die. And since you didn't pay me, consider the revenge you just witnessed to be merely a dying man's fantasy, not real. Come with me," NS said casually with a sly smile.

NS led Dean through the cell wall and out. After passing through the wall, NS's cane pulled Dean's hand and lifted him high into the air. Then they saw the city around the prison. Dean's eyes widened because the city before him looked utterly destroyed, like a post-apocalyptic landscape after a large-scale nuclear war, though he recognized it as his own city. All the buildings were ruined and dark, the streets cracked, cars burned, making everything look like hell.

Dean could see people walking on the ruined highways, some sheltering near burning cars to warm themselves. Dean saw a large moon hanging in the sky, seemingly motionless, as if it was always night. There were no clouds, no wind, just chilling cold.

"This... what is all this?" Dean stammered.

"This is my world, the nightmare world," NS replied.

"Those people... they're alive in this world?" Dean asked, pointing to a crowd of people huddled around a barrel with a large fire, extending their hands towards the flames.

"They're not people. They are the souls of people, or perhaps more accurately, reflections of human souls in the real world," NS said.

"Huh... soul reflections?" Dean asked.

"Yes. If you become my collection, you'll live here with me, forever," NS replied, turning to look at Dean with his cunning face.

Dean suddenly shivered. He turned back to look at the crowd of people and squinted his eyes because they were very far away. He then realized that not all the people in the crowd were human; some had horrifying, zombie-like forms, shocking Dean when he noticed them.

"H-hey, why are there zombies too? And worse than in movies?" Dean asked, pointing to the crowd.

"Hmm, they are reflections of human souls, as I said earlier. Some are rotten, some are good, some are black, and some are white," NS replied.

"So that's what you mean?" Dean asked.

"Everyone there exists in the real world. They are representations of their souls, not my collection. This world of mine is a reflection of the real world, or rather, the nightmare world of the real world, hohoho," NS explained.

"Then if I work for you, what do I have to do?" Dean asked.

"You'll work as my agent. You'll find people who want revenge and carry out their revenge through the nightmare world, just like I just did to your friend," NS replied.

"Huh... Alex? He's not my friend... what did you do to him?" Dean asked.

"You saw it in the broadcast, didn't you? That black smoke going into his body? That was me. In an instant, he experienced a nightmare that shattered his soul and he died in this world. Then I took over his body and told all that to your ex-wife. It was quite fun, hohoho," NS chuckled.

"Nightmares while conscious?" Dean asked, confused.

"Yes. I made him feel what it was like to be you and his other victims... Oh yeah, you weren't his only victim. There were his college friends, his ex-girlfriends, and even his former in-laws. You didn't know he was married and divorced before, did you? Once you enter his mind, you'll know what you need to do and make him feel what he did to his victims. Unfortunately, he wasn't strong enough, and halfway through, he chose to be destroyed, then used his body to obliterate the others who betrayed you in real world hohoho," NS said casually, twirling his cane.

"Huh... how is that possible?" Dean asked, bewildered.

NS turned to look at Dean, his cane once again linked to Dean's hand, lifting him closer to a woman walking on the sidewalk. Dean gasped because the woman looked like a blood-soaked zombie, with melting flesh and wounds all over her body, yet her clothes were beautiful, like an expensive designer gown, and she carried a designer bag. Her arm bore a smartwatch, and a gold necklace circled her neck. "Thump!" NS hit Dean's lower back with his cane, pushing Dean forward.

Dean immediately turned to look at NS, confused, but NS raised his cane as if telling Dean to touch the shoulder of the zombie woman walking in front of him. Dean stretched out his hand and touched the zombie woman's shoulder, and a red hologram screen appeared before Dean, displaying "the life of a woman named Helen." It turned out Helen had just given birth and "sold" her baby to a wealthy couple because she didn't want the baby, and immediately went shopping with the money given by the rich couple.

Dean raised his hand and the screen disappeared. Then he turned to look at NS, who was smiling behind him, twirling his cane.

"That woman is still alive in the world?" Dean asked.

"Of course. As I said, the reason her form is ugly here is because in the real world, she does bad things, even if it's not visible from the outside in the real world. Understand?" NS asked.

"So... so what you just did to Alex?" Dean asked.

"I approached Alex in this world and immediately destroyed him here once I saw his life's broadcast, just like you saw, and made him feel what his victims felt. Then I went to the real world and entered his body through his ear to create that murder drama scene, understood?" NS replied.

Dean nodded, indicating he understood and realized that this man named NS in front of him was truly terrifying.

"Then you said if I become a collection, I'll live in this world, right? Where?" Dean asked.

"Snap!" NS snapped his fingers. Everything suddenly went dark. Then "Blaze!" everything became bright again, but they had moved. They were now in an office with many employees working non-stop in front of their laptops, computers, and desks. All their faces looked incredibly tired, their bodies thin like mummies and half skeleton so their clothes looked too big. All have large round eyes but with dark circles underneath, as if they hadn't slept for days. They all wore tight black necklaces with NS's wide-smiling face emblem around their necks.

"They are all my collection, working for me to manage this world, hohoho," NS said, spreading his arms and proudly raising his cane.

"Huh... they're... like office workers who work over 100 hours a week," Dean said.

"Exactly. They won't stop working and will continue to serve this world. So, which do you want? To die? To be a collection and work here forever? Or to work for me as my agent and pay off your debt?" NS asked, glancing at Dean with a terrifying look and a cynical smile.

Dean turned to look at NS, his face full of hesitation. Then he looked at the office workers in front of him and immediately decided he didn't want to be like them. He seemed to be thinking hard to make his decision.

"Come on, decide quickly. I don't have much free time," NS admonished cynically.

"But... why me? Why do they work like that, and you're giving me an offer?" Dean asked.

NS sighed, then he looked at Dean again. "Thump!" He tapped his cane on the floor, and they immediately returned to the cell, startling Dean half to death.

"The reason I'm offering you the job is because you're special. You're a very rare soul," NS said.

"Me... special?" Dean asked, surprised.