Nightmare Mythos

Chapter 127: Cemetery Of The Deceased

'Higher Nightmare Creature!'

If that was already enough to understand how the situation unfolded, Cesar realized right away that their decline was related to the Nightmare. For it to remain alive until now, means it is a Higher Nightmare Creature that is widely known to all.

Cesar hadn't even met such a creature of that caliber yet but he came to know one of them. It was the creature under the table that became Dwellers of the Dark, the very same Nightmare that corrupted Erin.

He remembered it was Cedeit who informed him of the creature hiding under the table, and that Cesar was lucky to not be able to meet it or he would've suffered the same outcome as Erin.

'Sir Erin…'

Now that he was thinking about the soldier who sacrificed himself for others at the table, Cesar wanted to see the burial they did for him and the others whose lives vanished the moment they started exploring the Mansion.

It was just a basic courtesy to do, and rightfully so.

"Hey, do you want to hear more about this Nightmare?"

Suddenly, Cesar grew tired of listening to more additional information Arnold can give to him relating to Atrocity.

Not like it would change the outcome that already transpired. And Cesar can fill the holes for himself and read articles relating to the Nightmare since it seems to be general knowledge that everyone is supposed to know.

Now, he wanted to rest his mind and eat his fill.

Cesar then shifted his gaze to Arnold, "What you told me is probably enough. I just wanted to enjoy my food and let these thoughts happen after I came back to the Academy. Unless you are really willing to share a very dark and deep secret with me, I would change my mind,"

Arnold smiled arrogantly before pointing the tip of his spook at Cesar and commented, "Cheeky brat,"

Right after, both of them just indulged themselves in the food that continued pouring at their table before eventually, they stopped picking at the dishes, satisfied and full. Arnold gave up first, with Cesar following a few minutes later, having managed to eat a bit more after Arnold had finished.

When they were done eating their food, Arnold paid for anything else as they slowly exited the restaurant while avoiding the people's gazes at them. Wearing a hat above him, Arnold continued making his way towards their car before he was stopped by Cesar.

"Sir, may I request something?"

Arnold glanced back.

"Anything at all,"

Cesar then answered after pondering carefully for a few seconds, "If it's available and can be done, I want to give my respects to the soldiers that died in the Mansion. I know their real ashes and bodies were forever gone in the Mansion but it shouldn't matter if the burial is real or fake, right? I just want to see it for myself."

Arnold heard his tone that sounded very determined to go while observing Cesar's actions. The moment he realized that he was serious and was not just doing this to do something crazy at the cemetery, he replied back.

"If that's what you wanted, then we're going to take a little bit of detour at the Langston Bridge to reach that place. This particular area is solely dedicated to the soldiers who died at their missions, you know. I think you already heard it,"

Cesar tried to ponder what he was talking about before opening his eyes slightly wide, "The Cemetery for the Deceased?"

Arnold was about to answer but he just couldn't help but let his intrusive thoughts win as he answered back, "Yes, that's it. And just so you know, you have your own burial there as well. I'm saying this so that you will not be surprised,"

Cesar blankly stared at Arnold but he just couldn't stop.

"Who knows if the real one is getting in there soon,"

…

Taking a little detour inside the Langston Bridge, Cesar and Arnold had to cross thousands of kilometers as they got escorted by the guards who were loyal to Nas. Crossing rough and mostly soft terrains, they eventually came to their destination.

Their car stopped at the very field that belonged to the Cemetery of the Deceased.

Wearing a hat atop his head, Cesar went down to his car before finally viewing the real thing in his line of sight. And he couldn't help but be flabbergasted due to how beautiful and flowery the field was.

Cemetery of the Deceased. It is the cemetery that exclusively belonged only to the people who died while serving in the Army. That already included both the Corps and the Army itself.

In this cemetery, Cesar felt slightly strange.

In this humungous expanse, countless tombstones were spread around as far as the eyes could see. The pasture was very green with a few different kinds of flowers blooming from here to there that danced along the wind.

"Let's go. The man you are looking for is probably there,"

With the grasslands giving a sense of melancholy and peace in the same space, Cesar treaded forward as he looked around the place while following Arnold on his back who went first to lead him. The guards remained positioned at their places.

As the two of them continued moving forward, Cesar was able to discern the tombstone had a name for the deceased but some of them didn't have any. Some even have epitaphs for them while candles and some food are placed at some places, probably have been visited by some people before them.

There are still some people here, however. Probably the only place in the world where a human will not disappear since many of the people who lost their loved ones mostly came from the Army to do their duty.

After walking for nearly an hour, Arnold finally halted at his place which made Cesar get closer to see if they were in the right location.

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They indeed are.

At the tombstone, Cesar saw the name of Erin in the tombstone.

[Erin Venzo]

"I remember this guy,"

Cesar couldn't help but give Arnold a slightly surprising look at his eyes the moment he mentioned it.

"Look around and see if the date of the other deceased beside him is the same,"

Cesar walks around and is able to realize that the people beside Erin didn't die on the same date as him. Instead, they already did a few years back.

"I remember that amongst the people that survived in their mission, only one person lived. They are retrieving a group of stranded people from a location and Erin's squad has been wiped out by a horde of Nightmares."

Arnold paused, "The only reason he survived this ordeal was because his squad willingly sacrificed themselves just to help Erin and the stranded people leave that unsafe area. His Facet is really interesting as it was able to conceal, not only himself but others as well. That was probably why no casualties appeared on the side of people. However, Erin still believed that his squad survived somehow,"

"…"

Arnold saw Cesar staying quiet before adding, "But when he came to help them, his delusions blinded him. The only thing he found was their mangled remains and blood scattering around the site where he went to see them. Hence, in order to bring those stranded people back safely, he had to leave his men behind."

Arnold took a halt, "It was a price he had to pay,"