Chapter 15 – Jumping In

Nick and Wyntor stood in front of a destroyed street.

The Inspector had told Nick everything he knew about the Dreamer already, and Nick had also informed Wyntor.

As always, the sun was in the middle of the sky, and yet, the sea of toxic waste still seemed dark.

This part of the Dregs was abandoned, and the road had broken into many pieces, creating a sort of ramp towards the sewers.

Nick chose this spot since he also needed a place from where he could return.

At this moment, Wyntor was holding his nose with a white handkerchief, and he looked with disgust and concern at the dirty and grimy water.

The two of them looked at the disgusting water washing across the broken and lowered metal plates and grates for several seconds.

"And you're sure you want to accompany me?" Nick asked as he looked at Wyntor.

Wyntor didn't immediately answer.

"You really don't have to," Nick added. "As the Chief Zephyx Extractor, this is my job, not yours."

Wyntor just kept looking at the disgusting water.

He took several deep breaths.

Then, he started to retch and cough.

Yet, Wyntor kept looking at the dirty water.

A moment later, his legs shook a bit.

And finally, he sighed.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It's fine," Nick said with a nod. "It's not your job."

"Nick, I'm really genuinely sorry," Wyntor added. "I honestly want to go with you, but I just can't."

"I don't have the courage."

"Sorry."

"It's fine, dude," Nick said with a bit of annoyance. "You can just stay here until I return. If I am accompanied by something that's attacking me, you can help me with that."

"I will," Wyntor answered with a nod. 

After Nick had signed the NDA, Wyntor had also told Nick about his ability.

As one of the heirs to the Melfion family, Wyntor had received something to protect himself.

Wyntor's Zephyx Synchronizer was also already attuned to a Specter.

However, the ability the Specter gave people was not something that was very useful for a Zephyx Extractor.

It was basically only good for running away from someone.

Nevertheless, it was still very good at what it did.

While Wyntor couldn't capture any Specter on his own, he could still debilitate and weaken it.

Naturally, Wyntor had received that ability for two reasons.

First, his parents wanted Wyntor to have something that could protect him.

Second, they didn't want Wyntor to become a Zephyx Extractor, and the best way was for Wyntor's Synchronizer to already be occupied with a relatively useless ability for Extractors.

"If I see anything attacking you, I will immediately support you," Wyntor said with conviction.

Nick just nodded.

"Also, since I'm not accompanying you, I might as well give you these," Wyntor said as he took out three long tubes of glass.

Nick looked at them with furrowed brows. "What's that?"

"Arclight," Wyntor answered.

"And how will that help me?" Nick asked. "Everyone knows that artificial light sources don't help against the Nightmare."

"This is different," Wyntor said as he pointed at the three long tubes. "Each one is harvested from a level three Specter. They actually help against the Nightmare."

This surprised Nick quite a bit.

"Be careful with them," Wyntor added. "Each one costs around 10,000 credits, and they only work for a minute each."

"If you feel like you can't handle the Nightmare's influence anymore, just break one of them. An area of light will appear around you, but it will dissipate after around a minute."

"The Containment Unit and building already consumed most of my budget, and I can't afford more of these Arclights without jeopardizing our daily operations. Use them when necessary."

Nick looked at the three glass tubes with newfound appreciation and bound them to his thigh.

"Thanks," Nick said.

"Good," Wyntor said with a nod. "I hope everything turns out well for you."

"Thanks," Nick repeated.

Then, Nick took a deep breath.

At the same time, Wyntor turned around.

In order for Nick's powers to activate, Wyntor also wasn't allowed to see him.

For the next couple of seconds, Nick took several deep breaths.

Finally, Nick put on some diving goggles that Wyntor had bought him and jumped forward.

Nick could have just walked into the murky pool of water, but he feared that he would turn around if he came into contact with a bit of the liquid.

So, he decided to directly jump in.

SPLASH!

The splash was noticeably more lethargic and subdued compared to the typical splash of water.

It was just too viscous.

Thanks to his ability, Nick easily jumped forward for over five meters without needing a running start.

As soon as Nick touched the murky liquid, all his senses fired at the same time.

Nick felt several small pieces of cloth touch his skin.

He had also hit two small but solid objects, which were quickly pushed away by his body.

The next moment, Nick felt how incredibly sticky the liquid was. 

In a way, it felt like the liquid was trying to trap him in place.

Some of the liquid went into Nick's ears and nose, and he had to do his best to resist the urge to vomit.

Disgusting.

All of Nick's body shouted at him that this was disgusting.

It was so bad.

However, instead of immediately panicking, Nick remained motionless in the liquid first.

He knew that he had to get acclimated.

Nick had already pulled his knees to his chest to make the surface area of his body as small as possible, but his body was still violently shaking.

He wanted to throw up so badly.

He just wanted to push his head above the surface and scream.

Yet, Nick just remained stationary.

For several seconds, Nick didn't move.

During these seconds, he felt several small pieces of cloth get caught by his body.

Finally, Nick slowly extended his body.

As he felt his chest and thighs come into contact with the liquid, his body shuddered again.

And then, Nick slowly swam upwards.

Splash!

Nick's head broke the surface, but he didn't immediately open his eyes. He knew that he was wearing diving goggles, but he had still closed his eyes.

Over the next seconds, Nick slowly opened his eyes as he looked upward.

Brown and green liquid was sparkling as the light of the sun shone through them.

Nick saw small pieces of bandages, and he even saw a couple of small pieces of bone on his diving goggles.

Piss, shit, bandages, bones, teeth, blood, rotten meat, insects, poisons, splinters, rusty metal, puke.

Together with water, all of that was creating the pool of liquid Nick was currently in.

A moment later, Nick slowly wiped his goggles, mouth, and nose clean.

Or, at least, as clean as he could.

Finally, Nick took a deep breath.

Surprisingly, the smell didn't feel as bad as before.

But that was the only positive thing.

"Nick, is everything alright?" Wyntor shouted, still turned away from Nick.

Nick took another deep breath.

"I'm fine," he answered.

"Good," Wyntor shouted back.

"I'm going to search now," Nick shouted.

"Good luck!" Wyntor shouted back.

The next moment, Nick took another deep breath.

And then, he swam forward, towards the endless depths of the sewers.