Chapter 3: The Threat of Death

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

The sound of applause echoed through the blood-soaked camp, signaling the end of the horrific nightmare.

The stench of blood began to disperse as the sea breeze swept through the camp, and rain began to fall at just the right moment. It pelted the trembling faces of the children, drenched the lifeless bodies lying in pools of blood, and washed away the crimson stains.

The camp quickly turned muddy, with rain and blood mixing together...

The cruel Fang Wolves were recalled by their Soul Pet Masters. After the slaughter, exactly fifty children remained. The others, in their final moments, had likely had their souls devoured by the Nightmares within them. Their bodies would soon be dragged away, the sated Nightmares extracted, and then thrown into the vast ocean.

"Starting tomorrow, you will be free to roam the island. There are many suitable Soul Pets here. Choose one, form a contract, and train it on this island.

"In three months, you will face a duel. The top ten will be sent to another island for further Nightmare training. As for the rest... hmph, they'll be thrown into the sea as food for the sharks!" the middle-aged man barked at the surviving children.

With a cold smile, he added, "Of course, don't forget the devil inside you. If you don't quickly enhance your soul power, you'll become its pitiful meal..."

At the mention of the devil within, the children's faces turned pale, their expressions darkening with a sense of helplessness and despair, as if Death itself were chasing them.

"Go back to your hovels and be grateful you survived today... though, sadly, tomorrow will bring new challenges of death! One more piece of advice: stay out of the inner island. For you, it's a death zone!"

Without a shred of compassion, only mocking laughter, the thirteen overseers turned their backs and left, leaving behind fifty corpses in the blood-drenched camp...

The rain continued to wash away the blood of the small bodies. The surviving children had no choice but to step over the corpses as they made their way to the living quarters.

The living quarters consisted of twenty-five sturdy and well-built wooden cabins, neatly arranged near the seaside. The environment was relatively decent.

Of course, the decent conditions weren't out of any concern for the children's well-being. This island was a long-term Nightmare training camp. After this group of children died or left, another batch would be brought in to repeat their tragic story.

Kael's back was torn open, and he struggled to make it back to his cabin.

As soon as he opened the door, he felt someone splash water on his back, causing his wound to burn with pain.

Kael turned around furiously to see Ethan wearing a disgustingly smug grin.

"Lucky you, surviving like that!" Ethan sneered.

Kael smirked coldly, not bothering to engage in a verbal spat. In his eyes, Ethan was already a dead man—if the overseers' Soul Pets didn't kill him, Kael would do it himself.

"Actually, I was helping you back in the camp. Maybe when the Nightmare devours your soul, you'll regret not just dying under the Fang Wolf's claws, sparing yourself the agony of having your soul consumed! Hahaha!" Ethan laughed heartily before strutting away.

Kael watched the burly figure leave, his expression still cold and calculating—an unusual level of composure for someone his age.

This composure came from his family's teachings and the harsh realities of this hellish life. Every child sent here had a heart shrouded in darkness and cruelty.

Kael stepped into the cabin.

Originally, three others had shared the cabin with him, but it was clear they wouldn't be returning. They had been too weak.

Kael hadn't interacted much with them, though he remembered one was a girl. Girls were naturally weaker than boys, and the chances of surviving the Fang Wolves' claws were slim. So, it seemed this cabin was now Kael's alone.

Kael's back was still bleeding. He changed out of his wet clothes, rinsed off the filth, and cleaned his wounds. Then, he retrieved the wound medicine left by the overseers from a drawer.

Applying the medicine to his back on his own was difficult. Kael lay on the bed, struggling and sweating, accidentally aggravating his wound several times without successfully applying the medicine.

"Let me help you..."

"Ah~"

Both voices startled Kael. The first was soft, but he hadn't expected anyone else in the room, so he jumped up in alarm. The scream that followed was due to the sudden movement tearing his wound open again.

"It's you... You're alive..." Kael said with a bitter smile, seeing the drenched girl.

"Barely... Let me help you apply the medicine," the girl said.

Her name was Lina, and she had also lived in this cabin. Kael had assumed she was dead, but apart from some minor scratches, she seemed unharmed—a testament to her cleverness.

Kael nodded and lay back down, letting Lina apply the medicine.

As she worked, Kael remained wary. After all, only ten children would survive in three months. If this seemingly delicate girl was ruthless, she might take this opportunity to eliminate competition by killing him.

Lina applied the medicine carefully, making no suspicious moves, and gradually, Kael felt the pain subside.

"I helped you today. If I'm ever in trouble, you'll help me too, right?" Lina asked after bandaging his wound.

Her words were practical but also indicated she harbored no hostility toward Kael—she simply wanted to form an alliance.

Kael nodded and said calmly, "I'll do my best..."

"My Green Nightmare is growing quickly. In ten days, it might reach the third stage. I'm afraid my soul power won't be enough to sustain it, and it'll devour my soul," Lina said, hugging her knees and shivering.

"Just do your best. If you don't want to die..." Kael offered a simple consolation.

All Soul Pets went through stages of growth, and the evil Nightmares were no exception.

Like the Fang Wolves Kael had faced, Nightmares began their growth from infancy to adolescence, progressing through stages starting from the first...

The overseers' Fang Wolves had reached the fifth stage, making them extremely aggressive and impossible for the defenseless children to defeat.

The Nightmares within Kael and the other children were also growing stage by stage, currently at the second stage for most.

With each stage, a Nightmare's appetite increased. In the past, at least two or three hundred children had their souls devoured when their Nightmares reached the second stage because they couldn't provide enough soul power.

"You don't seem worried at all. Are you confident in yourself?" Lina asked.

Kael shook his head bitterly but didn't respond.

In truth, Kael was the least confident of all the children about surviving the Nightmare's shadow.

While all the children had contracted Green Nightmares, Kael's body housed a far more terrifying White Nightmare.

Even at the second stage, a White Nightmare's appetite was much larger than a Green Nightmare's, and its hunger only grew exponentially with each stage. It was more than a young boy could sustain, which was why the overseers had already written Kael off as dead.

Those who survived the curse of a White Nightmare were exceedingly rare. In fact, the White Nightmare was a killer by nature, and Kael's fate had been sealed the moment he contracted it.

This constant threat of death forced Kael to push himself to his absolute limits to grow stronger.