Josh could feel the body heat of the mountain of a man that was carrying him close to his chest.

He felt like kicking him in the nuts, but it would be counterproductive. He knew that he couldn't escape, not now.

He finally had the time to observe the slime guy. He didn't look anything special except for one tiny detail: his skin sometimes seemed to become partially liquid. Josh decided to have some fun with them since he was bored.

"I was thinking. Can't you use that regenerative ability to sell organs or semen? Why are you even bothering joining the battlefield if you can easily earn your keep that way?" Then again, they probably had mastered cloning organs by now.

"If you're part slime, does that mean that you are flexible enough to suck your own dick?" The slime guy shot him a disgusted glare.

"You guys ever thought about joining a circus? You know, one with a freak exhibition." All he got as an answer was grunting.

"What about this: between the two of you, who's top and who's bottom?" He chuckled.

"Shut up already, or I'll kill you!" Shouted the ugly guy.

"That would seriously be dumb considering all the enemies you've already made by capturing me." Josh shrugged.

"HAHA. Enemies, he says. Gene Corp doesn't fear anyone at all. It's us versus the world and —"

"Now, THAT is seriously dumb! The world is plenty vast. I've heard that outside of the Metropolises Alliance, there are other nations. You guys are going to fight them all by yourselves?" He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"If that's what it takes! Now, let's shut you up." His captor couldn't take it anymore. He brought some tape out and had fun sealing his mouth. Then, he locked him in shiny blue handcuffs. Josh could only be puzzled. What was that supposed to do?

"Hehe. The naive thing doesn't even realize how deep in trouble he is. You should be despairing right now. This little toy right here is a product of Metropolis-S, you see. It pretty much blocks all Climber-related abilities, neat, right?" He gloated.

Josh tried to summon his equipment, but it failed lamentably. Well, that explained how people dealt with prisoners in this world.

"It works even for Ranker-level skills. Are you despairing yet?" He showed such a smug face too. Oh no! What was Josh supposed to do without his skills?! Anyway…

Before long, they had entered a small flying ship. Were they just extracting without their army? Apparently yes. Not taking any chance, they blindfolded him too. Then they departed with a ZOOM sound. It was probably the same source of energy as the cannons.

During the travel, he could hear them remark many times that they couldn't wait to finish this job to celebrate. Was he nothing more than a human-size delivery package?

It took them about a day to reach what he assumed to be Metropolis-H. Visiting the place would have to wait a bit for now. He once again was grabbed violently under the man's arm as they went on a journey.

Josh could hear the sound of tons of footsteps, the ambient chattering mixed with mostly informal speech with some formal from time to time. Where were they? It reminded him of a school.

What kind of evil resided in a school?! Somehow, he could picture Gene Corp being headed by a group of youngsters part of the student council. How crazy would that be?

A bit later, all sounds suddenly stopped. It was as if they had stepped into another world. He realized the complete absence of wind or any smell. This was a controlled environment, a secret laboratory perhaps?

Then he felt his limbs being forcefully tied to a chair as they gave him back his sight and the ability to speak. He was in a room that was way too big for the single piece of furniture in it: the black chair he was on. The two kidnappers seemed to be waiting for something.

That's when a smiling man appeared in his field of vision. He emanated a gentle, scholarly vibe. He was so damn calm too! But he seemed to be a bad guy seeing the expression of reverence of the other 2.

"Here you are, good! You see, I've meant to meet you for a while. Did you perhaps think that staying with the Black Legion would be safe? Did you not know about being targeted?" That's when he snapped his fingers.

From a side door, two tied-up individuals were thrown in. One of them he recognized instantly. It was Jack, the small fry (healer) from Draconic. The other was a dumbass he had had an altercation with before.

"Jack?!" That is when the mask of calmness of Josh Malum went down. He seemed extraordinarily shocked and confused.

"It seems someone really doesn't like you back in Metropolis-C. They used this idiot to sell you to me, you see. How does it feel? Do you feel betrayed, angry, or perhaps even sad?"

"S-sell?! Who would do such a thing?!" Josh cried out.

"Yes, yes. No need to worry too much about it. I just need your help with something." He gently removed the handcuffs. "Show it to me." He commanded.

"I-I really don't swing that way!" Josh uttered, quickly panicking and flushed.

"Tch— stop playing the fool. Hurry up and summon your pet. I've heard about your godly rat." Josh hesitated a few seconds before complying.

The furry creature was as lifeless as usual. Yet, that was enough to make the man laugh in happiness. "Finally. Do you know the value of such a specimen? The godly part alone makes it worth testing on."

He then put the handcuffs back. Somehow the rat was still there with no way to recall it.

"Now, do you know what will happen to you? At first, the plan was to give you a nice cell and call it a day. But, from the report I've gotten, you seem like the feisty kid. Don't worry. I'll just put you in a small timeout. I'll get you back once you are thoroughly broken, maybe."

"What are you talking about?!"

"I have this nice ability. It's called a nightmare. Now kid, are you ready to face your worst nightmare?" He was grinning from ear to ear.

Josh showed fright. Only now had he seemingly realized the situation he was in. But it was already too late. "I'll have you sleep for a while. All until we are done with our research. Just know that your contribution will be gladly appreciated. Probably postmortem, however Hehe. "

"Alright, time to sleep."

That's when his hand magnified in Josh's face, looking gigantic.

****

All around, there was blood. The road, the skyscrapers, and even Heaven itself were bloodied.

He knew this place, but it wasn't any good memory. He was about to choke. The air was leaving his lungs. He knew that none of this was real. But, he felt it all nonetheless. In the air, there was an iron smell that permeated the entire city.

He walked forward unsteadily as he knew exactly where to go. He kept going until he found her as lifeless as that time. The blood pool on the pavement seemed bigger than her slender body. Her corpse still showed the abuse with her bones crushed, her skin lacerated and turning purple from the poison.

He knew that up there, there was a trashed room missing a window. Given the alternatives, she had run to it gleefully. God only knows how wronged she had been. How much was caused by the fall, and how much had been done prior?

He had no clue. A few dozen meters away, there was another broken corpse. No, this one was closer to mush. He had been one of the culprits, the only one he hadn't personally killed. At that moment, he couldn't resist chuckling. He could picture her going: "Hmmph, you should have seen the other guy!"

"I'll keep you company for a while," He murmured while kneeling next to her. The smell of putrefaction entered his nostrils, but he didn't care. That's when it happened.

It started with a small twitch of the fingers before turning into a slight movement of an arm. Then, the hands made claw motions as they clutched the hem of his clothes. It was an iron and deathly cold grip. Yet, he remained unmoving.

The legs began twisting, and the corpse's back slowly rose. Even then, he didn't move. Bloodthirsty demonic eyes turned toward him as a gaping maw opened full of rotten teeth, and her black tongue could be seen wriggling inside.

At that moment, he understood why the Nightmare was so feared. Even when knowing that it was fake, it all felt real. Way too real! This dream, he had seen it many times before. Every fucking night the days following the tragedy.

Funny how, after a while, he had found a semblance of inner peace, and he hadn't seen it anymore. Yet, he had missed it. He had missed her, no matter the state she was in. He missed her so much! It was as if a piece of his heart was missing. Life had been dull ever since.

That is when her ravenous corpse went toward him, trying to devour him. Anyone else would have freaked out. He remained still, not escaping in the least. He extended his arms and brought her into his embrace.

Then, he went for a kiss. Anyone watching this scene would have long been vomiting. He didn't care. He slowly caressed her cheek lovingly without caring about her current appearance. He then murmured longingly:

"Don't worry. I'll get you back. I'll get both of you back. That I promise."

The nightmare was nothing more than a nightmare. A spell that was feared across the land proved completely ineffective against him. This one was using his own mana to sustain it. There were very few skills able to do such a thing.

He sat in his rotting lover's embrace as he focused on feeling his own mana circulating. He'd stay here as long as necessary. Well, Lifespan: 30 Days...