Chapter 398

"Hm?"

As if vaguely sensing something, the gray fog giant, soaked entirely in the River of Nightmares and slowly squeezing into reality, slowly opened its eyes.

After rising from the pitch-black river reflecting countless nightmares, the King of Nightmares' withered hand slowly opened, extending sharp, hooked, twisted fingertips to slit open the gray fog over its chest and abdomen, slicing off a pale nightmare as if cutting away flesh, then clutching it tightly in its palm.

Was it the Snow Woman? Has she already been dealt with so quickly?

The vertical slit in its palm split open, revealing a hollow gray eye that pressed tightly against the pale nightmare; after observing its contents, the King of Nightmares' withered face twitched slightly in frown.

Within the pale nightmare, the furious snowstorm raged as it always had, but the slender woman in thin robes, like a spirit of winter, no longer drifted gracefully through the blizzard as before.

This once-feared snowstorm spirit, which had haunted countless human dreams in the Northern Reaches and devoured innumerable lost souls, was now bound tightly to a tangle of tree branches by a strange demon with ram's horns, dragged downhill against its will.

And from the ram-horned demon's mouth came a strangely cheerful tune, utterly shattering the cold, solemn atmosphere of the pale nightmare; the catchy, odd rhythm was inexplicably earworm-like and unforgettable.

Even the thorn-crowned hound beside the demon, stitched together from countless torn flesh fragments, had learned the tune after a few listens—its barks now faintly synced to the beat.

After hearing the demon and the hound sing it two or three times, the cheerful little tune had strangely burrowed into the King of Nightmares' memory, and began spreading uncontrollably into other nightmares vaguely connected to it.

"Woof woof woof~ I love you~ Woof woof woof woof sweet sweet~"

Whether it was the mountain village buried by an avalanche, the traveler frozen to death in the blizzard, the tragedy of losing a loved one in the snow, or the family destroyed in a snowy night…

Using the King of Nightmares' memory as a link, dozens of nightmares tied to snow—no matter their specific details—all now echoed that cheerful, bizarre little tune, some even showing faint, blurry silhouettes of the ram-headed demon humming happily.

What the hell is this thing?

Watching the patch of its nightmares suddenly polluted, now unnaturally cheerful, the King of Nightmares' withered cheeks twitched twice, then hastily sank back into the River of Nightmares.

Under the repeated washing of the pitch-black waters and countless nightmares, the strange tune finally quieted slightly, no longer spreading wildly through the King of Nightmares' entire nightmare network.

But what made the King of Nightmares deeply uneasy was that the half-human, half-dog strange tune seemed deeply carved into its memory—no matter how much it washed, it could not be fully erased, still lurking in its depths, ready to hum a few notes at any moment.

I think I finally understand what that damn Water Bearer Director meant…

Watching the Snow Woman in the pale nightmare, screaming and struggling but still being forcibly dragged down the mountain, the King of Nightmares' vertical eye narrowed slightly as it recalled the Water Bearer Director's earlier instructions.

'Strike at your fastest speed, pour your purest power directly into him, and absolutely do not give him a chance to speak or scheme!'

Indeed… this is exactly what must be done!

Recalling the haunting, demonic melody, a sharp glint flashed in the King of Nightmares' eyes.

This cleaner's mind holds too many strange things, many of which are outright meaningless garbage—but somehow, they stick in your head.

Like that strange little tune just now: heard only twice, it burrowed into my memory without permission, impossible to wash clean.

Memory is the foundation and flesh of dreams; for me, a dream-world entity, a mind filled with such strange memories is pure contamination—a poison too terrible to behold.

For dream-world entities, memory is as vital as the soul is to humans—an irreplaceable core. This level of contamination is extremely dangerous, and equally lethal.

I, made of nightmares, cannot be killed; even if the Cleaners destroy me now and erase my existence entirely, as long as the Abyss of Fallen Souls continues spewing nightmares, I will inevitably awaken again.

But if I interact too much with this strange cleaner and my nightmares become heavily contaminated, not only will my power decline due to massive nightmare loss, but I may even collapse entirely.

I must kill him.

After deeply recognizing Li Ang's "danger," the King of Nightmares clenched its hooked claws, crushing the Snow Woman's nightmare outright, then closed every eye on its body, sinking deeper and deeper into the pitch-black River of Nightmares.

No matter the cost—even if I am killed outright by the Cleaners—I must make sure he dies!

…

"Ugh…"

Unaware that he had already been targeted by the enemy boss's hatred, with a kill priority even higher than 【Dream-Eating Armor】, Li Ang, still dazed from sleep, slowly clawed his way to his feet, clutching his head as fragments of his buried memories returned.

The howling blizzard mountain, the idiot mountain climber who didn't wear cold-weather gear, the Scorpion Director dragging a sled… damn near killed me!

Recalling what he had endured in the nightmare, Li Ang let out a shaky hiss.

Though the Snow Woman had no other offensive abilities beyond summoning snowstorms, she possessed the power to erase memories; I merely glanced away for a second while watching the Scorpion Director lift his leg to urinate, and forgot who I was—utterly indefensible.

According to the Scorpion Director, she possessed power comparable to a Level One Cleaner; meaning anyone with contamination below thirty, once dragged into her nightmare, would likely lose their memory silently, just as I did.

At that point, the victim wouldn't just lose all means of resistance—they'd have their perception twisted, too. I saw a woman in a dress walking through the snow, and didn't find it strange at all; instead, I mentally fabricated a dozen plausible scenarios and even thought about helping her find a mountain guide.

If not for my unique memory—containing not only Li Ang Lyne's memories but also those from my past life—where losing one set still left another—I might have been fooled by her kindness, lured deep into the snow mountain, and frozen to death in the blizzard.

Hmm… right, and that dog!

Recalling the dream scene from a "third-person perspective," a flash of realization lit up Li Ang's eyes.

I didn't notice it in the dream, but now I realize—it was definitely not something ordinary.

Even while fighting in the Snow Woman's nightmare, it could howl and scatter the entire blizzard, pinning her in place—it must be an anomaly at Level One Cleaner strength. Without it, I might never have dragged the Snow Woman down the mountain and escaped the nightmare… wait—

Looking down at his cold-weather gear, still half-dazed, Li Ang shuddered violently, snapping fully awake, then whirled around.

"Holy shit! It actually got pulled out!"