The conference room of the Nightmare Investigation Bureau was dim and cavernous. A faint scent of dust and aged wax lingered in the air, as if time itself had paused. Massive black drapes hung on the walls, swaying slightly. At the center of each drape, the emblem twisted as if alive, seemingly staring at every person present. Ethan instinctively stepped back, half-expecting it to leap from the wall and bite him.
A heavy file thudded onto the long table, sending a small cloud of dust into the air, like fragments of bone thrown up from the depths of hell.
Silas reached for the folder, flipping it open casually, yet his eyes lingered on the cover for a moment, brows furrowed.
"A rookie assessment mission," he said in his low, sardonic voice. "Lucky you. Your first task is delivered straight to this cursed place."
Ethan leaned closer, staring at the bold black letters on the folder cover:
Phantom Dream Town
The name sent a chill down his spine, as if whispers and distant cries were carried on the wind. A strange unease stirred within him, like invisible fingers lightly prodding his nerves.
"Phantom Dream Town?" he frowned. "Sounds like a tourist spot. Does it come with pillows and a lullaby too?"
Silas snapped the folder shut, cold as ever. "If you like sharing a bed with the dead, then yes, it's a tourist destination."
Ethan opened his mouth, speechless for a moment.
At the other end of the table, a composed female officer spoke, her voice cold as steel: "The mission objective is clear. Residents of Phantom Dream Town have been disappearing consecutively. Everything seems normal during the day, yet people vanish at night. The remnants of their souls indicate the presence of high-level nightmare entities."
"Entities?" Ethan asked instinctively. "Not ghosts?"
"Nightmares have no fixed form," the officer said, glancing at him coldly, as if appraising a useless pawn. "They can become whatever you fear most, whatever you refuse to face."
The air froze suddenly, as if every heart in the room were being gripped by icy hands. Ethan swallowed hard, trying to force a gulp down. "That's… creatively terrifying."
Silas impatiently snapped the folder shut. "When do we leave?"
"Now."
The female officer replied, placing a black medallion on the table with a sharp click. Intricate runes were carved into its surface, and at its center was an open eye, icy and piercing, as if it could see straight through one's soul.
"Wear this, and only then can you cross the boundary into Phantom Dream Town."
Ethan recoiled slightly, eyeing the medallion. "This won't have any side effects, right? Like turning my hair green or making me blurt secrets in my sleep?"
Silas let out a faint, cold laugh. "You have no secrets—only foolish words."
Ethan sighed and picked up the medallion. The cold metal bit into his palm instantly, like clutching a piece of dead iron. A faint sting spread from his hand to his heart, as if the medallion were reminding him—here, there is no turning back.
The female officer stood, her voice cutting like ice through the night: "This is your assessment. Fail, and both of your names will be erased from the files."
Ethan froze, glancing at Silas. "Erased… does she mean fired, or… completely gone?"
Silas pushed up his glasses, lips curling slightly. "You'll know the answer once you reach Phantom Dream Town."
Silence fell over the hall, broken only by the echo of footsteps, a low drumbeat pounding against Ethan's chest.
He muttered under his breath: "Rookie assessment… this isn't an entry-level task. It's more like a grave prepared for new soldiers."
A moment later, he looked up at Silas. The young man toyed with his black pen at the edge of the table, eyes coldly watching the medallion as if weighing the danger it contained.
Ethan thought to himself: "Either I die in that town, or I finally understand… the 'rookie perks' of the Nightmare Bureau probably just mean being thrown straight into a nightmare."
He clenched his fist, feeling the seal on his chest pulse faintly, as if reminding him: Phantom Dream Town is not just a mission—it is a trial of the soul.