Chapter 19: Breaking the Chains of Regret

Bernell, just awakened, quickly scanned the chaos—shattered mansion, my injuries, and the fiend wearing his mother’s form.
Though late to the fight, his reaction was swift.
A long sword appeared in his right hand, and he charged at the nightmare without hesitation.

‘He doesn’t even flinch.’
His movements showed he’d already grasped the situation.

The nightmare, groggy from the latte art’s effect, reacted slowly, raising an arm to block.
Boom!
A dull explosion rang out as it parried the blade with its bare arm.

“Who are you? How dare you wear my mother’s skin and commit such horrors!”

“Grrk…”
The nightmare’s state was visibly off. Unlike its ruthless attacks on me and the Nekomata, it hesitated against Bernell, limbs creaking as if malfunctioning.
Perhaps the inverted good/evil alignment made it reluctant to strike.

“Gurgle…”
With Bernell drawing its attention, the Nekomata limped toward me, barely conscious.

“Are you okay? Your injuries are bad.”
I scooped up the wounded cat, wrapping it in a torn purple curtain, now soaked darker with blood.
Guilt stung—its injuries were from protecting me.

“No idea what miracle happened… but he won’t last long. Only dream cats can beat a nightmare. Escape now.”
The Nekomata, eyes half-closed, watched the battle, purring weakly.

Yet, contrary to its words, Bernell wasn’t faltering—he was overpowering the nightmare, pinning it with relentless strikes. At this rate, he might win.
But if this was due to the latte art’s effect, the tide could turn once the 10-minute duration ended.

“Where’s Catsy?”

“…”
The Nekomata was silent, either from despair at Catsy’s delay or exhaustion.

“Aileen! Run!”
Bernell, having driven the nightmare to the wall and cleared a path to the door, shouted at me. Reflexively, I clutched the Nekomata and sprinted.

“Where!”
The nightmare lunged for me, but Bernell’s sword pushed it back.

I fled through the ravaged mansion, corridors littered with blood and bodies. Recognizing faces I’d grown familiar with made my stomach churn, but I suppressed it.
‘This is just Bernell’s dream. They’re not real.’
The Nekomata’s faint purring steadied my racing heart.

‘Where do I escape to? The dream’s edge?’
I wasn’t too worried about Bernell. I couldn’t help him, and after nearly dying facing the nightmare, worrying seemed pointless.
With his skill, he could escape if needed. Me leaving early would help.
I wished the latte art’s 10 minutes would stretch slowly.

Reaching the first floor, the silver butterfly, unnoticed until now, darted past me toward the main entrance.

“You’re tougher than I thought, huh?”
Catsy appeared at the entrance, strolling as if on a leisurely walk, her dress trailing.
Relief mixed with irritation at her casual demeanor. She’d said she was delayed fighting an evil god, yet looked unscathed.
I wanted to yell at her to hurry but restrained myself and ran to her.

“Couldn’t hold out, huh?”
Catsy extended her hands for the Nekomata. I carefully handed over the injured cat.

“Did well, didn’t you?”
Cradling it, she stroked its wounded back with her other hand. White light from her fingers seeped into the Nekomata, calming its pained purring.

“You’re late. The nightmare’s up there.”
I swallowed my resentment, choosing my words carefully.

“You’re safe, so it’s fine, right?” Catsy replied, unfazed.

“Aren’t you dealing with the nightmare?”
She gazed at the third floor, where battle sounds still echoed.

“Thinking of collapsing this place with the nightmare inside, maybe?”
Bury it by destroying the dimension?

“But there’s still someone…”
I thought of Bernell fighting. If it collapsed, he’d be buried too.

Catsy’s gaze shifted to me, her expression questioning my concern.
“Not like you, is he?”

“I know he’s not like me. I saw his dream. But it’s not easy.”
My heart was conflicted.
Logically, I knew they were dream figures, but their vividness made detachment hard. The sight of the mansion’s people, once kind to me, now lifeless, haunted me, like losing close friends.

I’d felt trapped here, but…
‘Maybe I enjoyed it… a little.’
The human warmth, absent so long, had brought unexpected comfort. Maybe that’s why I hadn’t focused on finding ingredients.
Lingering, delaying—one more day, I’d thought.
Now, only the pig-bird awaited at the café. Before the thunderbird, I’d endured crushing loneliness.

“Sigh… Fine.”
If this place collapsed, Bernell and my ingredients would be lost, but it wasn’t my call anymore.

“Rare to craft such a solid dimension. A dream steeped in strong longing is too good to waste, no?”

“Then just catch the nightmare?”

“Too messed up to salvage, maybe?”
Catsy’s tone held no regret. She flicked her finger, clawing the air.

Rip.
A sound like tearing wool burst from her fingertip.

“Too sturdy, huh? The longing’s too strong, maybe?”
Her expression soured, staring at her fingertip, then at me, as if expecting something.

“The dreamer’s intense longing made this dream too vivid for Catsy to collapse easily,” the Nekomata said, voice back to its haughty tone, signaling recovery.
“Need to ease the dreamer’s longing first.”

“Can’t we just catch the nightmare?”
Why destroy the dimension when capturing the nightmare could solve everything?

The Nekomata’s eyes narrowed, glancing at Catsy.
“She’s hurt.”

“Daring to judge me, huh?” Catsy pinched its cheek hard.

“She’s badly injured from the evil god.”
Despite appearances, Catsy was too wounded to face the nightmare, hence her plan to collapse the dimension.

“So, we need to ease Bernell’s longing to collapse it?”
By now, the latte art’s 10 minutes had likely passed. Battle sounds persisted, suggesting Bernell was holding out, but his defeat would complicate things, especially with Catsy weakened.

‘How do we ease his longing? Returning from war and living in the mansion didn’t do it?’
Anxiety gripped me, feeling the nightmare closing in as I racked my brain, revisiting Bernell’s past.
‘His regret centers on Aileen.’
The key might be Aileen.

‘If I’d watched Aileen better… she wouldn’t have fallen into the lake.’
His guilt-ridden voice echoed.

“The lake!”
His regret stemmed from Aileen’s accident at seven, falling into the lake.
A strong hunch urged me toward the lake behind the mansion. It was a long run, given the estate’s size.

“Damn, why’s it so huge!”
I’d never visited the lake—Bernell and the others forbade it, understandably, given Aileen’s 15-year coma. I hadn’t tried to go either.
From Bernell’s room, the lake’s vastness was visible, a glassy surface with a small rocky island, filled with clear water.

“Wow…”
In person, it was even more imposing. A seven-year-old surviving was a miracle.

“Now what…”
If my hunch was wrong, I’d wasted time.

Scanning the calm water, a glint of red caught my eye on the island—a jewel-like cluster. A foggy memory surfaced, asserting itself.

“Aileen!”
A frantic shout.
Bernell, near death, stared at me by the lake, more worried about me than himself.
Not my imagination, surely?

“There you are!”
The nightmare, tongue flicking, glared at me over Bernell’s shoulder.

“Damn…”
Bernell raised his sword, but his distracted glances at me weakened his focus—a bad move against the nightmare.

Crunch.
A bone-breaking sound rang out. I focused on the red cluster—a bush laden with ruby-like berries.

“Mother loved those berries.”
Aileen’s memory clarified.
At seven, fearless and adventurous, Aileen had ventured to the lake to pick those berries for Bernell’s birthday, to honor their mother. That led to her accident.
Remarkable sibling bond.

No choice—I stretched and ran toward the lake.
I was a strong swimmer, thanks to water park jobs.

Splash.
Diving in, cold water engulfed me, the lake’s scent piercing my held breath.

“Aileen!”
To sever Bernell’s regret, I had to show Aileen could cross the lake unharmed, proving she no longer needed his protection.

“Phew!”
Reaching the island, I grabbed the red berries.

Rip.
I felt the shackles of Aileen’s accident lift from Bernell.
Looking up, the sky tore strangely—Catsy was collapsing the dimension.