"Smoke?"

I couldn't help but glance again at the deep sword marks on the wall that penetrated the light. Could those marks be left because the monster had no physical form and thus couldn't be hit?

I had never heard of such a monster before, not even in the Dark Continent. What the heck was that thing?

"A formless black smoke monster? Are you sure such a thing exists?"

Seeing that even Nicola acted like there was a monster about, plus the awful scene in front of her, Norma could only half believe it.

"Not necessarily. This was our first time encountering it too," I shook my head in reply.

"But we can't be for sure whether such a monster exists or not. Best we check with other angels."

"Then I...I will inform Lady Elara!"

Upon hearing me, Norma immediately left the room, running down the corridor.

"So you had nightmares too?"

With Norma gone, I saw Nicola plonk herself heavily onto the room's only intact chair. She didn't look too good.

"Yeah...just a slight headache..."

She held her head, seemingly very uncomfortable.

"You alright? It was just a dream, why do you have a headache?"

When I woke up, I felt perfectly fine. How come she reacted so badly?

"It's nothing much, I feel a lot better already..."

Perhaps afraid that I would worry, Nicola rubbed her temples while insisting she was fine.

"You know the feeling of 'ghost-pressed sleeping'? In the dream, I suddenly sensed something amiss. When I opened my eyes, I saw a ball of black smoke floating beside my bed. But my body was completely paralyzed. I could only force my limbs to move, which made my head hurt like crazy. Luckily, once I regained control I immediately fought back and chased away that black ball."

"Oh?"

I grew curious for a moment.

"What exactly were you dreaming about that made you so uneasy you woke yourself up and opened your eyes?"

"Nothing much. Just that you got married in my dream..."

She paused without elaborating. I thought I glimpsed anger on her face as if recalling something outrageous.

"Huh? You dreamed of me getting married too?"

I was greatly astonished. What were the odds? Something fishy must be going on.

"Don't tell me you dreamed of you getting married too?"

Nicola looked equally incredulous, eyeing me suspiciously.

"That's weird. Yesterday you said you dreamed of me becoming a tape recorder. Were you lying to me?"

"Uh, that was just the second half. I hadn't gotten to the first half yet..."

I glanced uneasily at her displeased face. She didn't believe my explanation.

"Come on, tell me honestly what you dreamed first."

Sensing she now had the upper hand, Nicola haughtily demanded the truth.

"Fine...I randomly dreamed of getting married out of the blue! And Cyra was my bridesmaid..."

Knowing I couldn't bluff my way out, I reluctantly confessed.

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"Who was the groom? Who'd you marry?"

She impatiently cut me off, eager to uncover the key details.

"The groom was...me, of course!" I had a sudden brainwave.

"I randomly turned back into a guy, so I must have been the groom. As for the bride—don't get mad, okay—it was you! Gotta say you looked quite pretty in a wedding dress..."

"Haha, weird right? Why would I dream of marrying you? That's why I was embarrassed to mention it earlier. I used to be a guy after all!"

I deliberately acted nonchalant, waving my hand and laughing it off. Worried she might overthink things, I specifically clarified:

"Don't worry, I definitely won't make a move on you!"

"Hehe...hehe..."

Nicola laughed drily with me a few times. She seemed very unhappy with my answer. Her reaction made my hair stand on end. Had she seen through my lies?

"What about you? You said you dreamed of my wedding too. So who was my wife?"

I quickly changed the topic, afraid she might read too much into things and catch me lying.

To be honest, I was also very curious about what Nicola's dream was like. Since I'd "come clean", shouldn't she share too?

"Hmph...who was your wife? In my dream, of course, I was the groom. And you were naturally my obedient little wife."

Seeing my move, Nicola instantly crossed her legs arrogantly and crooked her finger at me.

"Come, entertain your husband!"

"Piss off!"

I kicked her in annoyance.

As expected, something was fishy! Our dreams were oddly similar, save for minor details. It seemed my guess was right - that smoke monster was messing with us!

But why make Nicola and I dream of marrying each other? Strange...

"Was your wedding also in the Hall? With many people we knew attending too? Including Adrian and the rest?"

Unable to figure it out, I probed further to verify things.

"How'd you know Adrian was there too?"

Nicola's smile vanished abruptly, her expression souring. Seemed I shouldn't have mentioned that name.

"Isn't that normal? He is our friend after all..."

I suddenly recalled they didn't seem to get along anymore. Wonder what had soured their relationship for no reason.

"Speaking of which, did something unpleasant happen between you and Adrian? You look like you dislike him."

"No sh*t! Why would I like another guy?"

Nicola retorted unpleasantly, very blunt.

"That's not what I meant..."

Lost for words, I understood she just didn't want to say. She had deliberately rebuffed me. Letting it go was the only option.

"Oh forget it!"

Hopefully, things wouldn't become too awkward between them. It'd be troublesome if they fought, with Adrian losing.

Not long after Norma left, Elara herself came, followed by a group of angels I didn't recognize.

"What happened to this room..."

Elara surveyed the interior and frowned, ordering the angels behind her:

"Prepare a few extra rooms. All angels in this vicinity are to move out immediately. Put out an announcement too - no angels are permitted to sleep in the coming days until that nightmare is found! They must stay awake and alert round the clock."

"Nightmare?"

My heart stirred a little. I wasn't unfamiliar with that term, though I didn't expect it to appear like Nicola described. If so, the cause of our nightmares seemed clearer now.

"How did you determine that? There is not much dark element remaining here?"

Nicola was very curious and asked. Norma spent lots of time observing before she was convinced that daemons appeared. But Elara had issued a slew of orders the moment she arrived, without a shred of doubt.

"You only have six wings, so you aren't as sensitive to elements as I am," Elara smiled in reply.

"While the dark elemental energy here feels almost depleted to you, as a ten-winged angel I can still clearly perceive the lingering traces of that monster."

"Nightmares are a very special kind of monster. They lack physical form and are scarce in number. But by manipulating memories in dreams, they can trap their victim in an endless slumber without the victim knowing. Generally, those afflicted will have great difficulty noticing anything amiss in their dreams and waking themselves up. Unless there is external interference, they may potentially sleep to their deaths."

Standing beside Elara, an unfamiliar eight-winged angel scrutinized Nicola intently, as if trying to see something on her face.

"We angels have always been suppressed by nightmares due to our light element. Once trapped in slumber, even outside interference rarely wakes us up. Yet, you managed to wake yourself using just your willpower..."

"Is she really just a newborn angel?"

"When do newborns ever have six wings?"

"The one beside her seems to be a new angel too..."

...

For a moment, all the angels began whispering and pointing fingers at Nicola and me.

"Alright, enough!"

In the end, it was still Elara who came to our rescue.

"I'm very clear about their circumstances. They may be special cases but they are indeed new angels, so stop gossiping!"

She then instructed us:

"Come with me to my room. We'll talk more there."

"What is this about..."

I gave Nicola a wry smile, wondering what Elara wanted with us so suddenly. We wordlessly followed behind her out of that gossip nest.

As the tribe's leader, Elara's quarters were naturally much bigger than what we new angels got. Aside from a bedroom, there was also a reception lounge.

Right then, Nicola and I sat uneasily on the chairs in the lounge under Elara's gaze, unsure what she had summoned us here for.

"No need to be so tense just because a monster infiltrated Edenmere," Elara said upon seeing our state. She slid the fruit platters on the table towards us.

"So what exactly did you call us here for?"

I randomly popped a few grapes and nibbled some apple slices into my stuffed mouth. My tummy wasn't hungry and I didn't feel like eating, but I was too unsettled. I had to chew something to relax.

"Just to confirm some details," Elara first questioned Nicola, seeming very concerned about this matter.

"Did you see that monster floating by your bed?"

"Yes."

Nicola stared blankly, asking very puzzledly in response:

"Didn't you already determine it was a nightmare? What's abnormal about that?"