Nick and Wyntor talked about Nick's nightmares for a while.
"I actually noticed that you seemed different from usual," Wyntor commented. "I thought that the stress was getting to you."
Nick sighed.
"I thought the same thing."
"Nick, if you're targeted by a powerful Specter, what stops that Specter from just killing you?" Wyntor asked.
"I don't know. Apparently, it doesn't get power from killing people, but when it gets power, the process will kill a person," Nick said.
"So, what do we do about this?" Nick asked.
"What else?" Wyntor answered with a shrug. "You basically already agreed to the trade on Dark Dream's behalf. We have to give the Parasite his corpses now, or Dark Dream will be in serious trouble."
Nick sighed.
"I'm sorry, Wyntor."
"Oh, don't sweat it," Wyntor said with a dismissive wave. "I would've agreed to the trade anyway. You're worth much more than 50 corpses."
Sadly, that only marginally reduced Nick's guilt.
"Is it true?" Nick asked.
"What?"
"That basically everyone is trading with the Parasite."
Wyntor nodded. "Yep. I didn't want you to know, but basically all the Manufacturers are regularly trading with the Parasite, and they're giving him a lot of corpses."
"Many of the Manufacturers are even indebted to him. The number of corpses the Parasite asks for is based on how many a Manufacturer can provide, which means that a more powerful Manufacturer has to pay more."
"Naturally, getting that many corpses without arousing suspicion is extremely difficult, which is why the Parasite accepts them in installments."
"Some of the Manufacturers have to pay off their debt over months."
"Of course, the Parasite is smart enough not to put too much debt on everyone. Otherwise, the Manufacturers might unite to get rid of him so that they don't need to repay the debt."
"Whether you like it or not, the Parasite's existence is deeply woven into the foundation of Crimson Fungus City," Wyntor explained.
Nick took a deep breath.
He hadn't thought that the Parasite's power was this great.
Everyone knew the Parasite.
Even the people in the Dregs.
Yet, all the normal people and even the normal Extractors didn't know the true extent of the Parasite's power.
Everyone thought that the city tried to get rid of the Parasite.
But it wasn't.
"So, how do we get the corpses?" Nick asked.
"I'll simply reroute the Screaming Coffin's corpses to the Parasite," Wyntor said calmly. "The Screaming Coffin won't die because of a lack of corpses, and it also isn't nearly strong enough to break out of its Containment Unit."
"It can just walk in circles inside its Containment Unit for 50 days or so."
Nick sighed once again.
He hated that he was improving the Parasite's power just so that he could survive.
It felt so selfish.
It felt so dirty.
'I MUST improve the lives of the people in the future!' Nick thought with conviction.
'I have already taken out so many moral and ethical loans that it feels difficult for me to repay them, but I have to give it my all!'
"Tell him that he will get his corpses every day at 10 a.m.," Wyntor said.
Nick nodded.
The two of them talked for a bit more before Nick left Wyntor's office to talk to the Parasite.
On the first floor inside the building was an empty room, which no one was allowed to walk into.
When Nick and Wyntor had received the building after dealing with Cycle, they had seen that one of the plates on the ground was loose inside this room.
Wyntor immediately knew that this was where Ardum traded with the Parasite back when he had still been the owner of Cycle.
Wyntor decided to leave the room like this since they might need to contact the Parasite again in the future.
Nick walked into the room and moved the metal plate to the side.
After moving a couple more things below the metal plate, Nick could see the sewers below him.
"Hey!"
Suddenly, a rat's head popped up from around the corner before looking around.
"Where are my corpses?" it asked.
"We don't have that many in storage right now," Nick said. "We accepted your offer. Every day at 10 a.m., you will get one corpse. That will continue for the next 50 days. The corpses will come through here."
The rat seemed a bit disappointed but quickly perked up again. "Sure, no problem."
"So, what about the solution?" Nick asked.
The rat blinked a couple of times. "I thought you would have already realized the solution."
"Do you mean the Dreamer?" Nick asked.
"So, you did!" the rat said. "Yes, the Dreamer deals with dreams, and it doesn't like when other Specters step into its domain."
"The Specter that's targeting you is much more powerful than the Dreamer, but even he can't fight it inside a dream."
"With that other Specter influencing your mind while you sleep, the Dreamer can't feed, which is why it will get rid of the foreign influence."
"Work with the Dreamer once, and your issue will be solved, and if it ever starts again, just do the same thing."
Nick released a sigh of relief.
"So, I won't die?" Nick asked.
"Eeehhh," the Parasite muttered. "That can still happen, but the chances are much lower. The Specter will just try to push you towards the knife via another way."
Nick furrowed his brows.
Naturally, he wasn't happy with that.
However, there was one more thing that he wanted to ask the Parasite.
"Is the Specter that's targeting me a servant of a Fallen or an Adversary?" Nick asked.
"Pffft," the rat sputtered. "Hell no! If he were, I wouldn't be here, and you would all be dead!"
"He's just like me, a free agent. No allegiances whatsoever."
Nick took a deep breath and sighed.
He wasn't sure whether he should be happy or not.
He honestly didn't know what option he would prefer.
Nevertheless, it was time to wait for Envy's servant to strike again.
But before that, Nick needed to pay the Dreamer a visit.
