Kill the Sun

Nick walked to the second floor of the building and stopped in front of one of the Containment Units.

When he saw the Containment Unit, he frowned.

'We're definitely not going to work with this one, but I should still take a look at it,' he thought.

Then, Nick walked into the Containment Unit.

Inside the Containment Unit, Nick saw a beautiful lady with a bright smile.

When she saw Nick, she walked closer.

"Hello, I haven't seen you before," she said politely.

"I read that you have actual intelligence," Nick said calmly.

"Of course I do," she answered with a laugh. "My file should have said as much."

Nick didn't immediately answer and stayed silent for a couple of seconds.

"You're not getting any victims during your stay here," Nick said. "You're an asset, and you will be sold the first chance I get."

The lady didn't seem offended or perturbed in any way. "Are you sure? I only need one person, and I can produce a whole lot of Zephyx," she said.

"So, I've read," Nick said. "But Dark Dream isn't as shady as the owner of your old Containment Unit."

"Just stay comfortable and expect to get moved somewhere else at some point."

The lady looked at Nick with a smile.

Nick looked with seriousness at her.

Finally, her mask slipped, and all her friendliness vanished.

"Fine, but make it quick," she said before walking to one of the walls.

Nick just turned around and left the Containment Unit without saying anything.

They would definitely not work with this Specter.

Even if an Extractor explicitly asked to work with that Specter, Nick would refuse.

No one in all of Dark Dream would work with this one, ever.

So, what was so bad about working with this one?

The lady was called the Agonizing Wait, and she gained power by emotional distress created by fearing for a loved one.

Back when she was still free, she abducted the brightest and most loved people she could find.

After abducting them, she contacted the person's friends and family and told them that they would see their loved one's body again within a week.

However, whether or not the loved one's body was still alive was based on a coin flip.

50% chance they returned alive with no injuries

50% chance they returned as a corpse.

The stronger the love for the loved one, the more Zephyx the Agonizing Wait produced.

Naturally, working with it was crazy.

The only possible way to work with it was to kidnap someone from the streets who had a family.

However, Nick refused to do that.

He was willing to do a lot of things for power, but he was not willing to go that far.

Usually, such a Specter was worth almost nothing since she also occupied a Containment Unit, effectively costing money.

Yet, her ability was amazing for Manipulators.

An Extractor with her ability could manipulate other people's perception of time.

This could completely destroy someone's rhythm and concentration during a battle.

Because of that, the Agonizing Wait was still worth something and could be sold.

But, for now, the Agonizing Wait would have to wait in agony until she got a new home since Nick refused to work with her.

After leaving the Containment Unit, Nick walked over to one of the Containment Units on the other side of the floor, to his next Specter.

He operated the console of the Containment Unit and changed a couple of settings.

'I don't think it will recognize me,' Nick thought as he stepped into the Containment Unit.

As soon as he entered, he saw the Specter clinging to one of the walls.

It was a little grey mechanical spider.

Yes, that was the Grey Room.

Naturally, Nick had met this Specter before.

Back when Nick had infiltrated the Spartans, he had freed the Grey Room and had worked together with it to wreak havoc in the Spartans' building.

Sadly, after the battle, the Grey Room ran away and vanished into the city.

Apparently, it had been recaptured by Anatomy.

"Hello, my name is Nick Nick, and I'm the Chief Zephyx Extractor of Dark Dream, your new home," Nick said calmly.

"You will be working with my Extractors from now on, and if everything works out well, you will get plenty of time with many powerful Extractors."

"However, if you kill even one of my Extractors, I will forbid anyone from working with you for a while, and if it happens again, I will have to kill you."

"Do you understand?" Nick asked.

Scratch, scratch.

Two of the Grey Room's right legs scratched the wall.

"I presume this is a yes."

Scratch, scratch.

"Great," Nick added. "Then, I will be working with you first. Since I am the only one here, I have activated the Containment Unit's timer. In a bit less than one hour from now, you will be pushed off my head. Don't get surprised when it happens."

Scratch, scratch.

Nick nodded, walked to the middle of the room, and sat down.

"Then, you can begin," he said.

The Grey Room left the wall and approached Nick at a normal tempo.

It climbed on Nick's body and eventually stopped on top of his head.

And then, it plopped down.

WHOOOM!

Suddenly, Nick saw himself getting transported to a different place.

The Containment Unit and the Grey Room vanished, replaced by a grey endlessness.

The floor, ceiling, and sides all looked the same.

There was just grey nothingness in all directions.

However, Nick could still feel some kind of floor.

'According to the documentation, I will be here for about 50 hours or so. Better make the best of it,' Nick thought.

Naturally, Nick wasn't truly in some form of grey dimension.

In reality, he was sitting unconscious in the Grey Room's Containment Unit with the Grey Room perched on top of his head.

The Grey Room grew more powerful by inflicting boredom, and it achieved this effect by putting its victim into a featureless reality while also manipulating their perception of time.

One hour in reality would feel like 50 hours in here.

Since Nick would only be working with the Grey Room for one hour in reality, he would stay in here for around 50 hours.

A proper shift would be even longer.

In general, people were not the biggest fans when it came to working with the Grey Room.