Counterfeit

He seemed to have suddenly fallen asleep. Ji Jue opened his eyes from the floor, greeted by pain racking his entire body. It felt as though he had been thoroughly beaten—every bone in him ready to fall apart. With great effort, he rolled over and stared at the familiar ceiling, trying to untangle his thoughts through the dizziness and figure out what on earth had happened. But his head throbbed with excruciating pain, dizzying him until his mind was a complete blank. Could he have grinded so hard that he collapsed from exhaustion? That didn't make sense. Back before his Level 3 Engineer exam, even after an insane week-long grind in the library, he had still found the time and energy to knock out two sets of emergency lifeguard exam prep! Was he getting old? *I'm not even twenty yet!* Clutching his throbbing head, Ji Jue slowly dragged himself up from the floor. He tried taking a deep breath, only for a pungent stench of mildew to flood his lungs. The window had been pushed open at some point; a heavy spray of rain had leaked inside, pattering steadily against the floorboards. Outside, the sky was blanketed by thick clouds, hiding both stars and moon. Only far in the distance, from the murky alleyways that streetlights failed to reach, came a sudden, piercing wail—like the dying howl of a stray dog. Ji Jue shivered. He instinctively shut the window, only to notice large patches of mold across the walls and peeling plaster. He froze on the spot. Just how long had he been asleep? An inexplicable fear and unease welled up inside him, making his breathing quicken and cold sweat pour down his back. When he raised his hand and looked at his wrist, there was nothing there. The watch was gone! Even his abilities had vanished without a trace, as if shattered from an overload. Inside his soul, everything was utterly vacant. Nothing remained except a scalp-numbing scraping sound, drifting up from downstairs. Ji Jue held his breath. Cautiously, he pushed the door open and peered into the undulating darkness. There was nothing inside the dark—only an iron security gate swaying precariously in the wind and rain, creaking open and shut. His heart violently seized! As if clamped in the grip of an unseen terror, it struggled to beat. A soft chuckle seemed to drift from the shadows, yet he couldn't hear it clearly; all he could feel was a bone-deep tremor. Behind the curtain of the dream, the invisible Baku bared its teeth, guzzling the rapidly gushing terror with a contented moan. Ever since obtaining the Baku's matrix, he had never grown tired of this exquisite pleasure. The Celestial Chosen known as Nightmare never showed himself before others, never even meeting his employers or his foes face-to-face. His greatest joy was turning into a living nightmare, infiltrating his rivals' dreams to toy with and torment his targets at will until fear broke them piece by piece, turning them into docile puppets and playthings. Now, with a mere flick of his finger, the most horrifying memories and terrifying scenes in Ji Jue's heart would surface from the dream, dragging everything down into hell. Through the gaping front door blew a chill draft laden with wind and rain. Right before Ji Jue, a trail of muddy footprints had snuck into his home at some point, lurking in the impenetrable darkness like an invisible monster. And at that very moment, an eerie chewing sound echoed from the far end of the living room! He stumbled back a step, barely able to keep his balance. The invisible terror surged, peaking and solidifying into something palpable. *Too simple. Too easy. A total breeze.* The corners of Nightmare's mouth curved upward. Melting into the form sculpted by that dread, he materialized into a dark silhouette and stepped onto the stage. —*Let the game of hunt and torment begin!* Sneering savagely, he opened his eyes, and then... froze in place. He blinked blankly, looking around, completely unable to comprehend why he was sprawled on top of a refrigerator. And why... why was there half a chicken leg clamped in his mouth? No blades. No fangs or claws. A withered, hunched, skeletal figure perched atop the fridge, staring blankly at his own reflection in the window glass. Only then did he hear the horrified shriek—and the thunderous, apoplectic roar—erupting behind him. "MY CHICKEN LEG! MY REFRIGERATORRRRRRRRR!!!!" Ji Jue was practically in tears, utterly devastated by the scene before him. Reason and sanity flew out the window as he threw himself forward in reckless abandon. "I'll fucking kill you!" *Wham!* Before Nightmare could even turn around, a club slammed into his forehead. He heard the crisp crack of his skull fracturing as the world spun wildly. "Wait—" He turned instinctively, waving an arm to tear Ji Jue to shreds, but the withered limb snapped like a stalk of wheat beneath another vicious swing. "Something's wrong!" His eyes bugged out in sheer disbelief. "I—" "I what, motherfucker?!" Ji Jue bellowed, smashing the broken table leg in his hand straight across that eerie face. "Pay me back for my fucking fridge!" Seeing the fridge door he had only just fixed clattering to the floor again, the final thread of sanity snapped in Ji Jue's mind. His eyes turned crimson as he laid into him with fists and feet: "That's for breaking and entering!" "That's for eating my chicken leg!!" "And that's for fucking—breaking! My! Refrig! Erator!!!!" *Crack!* Under Ji Jue's furious onslaught, the table leg actually shattered. But Ji Jue didn't pause for a fraction of a second; keeping a foot pinned on him, he grabbed a dish off the counter and smashed it straight into the creature's forehead. *Smash!* Shards flew in all directions. The two-and-a-half-yuan plate he had used for seven or eight years was completely destroyed! Ji Jue felt as though a blade were twisting in his heart. Next, he snatched the rolling pin lodged in the cupboard rack and scooped up the unwashed frying pan from the sink with his right hand, dual-wielding them in a merciless flurry. "Picking on me, huh? What the fuck do all of you want with a broke guy like me?!" Ji Jue roared in outrage. "I haven't even paid off my student loans! Where the hell did you put my bike?! Fuck, where did my Niuma go?!" Realizing that Little Niuma had also been stolen, Ji Jue felt as though his life was ruined forever. His eyes burned red enough to weep blood as the frying pan rained senseless blows across the intruder's face, furious beyond restraint! "Hold on, I—no, stop—let me—" Amid the storm of punches, kicks, and bludgeoning, Nightmare instinctively curled up and shielded his head, his vision dimming in pulses of black. He couldn't begin to fathom what the flying fuck was happening. How could anyone's worst nightmare be having their refrigerator broken? How could someone's deepest terror be having their leftover chicken leg stolen and eaten?! *Are you a fucking lunatic?!* He wanted to scream his outrage and demand answers, but it was already too late. As the bloodstained rolling pin swung down once more, the dreamscape abruptly collapsed amidst the spreading agony. On the sofa of the aerodrome lounge, Nightmare awoke with a bloodcurdling scream, eyes snapping open. Blood was slowly trickling from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He was in utter disbelief. He... had actually been killed in a dream? "Sir? Sir!" Urgent knocking sounded from outside the door. "Do you need assistance? What happened?" "I'm fine! Leave me alone!" Nightmare bellowed, losing all composure and manners. Right through the door, he planted a mental suggestion, telling the attendant to get lost and stay away. In the ensuing silence, only his ragged gasps remained. His eyes were shot with crimson veins, hideously twisted with rage. "Ji Jue—" He rasped between clenched teeth, unable to swallow such unprecedented humiliation. "We're not done yet." Without even waiting for his turbulent spiritus to settle, Nightmare closed his eyes once more. From afar, the nightmare came howling back! Back in his room, Ji Jue had barely opened his eyes and had no idea what was happening before he slumped back down, soft snores rising. After a prolonged haze of grogginess, he opened his eyes blankly and saw warm afternoon sunlight. Someone was gently nudging his shoulder, ever so tenderly. "Wake up, Ji Jue." Sitting beside him, Wen Wen looked down at him. "Fell asleep again?" "Ah, sorry." Ji Jue apologized instinctively and rubbed his face. "I've been grinding pretty hard lately, so I..." He looked up, and his words cut short in apparent confusion. Wen Wen smiled, resting her chin on her hand as she watched him. "What's wrong?" She picked up an ice cream bowl beside her and scooped with a spoon. "Want a taste? The ice cream here is actually quite good." "Huh?" Ji Jue blinked. "Come on, open wide." Wen Wen lifted a spoonful of ice cream and whipped cream to his lips. "Give it a try?" "Ah... um... I think I'll pass." Ji Jue leaned back slightly, giving an awkward smile. "My blood sugar runs high, so I can't eat this stuff. Besides, Wen-jie, you being this nice to me actually makes me nervous." "Tch, always overthinking." Wen Wen curled her lip, drew a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, and expertly placed one between her lips. Just as she was about to light it, she saw Ji Jue obediently holding out an ashtray from nearby. "You kid, you're a Celestial Chosen recruit, after—" She shook her head, about to say something, when she saw Ji Jue raise the hand holding the ashtray, aiming right at her forehead. *CRACK!!!* With a deafening smash, Wen Wen was battered bloody, gore streaming down her face as the ashtray shattered in two. "Ji Jue, are you insane?!" she roared. "Who are you?" Ji Jue stood up, gripping the jagged remnant of the ashtray. He stared coldly at that furious face, asking one deliberate word at a time, "Who. Are. You?" "Did you sleep yourself stupid? I'm Wen Wen! I—" "Wen-jie never smokes any brand other than White Star," Ji Jue said, shaking his head decisively. "No matter how expensive it is." "I just wanted to try something new!" "Mm, maybe. Could be." Ji Jue nodded nonchalantly, entirely unconcerned. But as he looked down at her, his gaze dripped with disgust. "Except Wen-jie would never smile so nauseatingly. Like a fawning bootlicker—greasy enough to make me gag." Growing up, Ji Jue had seen that kind of smile countless times. Every time someone smiled at him like that, they were angling for something from him. Yet Wen Wen had never smiled that way. Not even once. "The perfume, the scent, the tone of voice—now that I think about it, there are far too many flaws. Even this face doesn't look quite right." Ji Jue let out a soft sigh and told the imposter, "My guess is, either you don't know her well at all, or you know her so well... that you wouldn't dare show your face in front of her." Reading the contortions spreading across the face before him, he instantly understood. "I see. You didn't even dare look at her face, did you?" At that instant, the blood-soaked, shattered visage warped abruptly, shifting into a gloomy, unfamiliar countenance. It bore the faint contours of a beast. Hideous and menacing. Backed into a corner, the nightmare lurking behind the veil was exposed; the dream-eating Baku materialized in sheer fury. "I intended to let you perish blissfully in a pleasant dream. But it seems there is no need for that anymore." Nightmare's voice rang out as if echoing from all directions. "You brought this on yourself, Ji Jue." *BOOM!* The earth violently shuddered, and the sky tore asunder. A searing agony ripped through Ji Jue's brain. Darkness rushed over his eyes. It was as though an invisible hand had reached deep inside his mind, brutally unearthing his past, dredging up fragments of anguish and despair, and pooling them into an ocean. An ocean that swallowed him whole!