Chapter 461 Similar Illnesses
Amelia paid no mind to human life; her sole passion was the practice of medicine itself. For her to be so excited, it must be about a difficult and puzzling illness.
We couldn’t dissuade her, so we followed her into the hall. We saw her weave through rows of patient beds, discussing their conditions with assistants in white coats.
Nightmare Syndrome, that was the name of this strange ailment. Judging by its appearance, it was a group of people trapped in nightmares, unable to wake.
This symptom’s manifestation was strikingly similar to Amelia’s own situation. However, Amelia’s physical body was in the Reality, while her consciousness was trapped in the Dream World. These people, on the other hand, were trapped in even deeper nightmares within the Dream World.
So, I wondered, were these conditions also related to Amelia’s current state? I decided to go ask. While Amelia was lifting a patient’s eyelid, I leaned in and asked, “Amelia, what is the cause of these Nightmare Syndrome patients’ illnesses?”
“The cause? They were attacked by Nightmares, and if injured, they fall into perpetual nightmares and are very difficult to awaken,” Amelia replied. She didn’t seem annoyed or bothered by my interruption and instead explained the condition in detail.
“After testing, their brains are still operating at high intensity; they are not in shock or a coma. They appear to be in great pain, likely tormented by nightmares. If their bodies are not cared for, it will lead to a series of complications.”
“Wait, what are Nightmares?” I had always wanted to figure this out. It sounded like some kind of monster.
“Since you’ve been to my clinic, you should have seen them already. Nightmares are monsters born within nightmares, extremely hostile, and they actively attack people,” Amelia said.
“So those were Nightmares. Wait! Do Nightmares also exist in the Dream World? I thought they only appeared in your clinic!” I exclaimed in surprise.
Amelia slapped her forehead. “Parul, have you got the cause and effect confused? Nightmares only exist in dreams. Normally, Nightmares don’t appear in the Reality. They are appearing in Reality now because something went wrong with me, and I brought things from the Dream World out.”
“Ah!” I also slapped my forehead. Indeed, my brain had just malfunctioned. I had always thought that even in nightmares, the monsters wouldn’t cause any real harm to people. Only when they became physical entities, known as Nightmares, could they harm people.
But the Dream World is not the same as a dream. The Dream World is formed by the collective subconsciousness of people. Therefore, people here also have nightmares, and their nightmares can turn into Nightmares, reflecting themselves in the Dream World. This nesting doll logic was making me a bit dizzy.
“Speaking of which, Amelia, you just said these Nightmare Syndrome patients fell into nightmares because they were attacked by Nightmares. But Nightmares are born from nightmares, isn’t that a loop?” Jayad suddenly interjected.
“Hmm, the young man has quickly grasped the cause and effect. Very sharp mind. That’s right. Recently, with so many people falling into nightmares, there’s a constant possibility of Nightmare attacks in the surrounding areas. The attacked individuals don’t die; instead, they fall into nightmares, just like now, creating more Nightmares, and thus a vicious cycle.”
Amelia praised Jayad. Did that imply my reaction was slow? That really annoyed me.
“Recently? So it wasn’t like this before? If Nightmares cause people to fall into nightmares and create more Nightmares, haven’t the people here tried to find a way to wake them up?” Jayad asked again.
“That’s precisely the problem. Nightmares weren’t like this before. Although they would attack people, they would kill people directly in dreams but wouldn’t cause them to fall into nightmares, nor would they increase in large numbers. Nightmare Syndrome is a strange ailment that only appeared recently, likely mutated due to the influence of some unknown factor,” Amelia stated.
A newly appeared strange illness, bizarrely causing people to fall into nightmares and generate more Nightmares. This was indeed very similar to the situation in Amelia’s Clinic. They also fell into nightmares and couldn’t wake up, and various terrifying Nightmares appeared in the clinic.
It seemed the situations on both sides were the same, this was the same illness. I wondered if the clinic was influenced by the Dream World, or vice versa, was Amelia’s Clinic the primary outbreak point?
Moreover, if Nightmares could cause people to fall into nightmares, did that mean if Samantha couldn’t contain them and they escaped the clinic into Cando City, with its high population density, countless people would fall into nightmares? Then it would snowball, with more and more Nightmares, leading to a catastrophe.
The thought made me break out in a cold sweat. Luckily, there was Samantha, the doll nurse who couldn’t dream, guarding the clinic. Luckily, I had promised her I would go into the Dream World to save people. It seemed I wouldn’t be leaving until I uncovered the truth of this incident.
“Amelia, have you tried any treatments? Are any effective?” I asked.
“So far, I’ve tried stimulating scents, brain current stimulation, stimulant injections, and playing loud noises, all with minimal effect. I’m preparing to try inflicting continuous, severe pain on their nerves to see if that works,” Amelia shook her head.
Hearing her treatment plan, I immediately broke out in a sweat. This doctor was truly a devil. “Hold on, aren’t they patients? These methods you’re using don’t seem like treatments.”
“How are they not treatments? Minimal effect doesn’t mean no effect, and aren’t I looking for more effective therapies? Of course, I have to experiment one by one,” Amelia said righteously.
“But in this situation, doesn’t it seem more like a curse? Perhaps something like this should be handled by those skilled in Occultism?” I asked again.
To be honest, I didn’t fully understand the cause of Nightmare Syndrome. Even if Amelia said they were attacked by Nightmares, there were many possibilities that could lead to falling into nightmares.
Was it a neurotoxin, a viral infection, or possibly some form of reproductive behavior? Because judging by the outcome, the Nightmares’ actions seemed to be aimed at increasing their own kind, although I wasn’t sure if those bizarre Nightmares could be considered their own kind.
If it couldn’t be explained scientifically, then this situation was more like a curse. Perhaps supernatural methods should be tried? At least I felt an old witch here might be more professional.
“Heh, if they could handle it, they wouldn’t need me. Sigh! Come here, tell her if magic can fix this?” Amelia pulled over a medical staff member and asked.
The medical staff member was a Merfolk. Although a Merfolk wearing a white coat was strange, he shook his head and said in muffled speech, “Yes, at least our priests are currently helpless against this illness.”
