525 Nothingness ? (1/2)

Michael's words were a revelation.

Nightmare Cat's eyes lit up when he said, ”Yes, the laptop is his lifeline. Without it, he is nothing.”

He willed the disruption of all electricity and internet access in the dreamscape.

At last, something that he had done seemed to have flummoxed Zhao Yao, whom was staring at the blank laptop screen dumbly. This pleased him tremendously. He could not help but let out an enormous belly laugh.

”Hehehe. I wonder what you are going to do now.”

As if in response, Zhao Yao got changed and left the apartment.

”Hehe, are you heading out to find a working power source? It'll be futile, boy. I've cut off all the electricity. All of it. Your search will suck all the happiness and hope out of you. Enjoy your nightmare…”

Three hours later, Nightmare Cat was gawping at Zhao Yao with his mouth hanging wide open. It turned out that he had not left the house to look for a power source. He was looking for materials to make his own generator. It worked perfectly and he was now comfortably nestled in the covers, back at his game.

Nightmare Cat slumped forward, his paws holding clamping onto his throbbing head.

”How did he do that?” he wondered aloud.

Michael could not help but roll his eyes.

”You know,” he started, ”You could just make his laptop disappear.”

Nightmare Cat looked at him.

”Make his laptop disappear?” he repeated after him, venom dripping from his words, ”That's not enough. I want everything to disappear. I want him to suffer. I want him to be stuck in a limbo of nothingness!”

He concluded his proclamation with a sinister chuckle.

He was still laughing when he crushed the very core of the dreamscape that he had created. The world around them began to crumble. Then, darkness swallowed it whole.

Michael watched the rapid decay in stunned silence.

”This…” he thought to himself, ”He's just going to wipe the world out of existence? It's such a simple solution, but perhaps that's why it's the best one.”

His gaze fell on Zhao Yao, whom was curled up in the fetus position, completely alone.”

Michael let out a breath he did not know he was holding.

”He has no one for company. Even light and sound have abandoned him. Anyone would be driven insane. This will break even the strongest man. It's really just a matter of when.”

At that moment, Michael realized that he had underestimated Nightmare Cat's ability. Nothingness was a fate far crueler than any catastrophe that could happen in real life, but in the dream world, he could make it a reality.

While Michael was pensive and Nightmare Cat was cheery, Zhao Yao was not exhibiting much emotion at all. There was no trace of panic or fear in him. Calmly, he simply opened his mouth. A vortex warp appeared briefly. Then, he was gone.

”What happened?” Michael gasped, ”Did he leave the dream?”

Nightmare Cat blinked a few times in surprise. He shut his eyes in concentration, obviously trying to find something. When he opened them, he said, ”He hasn't left. He has the power to cross to another dimension. But don't worry, he may be somewhere else now, but he's still ultimately in the dream world.”

With that, he raised a paw and scratched the air.

It was as if they were in a play and Nightmare Cat had ripped the backdrop to reveal a brand new one. Both himself and Michael had left the darkness and entered the extradimensional belly. And right there, smack in the middle, was Zhao Yao, whose eyes were glued to the laptop screen, fingers flying across the keyboard.

He was playing a computer game. Again.

Nightmare Cat might have been defeated again, but he was not discouraged.

”Hmpf,” he snorted dismissively, ”I'll reduce this place to nothingness too.”

He waved his paw in the air and everything in the confines of the belly vanished.

”That should do,” he said smugly.