'He would want to take the risk,' Nick thought.
'But if something happens…'
Nick couldn't imagine what he would feel like if Horua actually died.
At that point, everything Nick had done would be for nothing.
Nick had taken care of Horua for three months, but if Horua died now, all of Nick's efforts would have been worthless.
That would mean that fixing his past mistakes would be impossible for Nick.
If Horua woke up, Nick might be able to somewhat right his previous wrongs.
But if he died, that would become impossible.
And yet, Wyntor was right.
This was not a life Horua would want to live.
If Horua could see himself, he would probably speak the Sentence.
Every day, Horua was pissing and shitting his pants, and he was reliant on other people for everything.
If Horua were conscious, he would find this eternal boredom, humiliation, and monotony to be worse than death.
This was not a life he would want to live.
But if Horua died, it would also fall back on Nick.
After all, Nick was essentially making choices for Horua.
If Nick didn't agree, Horua wouldn't get sent to the Dreamer.
"Don't do the wrong thing because you are too weak to do the right thing," Wyntor said.
Nick's chest shook.
'Right,' Nick thought in pain. 'I know that what Wyntor said is right, and I also know what Horua would choose.'
'Yet, I am still hesitating.'
'Why? Because I can't bear thinking about how I would feel if Horua dies.'
Nick took a deep breath.
"You're right," he said as he looked at Wyntor.
Nick tried to show that he had made his choice with conviction, but his nervousness and anxiety still shone through.
Wyntor nodded. "Good," he said. "Nick, this is not a life that the boy would want to live. You made the right call."
Nick took a deep breath and nodded again. "I just hope he won't die."
"And even if he does," Wyntor said, "you still made the right choice."
"Even if the boy dies to the Dreamer, you know that you have at least tried to make his life better."
Nick gritted his teeth, but he nodded.
He knew that doing this was correct, but the thought of Horua dying still scared him.
"When do you want to do it?" Wyntor asked.
Nick took another deep breath. "It doesn't matter. For Horua, it doesn't matter when it happens. His life is perfectly monotone."
"Might as well do it right now," Nick said with a shaky voice.
"Fine," Wyntor said. "Then, get him. I'm going to wake Trevor."
Nick nodded, gritted his teeth, and walked out of the office.
Nick's emotions were going crazy again, but his determination was keeping them under control for now.
Nick felt like he was doing the wrong thing.
What if something happened?!
What if Horua died?!
What if Nick had essentially killed Horua?!
Yet, Nick's rationality kept telling his emotions that it was the right choice, regardless of the outcome.
But that didn't make it easier.
Nick absentmindedly climbed the stairs and reached Horua's room.
Nick wished there were more stairs.
After opening the door and walking through the hallway, Nick entered Horua's room.
Right now, Horua was asleep and clean.
Whoever Wyntor had hired had taken good care of him during the night.
When Nick saw Horua, he took a deep breath and walked forward.
"Horua, wake up," Nick said as he shook Horua a bit.
After moving Horua's eyelids open a bit to wake him, Nick slowly lifted Horua's light and weak body.
Horua had lost a lot of weight in the last three months.
"Today, we are going to change your life," Nick said softly. "For better or for worse."
"Living like this is not what you want, and I know, if you could talk to me, you would also make this choice."
"We have to take a risk. In this state, you might as well be dead. Letting you stay like this wouldn't be much different from killing you."
"You deserve a chance, and we are going to give you one!"
Nick opened the door to Horua's room as he carefully walked out with him.
"I just hope that I can have a real conversation with you when the day is over."
Nick took a shaky breath. "And I also hope that you will one day be able to forgive me for my stupidity."
As Nick walked down the stairs, he felt like he was walking towards his execution.
His feelings were screaming at him that he was doing the wrong thing, but his rationality was screaming back that it was the right thing.
Humans were not machines, and many times, their feelings were in direct opposition to logic.
Every human experienced battles between what their head thought was right and what their heart thought was right.
Nick walked out of the hotel, and Horua's body came into contact with the outside for the first time in three months.
But just moments later, Nick entered Dark Dream with Horua.
After entering the warehouse, Nick saw Trevor standing beside the Dreamer's Containment Unit with a worried expression.
Nick just walked to the Containment Unit.
"Nick, you're doing the right thing," Trevor said, and Nick stopped walking. "I wouldn't want to live such a life."
Nick's eyebrows relaxed a bit. "Thanks, Trevor."
Trevor nodded. "No worries. It will work out. The Dreamer won't dare to kill the kid."
Nick nodded without saying anything and walked through the employee entrance.
After entering, Nick saw Wyntor standing in front of the Dreamer.
As soon as Nick entered, the Dreamer turned to look at Nick.
And then it focused on Horua.
Nick furrowed his brows, took a deep breath, and walked forward.
"Dreamer," Nick said, stopping in front of it.
The Dreamer didn't answer, and it only kept looking at Horua.
"I am asking for your help," Nick said.
"This boy can't interact with the outside anymore, and I know that you can enter his mind."
Nick took a deep breath and put Horua down in front of the Dreamer.
The Dreamer kept looking at Horua.
"Please, save him," Nick said as his voice became shaky.
"Show me that my trust in you is not misplaced."
"Please, make him wake up."
"Return him to me."
The Dreamer just kept looking at Horua.