Nick didn't know how long he was under the influence of the Nightmare.
It could have been a couple of seconds, but it could have also been minutes.
It was difficult to tell time while one was being tortured.
But eventually, the Nightmare's influence vanished as the light returned.
Nick opened his eyes as soon as he felt the warmth of the sun.
Just for his heart to nearly stop as he saw three coral people in front of the destroyed ball of metal!
Nick became terrified immediately.
Yet, one thought gave him hope.
'They are not allowed to kill me!'
So, Nick collapsed into mist.
Turning into mist was extremely dangerous since any big attack could easily kill Nick.
Turning into mist in front of an opponent was like deactivating one's Barrier and puffing one's chest out.
One punch could prove fatal.
However, since the coral people were not allowed to kill Nick, they couldn't risk attacking him, and the mist's weakness turned into a strength.
In his mist form, Nick quickly rushed out of the ball.
The coral people tried to grab him with their hands, but it wasn't possible to capture mist with one's bare hands.
Nick managed to leave the ball and fly away.
He could now also see where he was.
It was a small island filled with corals.
Nick rapidly shot towards the south.
WHOOOM!
But then, a wall of water appeared in front of him, and he had to stop.
The wall of water was filled with Zephyx, and Nick knew that he couldn't pass through it.
Nick evaded in another direction, but more and more water gathered around him.
Eventually, he was completely surrounded by water, which was coming closer and closer.
Only a little bit of space was left, and Nick became panicked.
If the water kept coming closer, he would die since it would use up all his Zephyx!
But if he turned back to his normal body, he would be captured.
'Does it make a difference?' Nick thought in defeat. 'They also got me in this state.'
SHING!
Nick returned to his normal form.
The water immediately wrapped around him and immobilized him.
It was like the water was made of extremely hard liquid metal.
The next moment, the water turned into a transparent film, which covered his body.
Nick tried his best to resist, but the transparent film was forcing him into a relaxed standing position.
Then, against his will, Nick started to slowly walk towards the three coral people, who just watched with neutral eyes.
While Nick seemed to calmly walk forward, the inside of his mind was anything but calm.
He was trying to find a way to escape, but no matter how much he searched, he couldn't find one!
The three coral people in front of him were Specialists, and one of them even had this water ability that could suppress Force Specters.
Even if Nick used all of his Zephyx, he wouldn't be able to create a flash strong enough to blind the three of them.
The gap in power was just too vast.
In this moment of panic, Nick looked at the foreign piece of Zephyx in his neck.
This was the bit of Zephyx that Simon Francium had left in Nick's body.
If he willed it, the piece of Zephyx would explode, killing him instantly.
This was his only way out.
But he didn't use it yet.
Maybe there was still a chance.
What if the others were still fighting?
In that case, Nick only had to wait.
The others had to be close to winning, right?
From the corner of his eyes, Nick saw gigantic explosions happening in the sky.
'They're still fighting?!'
Nick saw metal, liquid metal, ice, wind, lightning, and fire exploding in the sky.
The battle seemed to be brutal!
Some seconds later, Nick's body stopped walking, and he found himself in a clearing.
There were nearly 50 people kneeling in a round clearing.
All of them were completely still.
It was like they had turned into true coral statues.
Every single one of these statues looked with reverence at the same spot.
In the middle of the clearing, on top of a big rock, was a pillar made of corals.
All the corals on the island gathered at the base of this pillar.
The pillar was only around four meters high, but Nick could tell that it was filled with an incredible amount of Zephyx.
Involuntarily, Nick's body stepped towards the boulder and began to climb.
When Nick reached the top, he saw another person.
Involuntarily, Nick's body stepped towards the boulder and began to climb.
This one was wearing a crown made of corals, and he wore the robes of a priest.
"Finally," the man spoke with an unnatural cadence. It was almost like it was not a human speaking.
"Getting you was more troublesome than expected," the man in the robes said as he turned around and approached the pillar.
Then, the man lightly touched the pillar.
A small part of the corals detached, and the man carefully held them in his hands.
He turned back to look at Nick.
"I hope you are worth the effort," the man said.
WHOOOM!
At the same time, the statues of corals came to life and ran towards the big pillar.
They all gathered at its base and lifted.
CRACK!
The pillar was lifted off the ground.
When Nick saw that, the last of his hopes died.
He had hoped that the Specter couldn't easily move, but apparently, that wasn't the case.
The people would just run into the sea with the pillar.
The chances of being found while running across the bottom of the sea were minuscule.
The priest with the coral crown approached Nick.
Nick's body kneeled in reverence, exposing his neck.
Nick's entire world was filled with panic and terror.
He would turn into one of these things!
Nick focused on the foreign mass of Zephyx in his neck.
He was filled with terror.
He had to do it!
BOOOOM!
A cerulean glint.
The priest exploded.