Shadow of Death (SOD)

Chapter 40

TWO DAYS LATER!

Forty-eight hours had passed so far.

During this period, the Reids had managed to evade sleep for as long as they possibly could.

So far, they hadn’t needed to use the pills yet.

They continued attending their daily activities as normally as they could, forcing themselves to maintain their routines despite the exhaustion gradually creeping into their bodies.

Then, at night, the buckets of icy-cold water were placed beneath their feet.

The biting cold kept them awake for as long as possible, constantly jolting their senses whenever the exhaustion became too overwhelming.

It wasn’t easy.

At some point, the buckets had nearly failed them.

Their eyelids had grown heavier, their bodies had become increasingly sluggish, and the temptation to simply lie down and surrender to sleep had become almost unbearable.

Until Asher introduced a fun game he had seen online.

Surprisingly, it kept them awake much longer than they had expected.

For a while, it gave them something else to focus on besides their exhaustion.

But the consequences of staying awake were beginning to show.

Headaches.

Body aches.

The Reids experienced them in waves, with the headaches growing more profound as every few hours passed.

Their bodies were beginning to protest.

Even bags were starting to appear beneath their eyes.

Luckily, they hadn’t become too prominent or dark yet.

Those were the downsides of all this.

The upside?

Asher had managed to binge an anime consisting of three seasons, each containing twenty-four episodes, all the way to completion.

He was more than satisfied.

For a while, he had been putting the anime off, and now he had finally gotten the opportunity to watch it.

All it cost him was his sleep.

Not that he was getting much of that anyway.

Also, the day before, he had visited Mia to inquire about the question that had been bothering him.

Days earlier, she hadn’t been around, and he had only managed to catch her yesterday while she was preparing to head out.

After a lot of reluctance, Mia finally gave the boy the answer he sought, seemingly just so he would leave her alone.

It turned out that if a family had quite a number of members and one person fell asleep, that person would enter a Nightmare.

If the other family members fell asleep afterward, they didn’t have to worry about entering another Nightmare.

They would only experience the distorted dreams.

And if an entire family were to fall asleep simultaneously...

Well, Mia didn’t know what would happen.

No family had been foolish enough to risk finding out.

Which meant that if one of the Reids fell asleep, the others would remain safe for as long as that sleeping member lasted inside the Nightmare.

But if that member died inside the Nightmare, the next person to fall asleep would be doomed.

Asher had broken the news to his family.

And they had all realized just how dire their situation had become.

They couldn’t afford to let one person sleep.

But they also couldn’t stay awake forever.

Eventually, their bodies would force the issue.

....

Today was Saturday.

A rest day for the people and students of Vespers.

Except for the small-time business owners, of course.

The Reid family were now gathered in the living room.

The television was basically useless to them as nothing interesting was on.

It seemed like the satellite dish connecting them to the outside of Vespers had been cut off, meaning they couldn’t even access anything worthwhile.

Nor could they receive news about anything happening outside Vespers.

They were completely isolated.

So, they basically relied on their gadgets and each other’s company to keep themselves occupied.

The family constantly fought the urge to yawn whenever they were gathered like this.

Nobody wanted to be the one who accidentally triggered another chain reaction.

"Man.... Isn’t there something we can do? I miss my bed a lot." Jesse groaned while rubbing her tired face.

It was already nighttime again.

For some reason, it seemed like time was moving incredibly fast.

Not lightning fast.

But still noticeably quicker than it should.

Another day was already gone.

Another night had arrived.

And another stretch of sleepless hours awaited them.

Jayden was still on his phone.

The girl at the factory was the only thing keeping his mind sane at the moment, allowing him to temporarily forget about the fact that he hadn’t gotten any proper sleep for three days.

Asher was multitasking between replying to Rick’s annoying messages and binging another newly released anime.

Even while doing this, however, his mind remained greatly troubled by the dilemma his family was facing.

So far, they hadn’t needed to use the pills yet.

As long as his family didn’t sleep, they would all be fine.

That was what Asher kept telling himself.

But then, the question the Shadow God had asked returned to his mind.

— For how long?

"Hahaha."

Jayden suddenly burst into laughter at a funny message the girl had sent him.

His boisterous laughter caused him to accidentally hit Jesse on the arm as he struggled to contain himself.

The girl immediately shot him a glare.

"Step away, damn it!" Jesse shouted as she pushed her brother away.

Jayden paused.

Everyone else froze as well.

Why had the girl snapped like that?

Jesse rubbed her face, desperately suppressing the urge to yawn loudly.

"... Couldn’t you laugh quietly? Must you hit me?"

Jayden blinked in confusion.

"It was just an honest mistake."

Jesse frowned.

"It was just an honest mistake."

She mimicked him in a mocking tone before scoffing and turning her head to the side.

Clara simply shook her head at the scene.

But only a few seconds later, Jesse suddenly broke down in tears.

"I-I-I’m sorry. It’s just that I haven’t slept for three days. My mind is all-all muddled. I feel exhausted. I’m sorry."

Clara immediately shifted closer and pulled the girl into her arms, allowing her to quietly sob against her.

"It’s not your fault, dear. We understand. No need to beat yourself up."

Asher was about to say something, but a sudden pang of pain struck his head.

Harder than before.

He silently groaned, both hands immediately moving to his temples as his head began pounding as though something was hammering directly into his brain.

’It’s getting worse.’

He slowly lifted his gaze.

First, he looked at Jayden, who merely shook his head with a sigh before turning his attention back to his phone.

Then, he looked at Jesse, who was quietly sobbing in their mother’s arms.

’... We’re all getting worse. If something isn’t done soon, this will only get worse with each passing—’

This was becoming the norm.

Members of the family were beginning to get irritated over things that normally wouldn’t have been enough to cause an argument.

Three days without proper sleep were taking their toll.

And today, it had gotten worse for Jesse.

She was younger than the others, and the exhaustion seemed to be affecting her much more severely.

Asher looked back at his laptop to check the time.

His eyes widened slightly.

It was already midnight.

"Ohoy~! Jack, why didn’t you sa—"

Clara was about to berate her husband as she turned to glare at him.

But then she stopped.

Jack’s gaze was fixed directly at the ceiling.

"...."

He didn’t move.

Didn’t blink.

Didn’t respond.

Then—

"Ba....thump...."

Clara’s heart immediately skipped a beat.

Her eyes widened as she stared at her husband.

His eyes were closed.

"Ja-Ja-Jack?"

Hearing the stutter in her voice, the children immediately looked up.

Their father’s body remained completely unmoving.

"Father!"

They all shouted at once.

Their gadgets fell to the ground as they rushed toward the man.

They crowded around him, panic immediately spreading across their faces.

"Dad, wake up. Come on, wake up already!"

Asher grabbed Jack and shook him with all his might.

Nothing.

The more he shook him, the harder his heart pounded inside his chest.

"Dad!"

Even Jayden joined in, shaking their father desperately.

Only Jesse seemed to realize what they needed to do.

She immediately rushed toward the kitchen and grabbed a cup of icy-cold water.

Without hesitation, she hurried back and splashed the entire cup directly onto the man’s face.

Nothing.

Jack didn’t move.

Didn’t react.

Didn’t even flinch.

The cold water simply ran down his face and dripped from his chin.

And with that, the situation became painfully clear to them all.

A horrified expression slowly spread across their faces as they glanced at one another.

Nobody wanted to say it.

Nobody wanted to acknowledge it.

But the truth was now undeniable.

"Fa-Fa-Father has succumbed to the-the Nightmare curse."

"...."

Silence.

Something suddenly slipped from Jack’s hand.

It hit the ground softly.

Clack.

The sound seemed almost insignificant.

Yet the moment it landed, Clara let out an ear-piercing scream that shattered the silence of the night.

"Aaaaaaaaah!"

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