Call of Nightmare

The Call of the Nightmare seems stronger and harder to resist as one raises soul rank.^[4]

All Seeds of Nightmare emanated this Call, to which all Awakened were susceptible—the stronger they were, the more maddening the Call became, drawing them to challenge the Seed. Sunny reflected that the Call was likely innate to the Seeds rather than a function of the Spell, since even without being a carrier he still heard its maddening melody. The Call might exist to lure living beings into becoming twisted by Corruption, like enormous flytraps emanating a sweet scent, similar to how Nightmare Creatures are drawn to the Flame.^[5]

The Call not only affects the mind, but it also has a significant impact on reality. It can, for example, interfere with the tether of an Awakened and their Dream Realm anchor.^[6]

Main article: Nightmare Gate

The severity of interference increases as one gets closer to the Gate. The Call supersedes both the tether and the anchor in its immediate vicinity. This means that if one decides to enter the Dream Realm near an active Gate, they will be drawn to its Seed rather than their Citadel. The same goes for the Awakened who fall asleep in the vicinity.^[6]

If a Gate manifests in a populated area and needs to be closed quickly, they can use the Call to dispatch a group of challengers to the Seed. A Saint may assist and bring them there right away, or they may wait until the first wave of Nightmare Creatures has passed and take a nap. Although this is riskier because the challengers will have to look for each other, and the Seed is a potentially hostile region of the Dream Realm.^[6]

It is usually not difficult to avoid being displaced by the Call. All Awakened need to do is keep a safe distance between themselves and the Gate.^[6]

Main article: Nightmare Creatures

The Call does not only affect the Awakened but also Nightmare Creatures. The Nightmare Creatures are pulled to the blooming Seed of Nightmare. Most abominations seemed to be in a strange state as though they are hypnotized, forgetting everything except the goal of reaching the Seed and entering the waking world through it.^[7]

Hearing the Call is like hearing barely audible noises coming from all direction like an inaudible cacophony of muffled, distant, demented screams.^[1]