Tristan Psychological Clinic.
Tristan was in his forties, wore glasses, and had slightly graying hair. He was a psychologist—well, an ordinary sort of one.
For certain indescribable reasons, this world had developed a discipline dedicated to studying the human psyche at a very early stage, and mental illness had been classified as a specialized branch of medicine.
It was said to have originated with the great founder of modern medicine, Count of Green Forest—Aaron Sothoth!
Under the gaslight, Tristan first removed his glasses and rubbed his eye sockets before putting them back on and reviewing a research report on the cure rate of the ice-pick therapy.
After reading several more papers, he took up a golden fountain pen filled with ink and began drafting an article: "More concealed, and more dangerous, than physiological illnesses are psychological illnesses... Based on the author's long-term investigative reports, the following conclusions may be drawn—of every ten gentlemen and ladies in a large city, one suffers from depression, while three are plagued by such negative conditions as mild germophobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and mania..."
"By extension, most people actually suffer from psychological illnesses to one degree or another. This calls for more psychologists, yet the development of psychology in Invis remains at a relatively primitive and backward stage..."
"A real case... Dani (surname withheld)... Twenty-eight years old, secretary at the Harbor Authority, reports being plagued by auditory hallucinations and nightmares, with a recent tendency toward visual hallucinations... Suspected to have been caused by excessive work pressure and sudden stimulation; sedative psychiatric medication has been prescribed..."
At this point, Tristan opened the consultation file again to find more supporting information.
He saw Dani's account:
"Doctor... I don't know how to describe it. I'm going mad..."
"Every night, I have the same nightmare. I dream of a pitch-black