The pain… There was none. She could not feel herself being pulled, and yet pushed at the same time towards his thoughts, his feelings, his mind. She plunged into the room like it was water, and fell to the floor. Mia stood up, and what she saw nearly made her lose her sense of self. There were two Isaac's in front of her. One Isaac looked to be a ghost, seeming to flicker with the light that came from nowhere. The other Isaac was solid, but empty. She could see him die, as his soul flickered in and out of existence, like a candle… If the flame were to die, would Isaac go with it?

"… Isaac?"

"I hear nothing… This room, is nothing. I am being fooled, my mind is not my own…"

"Isaac, it's me, Mia."

"You are not here… you're another illusion… WHO IS THIS BOY?!" The ghost Isaac screamed out those last words, clearly deranged.

Mia walked over and put a hand on the ghost's shoulder. Skin solidified under her fingers, as she comforted the ghost Isaac. Whatever was happening, she must help him.

"Isaac, what is going on… That boy down there is you, and he's dying."

"But… I am me, this is JUST AN ILLUSION!!" Isaac screamed, throwing Mia off.

Mia slammed into the wall of Isaac's mind, finding her resolve flicker like Isaac's candle-soul. She was aware that if she died, then they both would.

"Isaac, nothing is as it seems… I am here though, I'm really here. You wouldn't do this to me, would you?"

"There is no reality… not here…"

"I am real, Isaac. Listen to me, you know it to be true!"

"LIES ARE EVERYWHERE! THE TRUTH IS MEANINGLESS! Reality is meaningless… life is meaningless…" He choked out the last words through sobs. Clearly, Isaac was in mental anguish.

"Isaac, this is all real no matter your reasoning. You cannot wake up by sheer force of will. Look at the mirror, that is reality. You are but a ghost, a flickering memory without a soul. I want to help you…"

"Nothing can help me… This boy… he will die soon."

"That can be stopped… Time is nothing here, let me help you!"

Ghost-Isaac nearly cracked there, his resolve flickering as much as the solid-Isaac's soul. He held out his hand, which was rapidly shimmering and fading away. Mia reached out and grasped it, keeping him here. If he faded away, then the Isaac she knew would be lost forever.

"Isaac, you are trapped. Not by this room, but by the soul that is lost in this room. The boy there is dying without a soul to keep his body running, where is it?"

"The soul is trapped within the mind, and the mind is lost in memories…"

Mia looked over and saw the pictures that Isaac had mentioned, only they weren't pictures to her. To Mia, the pictures were gates, opening up forgotten memories so they can be relived to find his soul. Mia took the ghost hand, and led Isaac with her. She reached out and touched the first picture, Isaac listening in upon Saturos and Menardi, she guessed. The gateway solidified, forming a passageway both could pass through.

"The mind cannot be fooled… The past cannot be undone, but it can harm the strongest of resolves."

Isaac was talking in riddles, but this time Mia could understand it. If they were to be defeated, Isaac would be lost. They stepped through, and the room disappeared behind them.

"Were you eavesdropping on us just now?"

"N-no!"

"Oh… and who are these?"

"My mind is lost… You are not here right now."

"Stop what you are doing, Saturos. He's only a boy. Let him go."

The young Isaac collapsed onto the ground, glowing with faint energy. Clearly, a fragment of Isaac's soul laid in his child self. Mia stood in front of the boy, protecting him from harm. If the boy died, then Isaac would too.

"You would fight to protect him? So be it."

The pair of Mars adepts rushed forward, and Mia tensed. Summoning her strength, she pulled out a staff and blocked Menardi's slice. She recoiled, summoning a Glacier. Menardi was trapped in a tomb of ice. Saturos, on the other hand, was forming a Pyroclasm to meet her. She dodged it, spinning and sending out shards of ice at Saturos. He fell, and suddenly the scene changed. Isaac, the ghost, walked over and put his hand on the young Isaac's back. The glow intensified, and the ghost solidified a slight bit. The scene cleared, and she saw Saturos and Menardi knock out two little boys with their powerful psynergy. They then hopped away, and a door appeared out of nowhere. She opened the door, knowing now what Isaac's childhood had been like. He had lost everything that day, his friend, his parent, and his soul. Stepping through, they appeared once again in the room. The flame burned brighter in the solid Isaac on the floor, and the ghost next to her seemed to be slightly more conscious of its surroundings.

"Where… am I?"

"You're… you're trapped, Isaac. We have to find the keys."

"What keys?"

"They're in the pictures. None of these look familiar?"

"I only remember a night… a storm… and fighting two scary people."

"We have a long way to go, Isaac."

Examining the body on the floor to make sure it was still alive; she looked to find the ghost had taken the form of the young Isaac. She sighed, knowing that he would not know her until a few more scenes. How could she convince him to come with her? Luckily, the boy seemed to trust in her, probably because she was older and was a girl. Young boys seem to look to their mothers, and maybe he had just lost a parent and needed a new one to turn to. She didn't know, but it wasn't going to be fun being "mommy" to young Isaac for another scene. But she was determined to do anything to bring Isaac back.