Chapter 12: A River of Life and Desire (Solis and Kosei)

I waited for the front door to open, enjoying the last of my maddening silence. "Where did the red roses go?" I asked myself before being interrupted by the sound of knocking. Ah, Kosei must be here. With my photo in hand, I made my way downstairs and opened the door. Kosei simply stood there, stunned. I tilted my head, asking a silent, "What?"

"You aren't a ghost." His response took me by surprise. Did that mean that Torii and Umbra, or my perception of them, turn them into phantoms?

"Solis?" I snapped out of my thoughts and noticed it. There was something dark in his eyes in contrast to how he was before. I never met him before he and his friends arrived in my home, but I'd assumed he was like me, just not as emotionally unstable. But now, I could see that I've freed some of his darker, more instinctual demons. I was destroying him and I could only blame myself. When he eventually wakes up, those scars will remain and if he ignored them, then he'll be like me. A broken human.

WIthout even thinking, I handed the photo to him. I moved out of the way to invite him into my home. And I realized that everything I was doing right now wasn't by my own doing. I wasn't even in control of my own self anymore. As I closed the door, I kept my eyes on Kosei, who was staring at the basket of perfect apples I had on my refurbished ranch tea table.

'What do they represent to us humans?'

I cleared my throat and warned him, "Don't even touch them. Trust me."

Kosei glared at me, and I froze. For a moment, I thought that-

Wait.. What I was thinking about again?

'Ah, yes.'

I was numbly aware of the fact that I deleafed my dull, normal axe. It only had one use left, so I needed to make it count. I could see Kosei back away in fear, perhaps realizing his mistake. I could hear a giggle escape my throat as I walked closer to him.

"Get out! If you want to help me, Kosei, then get out! Get out of this nightmare now!" I wanted to tell him, but I realized that I no longer had no control left. In the corner of my eyes, I could see the now red river flow.

'If we're talking about flowers, a red rose would mean longing or desire.'

As I stepped away from Solis, I realized that there was something very wrong with her. Her giggle did indeed creep me out, but her eyes were oddly empty, like a doll. But I could see something flash in her eyes. A warning, perhaps? I tried to reach for the front door, but my body refused to respond. Probably because of what was behind her. The closest thing that I could describe it was a living shadow. I mean, it had Solis's outline like any other shadow, but it was solid. There were some thin strings coming out of it, and they wrapped themselves around Solis. Almost as if she was a puppet.

"Torii and Umbra really care for you, Solis," I blurted without thinking, "They're really worried about your obsession with dreams. Your town is really nice at its current stage. What do these towns have yours doesn't?"

Solis's grip on the axe loosened for a moment before she tightened it. She looked away from me.

"The dreams hold a sense of harmony that she herself cannot maintain. Her inner turmoil forced her vision of Mira to warp into a dark nightmare. One that grows stronger the more pain is inflicted onto her." The shadow spoke telepathically, and the listless yet cruel voice made me shudder.

"Eventually, I and others like me begin to exist. We're the manifestation of the darkness that had accumulated in the heart and the doubting voice of insistence. We humans naturally have doubts about the choices we-"

A intense screech of pain reverberate in my head, making me wince. Solis was holding the broken handle of her axe, the strings dangling lifelessly from her. She was trembling.

"I can't do it… I'm no longer in control." She turned her head to look at me. The defeat in her eyes was palpable. "Kosei, you need to get to get out of this nightmare. And when you wake up, tell Luna that Mira has a Dream Severity of 5."

"What about you? I can't leave you behind with that thing."

"I've tortured you enough as it is. The longer you stay in here, the worse your situation will be. And out of everything I've done, I don't want someone who willingly chose to come here end up like me. Now get out of here! Head back to the plaza!"

As much as I wanted to listen to her, I ended up opening the door and leaving her home. She wanted me to escape.

I ran all the way to the only bridge that could bring me to the exit. Sure enough, Luna and Lloyd were there with the bed.

"Ah, my goodness! We were worried about you! Would you like to wake up?" The tapir asked, and I nodded. Before I lied down on the bed, I took one final look at Solis's house, only to realize that it was gone. As if she moved out..

"Kosei?" Luna's gaze showed concern, and I closed as my head rested on the pillow.

I waited until the usual bright light forced my eyes to open. As I sat up, I realized that my clothes were slightly damp. A cold sweat from the previous towns, without a doubt. I also had an intense headache that made me think that my brain was about to explode.

"Dream Severity 5... Mira..." I managed to mutter before I fell back down onto the bed and passing out. I vaguely aware of the sound of the door opening and many pairs of feet before feeling myself being lifted.