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It was a fleeting moment of sanity in a swirling pool of insanity.

That thing played with his mind, but he wouldn\'t let it win.

It felt like he was swimming in a whirlpool, constantly trying to get out of it while it constantly pulled him in.

His head would constantly be pulled below the surface, he\'d start choking and drowning.

He would flail his arms and struggle with his legs to get his head out of the whirlpool, and whenever he did he would take the biggest breath he could.

He was tired and exhausted, but once he stopped fighting, he would be pulled into the depths.

He could feel it, its twisted nature at the bottom of those depths. It wanted him. It was pulling, he could feel its presence creeping on him.

Mori barely had moments of lucidity, barely making it to the bed, letting himself fall into it.

Nothing in this room mattered, if he ever lost the battle.

He didn\'t know what to expect, if he did.

Invitations from Aleesia kept coming, but he kept ignoring them.

There\'s nothing she could do.

Mori closed his eyes, and kept swimming.

—~~~—

Seems you\'re fine.

Mori opened his eyes to a ceiling he would recognize from any other, just from the way light danced on it.

He slowly sat upright, holding his forehead with his only arm, a headache still ringing through.

He sat on the side of the bed, his feet touching the colder ground.

"How long?" he asked.

"A few days."

Mori\'s head quickly turned, Aleesia was sitting in front of the fire.

"What? How are you here? Did I not kick you out?"

"You did, then I sent requests until you accepted one."

"I didn\'t accept any request..."

"But you did," she said, standing up with a cup in her hands.

She approached him, and handed it to him.

After a few nods and gestures, he finally listened to her and took a sip.

Tea.

It was pretty good; he thought. It didn\'t help with the headache, but most likely nothing could.

"How long have you been here?" he asked.

"About two days."

Mori shook his head while frowning, his eyes staring at the ground.

"It\'s all... messed up. What happened? So I did accept your request? That was real?"

"Yeah."

Mori frowned even deeper. He could recall snippets of what he had done, but everything was fragmented and hidden behind a shroud.

"What else have I done?" he asked.

Aleesia took back the cup he had finished, walking back toward the teapot to serve some more.

"Nothing much. Your fever was running high. You spoke a little, and you looked like you were struggling."

She walked back toward him, giving him the cup again.

"You shouldn\'t have come. I can handle myself-" Discover what\'s next on m-vl-em,py-r

"Being alone does not mean being independent."

"But-"

"You\'re acting like people are tools to be used, but when it comes to it, you act in our interest before yours. You think going through the hard part alone will save those around you, but truly that\'s the stupidest thing I\'ve seen you do."

Mori\'s mind went to Maya and Torryn.

They died by his actions. But would they still be alive, if instead of trying to send them away, he kept them around?

What was the right decision?

Being alongside him was a brand for death.

I don\'t even expect myself to come out of it alive. How could I even bring others into this?

"There\'s no reason for everyone to sink with me. You too. Even if I were to die here, you can handle yourself in this place. You\'re an elf, you could live for a very long time, until a day someone else tries to complete this dungeon again."

Aleesia slapped Mori, the sound of the cup he was holding echoing through the rectangular room.

Mori\'s face went sideways, slowly going back Aleesia.

Swirling black patterns appeared in his irises, small but noticeable.

She took a step back, as she looked into his eyes.

Mori looked on the ground, where fragments of the cup were sprinkled around the floor, in a pool of tea.

"Listen-" started Mori.

"-No, you listen. You can\'t make decisions for everyone around you. If you want to truly control me, then put a collar on me and treat me like a dog, otherwise don\'t bother. Don\'t pretend you\'re doing this for me."

Mori was holding his head again, the swirls in his eyes noticeably disappearing.

"I would gladly take care of you when you need it. All you need is ask. Honestly, I\'m not even sure you know how to ask. Just the other day, when I made some breakfast while you were sleeping, then you woke up, then I said \'Hey, do you want some?\' and then you said \'No,\' but then you were clearly hungry, so then I said-"

Mori got up, putting his index fingers on her lips.

"Sh."

She shook her head.

"Oh, now we\'re embarassed? Yeah, I saw how you looked at my plate. I know you wanted some. But no. You couldn\'t ask. Asking is above you.

The other day-"

Mori pushing his finger against her lips again.

"Alright. Shush. Enough. Head hurts. Too much noise."

Confused and offended, Aleesia stood there, her eyebrows raised while looking at Mori standing before her.

"I got it. Ask more. Thanks for everything that you did for me."

He cheeks hinted toward pink as she bit her lips.

"See? Not so hard..." she muttered.

"Yes, yes."

Mori let himself fall back onto the bed, his arms extended on both sides.

Aleesia quickly stepped in.

"What is it? What\'s wrong?"

"I\'m just tired. I\'ll rest a bit more. Take care of me, if you want."

Aleesia\'s excitement showed through her demeanor. It was as if she had turned into a butterfly, running toward the buckets of water while trying to find the perfect cloth to use on his forehead.

Even her hands looked like they were flapping, weird, but still cute, thought Mori.