A Self-Study Within A Broken Mind

I came back a few days later, in the middle of the week. I just wanted to check in on Kara and Lila to be a part of something that was without issues seeing as my life was only spiraling. I arrived at the large room to find Tarne sitting on the couch in silence. “Hey,” I said. She looked over, frowned, and turned away. “You ok?” “They’re at it again,” she said. I worried that she meant they were having relationship issues, but a soft moan entered my ears from upstairs. I looked at Tarne, who was red in the face embarrassed. “Can you make them stop?” “It’s a natural thing,” I explained. “But it would be hard to understand at your age. Give it some time, you’ll understand.” “And then it wont bother me anymore?” “Well, then it will bother you more,” I said. “But you’ll understand and look for something similar with someone.” “Who?” “Good question,” I said. “Probably someone you haven’t met yet. Once you leave this place, you will meet countless people, and some will be fun to be around. A...

I came back two days later, following a read of a philosophical part of the text before. It was scary when Lila sounded smarter and made more sense than me. It made me believe that this was actually happening. I entered the library to find Kara and Lila already waiting for me. They were likely sitting there just waiting for a good hour, since I was not sure at what time I started. “Hey,” I said, with a wave of a hand. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here yesterday. It’s honestly weird saying ‘yesterday’ since you don’t really keep track of my time. I mean, there is a clock downstairs in the room, but nothing here works on my reality’s time.” I paused, shifting between the two of them. They were not moving, not even to blink. It felt like— “See, I told you it would fool him,” a voice spoke from above. I looked up to find Lila, Kara, and Tarne suspended in rainbow-looking bubbles. There were two more beings in the air, but they were standing on air. “You have poor timing.” “Fyntn?” I asked. “The thi...

(27k, loosely edited) “…for dark magic tends to save the world more often than the pure kind.” -some old wizard The nails she wore drew me to her first. They were a midnight shade of purple, rimmed with gold, each sporting three small daggers, star-like, gradient of gold to the midnight purple. They entranced me, enticed me, and inhaled my existence. In the end, those nails were the ones who brought me to my supposed life. I wasn’t alive, but not quite dead either. “Half-lifer,” she called me, her crimson lipstick so close to my eyes. “Best come with me.” This isn’t my story. I’m dead. Well, not yet. I’ve died, and she brought me back, but not to life. I can talk, walk, sleep, and pretend I’m human. I don’t decompose, but have no heartbeat. With one foot in the grave, I’m frozen between life and death. I now serve her, Deresanzi, the Queen of Half-life.” “Stop calling me a Queen,” she said. “I’m just another Half-lifer like you. You’re only here because Salzy wanted to bring you ba...