I couldn't see what was out there, but whatever it was, I could tell I'd caught its gaze. Judging from the bloodlust I was sensing, I guessed it was some sort of animal: it was too feral to be a person. Maybe Death had a pet. Either that or it was some creature capable of withstanding the effects of the spirit energy on its own, which I doubt was the case.
Whatever it was, escape was out of the question. The moment I show any signs of retreat, it'd probably close in, and if I run, it'd most likely chase – and catch – me. My best bet was to continue forward – slowly. Any sudden moves might be misinterpreted and result in me being maimed.
I slowly turned right and headed toward the trunk of the tree. That seemed like a good place to keep my back guarded while waiting for Trik to come down.
As I inched towards the trunk of the tree, a voice that seemed to resonate from all directions spoke.
"What are you doing," it asked. It was a deep, smooth voice, yet soft with a weight of sadness behind it. A sadness I felt I recognized from somewhere. I tried to focus on remembering, but an overwhelming power that seemed to reach my mind despite wearing the rupture prism washed over me. It pulled my mind into a new kind of darkness – a void of consciousness where an indomitable will was present.
Somewhere deeper in the void, I sensed another presence, something more sinister. There was an intimidating atmosphere around it that kept me at bay, but that only made me want to work harder to see what was behind it. After prying past it, I locked onto the center I'd sensed and felt it release a wave of murderous intent towards me. The shock from the mental impact shattered what little resistance I had left.
With my will subdued and my brain deluged with terror, I suddenly found myself in a trance. When I heard the question asked echoed throughout the void again, I felt compelled to answer. My mind couldn't discern the intent behind the question, so as luck would have it, it focused on that exact same question I've been asking myself. I thought about everything I'd done since beginning the mission.
I realized that in the last year and a half, maybe, I haven't really accomplished anything.
There are more questions than answers now.
Like, why did Greed and Despair purposely leave traces of their energy for me to find? What did they have to do with Death's disappearance until recently? What was their purpose in teaching humans about spirit manipulation? If they know I'm looking for them, why not stop me? Do they want me to find them? All these questions but no answers.
I'm not even the one who found Death – someone connected to a friend I made a couple of months after starting the mission used their connections to find someone who turned out to have a lead that led me here.
Reluctantly, I came up with the answer I've been too stubborn to admit to myself.
"I don't... I don't know," I heard myself say. "I'm not doing anything." I noticed how tired I was, both physically and mentally.
I was tired of running around trying to figure out all this Primordials crap; tired of the family politics – trying to make them look good in front of the other families so they could save face.
The Hearts will remain the head family regardless, so why should I try so hard to live this kind of life? A life they assigned and threw me into. I didn't ask for this life...so why should I live it?
I could just stay here for a while and rest. Sleep.
Yes, sleep. That sounds so good right about now. I could just drop everything...and peacefully...sleep here...forever...
I felt my mind slipping further and further into the depths of the darkness when something gave my conscience a firm push back towards the surface.
You must wake, Lisa.
Its voice was filled with a maternal warmth yet paternal conviction, making it hard to discern the entity's gender. I'd never heard it before but somehow knew I could trust it.
I felt myself traveling away from the source of the voice as the darkness began to fade and a bright light replaced it. A once distant and muffled yelling in the background became lucid as the light shined brighter.
"ALISSIA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Trik was in front of me, violently shaking me by my shoulders. While still holding me in place, he turned towards the murky blackness behind him.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!" he bellowed in anger.
"I didn't touch her," someone responded. That voice, again. It was heart-wrenchingly beautiful, and its allure was like sleep itself was calling to me. I wish I could curl up, sink into its embrace, and rest there forever. I just have to let go...
Facing back towards me, Trik smacked me a little, gaining my attention. "Lisa, look at me. I need you to expand your dampening field; you're letting too much of his energy affect you."
"Wha–" was all I could muster.
"Your spirit energy. Put more into the crystal, NOW," he instructed.
"Wait, who are you, anyway?" The voice called out. Once again, my consciousness began to slip.
"Wait," Trik snapped back. "Can't you see she needs help?!"
"...What she needs is to be far away from me," the voice said in a lowered tone.
"No, we came here looking for you...." Trik took a deep breath before continuing. "Look, just...give us a second, alright? We'll explain everything once she's coherent again."
Trik tirelessly continued his attempts to get through to me for a while before he finally began to get a stronger response from me.
"Ow! I'm okay! I'm okay! You can stop slapping me now," I said, rubbing my cheek. "And stop shining the light in my eyes; you're burning my retinas."
The slapping ceased, and Trik took a step back, giving me room to breathe.
"Ugh, my head." I needed to sit down before I collapsed for the second time today. Looking around, I noticed I couldn't see anything. I could only see Trik, who was right in front of me. Then it dawned on me my damping field was less than a foot away from me.
"What the hell?"
After a sigh of relief, Trik spoke.
"I take it you don't remember what you were attempting to do a few moments ago," he stated.
"...No. Last thing I remember was feeling like something was watching me. What...How'd..."
"First things first, extend your dampening field before his spirit energy kills you," Trik said, motioning at the small field around me. I extended the field to about six feet.
"So, what happened," I asked him.
"I'm not 100% sure what you were under the influence of, but when I came back down, I noticed your dampening field was shrinking. At first, I thought something was wrong with the rupture prism, but I saw you deliberately reabsorbing the energy you placed into it when I got closer. You were also muttering about being tired and wanting sleep. My best guess is enough of his energy somehow got through the dampening field and influenced you, convincing you to lower the field willingly." Trik finished explaining.
As I sat, I tried to digest it all.
"Sleep? Tired? Did I try to kill myself?! How come I can't remember any of that," I pondered.
"I don't know," Trik replied. "You were also muttering about sleep's voice or something. You were delusional, hence the slapping."
"Sleep's voice? What– Agh!"