There is a bubble around existence. One that is allowed to exist due to the energy level of the Higgs field. But if the energy level were to change. Then, the bubble would pop. And the universe would end. We'd all be dead and hopeless. All because of a tiny change.
That's all it takes. A tiny change.
What if it's a lie.
John looked at the head of his two dragons sticking through the window.
"YAP!"
"YAP!"
They were excitedly yapping at John's return. But John couldn't smile at it.
What if they're lying to me? They're pretending to like me. Pretending to care about me. All so they can stab me in the back.
John looked at the heads of the dragons sticking through the window. Then he laid back down in his bed.
I..... I want to go back to sleep.
John slumped back into the bed.
MONSTER! MURDERER! SINNER! SCUM!
YOU SHOULD DIE!
YOU DISGUSTING LIE!
NO ONE WILL LOVE YOU!
JUST LET IT GO AND LET GO!
To the sound of that Indictment, John fell asleep.
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"You know. There's a difference between being slothful and depressed."
John was lying in the thorns. They were piercing through his skin and drawing blood from him. They sucked up that blood like vampires.
John looked up at Sloth.
Today, she wore a pair of long jeans and a tank top.
"I'm not depressed. I'm not." John said
"Why can't you move? Because you clearly haven't embraced sloth, sitting in the thorns isn't the path of least resistance." Sloth said
John looked up at her.
"But...… Then what is?"
"Eating Fucking and Sleeping. Succumbing to all your base urges and becoming like an animal. Living without thought and care. Just continuing to find the next meal and the next mate. That's what a true sloth is like. And that's why I choose to take the form of a young woman whenever I gain the power to do so. Because I am temptation. You are not tempted."
Sloth looked down at John as he lay within the thorns.
"You haven't embraced that. You've just chosen to lay in it. You're wallowing, John. Pull yourself up and stand."
John just glared back up at Sloth.
"It's not that easy," John said
Sloth rolled her eyes.
"Sure thing, buddy."
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John's eyes opened to drool. Literal droll was dripping down onto his face.
SHIT. What is this?
"YAP!"
John's eardrums damn near burst from how loud the dragon shouted.
"OKAY! OKAY! I'm up!" Yelled John as he shot up from his bed.
A man in blue nurse scrubs stood a few feet away from John's bed. He gave John a kind smile.
"I let the dragon in because you whimpered less when it was around." Said the man
John raised his brow at that.
"What?" John asked
"You whimpered less when that thing was around." Said the man as he pointed at Neptune.
"No. That's not what I'm confused about. I'm confused about why you said I was whimpering." John said
The nurse just smiled.
"I think I'll let a professional brief you on that." The nurse said
For a moment, John just looked at him. Then he nodded slightly.
"Okay..."
MONSTER!MURDERER! Maybe he'll know the source of the voice in my head? MONSTER!MURDERER!
John sat and waited patiently for the doctor to come. As he did so, he petted Neptune's head. His scales felt nice and warm in comparison to John's hands. But strangely, that didn't make John feel very happy.
MONSTER!MURDERER!SINNER!
YOU ARE HATREDS PASTOR!
John sat and petted Neptune while listening to the chant for a good few minutes. Finally, after that time, a man wearing a thick woolly sweater entered the room. He had a pair of glasses folded into his neckline, and a business smile was on his face.
"Hello. You're John Turner, right?" Asked the man
John nodded.
"Yup. That's me."
"Okay. So. I'm here just because I have some news that I need to break to you." The man said
"Okay. Go ahead and break it."
The man nodded.
"You're mentally ill. We did a full physical of your body. Other than a slightly high heart rate, There's nothing wrong with you. Nothing anywhere near wrong enough to cause the sudden partial loss of the survival instinct. So, if the sickness is not in the body, then it's in the mind." Said the man whilst tapping his head
"My guess is that you suffered some extreme form of a panic attack or psychosis. Either way, it's because of some underlying mental condition that needs to be treated. Because if there's another break. You probably won't survive," Said the man
For a moment, John just sat there.
DIE IN A PIT!
CAN'T LOCK ME UP!
CAN'T LOCK ME DOWN!
CAN'T KEEP ME IN PRISON!!!
YOU ARE SCUM! AND YOU SHOULD KNOW IT!
Am I insane?
John looked at his legs. They stretched at least a floor over the hospital bed. He was too tall. He didn't fit. He never fit.
I don't like this. I don't like this idea.
"I would recommend therapy." Said the man
John looked at the man.
"Isn't therapy that thing where you sit in a room and talk to people about your feelings?" John asked
The man nodded.
"Yes. That would be an accurate description." The man said
"No. I can't do that." John said resolutely
"I'm not going to talk like that."
"Well. There is another way... You could be medicated."
"That would just be me eating something and getting better, right?" John asked
The man nodded.
"Yes. Again, that would be an accurate description."
"Alright. I'll do that then." John said
The man looked at John for a momment.
"You know that pills for conditions like these can mess with your health, right? They can even make the conditions worse in some cases." Said the man
John rolled his eyes.
"I'm good at eating. There won't be any problems for someone like me." John said
"Oka~~~~~~~~y." The man said