I snorted.

"Wow."

"I HAVE EARNED THIS."

She kept both hands over her face while walking now, visibly trying and failing to contain how happy she looked. Meanwhile, her shoulders kept twitching slightly like she was physically restraining herself from grabbing onto me again.

I shook my head slightly, still amused.

"You basically turned this place into a map using tiny scratches and memory alone."

Eclipsara made another tiny muffled noise.

"And honestly, your sense of direction is ridiculous."

"Val-"

"Like actually ridiculous. Every hallway here looks exactly the same and you're still navigating perfectly."

"WAIT WAIT WAIT-"

"And somehow you managed to make marks subtle enough that monsters or other people probably wouldn't even notice them."

Eclipsara suddenly lowered her hands and pointed at me dramatically while backing away slightly.

"NO MORE PRAISE."

I immediately laughed quietly.

"You literally deserve it though."

"I KNOW, THAT'S THE PROBLEM."

Her smile somehow widened even further.

For one terrifying second, I genuinely thought she might explode from happiness. Instead she dramatically turned her head away while muttering quietly to herself.

"...At this rate I'm gonna start kicking my feet and giggle like a maniac in the middle of the horror hallway."

I blinked.

"...I heard that."

Eclipsara froze for half a second then immediately nodded with complete confidence.

"I KNOW."

I stared at her.

Honestly, she just looked way too happy right now.

Then she suddenly straightened back up again, trying and completely failing to act normal.

"ANYWAY," she announced dramatically-though still keeping her voice quieter now in case the creature was nearby. "Follow the amazing genius hallway navigator."

"Of course. Oh mighty legendary navigator Eclipsara."

Eclipsara looked dangerously close to exploding from joy at that response alone.

Then we continued deeper into the white hallways together, following the scratched vent markings farther into the facility while the silence slowly returned around us once again.

---

After another turn through yet another identical corridor, Eclipsara finally spoke again while walking slightly ahead of me.

"The lab we're heading toward apparently had some kind of hidden exit door."

I glanced toward her.

"...The secret passage room you mentioned earlier? The room with the scientist note?"

"Yep."

She lightly adjusted the axe resting over her shoulder before pointing vaguely ahead.

"I already told you the rough version earlier," she explained, "but the room itself had these giant circular containers inside it. Ten of them total. Massive cylinder things arranged in two rows across the lab."

I listened quietly while we continued through the sterile hallways.

Eclipsara shrugged slightly.

"I didn't really explain the full situation earlier though."

"...Okay." I muttered. "Go ahead. Start the story."

"Yep."

Eclipsara pointed vaguely behind herself while walking. "So basically, the giant horrifying nightmare skull creature decided we were its personal problem that day."

I blinked.

"...Oh wow. Starting strong already, huh?"

"YEAH."

Her visible red eye narrowed dramatically.

"We were still inside the lab reading the hidden scientist note when suddenly we started hearing these weird distant noises outside the room." 

She paused.

Then immediately looked away.

"...Which was probably my fault, actually."

I stared at her.

"...Eclipsara."

She kept looking away suspiciously.

"...What did you do."

"NOTHING."

I continued staring.

Eclipsara coughed awkwardly into her fist.

"...Okay maybe I yelled a little."

"...About what?"

Her visible eye twitched faintly.

"Mira."

That answered absolutely nothing.

"...What ABOUT Mira?"

Eclipsara groaned dramatically.

"After we finished reading the hidden scientist note," she muttered, "Mira looked me directly in the eyes and said we should continue going deeper underground using the elevator."

I instantly froze.

"...Oh."

Because suddenly I remembered her earlier breakdown over Mira wanting to continue exploring the underground horror lab.

Eclipsara pointed accusingly into empty space while walking.

"AND I MAY HAVE LOST MY COOL A LITTLE."

"A little?" I repeated.

"I WAS DISTRESSED."(emotional panic, fear, overwhelm, anxiety)

 

She threw one hand upward dramatically.

"VAL, WE HAD JUST FINISHED READING NIGHTMARE SCIENCE NOTE IN A SECRET MURDER LAB AND THEN SHE WANTED MORE UNDERGROUND HORRORS."

"...Absolutely Reasonable reaction."

Eclipsara crossed her arms tightly now.

"So my voice may have gotten slightly loud while I was passionately explaining why deeper underground was a terrible idea."

"...Ah." I nodded slowly. "...Wrong moment. Wrong time."

"EXACTLY."

She pointed at me aggressively like I'd finally understood her suffering.

"THANK YOU."

Then her expression darkened slightly again.

"Because a few seconds later, we started hearing the impacts."

I frowned immediately. "...The creature hitting the door?"

"Mm-hm."

She made a face.

"And not little hits either. I mean HUGE hits."

Eclipsara briefly lifted one hand off her axe and mimed something repeatedly slamming into a wall.

Even her imitation sounded unpleasant.

"The entire lab door started denting inward." she continued. "Like something gigantic was repeatedly smashing itself against it trying to force its way inside."

"...That's horrifying."

"I KNOW."

She pointed dramatically toward herself.

"So Mira and I immediately hid behind one of the giant circular containers because contrary to popular belief, we actually DIDN'T want to die horribly."

"Reasonable."

"EXTREMELY reasonable."

We turned another corner while she continued talking.

"And while we were hiding there waiting to get turned into paste..." she muttered, "...Mira suddenly noticed this tiny metal panel mounted beside the base of the container."

I blinked.

"...Wait."

"There was a hidden button on it."

I stared at her.

"...Convenient."

"UNBELIEVABLY convenient."

She shook her head slightly.

"I still don't know who designed this place, but apparently they believed emergency hidden escape buttons were important."

"...Indeed."

Eclipsara nodded rapidly.

"Exactly."

Then her expression shifted slightly more serious again.

"The creature almost got through the door before Mira pressed it."

A brief pause.

"And then suddenly this hidden exit opened behind us."

"...And thats how you found the secret passage?"

"Yep."

I frowned slightly while imagining it.

"And the creature didn't see you escape?"

"Barely."

Eclipsara grimaced faintly.(making a face showing discomfort, disgust, or stress.)

"The door was already buckling inward when we got through. We closed it right before the thing managed to break inside."

"...That's WAY too close."

"I KNOW."

She suddenly pointed ahead.

"And we're here now."

I looked forward.

Then immediately slowed.

"...Oh."

Where the large lab door supposedly used to be...

There was now a gigantic hole ripped directly through the wall.

Not cracked.

Not broken normally.

Gone.

The metal doorframe itself looked twisted outward like something enormous had physically torn its way through.(Means the metal doorframe was bent outward unnaturally, as if a huge creature forced itself through from inside or smashed through violently. Visual: metal bent outward. Warped edges. Peeled/opened forcefully. Looks ripped apart, not cleanly broken)

Jagged(sharp, uneven broken pieces.) chunks of white wall and bent steel littered the floor beneath the opening.(Broken sharp pieces of wall and twisted metal were scattered everywhere under the giant hole.)

Eclipsara and I slowly looked at the destruction.

Then simultaneously looked at each other.

"...Well." I said carefully.

"...Yeah." Eclipsara muttered.

Honestly?

That was about what I expected at this point.

We cautiously stepped closer toward the massive ruined opening.

And the moment we looked inside-

"...Oh my god." Eclipsara whispered.

The entire giant lab had been completely destroyed.

The massive circular containers she'd described earlier?

Gone.

Not damaged.

Gone.

Several looked like they'd been ripped out entirely while others had been crushed apart into twisted metal debris scattered across the room.

Two large desks near the far wall had been completely obliterated too. Broken metal pieces and shattered equipment littered the floor beneath flickering ceiling lights.

The entire place looked like something gigantic had violently rampaged through every inch of it.

Eclipsara slowly stared around the ruined lab.

Then quietly muttered-

"...Oh thank goodness Mira and I escaped before we got smushed into paste."(smushed can also mean crushed)

I immediately nodded.

"Oh thank goodness indeed."

We both continued staring at the catastrophic destruction surrounding us.

Then Eclipsara pointed weakly toward one of the massive dents carved deep into the far wall.

"...Yeah, that probably would've killed us instantly."

"Probably?"

"Okay definitely."

I looked around the ruined lab again.

"...You know, seeing this now really puts the phrase 'barely escaped' into perspective."

Eclipsara nodded rapidly.

"YEAH. WE WERE APPARENTLY ONE BAD DECISION AWAY FROM BECOMING FLOOR DECORATION."

I stared at one of the shattered pieces of metal embedded halfway into the wall.(embedded means driven deep into another object or surface. Similar to “lodged” but this often means stronger/more forceful.)

"...This creature genuinely feels unfair."

"ACTUALLY unfair."

For a moment neither of us spoke.

We just stood there staring deeper into the destroyed laboratory while the silence around us felt heavier now that we could physically see the aftermath left behind by the thing hunting us.

Then Eclipsara's visible eye slowly widened.

"...Wait."

"What?"

She suddenly pointed upward.

"I THINK ONE OF THEM IS IN THE CEILING."

I looked upward briefly.

"...OH MY GOD IT ACTUALLY IS."

Part of one crushed circular cylinder really had become lodged(stuck firmly inside something.) halfway into the ceiling above us.

The massive metal container had literally embedded itself into the wall like something had thrown it hard enough to partially bury it overhead.

Silence.

Then Eclipsara suddenly grabbed onto my arm tightly.

"...We are surviving entirely through panic and accidental good timing."

I stared at the cylinder stuck in the ceiling.

"Eclipsara, I think that's been our strategy for a while now."

"AND IT'S WORKING."

"I agree."

---

Eclipsara nodded firmly like we'd just reached an important scientific conclusion.

Then she suddenly looked around the destroyed lab again.

"...Okay, wait."

Her visible red eye narrowed thoughtfully.

"The hidden button should still be somewhere around here."

I blinked.

"...Somewhere?"

"Listen, the room wasn't shaped like this before."

Fair point.

Eclipsara carefully stepped over a twisted chunk of metal before crouching near one of the shattered remains of a circular container.

Then she immediately dropped lower onto her hands and knees.

I stared.

"...Eclipsara."

"What."

"You are literally crawling through monster wreckage right now."

"I'm INVESTIGATING."

She crouched lower with both hands against the floor while scanning beneath broken debris pieces.

Honestly, she looked like an extremely determined gremlin searching for buried treasure.

"The panel was hidden near the base of one of the containers..." she muttered while crawling slightly farther forward. "Which is slightly harder to identify now that half the room exploded."

She leaned farther sideways to look beneath a bent metal support beam.(a thick structural metal bar or pillar used to hold up walls or ceilings.)

Then suddenly froze.

"...WAIT."

I looked toward her immediately.

"What?"

Eclipsara pointed dramatically downward.

"I FOUND IT."

I blinked.

Somehow, partially hidden beneath debris and cracked flooring, a small metal panel was still embedded in the floor beside one of the destroyed container bases.

Eclipsara stared at it in disbelief.

"...Oh thank goodness it's still here."

Then she narrowed her eye suspiciously at it.

"...Actually wait, HOW did this survive the destruction?!"

Wait a second.

That's a good question.

The rest of the lab looked like a giant apocalypse monster had personally declared war against architecture.

Meanwhile the tiny hidden button panel somehow looked perfectly fine.

I slowly pointed at it.

"...Maybe it has plot armor."

"ACTUALLY POSSIBLE."

Eclipsara immediately pressed the button.

A low mechanical noise echoed through the ruined laboratory.

Then-

SHHHHHK.

Part of the far wall slowly slid sideways, revealing a narrow hidden passage concealed behind it.

Both of us immediately stared at the opening.

"...Oh." I muttered.

Eclipsara stood back up proudly before dramatically gesturing toward it.

"Welcome to the secret passage that saved Mira and I from becoming wall decorations."

I looked toward the narrow opening.

The hidden corridor beyond it looked cramped and noticeably darker than the sterile white hallways outside. Thin dim lights lined the ceiling inside the passage, casting faint pale illumination across the narrow metal walls.(the dim lights were spreading weak pale light through the corridor.)

"...That is WAY creepier than I expected somehow."

"I KNOW."

Eclipsara immediately pointed toward the opening.

"C'mon. We should get inside before the nightmare skull creature decides to check if we're still alive."

"...Good point."

We quickly moved toward the hidden passage together.

The moment we stepped inside, the air immediately felt different.

More enclosed.

Quieter.

The walls were much narrower here too, forcing us to walk closer together.

Eclipsara turned back toward the entrance and pressed another small panel hidden beside the inner wall.

SHHHHK.

The hidden doorway slowly slid shut behind us, sealing the destroyed laboratory from view.

Silence settled almost instantly afterward.

Eclipsara exhaled deeply.

"...Okay. Slightly safer."

"Slightly."

"Very important distinction."

Then she adjusted her grip on the axe again before starting forward through the dim narrow passageway.

I followed closely behind her while the faint overhead lights flickered softly above us.(lights briefly flashing orunsteady instead of staying constant.)

Our footsteps echoed quietly through the cramped corridor as we disappeared deeper into the hidden passage together.

---

The narrow passageway stretched onward for several more minutes.

The walls here felt tighter than the main hallways outside(the passageway felt more cramped or narrow or claustrophobic compared to the larger hallways.), the dim overhead lights casting pale shadows across the cramped corridor(weak ceiling lights creating faint/light-colored shadows. Pale shadows gives the corridor a washed-out, eerie feeling instead of deep dark shadows.). Our footsteps echoed softly through the enclosed space as Eclipsara led the way ahead of me with her axe resting loosely over one shoulder.

Honestly?

This entire hidden passage felt exactly like the kind of place small nightmare creatures would crawl out of.

So naturally-

"...Are there tiny creatures in here?" I asked cautiously.

Eclipsara immediately snorted.

"Haha. Of course not."

"...You sure?"

"Like... eighty percent sure." she answered dramatically.

"...Eclipsara."

"I'm kidding." she said casually. "...Probably."

I immediately narrowed my eyes.

"...What do you MEAN probably?" I whisper-hissed dramatically.

She waved one hand dismissively while continuing forward.

"If tiny wall monsters suddenly appear and start crawling on the ceiling, I'll let you know."

I groaned tiredly.

"...Oh no."

Eclipsara looked extremely pleased with herself.

Thankfully, no ceiling monsters appeared.

After another short stretch of walking, the narrow corridor finally opened into a brighter section ahead. Eclipsara stepped forward first before pushing open another hidden metal door built into the wall.

The moment we stepped through, the space widened considerably.

"...Oh."

This hallway looked much more like the original facility again.

The lights here were brighter, illuminating three separate doors positioned at the far end of the hall.

One to the left.

One straight ahead.

And one to the right.

Eclipsara immediately pointed toward them while walking forward.

"Welcome back to the disaster rooms."

"...Right." I muttered.

Then I pointed toward the doors again.

"I know you already told me earlier," I admitted. "but remind me again which room was which."

Eclipsara blinked once.

Then immediately looked deeply offended by reality itself.

"Oh GOOD." she said dramatically. "You just activated my ranting again."

I smiled slightly despite myself.

"...Go on ahead."

Her visible red eye widened just slightly.

I honestly didn't mind listening to her talk.

If anything, the way Eclipsara explained things somehow made this nightmare place feel... easier to process. Like even the horrifying parts became weirdly engaging when she got invested in explaining them.

And apparently she immediately noticed that too.

Because her expression brightened instantly.

"...Val." she said quietly.

Then she turned away slightly while muttering under her breath-

"...He's literally letting me ramble willingly. Oh my god. That's dangerous."

I blinked.

"...I heard that."

"I KNOW." she answered immediately, sounding completely delighted.

Then she pointed aggressively toward the right-side door first.

"THAT room is where Mira and I went first."

Her visible red eye narrowed.

"And inside were twenty nightmare creatures stored inside giant containers."

"...Still insane to hear out loud."

"IT GETS WORSE."

Of course it did.

Eclipsara pointed harder now.

"So while Mira and I were inside investigating everything, suddenly the ENTIRE FLOOR shook for one second."

I blinked.

"...What?"

"YEAH."

She spread both hands dramatically.

"Just one massive shake."

A pause.

"Then all the creatures started waking up."

I stared at her.

"...Absolutely not."

"ABSOLUTELY YES."

Eclipsara pointed at herself now.

"So naturally I had to run around the room slamming emergency sedation buttons while Mira worked on some complicated puzzle system to destroy all the containers before the creatures fully woke up."

"...That sounds unbelievably stressful."

"I WAS HAVING A BAD TIME."

She gestured toward the right door again.

"And then ONE OF THE MONSTERS GOT OUT."

I immediately grimaced.

"...The one you told me you fought?"

"Yep."

Eclipsara pointed dramatically at herself again.

"So while Mira was trying to finish the puzzle system, I was over there fighting a giant nightmare creature by myself."

I stared at her for a second.

"...WOW."

"I KNOW."

She crossed her arms.

"And THEN Mira finally finished the puzzle thing and shot the creature with her sniper rifle before it could murder me horribly."

A brief pause.

"Honestly? Very appreciated."

I slowly rubbed my forehead.

"You know," I muttered, "I already knew this story, but somehow hearing the detailed version makes it sound even crazier."

"THANK YOU."

Then suddenly Eclipsara blinked.

"...Wait."

"What?"

Her visible red eye narrowed thoughtfully while she stared into empty space.

"...I think I forgot to tell you something else weird about that room."

I blinked.

"...What was weird?"

"I don't remember." she admitted immediately.

Silence.

Then I shrugged slightly.

"...It's okay. Take your time."

Eclipsara glanced toward me.

"You don't have to force yourself to remember right now." I continued. "You can tell me later whenever it comes back to you."

Her visible eye softened slightly.

"...Okay."

Then she pointed at her own head.

"My brain is currently seventy percent panic damage and horrifying lore."

I nodded once.

"...Got it. No stressing yourself out trying to force memories back."

Eclipsara looked weirdly happy about that response.

"It'll probably come back to me later."

"...You think it'll happen at the worst possible moment?"

"Knowing this place?" she muttered. "...Absolutely at the worst possible moment."

Then she pointed toward the middle door.

"Anyway, THAT room is the safer one."

"The room you and Mira rested in?"

"Yep."

She started walking toward it.

"There's a bunk bed inside, a desk, some storage shelves..." she explained. "That was basically our temporary survival room for a while."

Then she pointed toward the left-side door.

"And THAT room is the one Mira and I never got to explore."

"...Because of the journal?"

"Exactly."

Eclipsara adjusted her grip on the axe slightly.

"We found a journal listing the floor layout and nearby rooms. Mira wanted to prioritize finding medical supplies for me instead of risking another nightmare monster room."

"...Very reasonable."

"I KNOW."

Then she reached the middle door.

"And through this room," she explained while grabbing the handle, "there's another door that connects back into the main hallways. That's the route we used earlier to find the closest medical supplies for my arm."

I followed closely behind her as she pushed the door open.

"And honestly, it might still take us a while to actually find Mi-"

SMACK.

A sniper rifle instantly slammed directly into Eclipsara's face.

At nearly the exact same time, the long barrel also smacked straight into my chest hard enough to make me stumble backward slightly in shock.

The hit sent Eclipsara dramatically collapsing onto the floor with a startled noise.(a sudden sound someone makes from surprise/shock.)

I froze.

Eclipsara froze.

The rifle froze.

Then I looked up.

Standing inside the room was Mira.

For one brief second, she looked completely serious and ready to shoot.

Then her bright green eyes widened instantly.

"Eclipsara?!"

Mira immediately lowered the sniper rifle in shock.

Her fluffy pink hair was tied into a loose side ponytail that draped(her ponytail hung loosely across one shoulder) over one shoulder, slightly messy from exhaustion. Small horns curled gently from the top of her head while her heart-shaped tail flicked sharply behind her in alarm(the tail moved suddenly and quickly because she panicked. Quick whip-like motion. Abrupt jerk. Fast twitch/snap behind her). Despite her petite frame, she still somehow managed to hold the massive sniper rifle like she'd been carrying it for hours.

Meanwhile-

Eclipsara slowly sat upright on the floor while clutching her nose.

"...I've been assaulted." she muttered weakly.

Mira looked horrified.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE THE CREATURE!" she blurted immediately.

Eclipsara pointed accusingly upward while still sitting on the floor.

"VAL, I FOUND THE SMALL CREATURE IN THE HALLWAY."

Mira's horrified expression immediately shifted the moment her eyes finally landed on me.

She froze.

Completely.

Her bright green eyes widened so much I genuinely thought they might stop functioning.

Silence.

Then slowly-

"...Val?" she whispered weakly.

I awkwardly lifted one hand slightly.

"...Hi?"

Mira's entire expression immediately shattered.

She stumbled backward a step so fast she nearly dropped the sniper rifle.

"No." she said instantly.

Eclipsara blinked from the floor.

"...What?"

Mira pointed at me with pure emotional devastation.

"NO."

"...Mira-"

"THIS IS A HALLUCINATION."

"EHH?!"

Mira looked genuinely horrified now. 

The exact same thought immediately passed between us.

...Ah crap.

Because honestly?

Wasn't Mira having a completely reasonable reaction right now?!

"I FINALLY LOST MY MIND." she announced dramatically. "The underground lab finally broke me mentally. The dead scientists finally got to me."

"MIRA I AM LITERALLY STANDING RIGHT HERE." Eclipsara yelled from the floor.

Mira ignored her completely while continuing to spiral emotionally.

"The guilt finally manifested into ghost-Val!" she gasped. "THIS is my punishment!"

I stared at her.

"...Ghost-Val?"

"The LAST thing I remember is seeing your corpse!" Mira continued in complete emotional catastrophe mode. "HALF OF YOU WAS GONE."

"...Okay hearing that out loud still sucks." I muttered weakly. 

"YOUR ORGANS WERE OUT!"

"...WOW."

Mira pointed shakily at me.

"VEMMORA WAS LAUGHING."

"...Yeah that part was concerning."

"I LEFT YOU ALONE WITH MY POSSESSED MOTHER."

"...Alternate possessed mother technically." Eclipsara corrected automatically while still clutching her nose.

"THAT DOESN'T HELP."

Mira looked moments away from spiritually leaving her own body.

"I dragged Eclipsara and Sylvarius into another room for FIVE MINUTES," she continued horrified. "and when I came back YOU WERE DEAD."

"...Yeah."

"ECLIPSARA WAS CRYING OVER YOUR BODY."

Eclipsara immediately pointed upward dramatically. "IT WAS A VERY BAD DAY."

"And now my brain created guilt hallucinations because THIS nightmare Daemina finally destroyed my sanity!"

"MIRA THIS ISN'T A HALLUCINATION." Eclipsara said immediately.

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE HALLUCINATION WOULD SAY."

"OH NO." I whispered.

"OH NO." Eclipsara echoed.

Mira slowly pointed at me again with increasing emotional instability.

"You even SOUND real." she whispered in horror.

"I AM real! I promise."

"THAT MAKES IT WORSE."

Then suddenly-

Mira gasped quietly.

"...Wait."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously toward me.

"...If you're a hallucination..." she muttered slowly, "...then why are you wearing the backpack?"

I blinked.

"...Because it's a backpack I didn't have before. Someone gave it to me."

Mira stared harder.

Then visibly malfunctioned further.

"...WAIT. If you're a hallucination then why would my hallucination invent a NEW backpack?!"

Eclipsara immediately pointed at me aggressively.

"SEE? REAL PERSON."

Mira looked like she was actively fighting for her life against reality itself.

Then suddenly the sniper rifle tilted upward slightly in her hands by accident.

Both Eclipsara and I instantly panicked.

"WOAH WOAH WOAH-" I blurted.

"MIRA THE GUN." Eclipsara yelped.

Mira looked down.

The rifle accidentally shifted toward us more.

Eclipsara immediately scrambled upright(she hurried awkwardly to stand up very quickly.) with a startled noise and ducked halfway behind me, one hand clutching my shoulder while the other still held her axe. Her visible red eye widened dramatically as she peeked around me like I was suddenly human cover.(she partially hid behind Val for cover/protection while still peeking out. upright-standing or sitting vertically instead of lying/falling.)

"WHY IS VAL WEARING A BACKPACK?!" Mira cried in complete distress. "IS MY HALLUCINATION MORE ADVANCED THAN I THOUGHT?!"

"PUT THE SNIPER DOWN." I said immediately.

"I DON'T THINK I CAN TRUST MY OWN JUDGMENT RIGHT NOW."

"THAT'S FAIR BUT ALSO CONCERNING."

The rifle tilted again.

Both Eclipsara and I flinched dramatically.

"MIRA PLEASE." Eclipsara begged from behind me. "I ALREADY GOT HIT IN THE FACE ONCE."

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT."

"I DON'T WANT A SECOND ACCIDENT."

Mira looked genuinely overwhelmed now.

Her fluffy pink ponytail bounced slightly as she shook her head rapidly.

"This isn't real." she whispered. "This isn't real this isn't real this isn't-"

Eclipsara suddenly pointed upward dramatically.

"HE CAME BACK FROM THE TREE DIMENSION."

Mira blinked once.

Silence.

"...The WHAT dimension."

"...Okay maybe we shouldn't start with that part." I admitted immediately.

"THERE'S A TREE DIMENSION TOO?!" Mira yelled.

"OH NO." Eclipsara muttered.

Mira grabbed the sniper rifle tightly again while pacing in a tiny distressed circle.

"No no no no no. This isn't happening."

She pointed at me again. "I WATCHED YOU DIE."

"...Yeah."

"THERE WAS BLOOD EVERYWHERE."

"...Unfortunately yes."

"AND NOW YOU'RE STANDING HERE."

"...Apparently."

Then suddenly Mira pointed aggressively between me and Eclipsara. "YOU TWO ARE WEIRDLY CALM ABOUT THIS."

Eclipsara slowly stood upright while still holding her nose.

"Mira." she said carefully, "we've already had a VERY long conversation."

"ABOUT WHAT?!"

"EVERYTHING."

"THAT DOESN'T ANSWER SHIT, ECLIPSARA!"

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.

"...There was a lot of horrifying lore."

Mira looked one sentence away from collapsing emotionally.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS."

"IT MEANS WE HAVE PROBLEMS." Eclipsara answered immediately.

Reasonable explanation.

Then Mira suddenly marched directly toward me.

I blinked. "...Uh."

Before I could react-

Mira grabbed both sides of my face.

Then squinted intensely at me.

"...You're warm."

"...I would hope so since I am alive."

She poked my cheek suspiciously.

"...You're solid."

"Also hopefully."

Then she suddenly stretched one of my cheeks outward aggressively.

"OW."

Mira narrowed her eyes harder.

"...Still real."

Eclipsara immediately leaned forward slightly, her visible red eye twitching faintly while her fingers slowly tightened around the handle of her axe.

"...Mira please don't peel his face off."

Mira ignored her completely and squished both my cheeks together now.

"...This makes no sense."

"My face disagrees."

Eclipsara's expression somehow became even more strained.

She was smiling.

Technically.

But it looked like the kind of smile someone made while spiritually fighting for their life.

"...Mira," she said carefully, voice weirdly calm, "...I fully understand that you're currently having a psychological collapse and need proof Val exists."

A pause.

"...But maybe don't knead his face like bread dough."

Mira continued squishing my cheeks anyway.

"...He's warm." she muttered in disbelief.

Eclipsara's visible eye twitched again.

"...Yes. That's generally a positive sign."

Then suddenly-

Pluck.

I froze.

Mira froze.

Eclipsara froze.

Mira slowly looked down.

A tiny piece of my mustache hair was stuck between her fingers.

Silence.

"...You pulled out my mustache." I said weakly. "Mira how could you?"

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO."

Eclipsara stared at the tiny hair with an expression of absolute betrayal and emotional devastation.

Her visible red eye slowly lowered toward the strand of hair like Mira had just committed an unforgivable crime.

"...Mira."

"I WAS VERIFYING REALITY."

"ECLIPSARA HELP." I blurted.

Eclipsara looked deeply conflicted for one solid second.

On one hand, Mira clearly needed confirmation that I was actually alive.

On the other hand-

Mira was still holding my face and somehow I could see Eclipsara's grip on the axe tightened slightly harder.

"...Mira..." she said slowly, smiling in a way that somehow felt emotionally dangerous despite how polite it sounded. "...I completely understand this is psychologically and emotionally necessary for you right now."

A pause.

"...But please handle Val slightly gentler."

Her visible red eye flicked downward toward Mira's hands still holding my cheeks.

Then toward the tiny mustache hair.

Then immediately back to Mira's face. Still smiling.

"...Preferably with less hair theft...also his face is not public property."

I stared at Eclipsara.

Eclipsara immediately noticed me staring and coughed into her fist.

"...I just mean because you're hurting him." she said quickly.

"...Right."

Meanwhile Mira still looked emotionally shattered.

"...His mustache hair came out." she whispered weakly.

"YES IT DID." Eclipsara answered dramatically, sounding personally offended on my behalf.

Mira blinked rapidly while staring between the tiny hair and my face. "...Hallucinations don't have removable mustache hair."

"...I would certainly hope not." I muttered.

Eclipsara immediately pointed at me aggressively.

"SEE? REAL PERSON."

Mira slowly looked back at me again.

Then her bright green eyes widened further in horror.

"...OH MY GOD YOU'RE ACTUALLY REAL."

Eclipsara immediately pointed dramatically at me like she had just won an argument.

"THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING."

Mira immediately looked back at her.

"HE DIED."

"YES."

"AND YOU'RE BOTH ACTING LIKE THIS IS NORMAL."

"IT STOPPED BEING NORMAL HOURS AGO."

Also fair.

Mira slowly released my face before taking several tiny overwhelmed steps backward.

Eclipsara immediately moved closer to me afterward almost on instinct, still staring suspiciously at the tiny mustache hair Mira was holding. 

Then Mira pointed weakly at me again.

"...You came back from the dead."

"...Apparently."

Silence.

Then Mira suddenly covered her face with both hands.

"...I need to sit down before my soul exits my body."

"I completely understand." I admitted.