"How does it feel to be back here?"
A chuckle escaped Mark's mouth.
"Just stopping by for a bit. Might die right after though."
"Oh... You don't get it, do you?" The woman's eyes narrowed. "You've been here for a while. That's why you're here now."
"Huh?"
"Obvious, isn't it?" She asked before letting her back fall gently on the table below.
"I don't think I have time for this."
"Oh, but you do. That man is patiently waiting for you to wake up. You have aaall the time in the world. Maybe? Haha!"
Mark's eyes narrowed.
"How do you know?"
With one eye open and the other closed, she stared at the ceiling through the frame made by her fingers.
"Does it even matter? You have a habit of focusing on things that should hold little to no importance to you. Why are you here, Mark? Why are you in this room?"
He remained silent.
"Mark. What is this room to you?"
Her tone seemed to grow impatient.
"A cage."
She snapped her fingers, and left her extended index finger to aim at the ceiling.
"Exactly. Do you feel trapped, Mark?"
He stared silently for a bit, before chuckling.
"I guess. Is that why I'm here? I've felt trapped plenty of times."
"Yes. Yes, you have. But it's different now, isn't it?"
Mark didn't answer.
The woman suddenly rose and extended her hands towards him.
"You've been back here ever since that man came in, haven't you?"
Through her fingers, her eye stared.
He remained silent.
"Comfortable, isn't it? In here?"
Mark looked away.
He turned his gaze towards the window, as he had countless times in a previous life.
A sinking feeling started settling in.
Mark couldn't see anything beyond that window.
"You're stuck here. You can't escape, Mark. Not like you used to."
"What do you want?"
"I don't want anything. I'm just saying, it's comfortable in here."
"It really isn't."
"Why? Because anything you do ends up turning into pain? Because you can't do a thing? Because you need me and others to help you? Because you can't do anything on your own? Because you're trapped? Because Death is looming over you?"
The words stung, and Mark chuckled.
Her words rang true.
"All of the above."
"That's what I'm saying, Mark..." With a hop, her feet landed on the ground.
She slowly walked over to him.
The red hair that barely fell below her chin danced.
Her hands approached his face, but he quickly pulled back.
"It's so sad to see you back here."
Mark studied her face.
Her words seemed honest.
But he knew he couldn't trust a thing there.
"What are you saying?" His tone, impatient.
"I'm saying that... For a while now," She slowly stepped back. "This room and that one, have felt the same to you."
Mark looked away, but once again, nothing could be seen through the window.
The woman crossed her arms.
"You can't do a thing. Trapped in a room. No matter what you attempt, it ends with you in pain. I mean..." She said while her index finger was aimed at the ceiling and drew circles. "Do you really need me to spell it out for you?"
He remained unmoving.
"Going up that Dungeon, pain and suffering included, was the most fun you've ever had. Imagine how being outside will feel. How discovering a whoole new World will feel."
His gaze distant.
"This last fight, sadly, hasn't been fun. It could've been, but... Seems that guy wants something. Something he's keen on keeping a secret."
She lowered her body and took a seat on the ground.
Her right elbow was on the bed, inches away from Mark's feet.
Feet he couldn't move.
"You're not going to let it end so soon, are you?"
Mark didn't answer.
"You wouldn't, right?"
He wanted to answer, but didn't.
"You're about to throw it all away. All of it. Why?"
Mark's eyes finally turned towards her.
"I don't have a choice."
"Of course you do. You always have a choice."
"Not here. Not now..."
"So you've accepted it? That this is the end?"
A telling silence.
"You haven't. I know you haven't. You're not going to let him end it. You can't."
"What do you know about-"
"Mark, Mark, Mark. I'm on your side here. It's time for you to accept it. I'm not the enemy. He is. The one fighting you. The one beating you up. The one about to kill you. He's judging you. Judging your whole being. Your existence. Choosing whether or not you're worthy of staying alive? Who is he to do that? When he doesn't know a thing? When he hasn't seen any of the things you have? I'm on your side, Mark. Unlike him, I know a lot. I know you. That much, at least, we can agree on, right?"
Mark didn't deny it.
He didn't confirm the statement either.
"You're cold, Mark. Too cold. Why won't you trust me?"
"Why should I? Who are you?"
The woman lay her hands on the bed.
She moved closer.
For some reason, Mark found her movements akin to those of a spider.
"Your memories of her. That's what you said earlier, right?"
Mark remained silent.
"That's who I am then. What I am."
"No... That's not it..." He whispered.
Suddenly, the woman's pupils narrowed.
"It's time for you to let go, Mark."
"Let go of... What?"
"Everything. You need to let go, if you want to survive. Let go. Perhaps, that's even what that man wants. You fear letting go. You fear losing control. More so than you fear death. But that's not how it should be, Mark. We can survive this. We can make it out. The three of us can move beyond this wall."
"The three...? What do you-"
Slit vertical pupils that seemed to drown in a sea of vibrant green.
"We're running out of time. Ask him. Ask him if he understands. Ask him if he knows anything. And then, decide."
"What are you-"
The woman lay a finger on Mark's forehead, and his mouth didn't obey him anymore.
He couldn't talk.
Not a word could exit his mouth.
"Ask him, then decide. We'll..."
One of the woman's slit pupils didn't swim in a green sea anymore, but a golden one.
A golden eye.
"Accept whatever you choose. No matter what, we'll accept your decision. Don't forget, the three of us are one. So we will always..."
Mark suddenly felt incredibly sleepy.
"Be on your side."
He closed his eyes, nodding off.
But before he could fall into a slumber,
KICK-
Mark's body was suddenly launched to the other side of the Boss Room.
"Nap time is over." An impatient Zephyr said.
