The Other Side: A Second Chance [Dark Isekai Drama]

When the meeting was over, Mr. Rosewall dismissed us so that he could speak with Erianna. My father quickly took me by the shoulder, snapping me out of my trance, and waved for Varis to follow him out the door, yet Director Shein quickly stopped us as we left.

"Excuse me," he said, "Mr. Ashflow, sir, may I bother you for just a second?" He asked.

Father stopped and turned to him. "You may," he said.

Shein smiled and motioned for us to go ahead. "Let us speak out in the hall." Father nodded, and we followed the director out into the open space.

Something tugged on the back of my dress, and I let off a startled yelp and spun around to see Anne equally as surprised. She blushed and quickly muttered an apology. "I wanted to say…" She started and fidgeted nervously where she stood. Behind her, I saw Oscar reach out and place a hand on her head, which only caused her cheeks to brighten. "I wanted to say I'm happy you're safe," she said softly.

My heart melted a little, and I grinned. "And I'm happy you're safe too," I said, "You and your uncle were caught right in the middle of everything."

Anne nodded her head rapidly, eyes wide. She bit the knuckle of her index finger. "It was so scary!" She then broke eye contact and looked to the floor. "But Uncle Oscar helped me. Then he said he helped you stop the bad guys!"

I noticed Varis looking in our direction out of the corner of my eye. He turned away from Father and Director Shein and stepped over. "Yeah, she did!" He boasted and clapped my shoulder, hard enough that I felt like I would fall over. "My sister is like a, uh… What did you call them, Luna? Super heroes?"

He remembers that? I thought as I rubbed my shoulder.

"Super… Hero?" Anne blinked. "Is that like, a regular hero but better?"

"Super!" Varis said again. "She said they're like adventurers but with strong powers!"

Anne's eyes widened again, but this time out of excitement. "Oh, like the Moonweaver!"

Oscar snorted from behind and laughed to himself. I sighed and shook my head. "No, I'm not, like a super hero. I told you what happened, Varis…"

Did I? Or was that Truth? Shit, I can't remember… Thankfully, I seemed to have guessed right as Varis rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, but it was still you, right? Like that voice guy–" Oscar came to my rescue.

"Master Varis," he said politely, sternly. "It is best that we not speak here about this."

Varis opened his mouth to protest, but hesitated. He then closed it and nodded. "Okay."

I gave Oscar a thankful look before turning my attention back to Anne. "Still, though," I said, "I'm glad you're safe. I'm glad we're all safe."

For now, at least.

Anne's face brightened. "Uncle says we'll be staying here for a little while longer, would you…" She began to look a little nervous again. "Would you like to play today?"

Oh, this innocent child… My ears flattened against my head.

"I don't know," I said honestly, shaking my head. "There's a big storm coming, Anne. You heard the others talking in the room. Mr. Rosewall and the others may need my help." I noticed as I was speaking that Oscar was watching me closely.

What's he thinking about? I wondered as Anne's ears flattened as well as I spoke.

"I understand," she said softly, though I could tell she didn't. "You need to work with the grown ups again."

"Well, it's because Luna is strong," Varis said, trying to back me up. "You've seen the cool things she can do, Anne."

Anne nodded slowly. "I wish I could help…" She bit her knuckle again.

Oscar took a deep breath. "I think, Anne, it's best we go rest." He tousled her hair and looked at me. "And, Luna, be careful."

"I will, if things lighten up, Anne, I'll come see you," I said, trying to give her my warmest smile.

This worked a little, as she smiled back, turned away from her uncle, and began walking down the hall. Watching her go, I took a deep breath and let out a small sigh.

"You don't think we'll have time, do you?" Varis asked in a low voice.

I looked at him and saw he was still watching Anne with a surprisingly mature look. Finally, he looked at me, and our eyes met, and I nodded. "I don't think we will," I said softly. "With everything going on, I don't think we'll have time to play and be... kids for a long time."

Varis's expression sagged a little, and his cheeks puffed a bit. "Yeah, it stinks…" He reached out and draped an arm around me, and I yelped as he pulled me close to his side.

"Wh-what're you doing?" I asked.

Varis smiled. "Doing what Momma does," he said, "She always hugs us when we get like this."

My heart fluttered a little, and I smiled. "You goof, we don't have time for this," I said, returning the gesture anyway.

"Nuh huh." Varis shook his head. "Momma says there's always time for hugs." He squished me, and I yelped.

"Kids," Father said as Director Shein turned and began heading down the hall toward Anne and Oscar. "C'mon, let us go find Isa and settle in."

"Papa," Varis said, letting me go. "Are we going to get Ruby and the wagon?"

Father paused. "Ah… Roots…"

I blinked. "You forgot about Ruby, didn't you?"

He opened his mouth to protest, but hesitated. Finally, he let his arms fall to his side. "We've been a bit preoccupied, but… Yeah, we wouldn't want her getting caught in that storm."

I placed my hands on my hips and gave him a mock scowl that Mother had always given him in such moments.

Father looked at me with wide eyes, then he blushed and looked away, embarrassed. "D-Don't look at me like that, Luna… A man is already down, no need to kick him." He smiled faintly and motioned for us to follow him. "Come on, we'll meet up with Isa and see if she learned anything, and I'll go get Ruby."

"So, things are worse than I thought," Isa sighed as she leaned against the wall. "Eight hours is all we have left before this conjured Frostwind hits us…" She said as if she were trying to convince herself.

"That's about right," Father said from one of the beds offered to us.

Shortly after meeting with Isa, one of Mr. Rosewall's assistants caught up with us. They offered us a place to stay at the main operations building, where Mr. Rosewall's office was. Our room was nothing special, just two beds and a chest to store belongings. From what I guessed, this was probably an office hastily converted into a room, as the furniture here felt very out of place. Or, the person who designed it was just bad. But it was nice knowing we would have a place to stay while we're here.

Isa took a deep breath. "Well, what's the plan then?" She asked. "We made it here, and now what? Aenorin and I followed Saria but found nothing out of the ordinary."

Father pursed his lips. "Did you see what she was carrying in that container?" He asked.

Isa shook her head. "No, when we arrived at the lift, she handed it off to another archineer."

Father frowned. "Did you not follow them?" He asked, and Isa waved a hand from side to side.

"Aenorin sent me to trail them, when we reached the lower basement, but I was stopped at a heavy security door. The guards there started asking questions which prompted me to back off."

I had no idea what they were talking about. Aunt Saria with a suspicious container? Isa was doing spy work along with Uncle Aenorin? I didn't know what to say or ask. If I had just opened my mouth to ask what was happening, everyone would probably look at me like I was crazy.

Well, they already know that you have a weird voice in your head. A part of me thought. You being a bit wacky isn't anything new to these people.

Then again, another part of me thought. You wouldn't want to come off as unstable. Perhaps alerting everyone in the room that you've forgotten large portions of the day wouldn't be for the best.

I sighed. I should contribute to the conversation and play along.

That could be interesting. You could flex your improv skills, like in the old days when playing D&D, and show off your acting skills.

"Did you see what room he went into?" I asked, and Isa glanced at me. "Like, did the door have any markings on it? A department name perhaps?"

Isa cocked her head and thought for a moment. A clawed finger tapped her chin rhythmically, and she pursed her lips. Her eyes scanned the ceiling above her, twitching slightly as if reliving what she had seen an hour prior. After a moment, she smiled, and her eyes returned to looking at me.

"That was an excellent question, Luna. Thank you, I had almost forgotten."

Good job. I thought. This is what we're talking about. Just continue playing along; they don't need to know what's happening here. Not yet.

Another thought followed. It wouldn't be good to keep the truth from them for long. We lack critical information; they can clue us in if we simply tell them what's going on.

Yet immediately after that one, the first returned. But we don't want you to be seen as a liability, do you?

"What did you see?" My father asked her curiously.

Isa crossed her arms beneath her chest. "The door had a stripe of orange paint going across the middle. It read 'fuel containment.' I can't believe I didn't think to add that." She sighed and smiled.

She's embarrassed. My mind told me. Don't try to console her.

"It's alright, I forget things to." Father said, and Isa said nothing, but her eyes shot him an irritated glance.

See? I thought smugly.

I frowned. "So wait," I said, "If the guy took this container to the fuel room. Why did Saria have it? Where'd she get it?"

I hope you didn't ask a dumb question.

Father looked at me. "Well she did take it out of her office drawer," He said slowly and looked at Isa.

Isa nodded. "Yes, but… Why would she have it in her drawer? What is it fuel for?"

She took fuel out of her desk drawer? Now this is interesting.

A new, startling thought came in. Wait a second?! Saria was being manipulated earlier. Putinov had used a spell on her to make her do his bidding.

That's true. Except that mother said that the magic had faded when we saved her.

Maybe, but we don't know everything yet. That Putinov man, he was some kind of flesh puppet, wasn't he? His soul was in that book, or part of it, as Shaed described.

What am I getting at?

We don't know how powerful he truly is. Remember, Luna, remember D&D?

I blinked. Why was that kind of thought coming to me? A memory deep within my mind was surfacing. One that began to make me tremble.

Wasn't there a spell in D&D that could hide magic? A spell that could allow someone to get away with spells, or even remain undetected?

My heart began to race. Was I overreacting? Was I overthinking? What if she had Nondetection cast on her? Or something like it. I didn't know if such a spell or magic existed here, but if a being as powerful as Putinov could have flesh puppets and soul books, why wouldn't he have access to something like this?

Their goal was to blow up the power plant. It was a simple, terroristic plan, but that's it.

Another thought chimed in with the first. A bit too simple, wouldn't you say, Luna?

I stared forward at the wall, unblinking, as I came to a realization. A villain like Putinov would have a backup plan.

He said he was looking for you. For us, an anomaly, what would've been a great way to draw us out?

"Kidnap one of my family members," I whispered to myself. "Then try and destroy what I needed."

Exactly. My thoughts chuckled. We fell for a trap. Exposed ourselves to the enemy. They know we're here. Now, they're going to play their second hand.

Another memory began to surface. My heart thudded heavily in my chest. It thumped rhythmically in my ears like a heavy drum. A cold sweat began to break out. I felt so stupid, I wanted to bawl my fists and curse. It was so obvious, so clear to me now.

Yes. My thought cackled. Yesterday, Putinov visited to 'pick up supplies.'

"Ah, shit…" I said.

"What was that?" Father and Isa both asked and looked at me.

My heart skipped, and I shook my head and focused. "Oh, uh…" I began.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Don't be stupid. Tell them.

" I had a concerning thought," I said. "The archbishop visited yesterday, that Putinov guy."

Isa blinked, her eyes widening. "You're right, he was making a surprise visit to get supplies."

"Supplies that could be shards of power and others…" Father began but trailed off.

"He could've given her the fuel then," Isa said, "come morning she could've came here then stashed it."

Realization set in, and Father stiffened. "But, that's impossible, Saria was cured."

"We went over this," Isa said, "That mage was powerful, Slyran, what we saw was merely a shell of them. Whoever they are, they're alive, and still pulling the strings." She cursed. "I should've kept that woman with Kegan." She pushed herself off the wall. "We need to find her and get that fuel source back. For all we know it could be a bomb."

Varis gulped. "A bomb?" He asked nervously. "I thought you said we can't lock her up?"

Father stood up from the bed. "Things have changed again, boy. Aunt Saria might have done something bad."

Isa nodded. "Before I was hesitant about my own thoughts. I hoped she truly was cured, but Luna raised a very valid point. This Putinov figure is clever." She dusted herself off. "I'm going to go find Aenorin and let him know."

"We should tell Mr. Rosewall too," I said, "He could help us, maybe even order Saria to be locked up."

"We could," Father said, "But that might be risky. If Rosewall acts up and notifies everyone, Saria may hear and act up."

Isa nodded. "If she does have a bomb, she could set off. Probably even remotely if its set with an archeo."

"Aunt Saria wouldn't!" Varis said, scared. "She's nice like, Momma. She wouldn't hurt people."

"Son," Father said, "Aunt Saria isn't…" He began, but couldn't find the words.

"Varis," I stepped in for the rescue. "Aunt Saria is being possessed, like a ghost in one of your stories," I said, referring to the few books Varis had read.

He looked even more scared as he understood. "Ghosts?" He squeaked.

Father nodded. "Yeah, something like that. It might be best if you stay in here right now, okay?"

Concerned, Varis didn't even protest. He nodded. "Okay."

"What about me?" I asked as Father turned towards the bedroom door. "Anything I can do?"

A hard look briefly flashed across his face, and he held up a finger. He's going to say no. I thought. He's going to tell me to stay here with Varis.

Another part of me then added, He's merely concerned for you. He wants you to be safe.

But he didn't reject me, at least, not outright. He held up his index finger and said, "Actually, yes. There's something you can do, Luna," He smiled. "That man you contacted earlier, that Venra fellow, he seemed to know a lot. Can you see if you can pick his brain more? Maybe he'll know how to handle this storm, possibly even Mother."

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Hold on there, partner. My mind swam. What did he just say?

Venra is that guy from the painting, right? Another part of me recalled. The strange-looking elf in purple armor?

When had I contacted him? More precisely, how did I contact him?

It had to have been Truth. My thoughts huffed. Once again, we really need to get a hold of that one.

"Agreed," I said to myself, not realizing I had said it out loud.

My father smiled and clapped his hands together. "Excellent, I'll leave you to it."

Isa glanced at the two of us, then shrugged and began to head towards the door. "I'll leave you all to it. In one hour," she said, grabbing the door handle. "We meet up back here. Got it?" We nodded, and she opened the door and stepped out, with Father following her.

The door clicked shut, and the silence was deafening. The faint sound of my and Varis's breathing was the only chorus in the vast and barren room. I looked to my brother and noted the concern in his eyes, a face that showed no signs of the youthful joy I was used to witnessing. His gaze met mine, and in an almost pitiful attempt, he tried to give me a warm, yet lackluster, smile.

"Looks like we're both sitting on the bench now," he huffed. "I wish I was older. I wanna help, but… I don't know how, and I'm scared."

An unwanted thought surfaced.. Oh, dear, here we go. The kid's going to start blubbering again.

Oh, shut up, this is fine. Another part of me snapped. Varis has been through a lot, and it's normal for him to feel like this. Pat him on the back and clue him in.

I blinked. Clue him in?

Yeah. I thought. Bring him into the fold, make him feel included. He is your brother.

I pursed my lips. Varis was just a kid, though, if I told him what was happening with me, and what Father wanted me to do. I didn't want to risk him.

What's there to risk? I then thought. He's already traveling with you. He's always been around. Wouldn't it actually be better if he knew what was truly happening? Sure, he's a kid, but even he has ideas.

"I guess so…" I muttered.

Varis arched a brow. "What was that?" He asked.

I blinked and shook my head. "Oh, sorry, I was talking to myself." I smiled sheepishly. "It's okay to feel scared," I said in response to him. "Honestly, I'm scared too," I said, looking at the floor.

For other reasons, obviously. I thought.

Then my thoughts added. Going crazy certainly is a big thing to be worried about.

But at least you aren't alone anymore.

I shook my head. "But hey!" I said, looking to my brother as I tried to ignore the thoughts. "Papa, has a task for us."

"He as a task for you," Varis said, puffing his cheeks.

I sighed. "Yeah, but we can work on it here, together." I smirked. "Wanna… Help?" I asked.

Varis' eyes widened. "You mean it? You want me to help?"

I shrugged. "Why not. Papa wants us to contact some… Weird guy," I said, honestly not knowing who this Venra was, aside from what Shaed had told me.

An alien, this will undoubtedly be interesting. The thoughts began again.

Do you think these "Far Reachers" from the other reality are like the aliens from Star Wars? One pondered.

Or something like Warhammer? Another added.

Well, the armor we saw looked medieval. Maybe his realm was like Dune? None of those settings sounds appealing.

"Be quiet," I said, and Varis leaned back, eyes wide. I glanced at him and blushed and shook my head. "Oh, no, not you." I smiled faintly. "Sorry… Just…"

"That voice is your head?" Varis asked. "The Master? That's what you call him."

Now's your chance.

Tell him about us.

About you. About how we're all falling apart.

Tell him about Truth.

I gritted my teeth. "Yes–sorta–no, not really." I sighed. "I have multiple voices now, like… dozens, a lot… It's like I'm in a crowded room."

It's not that crowded, is it?

It's pretty jam-packed in here.

It's not so bad, Luna. You're just making it seem that way.

Varis frowned. "Wait, so, you have lots of Masters in your head?"

I would love it if you called me, Master.

That's just disgusting.

I shook my head and looked away from him. "No. I just… I don't know what's going on," I said, my voice wavering slightly. "This didn't start happening until… Recently?"

Stop lying to yourself. We've always been here, you've always been like this.

You've just been ignoring us. Ignoring you.

Remember, High School? Remember how you made it through, with our help?

Varis bit his lip. "It started after you and Momma went to stop that bad guy?" Varis asked, and I looked up at him.

I nodded. "Yeah, after I went to that place to speak with the Master. Something happened to my mind."

You were enlightened!

We were finally set free!

Take in that FRESH AIR!

I clamped my hands over my ears. "Shut up!"

Then, their voice came. "Do you need me to take over?"

The thoughts ceased, and I paused. Finally, it was quiet. Truth?

They didn't respond, yet I could feel them, ready to take over. Except, I didn't want them to. Not yet, not now. Not while I was about to do something for Father and speak to Varis, but later. Later, I needed to talk to them. Their presence faded, like dust in the wind. Thankfully, the thoughts didn't return either.

"Thank the gods," I muttered.

"Luna," Varis said hushedly. "You're scaring me."

I took a deep breath. "I'm scaring myself," I said, laughing anxiously. I looked at him. "But, it's quiet now."

Varis nodded. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

I gripped my skirt tightly. "I do," I said firmly, and so I did. I explained to him that my mind had been changed ever since I came back to consciousness after leaving the Cerebellium. I told him nearly everything, except about how Truth came to be. A part of me, something within, strongly urged me not to tell him the complete truth. I still couldn't tell Varis, or anyone, about my past life. One part of me did, yet another half, like the opposite end of a heavily weighted coin, refused.

The explanation didn't take long, about ten minutes, and as I talked about it, I noticed how memories from before began to surface. Memories of before the invasion, during my time in Oren, even memories from beyond, in my old life. These thoughts, these voices that seemed to have their own minds in my head. Had they really always been there?

Yes. One of them muttered. Who do you think tells you to eat every day?

Or shit? A crude thought surfaced.

Yuck, or tells you how to react?

"I'm going insane," I said to Varis. "Do you think I'm crazy?" I asked softly.

My brother laid on his back beside me on the bed and stared at the ceiling. After a moment, he sat up and leaned forward. "Yeah," he said bluntly.

I flinched and looked at him. "Huh?!"

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "What? You asked me if you were, and everything you said sounds like crazy people talk. So yeah."

My lip quivered and my heart tightened. I looked away and sniffled.

Oh, oh! Weepy is going to cry!

Don't be so mean to her!

It's just like Truth said, she can't handle honest critiques.

"Assholes," I muttered through gritted teeth, yet thankfully Varis didn't hear me as I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and did my damndest not to cry.

"It's not like that's a bad thing, though," Varis chirped, and I blinked and looked at him, confused. He smiled. "Think about it, Luna, you're not super crazy like that archbishop guy mentioned. And, that voice you mentioned, Truth, she seemed super nice, and smart! Like, smarter than you."

"That doesn't make me feel better," I said, puffing my cheeks and feeling dumb.

"I didn't meant that to be mean!" Varis said quickly. "What, uh, what I mean, is, uh… Shoot. Words are hard." He tapped his chin. "You won't be lonely. It's like a super power!" He quickly added. "Like those heroes you told me about. Momma always said, 'two heads are better than one' and you have a bunch of them now!"

I snorted. He has a point.

Together, we are all geniuses.

Mega-geniuses.

With our collective intellect, we can conquer and forge this world into something beautiful.

"Okay," I said with an honest smile. "That's a good way of thinking about it." I giggled, and Varis beamed with pride. "You spoke with Truth? What were they like?"

Varis sat back and thought for a second. "She was like you, but… More serious. She always had this angry expression, like something was making her mad all the time. She also didn't joke around that much–Oh!" He snapped his fingers. "She talked like Momma! Acted like her too, she was very grown up like."

I nodded. That was the vibe I got from Truth.

"She also sucked at lying," Varis said and crossed his arms. "It was very obvious whenever she tried to hide something."

"What did they lie about?" I asked.

Varis tapped his forehead. "Voices in her head."

I nodded. Was she having issues with all the thoughts in her head, too?

Of course not, one of the thoughts responded.

She has better control of her mental faculties, unlike somebody we know. Another added.

I didn't bother responding to the thoughts. "What's it like?" Varis asked.

I cocked my head. "Huh?" I said dumbly.

He tapped his head again. "Having another… You in control?"

I frowned as I tried to think. When Truth took over, it wasn't anything like the Master. I had taken a back seat when Shaed controlled me in the Putinov fight. I was still conscious and aware of my surroundings; I could see what he saw, but couldn't move. It was like having sleep paralysis. Honestly, it sucked. But when Truth took over, it was like…

"It was like going to sleep," I said, "Everything just… Melted away and next thing I knew, I was in the hospital surrounded by people asking me to heal them."

Varis' eyes lit up. "Oh! Oh! Momma said that's sleepwalking!"

I snorted and shook my head. "I don't think it's that," I giggled.

Perhaps you're a high-functioning sleepwalker, similar to that of an alcoholic?

Further testing is required…

Varis giggled as well. "Maybe not, but… That's… I don't want to say cool… What's the word?"

"Interesting?" I asked, and he nodded.

"That one! It's interesting. Are there any other voices like Truth or the Master?" He asked.

I shook my head.

She's rejecting us!

She hates us!

I'm going to end it all now…

I winced. "Eh, well… There's the mind goblins…" I said.

Ah, yes, the old nickname.

Oi, I ain't no gobbo!

I'mma busta er' teef!

"Mind goblins?" Varis asked.

I nodded. "They've always been there…" This was true; it was all coming back to me. "Before, they were silent. Barely noticeable, voices in the back of my head that commented on everything I did or said. Voices that constantly go over events in my head, criticizing and mocking me."

Varis frowned. "I have thoughts like that sometimes."

"You do?" I asked, my eyes meeting his.

He nodded. "Yeah. Whenever you, Momma, Papa, and Isa, are out doing stuff and I get stuck at home. I have these thoughts telling me how I'm useless. When you were practicing magic, and I saw how good you were at it, I had these thoughts telling me that I'll never be as good. Or when… Or…" He got real quiet, his eyes glazed. "When… When we got taken… I-I… I-I couldn't pr-protect mo-momma like Pa-Papa told me to…" He trembled. "I couldn't help anyone, Lu-Luna," he sniffled. "I couldn't help the people the claw took away–"

I reached over and grabbed his hand. "Varis, it's okay."

He shook his head. "It isn't!" He sniffled as tears brimmed in his eyes. "M-My mind goblins are right, I'm dumb, I'm too young, I can't do anything! B-But I want to!"

Ah, so our fellow goblins are a plague on his mind, too?

I don't like being associated with a plague, it's too. Gross.

Both of you are assholes, Luna. Hug this boy. This child requires maximum support.

I leaned over and wrapped my arms around Varis. "It's alright," I said, pulling my brother into me. "What you're suffering is what I'm going through."

At least, a small part of it.

Don't kid yourself, kid, we're more than just a little fucked up.

All this kid needs is a good pat on the back and a juice box, and he'll be over it in an hour.

I closed my eyes and tried to ignore them. Yet, how could you block out something in your mind? It was almost impossible not to listen to them. I've done it for years, my entire life, except now, it was like the mind goblins were given megaphones.

"Does that mean I'm crazy, too?" Varis asked and sniffled.

I shook my head. "No, you're not crazy. It's normal," I said, and to my shock, the goblins had nothing to add. "What we do is called ruminating."

"Huh?" Varis grunted.

I sighed. "It's a fancy word for not being able to stop thinking about something. Your mind latches onto one thing, and you just can't let it go. You think, you think, and think, and most of the time, it just makes you feel worse."

Oh, looky here, we have a little therapist!

The girl talks like she knows what she's doing.

Too bad she can't follow her advice.

My jaw set, but I continued. "Another word is brooding," I said, and Varis gasped.

"I know that! Momma said I need to stop that, she said brooding is bad."

I smiled. "Yeah!" I chirped. "And she's right. It is bad."

"Do you brood?" Varis asked me.

I sighed. "All the time," I said honestly. "I just sometimes do a better job at hiding it."

Varis nodded. "You've gone through a lot," he said. "So it makes sense."

"And so have you," I said and hugged him tighter. "We've all gone through bad things lately. Things that'll make our mind goblins go crazy."

"How do we stop them?" Varis asked softly.

How does someone who's insane explain to someone who isn't about how to stop their internal demons?

Oh, this will be fascinating to witness.

I sighed gently. "I, I wish I knew… I don't think there's an easy fix for something like this, Varis," I said honestly. "But, if I had to say one thing I've learned, is that talking with you, has helped me already."

Varis blinked. "I'm helping you?"

I nodded. "Opening up to you about this has felt nice." I smiled, and Varis beamed with pride and returned the hug with a death grip.

As I struggled to breathe in his grasp.

My inner goblins collectively nodded.

That we can all agree on.

Happiness levels have increased by 0.5%

As I gasped for air in Varis's grasp, all I could wish was for these goblins to shut up.