An ethereal wind lifted Julie, carrying her into the unknown. With Solomon's help, she was able to successfully enter the Three Layers. Or, more specifically, the One Layer.

Indeed, the boundaries between her mind had forever been shattered. Her contemplation had allowed her to merge the Heart's Shroud, the Echo of Mind, and the Veil of Perception into one entity. A world that now contains every fiber of her being in one single place.

And yet, with such conformity, came chaos. Overwhelming darkness eclipsed by scenes of countless experiences, the storms of remnant thoughts and the echoing horror of realizing it all… And the very foundation of her existence—her memories, playing to the tune of countless illusionary figures…

A swirl of emotions, a storm of thoughts and echoes, a menagerie of experiences… They all invaded her at the same time. Insanity began to brew quietly, then only moments later, loudly… As if her mind itself was screaming for her to notice…

"Control them," a distant voice reached her. "Do not succumb to their influence!"

Without a way to reply, her sensory overload continued to grow. She grit her teeth and began to dig through the surrounding space—to find any way to move forward… Her goal was still clear within her muddled psyche:

Her True Self.

Buried somewhere beneath these shifting mists of memories and emotions, far below the approach of any storm or distant experience, lies an object of interest. One that will reveal her path forward…

Without it, establishing a Soul Frame would become impossible. She needed to reach its presence and witness the truth it will reveal to her before her mind succumbs to the madness.

This is impossible!...

Her thought echoed chaotically into the void:

This is impo…ssible!...

This… impossible!...

Impossible!... Impossible…

.

.

.

"Do not allow yourself to be lost! Remember who you are!"

She grit her teeth tightly as the weight of the surrounding fog increased even more. It was as if her body was being crushed on all sides—the numbing pain of her muscles digging deeper into her bones was only feeding into the increase of the weight… A negative feedback loop was born—one that would soon consume her mind.

I am Julie-Anne Kafka… I am 21 years old… My family lives in Brooklyn, New York. I majored in history and I am interning at…

I am interning where?

Her memories became jumbled again, however, her persistence was hard to get rid of.

Even as her thoughts rang a million times in her head. Even while the remnants of her memories attacked her through illusions of mist… Even as her experiences shifted every second, causing her to lose herself… Nothing in that moment stopped her from digging through the fog and sinking deeper into the void.

"I am Julie-Anne Kafka! I am Julie-Anne Kafka!"

It was as if she was a train conductor, announcing the next stop. And indeed, within her mind palace, the final destination on this endless path into the darkness would be called by that name… Her True Self was awaiting her arrival.

Far into the distance, the shimmering light innocently poked its way through the fog. It announced its presence like an eternal compass—even when Julie herself had forgotten her goal momentarily.

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It was there. To remind her of where to go.

More and more unpleasant memories played out as she witnessed the moment her crush was stolen in middle school, or that time when she had a fight with her best friend over something… silly…

What was it again?

Memories came, memories went. The cycle continued with every second she fell through this endless void. And yet, that shimmering light beyond the veil continued to shine… It was growing bigger and bigger…

"I am Julie… Anne… Kafka…" She repeated endlessly to herself like a broken machine. Even in this delirious state, Julie tried her best to cling to sanity… to her identity…

By now, she didn't even know why she was repeating this phrase. Her mind had erased any and all logic—all that was left was muscle memory. Her hands moved methodically and her feet wiggled in the same rhythm. All of this simply to dive deeper into the abyss.

Eventually, the hallucinations had changed. Rather than memories, figments of countless fictional characters began to greet her. There was this one lovely girl with pink hair that flowed down to her waist. She was holding a radiant sword in her hand—one that invoked an image of courage and heroism.

The girl smiled at Julie, as if to encourage her…

"Game…" It was a character from one of her favorite gacha games. Suddenly, a flood of memories returned to her in that moment:

"I am Julie-Anne Kafka! I love video games! I love pay-to-win mechanics!

"I hate games that don't have an autoplay feature!"

More and more fictional characters began to show themselves—some were handsome, others pretty. Her emotions were flaring up, causing her even more pain and suffering—the weight of the fog continued to increase…

And yet, she didn't care.

These fragmented scenes… They had helped her to regain her footing once more!

I can't let this opportunity go to waste!

She repeated once again, I am Julie-Anne Kafka! Over and over again in an endless cycle… She could feel the blood boiling within her—the surrounding pressure had grown beyond what most could handle.

And yet… That distant light still remained elusive. A part of her began to doubt her own efforts. Was she truly making progress? Did that distant light deceive her? How much longer must she endure?...

The weight of her despair was added to the ever growing pile of cumbersome emotions. Eventually, even the fictional characters she had so much joy playing began to disappear. Her mind was running out of distractions—even the surrounding fog was beginning to blow through most of her traumatic experiences.

Though… They did have one final card left…

"Hey there, Julie."

A familiar voice echoed from behind… One that startled her beyond wakefulness. In that moment, every other experience—every other thought was eclipsed. Her mind raced to spin her body around… To see the visage of the man calling her name.

Soren Andersen. A young man that was familiar to her. He was wearing a white shirt paired with black sweatpants… His headphones were strung around his neck as he brushed through his chestnut colored hair.

"Miss me?" He said with a devious smile. Julie continued to stare at him in silence, her lips twitching to say something… Anything…

"Hm? Silence? Is that how you greet a friend you haven't seen in months?

"No wait… It's been a year and a half hasn't it?"

"You're not him." She said back to him. Her eyes glued to his. "You're not Soren. You're not real."

Hearing this, the young man couldn't help but smile. A smile filled with silent rage.

"Of course I am not real. The real Soren is dead, after all.

"You were the one who abandoned him."

Suddenly, the weight of the fog increased even more. She grit her teeth tightly as her vision began to blur. Soren, however, wasn't concerned. With his arms crossed, he looked up into the starless void.

"I can't believe it… The same girl who continued to force me into reading her fanfics is now living through a fantasy of her own… You're trying to unlock your Soul Frame, huh? A Sentinel… I wonder if the past you would have written a story about such a delusional experience…

"What was your pen name again? Senpai Bloodrose?"

If there was a word to describe her emotions in that moment, it would have to be this:

Cringe.

She could feel her bones buckling under the pressure. There was no experience, no pain, and no other memory that could have ever caused her to suffer more than what she had to endure now…

"Stop it you bastard! Shut up!"

Soren grinned. "Why are you so embarrassed? You were proud of your work… Should I list their titles next?"

"Shut the fuck up!"

He glanced at her momentarily—eyes trailing up and down her beat-up visage. Realizing the silence, Soren sighed. "So what now? Are you going to give up and let your mind consume itself from within? I am sure you've noticed it by now." he pointed at something beneath her, "That light… It is never going to get closer. You are lost within this abyss.

"Your True Self… You know deep down why you aren't able to reach it right?"

The silence between them grew as she felt her thoughts churning chaotically once more. Soren continued:

"It's because even now, you are still a coward. I can feel it—that tiny seed of hesitation within you…

"In truth, you don't have the desire to see the bottom. The ugly truth—the real identity you have disguised and drowned under countless masks. The many games you play and the many other distractions you indulge in. All of it is simply an effort at hiding the truth.

"Isn't that why you finally decided to cut me out of your life? My paranoia drives me into diving deep into knowing the people around me. And the more I knew about you, the more uncomfortable you became. Deep down, you did not want me to discover what that ugly truth was, right?..."

He smiled eerily. "Tell me then, Julie. What are you hiding?"

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