[ Alan's there and the Dark Presence is losing. Exactly how it's losing, even Alan doesn't know. Well, he knows in bits and pieces. He knows that Polaris is doing whatever it is that she does best, and it's driving the Dark Presence away.
But the only problem is, for the Dark Presence to be driven away, it has to leave its host. And for Alan, that means going through a very not good time at all. His mouth opens like he wants to cough, but instead of a cough, something that looked like smoke pulls itself out of him and just keeps on coming until there's nothing left. Through the entire process, Alan keeps trying to cough, keeps trying to breathe, but breathing is hard when expelling literal clouds of darkness.
But finally, it's over, and nothing remains of the Dark Presence but a few last tendrils of smoke that quickly fade into nothingness. Alan's still where he is when this whole thing started, but he looks paler and even more exhausted now, if such a thing is possible. But the darkness that clouded his eyes is gone. He's still illuminated in the beam of light, the same light that drove the darkness out of him.
But more than just the beam, the entire room seems to be lit up now. In a way, it reminds Alan of yet another nearly-forgotten memory of a place he'd almost forgotten existed: the Well-Lit Room. Well, maybe it doesn't exist anymore. Maybe the lights finally went out and its caregiver wasn't able to replace them in time. He doesn't like to think about that. No, he'd rather think of the room being just as it was when he saw it, watched over by its ever vigilant overseer.
This room is not like the Well-Lit Room, but for now, as long as Polaris' resonance remains, it's at least a lit-up room.
But then something else happens that Alan could not have predicted. In his mind, he's back on a mountain path, and a mysterious voice is directing him to stand in the light for his safety and recovery. It's that same voice that he hears now.
Alan's response is two-fold. What he says first is not what he wants to say to the image of the Diver, but it comes automatically and he can't stop it. ]
I'm awake. I'm back. I'm feeling... feeling awful, what is this feeling? I died? Did I die? It got me. It ate my mind. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
No, that's wrong, that's- It did get me. It did eat my mind, but- I'm back. What did I do? Did I write something? What did I write?
[ The Diver's image is still appearing around Alan, hovering over him, and what it says isn't a direct response but an echo from another time along ago: ]
『 You are hurt. You should go into the light. You are only safe there. 』
[ I'm hurt? No, I'm not, I'm okay. Well, not okay, I don't think I can stand up. I don't want to stand up. I want to sleep. Please let me sleep. No, don't repeat that again. What happened? ]
I'm not trying to go deeper! [ Except even as he says that, he knows it's not true. ] I don't want this to keep happening. I can't stop it when it does...
[ Alan's words trail off again, and as she's done many times before now, Alan feels Jesse's hands move to slide against either side of his face, and automatically, instinctively, he sags against her, head sliding further into her hold.
The fight with the Dark Presence, if it can be called a fight, has left Alan exhausted. For now, all he wants to do- all he's capable of doing, is resting against her. Maybe soon, his strength will return and he can stand on his own, but for right now, he just wants to allow himself this moment of relying upon her for support, if she's still willing to give it.
Maybe if the Diver... the brightness stays around long enough, he'll recover faster. Maybe. ]
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But the only problem is, for the Dark Presence to be driven away, it has to leave its host. And for Alan, that means going through a very not good time at all. His mouth opens like he wants to cough, but instead of a cough, something that looked like smoke pulls itself out of him and just keeps on coming until there's nothing left. Through the entire process, Alan keeps trying to cough, keeps trying to breathe, but breathing is hard when expelling literal clouds of darkness.
But finally, it's over, and nothing remains of the Dark Presence but a few last tendrils of smoke that quickly fade into nothingness. Alan's still where he is when this whole thing started, but he looks paler and even more exhausted now, if such a thing is possible. But the darkness that clouded his eyes is gone. He's still illuminated in the beam of light, the same light that drove the darkness out of him.
But more than just the beam, the entire room seems to be lit up now. In a way, it reminds Alan of yet another nearly-forgotten memory of a place he'd almost forgotten existed: the Well-Lit Room. Well, maybe it doesn't exist anymore. Maybe the lights finally went out and its caregiver wasn't able to replace them in time. He doesn't like to think about that. No, he'd rather think of the room being just as it was when he saw it, watched over by its ever vigilant overseer.
This room is not like the Well-Lit Room, but for now, as long as Polaris' resonance remains, it's at least a lit-up room.
But then something else happens that Alan could not have predicted. In his mind, he's back on a mountain path, and a mysterious voice is directing him to stand in the light for his safety and recovery. It's that same voice that he hears now.
Alan's response is two-fold. What he says first is not what he wants to say to the image of the Diver, but it comes automatically and he can't stop it. ]
I'm awake. I'm back. I'm feeling... feeling awful, what is this feeling? I died? Did I die? It got me. It ate my mind. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
No, that's wrong, that's- It did get me. It did eat my mind, but- I'm back. What did I do? Did I write something? What did I write?
[ The Diver's image is still appearing around Alan, hovering over him, and what it says isn't a direct response but an echo from another time along ago: ]
『 You are hurt. You should go into the light. You are only safe there. 』
[ I'm hurt? No, I'm not, I'm okay. Well, not okay, I don't think I can stand up. I don't want to stand up. I want to sleep. Please let me sleep. No, don't repeat that again. What happened? ]
I'm not trying to go deeper! [ Except even as he says that, he knows it's not true. ] I don't want this to keep happening. I can't stop it when it does...
[ Alan's words trail off again, and as she's done many times before now, Alan feels Jesse's hands move to slide against either side of his face, and automatically, instinctively, he sags against her, head sliding further into her hold.
The fight with the Dark Presence, if it can be called a fight, has left Alan exhausted. For now, all he wants to do- all he's capable of doing, is resting against her. Maybe soon, his strength will return and he can stand on his own, but for right now, he just wants to allow himself this moment of relying upon her for support, if she's still willing to give it.
Maybe if the Diver... the brightness stays around long enough, he'll recover faster. Maybe. ]