“What's wrong with you? What ails you? It seems as though you've withdrawn from the world, refusing to speak or take charge. But we are free! We escaped and are younger than before! Can you wrap your mind around it? It's a remarkable twist of fate, one that was surely meant to be.”

"Meant to be? It's hard to believe that it's just a coincidence. It feels almost unreal, like something out of my imagination, or someone else's perhaps."

She let out a harrumph. "This is real. It couldn't be more real than this!"

Ignoring her anger, I got straight to the point. "You lied to me. Who are you really?"

She gasped, clearly taken aback by my direct attack. "I told you, I am White Flower."

"Yes, you said that but who exactly is White Flower? And how did you end up in this world?"

There was a long pause after my question. Finally, we were getting to the heart of the matter. She tried to obfuscate.

"How did I get to this world? I was born here, but the details of that were not part of our deal."

I felt like exploding upon hearing her words.

"You tricked me with a false identity and then have the nerve to tell me that this wasn't part of our deal? You never revealed your true name or who you really are!"

She seemed afraid to continue.

"Look, to reveal my real name could be dangerous. It might get us both killed. Why would you even want that?"

"Get us both killed? Are you kidding me? After everything that's happened, after the army tried to kill me, you're telling me this now?" I demanded.

"Isn't this something that I should have known before making a deal with you? Is this a fair deal?" I continued. "Now that we're together, I need to know who you really are. Please be honest with me."

She let out a sigh. "Promise me that you won't freak out when I tell you the truth."

"I don't think I can freak out more than I already have," I retorted. "So just tell me. You're not a fairy, are you?"

She let out a deep sigh and finally confessed, "It's true. I'm not a fairy. I'm Isolda."

I would stare at her in disbelief if I could have seen her. Isolda? Who was that? Being as it was, I was only mute, but before I could ask, she added, "Please don't mention this name to anyone. Do you understand me?"

"Isolda, who?" I practically shouted in my mind, my frustration mounting. Why was she being so secretive?

She warned me, her voice in my mind stern and serious. "Never mention the name Isolda again. Don't even think about it during telepathy. It's too dangerous, and you can't control your thoughts. We need to practice this, or you'll give yourself away. And besides, Isolda is dead. Everyone thinks she's been dead for a long time."

I was even more confused. "Isolda, who? What does that name mean?"

And then she dropped the bombshell. "I am Mephisto's sister Isolda."

It suddenly dawned on me. She was still talking about the game and one of its characters: Isolda, Mephisto's little sister, also known as Isol the Undead.

How could I forget about her? She was one of the world bosses, known for being the most enigmatic one, but also the easiest to defeat by solo players if they could find her. Even low-level players could kill her since she was weak with few life points, despite having tremendous magic power. Isolda was known for her elusiveness, never getting caught but leaving mysterious kills in her wake. Yes, I knew her well. Isol the Undead. And she was supposedly killed long ago in the game.

My frustration was mounting as all of this was overwhelming. "Can we please be serious for a moment? I'm not talking about the game. I mean, in real life!" I implored.

But she seemed too caught up in her own story to pay attention to my request. "Even my best friend Lynx doesn't know this about me, so please be careful with my secret," she said, her tone urgent.

I could feel my thoughts racing as I tried to process everything. This alien chick thinks that she is a game boss! And which one? It is one thing to think you are linked to a fairy and another one to Isol, the undead, alignment: pure evil.

She continued unabated:

“Dolores, this is my only reality; I told you everything about me. I don't understand what else do you want from me?”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Back to square one. Oh, my! I needed to change tactics to get her to reveal more information about my situation.

“OK, how did we get together? Why do you say this spell cannot be undone? What spell was it?”

"What we have isn't just a simple connection or influence, Dolores. What's happening is possession. If I were to leave your mind, it would burn you to ashes. Obviously, that's not an option we want. We need an exorcism, a spellcaster who has the ability to break this possession."

“Wait, you said we can separate, but now you're talking about possession? I'm confused,” I said, trying desperately to make sense of it all.

“Yes, we can separate, but not without the help of a skilled spellcaster. And if we try to separate without one, the act of leaving will burn you completely,” White Flower explained patiently. “I always let you lead when you ask; I kept my word!”

I would sweat buckets if I were in the lead. I am possessed? She is the one that lets me lead!?

I felt a twinge of doubt creeping up on me. How could she be possessing me and having to ask back for the lead at the same time? It just didn't add up.

“Then why do you have to ask for the lead back from me?”

“It takes a lot of energy to take control, and if I did it forcefully, it would damage you. I don't want that. Besides, you would no longer be able to take the lead after that. I don't want to do that. Maybe it is possible to heal you after that, but I haven't tried that yet.”

That did it for me. I don't want anything from this pseudo-game; I don't want to be part of this craziness. I explained it in very slow, clear words:

“I don't want this anymore. I want my old life back; I want to go to school and not have anybody in my head. I want to be free!”

Her answer again missed my point and brought up more nonsense:

“I don't know the way back to the other world. I'll have to find it; I have no lightfire set there!”

Now, this.

“Stop it, please. Stop it with the other world. I don't want anything anymore. I don't want to see any game or any of this world. All I want is to be back to my old life. Let us separate, and let me be free!”

“I told you we cannot separate like this. I need first to find a special spellcaster who would work properly and not kill you or me, and this spell needs some preparation, especially after being together for so long. We are too interconnected. Remember when we accidentally left Cala here, and she was like lobotomized? That might happen to any of us if we do not prepare properly for the separation...”

“Stop it, please. I want out; let me free!”

There was silence after this. A long silence that worried me. Then came the question:

“Are you sure? Is this really what you want?”

This is like the computer coming back again and again: are you sure? Really? Are you very, very sure? Oh, gods in heaven, do I really have any chance to go back to my old life?

“Yes! Definitively! Format C: or whatever is needed!”

Then, suddenly everything became dark, and I lost my conscience.