"Insomnia is a vertiginous lucidity that would turn paradise into a place of torture."
— Emil Cioran
***
The day went by without much change.
The group sat around the fire, eating dinner. The girls, as usual, enjoyed the tree's fruits, while Zachary took a few pieces of meat from the pile. He wasn't even hungry, but he forced himself to eat. Each motion — lifting the food, chewing, swallowing — felt mechanical. His mind was foggy, his thoughts drifting in and out as he tried to purge the whispers the Soul Devouring Tree had planted in him.
Even that was becoming harder.
"You should really eat a fruit, Zach," Nephis offered once again.
Zachary looked at her with tired eyes before shaking his head weakly.
The girls' insistence was growing worrisome. He remembered how in the novel, when Nephis's compulsion had pushed her to the edge, Sunny had gone to great lengths to find her the perfect fruit. Now standing in a similar position, Zachary could see that this was no random act — the fruits were dangerous extensions of the tree itself. Even in his fading state of mind, he knew he must not eat them. No matter what.
"You should take one, Zach. You don't look good," Cassie pressed.
"I... I can't... You know about my Balance, right?" Zachary forced himself to answer. "If they really give Soul Fragments, then I need to be careful about when to consume them."
The girls exchanged brief glances before returning to their conversation, while Zachary's mind harbored only a single thought.
'This can't go any further... I need to sleep tonight,' he admitted to himself, his inner voice flat, stripped of its usual humor.
Zachary knew that once he closed his eyes and lowered his defenses, the tree would immediately take hold of him. But he wouldn't allow that to happen unprepared.
After dinner, he walked toward the remains of the Carapace Demon. He had separated everything into neat piles — meat, bones, fat, and carapace — each organized with almost obsessive care. Moving to the carapace, he summoned Ender's Solace and cut a piece roughly the size of his palm.
Using the sharp point of the Midnight Shard, he engraved with some difficulty three words: Otherworld. Novel. Mind Control.
Zachary knew that under the tree's enthrallment, retaining complex thoughts was nearly impossible. That was why Cassie had chosen to remind Sunny with a single word — "Five" — instead of a detailed warning. He hoped these words would serve as a similar anchor, guiding his mind in the right direction: first by reminding him of his true nature, and then of the circumstances he was trapped in.
Once done he placed the memento inside his inner pocket, feeling its weight settle close to his heart. Then exhausted, he sat down to check and purge his thoughts one last time. He was too tired to practice Flow Control. The hours dragged on. The girls stayed near, keeping an eye on Zachary and his worsening condition.
And finally, night came.
This time they decided to stay awake, determined to make sure Zachary got some rest. He didn't argue, his decision was already made. Placing a hand over his heart — over the carapace memento — he exhaled deeply.
Then, at last, he closed his eyes.
Morning welcomed the Forgotten Shore, and a soft, sweet breeze danced across the Ashen Barrow.
Today was a sunny day.
Zachary opened his eyes with a soft smile. His mind felt extremely refreshed — he could swear he hadn't had such a good night of sleep in his entire life. His thoughts flickered slightly; there was a vague recollection that he had been worried about something, but…
Nothing came to his mind.
‹Probably nothing,› Zachary mused to himself.
With his worries gone, he could finally focus on his well-deserved vacation.
The girls awoke a few moments later and turned toward him. Seeing that he had finally slept, they smiled brightly.
"How are you feeling, Zach?" Cassie asked as she walked to his side.
"Pretty good, thanks for asking. I don't know what got over me these past days," Zachary said, stretching lazily.
"You worried us, Zach. It's good you're back to your usual self," Nephis said while preparing to climb the tree in search of their breakfast.
Obviously, it had to be the fruits. The delicious fruits.
Zachary paused for a moment, puzzled. The girls had said the fruits tasted divine. So why had he been so opposed to eating them?
He brushed the thought aside — and as quickly as it came, it vanished.
‹It must have been my usual suspicious nature. But what could even be wrong with a fruit? It's not like it could be dangerous,› Zachary laughed inwardly. Dangerous fruit. Ha, what a joke.
A few minutes later, Nephis was already down from the tree, carrying three ripe, plump fruits. Their black skins shimmered faintly, and the sweet aroma they released was impossibly inviting. Zachary wondered again why he had ever resisted them so strongly.
'Hmm, but maybe I should eat some meat. I'll need protein to start the day strong,' Zachary considered.
‹But I don't really crave demon meat right now. The tree's fruit looks so tasty today,› he answered immediately.
Nephis offered him one of the fruits, and Zachary accepted it without hesitation — why wouldn't he? At the sight, the girls smiled brightly. They were happy.
Happy that Zachary was finally going to join them.
Just as he was about to take a bite, something pressed against his heart— something heavy inside his torn clothes. Curious, he reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a small piece of carapace.
He examined it closely, noticing faint engravings carved across its rough surface. Had he written them himself? He couldn't remember.
Three words. Only three words. He read them once... then again... and again.
Each time his eyes grew wider — with shock, with fear, with disgust.
His stomach churned. The trembling fruit slipped from his hands. He took a ragged breath, and finally Zachary came back.
Without missing a beat, Zachary began examining his thoughts surgically, purging those that were not his own. It was harder than usual — the foreign thoughts were so similar to his natural reasoning that they passed his first filter unnoticed. Only after a second and third sweep of his Mind did he feel certain that he was clean.
'This nature of control… it's more precise than I once thought,' Zachary reflected with dread.
The Soul Devouring Tree's influence was insidious in nature. It began subtly, provoking the least resistance possible from its victim. First, it targeted ordinary thoughts — rest, enjoyment, hunger, care — the common patterns that kept one human. Once these were claimed, the infection spread, like malware rewriting the very structure of the Mind. From there, it shaped those controlled impulses toward one purpose.
To protect the tree. To tend the tree. To live and die for the tree.
Zachary shuddered at the thought, then noticed the girls watching him closely.
"Aren't you going to eat, Zach?" Nephis asked flatly.
His mind raced. He forced a crooked smile and let out a nervous laugh. "You know, I suddenly remembered this diet I read about online. It's mostly protein-based — I think I'll try bulking up a little."
The girls didn't respond to his nonsense. Without meeting their eyes, he hurried toward the pile of meat. He managed to avoid eating the cursed fruit.
A week passed in the blink of an eye. Zachary spent his time practicing Flow Control and planning an escape route, but with each passing day it became harder to purge the tree's influence.
Eventually, he accepted the truth — they wouldn't last a month, they had to escape soon. The urgency weighed heavily on his shoulders.
'We can return to the Bone Ridge, find a way south, and retrace the cohort's journey from the Hollow Mountains,' Zachary reasoned. 'But that would take too much time, and it will ruin the timeline... I'm already walking on thin ice as it is.'
'Or maybe...' A daring thought crossed his mind. 'Could it be possible? Ender's Solace enhanced damage, the ability to channel Soul Essence through it, the presence of Flow Control. I might have a chance...'
"Can I kill an Awakened Terror?" Zachary murmured, his expression grave.
The instant the words left his mouth, a splitting headache tore through him. A fierce intrusion surged toward his Mind. Zachary immediately shifted his focus inward, fighting to defend himself. When the assault finally subsided, realization struck him like a hammer.
The tree could feel hostile thoughts directed against it.
"Dogshit." Zachary could only curse under his breath.
He remembered how, in the novel, Sunny had managed at the very last moment to raise a middle finger in defiance against the tree — a sudden fire of rebellion that had invited the dwellers of the night. But Sunny's act could be interpreted as the lighting of a makeshift candle, not a deliberate attack against the tree itself. That distinction had saved him from retaliation.
Zachary, however, had made his intent clear — and the Soul Devouring Tree had felt it.
Sighing in resignation, he shifted his focus to Flow Control. He had reached a point of stagnation. The essence within his muscles responded to his will, but far too slowly. His current goal was to gather that essence at a single point — his hand.
That was when he noticed something: the flow began at the area closest to his focus. First the forearm, then the shoulder, the chest, his other arm, waist, and legs. The rest of his Body answered the Mind's command, the Soul moving in one unified direction. But the process was painfully slow. By the time most of the essence reached his hand, a full minute had already passed.
The worst part was that the moment he lost concentration, all the gathered essence dispersed again, scattering back through his body. He couldn't even make use of it.
He was making no progress. Flow Control remained stubbornly stagnant, time was running out, and he still had no plan. Frustrated, Zachary lay down that night with a bitter taste in his mouth.
Morning arrived, and almost by reflex, Zachary reached for his inner pocket. Reading the memento had become a habit carved deep into his consciousness. After staring at the three engraved words for a long while, he finally reclaimed his Mind. It had taken far more effort this time, and his thoughts still felt foggy.
'I didn't rest that well,' Zachary yawned, scratching his stomach.
That's when he noticed the girls — already awake, already eating. Cassie looked calm, while Nephis was beginning to show the same restleness she had displayed in the novel. He was mildly surprised they hadn't woken him, considering they had risen earlier. Shrugging it off, he made his way toward the pile of meat to prepare breakfast — but froze.
The meat was gone.
Zachary mind cleared instantly and he immediately rushed toward the other piles. The carapace, bones, and fat were still neatly stacked. Only the meat was missing.
"What— Where… where is the meat?" Zachary asked, his voice trembling. He turned toward the girls. They looked at him briefly, then silently went back to their fruits.
'No way…' dread spread through his chest as he stormed toward them.
"Where is the meat?" he asked again, louder this time.
Cassie lifted her head, her blind eyes fixing on him. "Oh, yes. We got rid of it," she said casually before taking another bite of the fruit.
Zachary's shoulders trembled. He didn't even know what emotion was boiling inside him.
"Why the fuck would you do that?!" he exploded.
"The meat is making you act strange, Zachary," Cassie said sweetly. "Your actions prove it. You wouldn't have yelled at us otherwise."
He stared at her in disbelief, words caught in his throat. Before he could respond, Nephis rose to her feet.
"You should eat a fruit, Zachary. It'll help calm you down," she said tiredly, extending one toward him.
"Get that thing out of my face!" Zachary snapped, striking the fruit from Nephis's hand.
Silence swallowed the Ashen Barrow.
{^}
Danger Sense began to buzz faintly, and Zachary realized the silence carried a strange tension. He swallowed hard.
Nephis bent down to pick up the fallen fruit. Zachary forced a shaky laugh, trying to defuse the atmosphere.
"Haha... I'm actually allergic to fruit, you know? I'd rather avoid coming into contact with it." He had been allergic to certain fruits in the other world — so technically, he wasn't lying.
But Cassie only laughed melodiously — a sound that once would have brightened his heart but now filled him with dread.
"What are you saying, Zachary? Dreamers aren't allergic to things anymore," she said between soft chuckles.
"Eat, Zachary," Nephis repeated.
Zachary froze. This was no longer a suggestion. That was when he understood — his earlier suspicion had been right.
The Soul Devouring Tree was planting adulterated thoughts in the girls' minds, bending their actions to slowly chip away at his defenses, tightening its hold over him.
The silence deepened. Danger Sense screamed in the back of his head, signaling the breaking point. He saw no way out — none that could keep all three of them safe.
Zachary could only curse under his breath. With a weary sigh, he accepted the fruit from Nephis's hands.
Trembling slightly, he lifted it to his lips.
And finally, he took a bite.