As I ran down the dimly lit road, the surroundings started to vanish. There was nothing left except darkness and the path in front of me. I slowed down and looked behind me. The original Seri was no longer there. There was nothing behind me except for vast endless darkness.

I turned forward, "Well. If you can't go back, you can only go forward."

I continued to run forward. Although I was propelling myself forward, it didn't feel as though I was actually going anywhere. There was absolutely nothing I could use to measure distance with. There were no landmarks. Only darkness. It was a bit suffocating and panic inducing to be in such vast darkness, but I didn't allow myself to worry. My goal was simple.

Return back to Dante.

My lungs started to burn from the endless sprinting, but I didn't give up. Then, I saw a person illuminating the darkness ahead. I squinted my eyes as they came closer into view.

Dante was seated with his head buried in his hands. His hair was unkempt and his outfit seemed to be in bad shape. He looked like he hadn't bathed in days. I had never seen him look this way before and it pained me to see.

I slowed down as I stared at him ahead of me. Finally. I have finally found him once more. I shouted from overwhelming happiness, "Dante!" My voice seemed to echo throughout the darkness, however, he didn't seem to hear. But I didn't mind. My eyes glistened with tears as I grinned ear to ear.

I found him. I found him.

I went to run out to embrace him, but felt something grab my ankles and hold me back. A hand had appeared from beneath the darkened ground and reached out to grab me. I panicked upon seeing the phantom hand and pulled my leg in a terror to get out of it's grip. As I pulled, the earth began to split and a body started rising from the ground still refusing to let me go.

Her head rolled around revealing a ghastly smile. Her sharp eyes pierced into mine from under the worn out hoodie she always wore. The breath caught in my throat as she held on to my leg with ferocity. I fell to the ground and looked at her with a horrified expression. Her sharp nails dug into my skin.

It was the other me.

She spoke with a terrifying grin, "What are you doing?! He left you! Don't you feel hurt?! Don't you feel angry!?"

I kicked at her head with my other foot, "Get off of me!!"

She grabbed onto me tighter laughing maliciously. Her voice was haunting as she withstood my kicks, "You can't run away from me!"

"GET OFF OF ME!" I squirmed and turned to Dante screaming, "DANTE! DANTE! HELP!"

"Hah! What could he possibly do to help you!? He was the one who killed you! He would never come back to save you!"

"No! You're wrong!"

"How can I be wrong?!" Her crazed laughter echoed in my ear, "I am you! And you are me!"

I kicked her off and shrieked, "I'M NOT YOU!"

I scrambled to stand up and tried to run away. I didn't get far before I felt something reach around my waist, stopping me. I looked down hurriedly and saw the childlike me grabbing my waist with a panicked expression.

She cried out, "No! You can't leave me! Please don't leave me!"

I clenched my jaw and raised my fist to hit her off.

She flinched and wailed, "NOO! Please don't hurt me mommy! Please mommy! I promise I will be a good girl!!"

I froze in horror. Even if she was fake... I couldn't hit her. I couldn't hit a child even if it wasn't real.

In my hesitance, more hands grabbed onto me. Suddenly, bodies began to crawl out of the ground to grab on to me with sharp dreadful nails. I was stuck in their deathly grip. I tried to free myself from their arms as their voices all overlapped, shouting over one another.

"Please don't hurt me!"

"Demons! They are all demons!"

"Aren't you angry?"

"Nothing matters anymore..."

"Come take shots with me!"

They used each other to climb up, each one holding me down in different spots. The other me in the hoodie grabbed on to my shoulders whispered into my ear. Her voice was dreadfully cold, "How can you love another when you can't even love yourself?"

I shouted as I tried to rip off their hands, "Get off of me! Get off!"

I felt the ground start to melt under my feet as if it was quicksand. They pulled down, further into the tar-like murky water. I squirmed in their grip as I sunk down lower and lower. Their taunts and screams only became louder.

They taunted me simultaneously, "You are us, and we are you."

"Nooo!" The tar-like water reached my neck and I threw out my one free hand towards Dante, "Dante! Dante save me!"

However, Dante couldn't hear me. He couldn't see me.

I sunk down watching in vain as Dante couldn't hear my pleas for help. He was so close and yet so far. As the water enveloped me, I struggled to hold my breath. The hands that grabbed me wouldn't relent as they dragged me down further and further into the icy depths of the void. My lungs burnt in pain and my mouth opened gasping for air that was no longer there.

My vision began to blur as the liquid rushed into my lungs.

I was going to drown in this tar-like water. My outstretched hand would never grab another's. I was going to be left alone for all of eternity. There was no one who could save me from myself. If only... If only I had someone who could save me...

I drifted through the space unbreathing. It felt as though I was enveloped in a cold embrace. It wasn't painful, rather... It felt strangely soothing. It was almost as if I was being erased and becoming nonexistent. However, I didn't mind. It was better this way.

Is this what if feels like to be dead?

In the blurry water, an illuminated figure appeared and started to swim down towards me. She had long brown hair and deep brown eyes. Above one eye was a faint scar that added to her beautiful mysterious aura. Her clothes were ripped and torn with faint traces of blood upon them. She was as beautiful as she was broken.

As my final breath left me, she reached out and held my cheeks. She smiled gently at me, "It's okay... We are okay..."

I felt her arms embrace me and I closed my eyes, allowing myself to be swaddled by her warmth. I finally understood the thing they had been trying to get me to realize.

She was right...

I... was right...

For so long I was running away from myself, denying that I was ever them. I believed that these other versions of me were just that. Duplicates. They weren't actually me. They were only moments I wished to forget. However, it wasn't true. Each one of them was a part of me. Although I tried my hardest to ignore these versions of me, I could never beat them. They were my everything.

My fear.

My paranoia.

My anger.

My pain.

My impulsivity.

My determination.

Even my stupidity.

They were all pieces of me. I could no longer deny them. I embraced the me who looked exactly as I had the day I died. I embraced them all. Their bodies all fused into one and looked back at me. I heard their soft whisper in my ear, "Do you accept us?"

I smiled softly in response.

Yes.

As we embraced, our bodies fused into one and turned into a blinding bright light. The light enveloped me, overtaking the darkness surrounding me.

_________

My eyes painfully fluttered open. I was laying on my stomach with my head gently laid on its side. My back seemed to ache with a dull throbbing pain. I had never felt a pain quite like this. It felt as if my entire back was on fire and began to spread throughout my body. In addition to the pain, I felt extremely fatigued.

While my eyes adjusted, I could see Dante sitting beside my bed with his head held in his hands. He looked exactly as he had in the dark space. It was as if his entire world had been destroyed. I smiled softly at him.

I knew nothing could stop me from getting to you.

I reached out to him and felt a pain shoot across my body. I winced and let out a small gasp. Dante heard this and looked up at me quickly. The rims of his eyes were red and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. He met my open eyes with a look of disbelief.

"S-Seri?"

I gave a weak smile, "Mmn."

He grabbed my hand, "S-Seri!? Are you really awake?!"

"Mmn." I answered. I could tell I had lost too much blood because I felt extremely weak. Even speaking was difficult to do.

D*mn. Does anyone else have type O blood that they wouldn't mind donating?

I felt him grasp my hand tighter, "I'm so sorry Seri... It was all my fault... It was all my fault..."

I watched as tears began to well up in Dante's eyes. As he looked at me with a pain stricken face, tears he had tried to prevent rolled down his cheek; each one dripping onto my hand. I had always wanted to see Dante cry, but now that he is... Well it didn't feel as good as I had thought it would. Now, all I wanted was to see him smile.

Wow. I really screwed up this world. Didn't I? Just by existing here, I've managed to ruin everything. Perhaps it would have been better if I never came here.

I squeezed his hand feebly. I forced out the words I had returned just to say, "Dante... I'm sorry..."

He looked at me in surprise, "F-For what?"

"I'm sorry... That I kept secrets from you..." My eyes winced from the effort, "I shouldn't have done that..."

As he watched me struggle, the agony he was feeling inside showed on his face. His voice was weak, "You shouldn't speak. You need to save your energy."

I couldn't stop though. I had to tell him. I have to tell him how much he means to me. I have to tell him that I would overcome death just to be by his side again.

I have to tell him how much I love him.

"Dante... I... I..."

My voice trailed off as I felt myself slipping back to sleep.

No. I can't go yet.

Please. Just let me say this to him.

Please.