"About time you woke up," he heard a voice speak to his right and he froze. No way. He turned. A sharp grin welcomed him, "I mean, seriously, when was the last time you slept?"

The weapon-girl was crouching next to him, her figure literally glowing in the darkness of the cave. Like some kind of ghost or apparition. Hauntingly beautiful. Her long hair fell down to the floor and danced with different colors. She wore the same translucent robe that he had seen her with in his mind. In fact, she looked exactly the same. The same as Elba. But she wasn’t her. No. Wait, the weapon-girl?

"Are you real...?" Alexander mumbled as he roughly rubbed his eyelids, "Or am I hallucinating again? Great. Just what I needed."

She took a long look at herself and then her grin widened, "I'm real.”

Or so she said. He pinched his arm with sharp, black nails that easily drew blood. The girl’s visage did not disappear. He gave her an incredulous, deadpan stare, “Okay then, prove it to me. Prove you’re real.”

She exaggeratedly rolled her eyes and stood, “Whether you believe me or not, it’s up to you. It’s kind of funny, actually, because my influence is rather limited in this form and-”

He stood up and faced her. Unlike before, with his new body, they were now the same height. Pale-violet eyes regarded each other. “What was your name again?” he interrupted with a question that had plagued his mind for a while.

“I don’t have a name,” she said. Her voice was incredibly soft and soothing. A part of him was glad to see her again, as much as he hated it. The other part… “But I understand you humans like to use them, so you can call me whatever you want.”

“Then what did you say back then? Something about a Fria-thing or- I don’t remember,” he said as his drowsiness was steadily being replaced by another feeling the more he realized just who was in front of him.

“The Friaskil? That’s kinda... advanced information, let’s say,” she said and pursed her lips, her gaze gaining a faraway look, “How should I say this, I’m not a hundred percent sure of what I am exactly. I know I’m a shard of the Friaskil’s core, but there’s a lot of information I’m missing. I was hoping you may be able to help me with that search. Well, still am hoping,” she finished with a disarming smile.

He punched her right through her chest.

The inside of his arm felt like a vortex of swirling magma and even a hissing sound not unlike steam escaping a tight container filled the cave.

She stared at him, shock written all over her face. Yeah right, like she wasn’t expecting this. Like she wasn’t the one responsible for everything that had happened to him. It was all her fault. She was the one who brought him here against his will. There was not a single ounce of emotion on his expression. Help her? Seriously!? After everything, she hoped he would help her!?

What the fuck.

Burn in hell, you crazy bitch.

She smirked and took a single step back, phasing through his extended arm, and twirled happily on the back of her feet, not a wound on her body.

Of course.

Well, it didn’t hurt to try.

Suddenly she was to his left, admiring his steaming arm, “That was a strong punch, though it’s clear that your prana control is trash. Just look at the excess pouring out, it’s disgusting. Have you done nothing since you woke up?” she asked and he punched again, this time directly at her face. Multiple times. It just went through her, like…

“You’re not real, are you?” he said aloud and shook his head, “That’s it, I’m going crazy for real. This really sucks. Why you? Why can’t my mind materialize someone less fucking annoying!?”

She giggled a beautiful sound that distracted him of his frustration for a bit, which then returned to him stronger than before, “I already told you, I’m real. Want me to show you?” she began to walk towards him and he flinched, hurling several jabs that did absolutely nothing.

Okay, maybe attacking this being wasn’t such a good idea.

He quickly searched for a way out and dashed at an opening, but an instant later the grinning girl was standing in front of him. Not good. He backstepped and tripped on a rock, falling on his rear. She didn’t slow down and kept approaching. He kicked in order to get as much distance as possible until his back hit a wall.

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

Was this it? Was this how he died? Or worse. What were the limits to her power? She had blocked his memories and severed the connection between his emotions and his thoughts before. What else could she possibly do? A fate worse than immediate death?

Her smile did not buckle or falter for a single second. It was unnerving. She had him cornered with no way to escape. The girl leaned in, her hair framing her porcelain-like face, and slowly brought her hand close to his head. He closed his eyes and glued his face to the wall.

She cupped his cheeks and gently made him face her, “See?” she said.

Silence fell afterward.

What? What did she mean? That was it? He then realized that he felt her hands touching his face. He opened his eyes. She had a huge, bright grin. He could feel her warmth. How…?

He immediately went to break her arms, but again his attack passed through like she didn’t exist. However, he still felt her hands on him.

“Geez, you’re rather persistent,” she said, gently tracing her thumb on his cheek. He froze. “Seems like you’ve had it rough, haven’t you?” she inspected the torn, dirty shirt he was wearing and suddenly ripped it off, revealing his torso. There was not a single scar on him, despite his previous wounds, “But your body is perfectly fine. Indeed, I did a good job.”

He wanted to pull back, but the cave’s wall prevented it. The thought of crushing it crossed his mind, though he decided against damaging his home.

Her words only served to anger him further.

“Take me back…” he said lowly, his voice dripping with venom.

The girl returned her gaze to his own. He saw himself reflected on her pale irises, an abomination with two horns. It was her fault. She had changed him; taken him far away from his home and then disappearing after dropping him in this damned place. She continued to stare at him, slowly losing her smile. She shook her head. “I can’t do that, even if I wanted to. My power doesn’t work that way.”

“How does it work then!?” he snapped, his vision getting blurry, “What do I need to do in order to get back home!? Hunt a hundred of those fucking bears!? I’ll do it! Find some kind of stupidly overpowered item!? I’ll do it! Destroy a kingdom!? I’ll do it! Kill a god!? I’ll do it! I’ll do it! I’ll do it! Just tell me what the FUCK I have to do to get out of here!”

He was seething. His breaths came short and quick. Meanwhile, the girl stood up in silence.

“Tell me! Say something! Why the hell are you quiet now!? Didn’t you like to blabber about nonsense!? Answer the goddamn question!” he screamed, his throat already feeling raw. He wanted to punch the ground so badly, but the burning sensation was too intense so it was probably not a good idea.

What the hell was happening to him? What was he doing?

Did that monster hiding itself in the shape of his student mess with his mind once more? Was this a dumb, useless dream? What was real and what wasn’t?

“Hey, tell me…” he added in a much softer voice, “Are my memories of Alexander Pierce… all fake?”

She raised an eyebrow at his question.

“I mean, think about it. Dimensional travel? Okay, let’s suppose it’s possible. Let’s suppose there are other dimensions and there’s a way to travel between them. Regardless of the method, isn’t it safe to assume that it would require a shit ton of energy?” he said.

She sighed and nodded, “I suppose it is…”

“Then-”

“BUT!” she interrupted and he flinched, “You’re disregarding an important variable. Dimensional travel would certainly require, as you say, a shit ton of conventional energy. However, we have ways to harness and use unconventional energy. You should know by now.”

He grumbled as he quickly stood up. “I did not disregard that variable. I’m aware you can use… magic? Whatever you call it, I don’t give a flying fuck-”

“It’s magic,” she said with a small smirk.

“-how you refer to it. I’m assuming that you would need an immense amount of it as well. Am I wrong?” he said.

“Nope, you’re right. It would take a shit ton of mana,” she said and flicked her hair to the side with a smug grin, looking absolutely pleased with herself. This bitch.

“Okay then,” he gritted his teeth, “I’ll assume that this magic of yours can accomplish several things, aside from dimensional travel. Am I wrong?”

“You’re absolutely right. There’s a myriad of things you can accomplish with prana and mana manipulation,” she said.

“Like high-speed regeneration and super strength, right?” he asked, raising his arm and allowing the heat to course through. She nodded. “... and what about creating a body and implanting false memories? Would you say it’s possible?”

“Yeah, very possible,” she said with a neutral tone. There wasn’t a single change in her disposition, not a single twitch. Nothing. She stared at him. “So? What are you trying to say?”

“Stop playing with me, you know damn well what I’m implying. I don’t know how this magic energy works, but it sounds to me like it would take more energy to travel across dimensions than to create a body and implant it with plastic memories. Am I wrong?” he said.

“Nope, you’re right again. Well, in theory. It might be harder than you think, but yeah I understand the logic,” she said and crossed her arms beneath her chest, “So what?”

“So what...?” he repeated, incredulous, “So what? So what!? Are you serious!?” Purple and black tendrils swirled around him. He felt his white hair waving, though there was no wind. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. This… you don’t care at all, do you? You don’t give a single fuck about me or what I’m feeling, even though it was you who… who…”

“You misunderstand me,” she said, lifting a single finger in front of her, “What you’re implying is that I lied to you. If you don’t believe my word then whatever I say is irrelevant because either way, you will think that I’m lying. I already told you once, I brought you here from another dimension. That’s it. Regardless of which way was more efficient, that’s what I did. Whether you believe me or not, it’s up to you.”

That… made sense. He hated to admit it, but she was right. Her answer was irrelevant because he didn’t have a way to prove her wrong. Alexander Pierce was as real as he wanted him to be.

He had fallen in an existential hole that didn’t have a clear answer. It was important to him, however. Whether he was human or not. Whether he was Alexander or some other thing. He sighed. Also, was he some kind of newbie to the dread of exploring individuality, free will, existence and life in general? Because it seemed like it, given how agitated he was. ‘This whole new world shit messed with my brain. This is nothing new. Come on, remember! You have lived your whole life without a way to prove that you exist, this is no different,’ he thought to himself as he took deep breaths.

His posture relaxed and he placed his hands behind his head, “Yeah, you’re right. I guess we can say that I believe your word for now,” her grin came back full force and he shrugged, “At the very least you haven’t lied to me yet, so I can trust you. However, I hate you. I can’t stress this enough. If I find a way to kill you, I will do it. So, go back to whatever place you were hiding before. I’m feeling hungry.”

“Oh come on! You’re so mean!” she said and puffed out her cheeks indignantly, “What do I have to do for you to forgive me?”

“Die,” he replied without missing a beat, “By my hands, preferably.”

“I’m being serious! We can’t go on like this! This is only the second time we have spoken, you can’t possibly hate me that much!” she said.

“I’m also being serious,” he said, growing bored of her presence and walking towards the nature-made stairwell in order to climb to the ground floor. He stopped because he remembered something.

“Hey! There must be something I can-”

“By the way, have you seen my bears?” he asked suddenly, looking from left to right for any hints.

“Bears?” she said wide-eyed, “I don’t think I understand what you mean.”

“Well they’re more like bear cubs the size of a normal bear,” he left and she followed close behind.