Mother And Father

[Day 7: You feel slightly weaker due to the evil power consuming your vitality…]

As his simulated self woke up and began walking, Lem noticed that the strange sensation was still present.

It lurked, never fluctuating in the slightest.

The minutes passed, and he began to grow uneasy.

What was the source of the sensation?

Wait.

Was the forest more quiet than before?

From his detached position, Lem was suddenly alerted.

The natural sounds of the forest had gradually dwindled to the point where they were only faintly present.

He was sure of it!

After making this observation, he also saw that the forest was unnaturally still, as though it was frozen in time.

The leaves on the trees barely moved.

The branches did not creak.

The only sounds came from his feet stepping on the debris that carpeted the forest floor, and even those were muted.

The mystery had only deepened, and Lem was sure that his simulated self was doomed.

What would happen next?

As the minutes passed, would he slow down, before freezing in place?

Or would he die suddenly, without warning?

Whatever happened, he was sure it would not be good.

Soon after, his simulated self also realized the danger.

[After traveling for a couple of hours, you feel as though the forest is too still. The small sounds that you have grown used to have disappeared. You are frightened, and you turn around, trying to retrace your steps…]

Lem watched grimly as his simulated self tried to escape its predicament. 

He ran back in the opposite direction, but the sensation did not disappear, and the stillness only grew.

Lem's simulated self stopped.

Before him was a rock that was shaped roughly like an eye.

Was that the source of the mysterious phenomena?

[You come across a distinctive, eye-shaped rock. You are frightened, because you are sure you would have recognized it if you had seen it before. You do not feel comfortable returning in that direction, so you turn around and walk away…]

As Lem's simulated self began retreating, he stopped again in horror.

There, in front of him, was the same eye-shaped rock.

Had it teleported in front of him?

Or were there multiple copies of the rock?

Was he even moving through the forest in the first place, or was he caught in an illusion?

[You encounter the distinctive rock again. You are incomparably frightened…]

He tried to escape the rock again, this time by traveling in a different direction.

"Lem, my child, you can stop worrying. It was all a bad dream."

Lem watched what was happening with fascination and horror.

The figure in front of him was a blond woman who he had never seen before, yet subconsciously, he knew it was his biological mother.

Isla.

He had only ever heard her name before.

But if she was appearing before him, then there was no reason why…

"You must have been confused, all this time, hearing about an evil. We were never really dead. It was all just a test."

A male voice sounded in his ear.

And then a man appeared beside his mother.

A handsome, distinguished face. Brown hair. 

"Vanar, father?" his simulated self said tentatively.

So this is how it ends, Lem thought to himself. 

He could see clearly that his simulated self was in the throes of an illusion, and it appeared to have broken his sense of reality.