A prison of memories
What's so different with Mark's consciousness, is that he had an entire dark castle as a memory lane. Even the environment was different, as it contained actual texture and physics. Alissa felt as if she was not inside someone's mind, but at a different location instead. The illusion that builds up Mark's consciousness was basically that powerful…
In fact, there isn't even supposed to be any illusion. Based on every mind that Alissa had interacted with before, the place that she finds herself after entering someone's mind, is supposed to be an endless white space with balls of core memories floating on top of the surface.
But Mark was different… Instead of the endless white space, it is an empty and rocky terrain that expends beyond the horizon.
As for the balls of memories… Perhaps they are inside of the dark castle…
The sky rumbled. Lightning could be seen passing by… It was not a beautiful day within Mark's mind, and bad memories might be the reason for that.
Nonetheless. No matter how moody and eerie the place seems to be, Alissa still decided to take a step forward, and soon headed in to the castle to see what secrets are hidden inside.
With the resolve to find any signs of her lover still being alive, Alissa continued to walk in through the dark and dirty castle. In the end, when she had reached the center of the castle, she had no choice but to choose to continue forward in order to reach the stairways that lead to the higher floors and the basement.
There was nothing in the first floor, that's for sure. Hence, Alissa decided to head off to the stairs. She took the stairs up first, simply because she felt more comfortable going to the second floor first.
On the second floor, there were multiple doors that leads to a room, and so were there in the third and last floor. The doors didn't just lead to rooms, of course. Instead, they led to core memories. Events that Mark remembers very well, and illusions of such realities that replays itself over and over again.
Alissa had passed by many of such rooms, and even stopped by a few of them. The reason why, is because some of her had managed to catch her interest. Memories that showed dramatic and sad events, horrible sceneries, and things that Alissa never wanted to see in the first place.
His mother and father fighting every time when he was a kid. His father living life full of worries ever since he became a teenager. Him living without a father for many years, while having to deal with the properties, deals, and sins that his father has left behind, together with his mother. Eventually, there is a room that shows how great the sin of his father has become. Debts that have grown larger. Not debts that are exactly related to money alone, but more to hate, vengeance, and jealousy.
They are all memories, which Alissa never wants to see or mention the thought of again. Too cruel, is the only way she could define Mark's life to be. She had no words, as she could only shed tears of sympathy while hastily running downstairs because she saw enough.
"Haa… Haa…" Alissa let out sobbing breaths, as she tried to calm herself down.
"Mark… Just what have you gone through… Did you kill Evan because of that? Because you couldn't just forget such memories of yours?" Although Alissa's words were directed towards Mark, she was in fact talking to herself.
'Should I just leave and get over this? The consciousness of Mark must have killed Evan or something. He did kill before, so it's possible…' Alissa had the thought of leaving, as she was no longer feeling comfortable being surrounded by Mark's memories.
"No…" Alissa muttered all of a sudden, when she was just about to leave.
'The basement… The stairway looks like it leads to some underground prison. Perhaps Evan is locked down there…' Was the optimistic thought of hers that prevented her from leaving Mark's mind.
That said, she began to take steady steps towards the basement. She was no longer as carefree as before, and was ready to look away the instant she saw another bad memory of Mark. For sure, she did not want to live an eternal life with horrible memories stuck inside her mind. Forgetting what she had seen earlier is already difficult for her to do. If those memories of her seeing Mark's memories do not fade, she'd certainly live quite the unpleasant ghostly life.
Alissa was right. The stairway did indeed lead her to a prison room that hosted many secured rooms. Instead of the fancy doors like the ones from above, there were metal doors instead. Unlike the higher floors, Alissa couldn't open the doors to see what was behind them. That doesn't mean that she couldn't see what's behind the door, of course. She was able to see, but only through a small glass plane of the door.
At first, Alissa was scared to see what there is behind the door. However, she quickly put her fears aside, because she knew that she needed to find the answers that she is need of.
"Evan…" She muttered, when she saw the memories behind the door.
Another tear couldn't help itself from leaving her eye, and soon, Alissa succumbed to the floor, crying with her back leaning on the metal door that is locked.
Evan… Evan is alive…