Inside the subconscious(corrected)

"AAAARGH!"

Within seconds of being pierced the pain reached Mark's brain, forcing him to bend. The reason Mark was injured was due to the monster attacking him from a direction he did not expect.

He believed that the monster's tail could only move sideways, so as he attacked it, he didn't notice that the dragon had moved its tail under its body and with a quick thrust stabbed him.

"ROOOAR!"

Seeing that it had finally taken the human, the monster pulled back Mark's body and swinging its tail, knocked him to the ground nearby. Wanting to finish him once and for all, the dragon swung its tail again but failed to do so.

"Tempest!" -Moving quickly, Aiz grabbed Mark's body before he was hit and headed straight for where the others were.

Gently putting down Mark's body, Aiz turned to Lefiya. - "Lefiya checks his situation."

"He has a lot of injuries and breaks, but the one in his chest is the most serious. Fortunately, it hit the area on the right, slightly below the shoulder. " -Lefiya said seriously, while with the help of Tione and Tiona he stopped the bleeding.

"I understand, then I'll leave it to you. I'll take care of the monster. " -She said with cold air, as she began to walk.

--- Pov Mark ---

Every part of my body hurt, but what I felt in my chest was a completely different level of pain. People near me were talking, but my ears couldn't pick up sounds, all my brain was receiving was just pain signals.

As my vision darkened, I could see a figure slowly making its way to the monster and no matter how I tried to scream at it to stop, my mouth refused to open. Slowly my vision was covered more and more by darkness and my conscience was struggling to maintain itself until it sank completely into that darkness.

...

'Sounds of waves.'

Gently opening my eyes, I was forced to use my hand to protect myself from the sun's rays.

"Hmmm." -Lifting with difficulty, I still couldn't focus on what I was seeing, but when I recovered enough, I got up in a panic.

"How is it possible!? Why am I here?! " - Looking left and right my heart did not stop beating, everything around me was an infinite expanse of water and I was standing on top of the lifeboat.

The feeling of terror that I thought I had abandoned returned, but I refused to be a slave to those feelings.

'heavy breaths'

"Calm down Mark, try to think, no matter how realistic a dream is, you can't feel that kind of pain." - Taking heavy breaths, I sat down again and began to reflect.

I thought it was impossible that what I experienced in that world was a dream, it was too realistic, and I also felt a strange feeling of incongruity.

"Are you feeling better, Mark?"

Hearing the familiar voice I longed to hear every day, my body froze. I slowly raised my head, only to see Selene smiling at me.

"Mark?" - She asked, looking at me confused.

Without even hesitating, I rushed towards her, hugging her tightly in my arms. I wanted to tell her so many things, but my whole body was trembling with emotion, denying me the possibility. At the moment I just wanted to feel her in my arms.

'How I missed this warmth.' -I thought, as the tears began to come out of my eyes.

Seeing my state, Selene did not say anything, she simply wrapped her soft arms around my body, as if she wanted to transmit all her warmth to me.

After who knows how long, I managed to release her and sit next to her, while I squeezed her hand.

"Do you feel better?" - She asked me as she leaned on my shoulder.

"Yes... now yes" -I told her as I leaned against her.

In that situation, there was no one, only me, her, and the infinite ocean. Having her close to me again was my desire, unfortunately, this was not the reality, the sun was always in the same position, Selene looked like a person who had just left the house and I was different from that of the Earth.

"The fact that you figure things out so quickly has always been your best asset." - She told me, as she moved her face towards me.

"I thought my best virtue was humor" - I added.

"Well... you still have to work on that." - She told me stiffly.

After looking at each other for a moment, we burst out laughing.

"Hahaha"

No matter how much time we spent together, we always found it fun to make jokes with each other. Moments like these, gave color to my life making it full of happiness, but like all things, sooner or later they have to end.

"Haaa, then Selene, where am I?" -I asked her calmly.

"This is your subconscious. Don't you find it amazing how the human brain manages to create something like this? It's such an important but at the same time mysterious organ for us. " - She told me excitedly.

Looking at her state, a smile broke out on my face. With the fact that her father was a doctor, she grew up with many documents related to medicine, making her passionate about that world, and among the parts of the body that she found most interesting, the brain was among them.

"So my brain produced this scene because it has a strong bond with me?" - I asked her confusedly.

"It is probable. This is a place that has marked you, but at the same time it has become your willpower. " - She told me seriously.

"Remember that you are there too." -I told her while caressing her cheek. She showed a happy look, before switching on to one of sadness.

"Does it hurt Mark?" -She asked me, as she crawled her hand towards the various wounds I had gotten, before stopping in the chest, where there was a hole.

"Yes." -A simple answer, but full of the suffering I have been through.

"Mark, you don't need to continue. The time I spent with you was more than enough. " - She told me with a smile.

Before I could say anything to her, she put a finger to my lips, then continue.

"You are reduced to this state because you try to protect me, but you don't have to. The 5-year limit is not aimed at you, but only at me, you can forget about me and start a new life in that world with someone who can love you. " - She told me, while various girls I met in that world appeared, such as Aiz, Ryuu, Tione.

"Not interested." -I answered her directly.

It is true those girls were beautiful, but they had no place in my heart, which was already occupied by someone. It was only thanks to her words that I was able to feel something during the darkest period of my life, which was why I refused to leave her.

"I understand, then how about staying here?" -She asked me, while the various girls disappeared in the smoke.

"Here you don't have to worry about getting hurt and you can spend as much time with me as you want." - She said to me as she hugged me with affection.

"It would not be bad." -I told her while I stroked her back.

A place where I have no worries and where I can stay with the woman I love would be great, but my heart denied it.

"Unfortunately I have to refuse this proposal too." -I told her as I got up.

"Can I know the reason." - She asked me confused.

"It's not fair to you, I was given the chance to be born and live, while your soul was fragmented." -I told her as I approached the edge of the lifeboat.

"Thanks to you I had the strength to get out of that room and now it's my turn to save you." -I told her, while the seawater became darker and darker.

"But if you go you will hurt yourself again and you will suffer for it." - She told me sadly.

"Compared to what you've been through, it's nothing." -I replied smiling.

"Don't you want to stay here and have a happy life?" -She asked me looking into my eyes.

"It would just be an illusion. Also, my body forces me to get stronger, so as not to suffer the same things I experienced here. " -I told her, while I saw that the ocean had turned black.

"If you carry on, you never know what you might encounter." -She told me.

"I know what I'm going to meet, and it's a happy life with you and if it's not in this life, it'll be next. Don't you remember? It is you who have my heart, if you disappear, I won't survive "-I told her, while I was standing on the edge.

"...If you've made your decision, then go and fight Mark, I'll be waiting for you, but promise me that you will live." -She told me while hugging my back, before her figure began to slowly disappear, leaving me alone.

I didn't know what her expression was, but I knew she was smiling. Selene would never accept the fact that I give up something, if I ever did, she would throw it back at me for life.

"I apologize as husband Selene, but you will have to wait a little longer. But one thing rest assured, I'll be on top of everyone, so we can finally have a happy life. " -I said with a smile showing my teeth, before diving into the dark water.

I didn't know where I was going, but I kept swimming towards the bottom but nothing changed. My sight was always surrounded by darkness when I finally saw a light. Using all my strength I swam as fast as possible towards that light and the closer I got, the less darkness there was. When I finally reached it, I opened my eyes.

"UUUHHG!"

Immediately the pain hit me like a wave, but I didn't care. I could see Aiz walking away to go to the monster, increasing my anger. I, who fought that monster almost dying and who had the fragment of Selene, would be managed by someone who was not me, there was no way.

"AS-IF-I-LET-YOU-DO-IT!" - Gritting my teeth in pain, I used all my willpower to reach my arm towards Lefiya's shoulder, which I used as a support to get back on my feet.

"STOP RIGHT THERE AIZ WALLENSTEIN!"