After the discussion with the king, Thomas went back to the inner world. It was as if a cyclone had passed through the imaginary building. There was a fissure in the middle, and the stairs leading to the control room were broken. Even the dark cave full of luminous pnts had crumbled. And obviously, the residents had changed.

  Anne-Antoinette was still the same, but was talking to a strange teenager who was an amalgamation of Peacock and Larotte. There were two other people who looked lost, probably new personalities that were formed to handle the burden of the recent events on Mariane’s mind. Usually, Thomas would have welcomed them, expined the situation, and tried to repair the inner world as best as he could, but this time he didn’t move. He was standing still, staring into space, with lifeless eyes.

  The old woman noticed him and approached, holding the strange teenager’s hand.

  “Dear, are you alright ? We got a brief rundown of what happened from Mariane, and I want to say that I am sorry for you. I know how you hate being touched by men, so…”

  “Stop. Don’t talk about it, please.”

  Thomas fixed his gaze on Anne-Antoinette, but it was as if he couldn’t see her. His face was blurry, as usual, but his aura had become so cold that standing near him was painful. The old woman smiled weakly, and pointed to the teenager.

  “This is Bénédicte, she was created after Larotte and Peacock mixed together. I told her a lot about you, do you want to introduce yourself ?”

  She was trying to take his mind off the trauma, by making him do something else, but it was in vain. Thomas was here, but he wasn’t at the same time. After trying a few more times, and even bringing the new residents to him, the only reaction she received was a flinch when she got too close, so she gave up and left him alone.

  Thomas stood still for some time, but the stares of the other personalities felt like boiling oil thrown at him, so he climbed the broken stairs and opened his bedroom’s door. He had never gotten inside, not even once, but at this moment it felt like the safest pce. It was minuscule, a small cell with a roof lower than his legs’ height, so he had to crawl on his knees to reach the pillow. He closed the door behind him, and it was just long enough for him to y down. It looked more like a box with a mattress than a room, but he felt comfortable, knowing that nobody could get in with him.

  He stayed like this for who knows how long, without moving, and then was called to the front. But he didn’t react, didn’t speak either, and was brought back to his room in the inner world. This routine continued without him doing anything to stop it. He didn’t have the strength to try anymore. Whether he was in the control room or in the inner world, what would be so different ?

  However, this stopped one day, when he was sitting in Mariane’s room, in the same position as she had left the body. Someone knocked on the door. Hearing no answer, the person entered anyway. It was Bael. Looking at the lifeless body, he instinctively knew who was in front. He sighted and walked to the other side of the room to sit at the desk, making sure to create enough distance between them for Thomas to be comfortable.

  “You want to hear some news ? Mariane regrets having ever talked to you harshly. You kept being eerily still everytime you came, so I called her to my office and asked her about it. You are the guardian of a very bad memory from her childhood, so you naturally dislike being touched by men, you prefer to stay with women and kids.”

  “Stop.”

  Seeing that he finally obtained a reaction, Bael gritted his teeth and continued.

  “I asked her why it wasn’t the case for her, since she knew what happened, and she obviously doesn’t have any trouble getting close to men, and she expined that she knows factually what happened, like learning the story of someone else, but she didn’t have the actual memories. Only you do. And it’s strange, because she told me that at some point she bnked out during the recent aggression, she knows factually what happened but doesn’t seem too shaken. So I asked myself : What if someone else had once again taken the trauma from her ?”

  This time, Thomas slowly turned his head to face the king.

  “Why are you doing this ?”

  His voice sounded broken, like he hadn’t talked in months, and as soon as the words left his mouth, tears started running down his cheeks. He didn’t sob or shake, Thomas only cried in eerie silence. Bael’s heart was torn by this desperate sight, and he repressed the urge to take Thomas in his arms. It wouldn’t help him. Instead, he lowered his voice and asked warmly :

  “Is she so deserving, for you to take all her pain ?”

  Thomas shrugged.

  “What if she isn’t ? That’s what I was created for anyway, that’s my role and my only reason for existing.”

  The king furrowed his brows and hid his anger, keeping a somewhat smiling face. He stood up and cautiously approached Thomas, stopping when he saw the man in a girl’s body get tense.

  “Not anymore. You have a soul, you are your own person. You have the right to live. So I will search in the old spellbooks, there must be something to create a body for a soul who lost its own. We can tweak it a bit, and create a new one for you. I’m sure it exists somewhere.”

  Thomas shook his head.

  “What will happen to Mariane ? Getting rid of me means that my pce will be vacant, and the brain will create a new personality to fill it. What if that new one is pitiful too, will you endlessly create new bodies ? And what about the memories I hold ? If I am not absorbed back in the mind, or mixed with another personality, will they disappear ? Will Mariane’s brain break ?”

  Bael finally snapped, he couldn’t hold his anger anymore.

  “Who cares about Mariane ? Do you know what she did this st month while you were suffering ? She went on a date with every single one of the princes, apologizing for your ‘unfriendliness’ and talking shit behind your back, while she was the one to beg us to piece you back together because you were so important to her life ! Do you really need to y down your life for such a…”

  He stopped himself and covered his face with his hands, trying to calm down. His outburst had made Thomas flinch, and he had retreated to the other side of the bed, his back against the wall. The king took a deep breath and continued in a lower tone.

  “If something bad happens to Mariane, she will have seven powerful demon princes to help her, and search every corner of Hell and Heaven to find a cure. Who knows, maybe they can even reinforce her mentality with magic and make her DID disappear ? So, don’t worry about her. I’m saying that because, technically, you also are a student of the academy, and therefore a citizen of my kingdom. You studied more diligently than anyone, and I went through your notebook, so I know how passionate you are. Please, accept what I’m offering you before these guys find a way to make you disappear. It will happen one day, you know it. That’s what you had been waiting for, right ?”

  Bael was right. A part of Thomas’ recent behavior was because he didn’t have the energy to move, but another part was because he wanted to disappear, and he knew that if he was being as uncooperative as possible, the princes would get annoyed at him for interrupting their time with their girlfriend, and try to find a way to destroy him. It was bound to happen.

  Thomas’ gaze nded on the king again.

  “What you are saying is that whether I stay in this body or have my own, Mariane’s fate will be the same. Only my existence will change, I will either disappear, or have a new beginning. And only me can make that choice.”

  Bael nodded. After a few minutes, Thomas opened his mouth again.

  “I’m not sure if I will know what to do, once I get my own body. Without even talking about my dreams, I have no knowledge of what I like or don’t, how much I should eat or sleep, or how to take proper care of myself. I have no knowledge of this, since the time I spend in front is always limited.”

  The king cautiously approached again, monitoring Thomas’ reaction. This time, he succeeded in sitting on the edge of the bed, two arms length away from him.

  “You just have to learn. It’s not that hard, it’s just a minor inconvenience. What else are you unsure about ?”

  Thomas thought for a bit.

  “My looks. I never knew my face, I don’t know my height or what I look like. Maybe I will be awful.”

  Bael replied while ughing softly.

  “Did you see the sculptures on the school’s walls ? Some have three heads or a toad’s body. I’m sure you can’t be worse than that.”

  Finally, Thomas smiled. It wasn’t a real big smile, but the corners of his mouth were lifted a bit. That sight filled the king with a warm feeling. He felt that the human was more comfortable, so he got slightly closer. It was like gaining the trust of a wild animal, he needed to be careful and patient. While moving, he asked another question.

  “Did you already see what food in Hell looks like ?”

  Thomas shook his head.

  “I was never here at mealtime. How is it ?”

  Bael ughed.

  “Awful ! You have the choice between a nutritious bck goo, or demonic animal’s meat that tastes like dried leather. I went to the human world once, and immediately got jealous !”

  While making small talk, the king finally succeeded in sitting next to Thomas. He didn’t force it, and was making sure that the human wasn’t uncomfortable, but soon they were bantering like friends. Life reappeared in Thomas’ eyes. It wasn’t the same as Mariane, it was more subdued and slightly cold, but it was his own identity. They talked for a while, and Bael, seeing the time, had to go back to the castle. Before leaving, he turned one st time to Thomas.

  “I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll try to search for a spell. And the next time you are here, send me a text. I’ll come to pick you up. Don’t stay in a bad situation with the princes.”

  The human nodded. It wasn’t a big improvement, not yet, but he had finally gained something : Hope.