"'The bloodlust returns stronger each time, and eventually... I'll lose myself!' Sounds about right... But how do we intend to cure me? Or even better question... How do we uproot the Seed?"

Qinrir leaned back with a humorless chuckle and a sad smile. He pointed at Sera's forehead as he spoke.

"It won't be easy. The Seed of Madness plunges its roots deep within the infected's memories and past. The more time passes, the deeper its roots reach. After two years, I'd say... It reached your hidden, most forgotten memories... Memories you didn't even know existed!"

Bea stared at the Arachnid with skepticism, while on Sera's lips a curious and excited smile grew. However, neither said anything as they awaited Qinrir's actual solution to this problem.

"My powers can only affect all roots at once, and they're too widespread and powerful for me to destroy without damaging or burning up your brain. To 'uproot the Seed' as you said, we'll need to enter each of these infected memories and destroy the root growing through it."

His words didn't fill anyone with confidence, since the solution sounded quite literally impossible to accomplish. Nonetheless, no better idea presented itself for Bea to object, while rejection didn't even cross Sera's mind.

The excited smile grew into something ravenous as she nodded...

"I understand. So, when do we begin?"

The Arachnid's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't expect Sera to agree so fast, and the bright curiosity in her gaze further bewildered Qinrir. It's like she just received a chance to learn something she had been awaiting her whole life.

The six black eyes on his head narrowed, but he couldn't glimpse into Sera's thoughts. Qinrir felt fear gripping his heart, uncertain if entering the Angel's mind was really a good idea. He would send his own mind inside Sera's brain. If he died in there, he would die in real life too.

However, in the indecision, he remembered Sera's unstable state. He couldn't let her lose control! That would entail a death sentence for all his fellow surviving Arachnids, including him.

A loud, exhausted sigh escaped Qinrir's lips as he leaned forward with determination.

"We'll begin immediately. Your state is too unstable for any preparations... Make yourself comfortable and close your eyes."

Sera didn't hesitate to follow Qinrir's instructions. The Arachnid reached forward after Sera stopped moving and was about to touch her temple when Bea's head appeared right by his ear.

"Be very careful, Qinrir. If she doesn't wake up or goes Mad, I swear I'll exterminate every Arachnid, even the ones living in Eq'ro or any other Realm... Good Luck!"

A powerful shiver ran along the Arachnid's body when Bea pronounced his Realm's name perfectly. Humans couldn't make or even recognize the sounds required for its pronunciation!

Nobody else heard her threat, and after speaking, Bea turned away. She walked to a nearby chair and watched as Qinrir's trembling hands made contact with Sera's temple.

His eyes closed as well, and seconds later, their breathing evened out as they fell asleep.

...

Sera opened her eyes, but she saw nothing. Pure, endless darkness surrounded her, similar to Limbo, but also vastly different. She blinked a few times, and tiny dots of light appeared around her, like shining stars across the night sky.

"What's this place?"

Her eyes widened as those words echoed through the darkness. She didn't mean to say it out loud.

"It seems my thoughts turn vocal in this place, whether or not I want to. How peculiar..."

She glanced down at her body, and just as expected, her physical form changed. Instead of skin, muscle and bones, she appeared as a person made of light and golden flames, with an ever-changing silvery metal heart.

From her back, three pairs of wings stretched wide. Each made of its usual composition, one pair pristine white, another cleansing gold, and the third shining silver.

Sera took a step forward and raised her glowing hand. Each movement left afterimages behind.

"Weird," She said. "What happened to my actual body?... Oh wait, I remember! Is this supposed to be my mind?... Hmm, I don't think so. It feels freer, and there's nothing here, unlike my subconscious, which's full of incomprehensible shapes..."

While her voice echoed as Sera continued pondering, something moved in the darkness. One of the faraway stars began moving, flying towards Sera.

"What's that?" She asked without meaning to.

She prepared to defend herself, but the star stopped some distance away. Its brightness lessened, and soon a strange creature appeared.

A giant dark blue spider with eight hairy legs. His six black eyes watched Sera with curiosity while a crystal glowed embedded in his skull. As the spider moved, his body became shadow-like and left afterimages, similar to Sera's.

Qinrir's body looked less physical than the Angel's, which made Sera question...

"Why're you different?" She asked, and then upon realizing how rude she sounded, "Sorry, didn't mean to say that!"

"Don't fret it and clear your mind before you drive me insane with your ramblings. You shouldn't let your thoughts run rampant while out here. You never know who's listening!"

A shiver ran down, well... it ran through Sera's entire energy-like body, distorting her form for a moment. Questions began popping up in her head, but she dismissed everything and cleared her mind entirely.

The Arachnid's eyes glinted with awe at how quickly Sera gained control, but no sound echoed from his form, which showcased his own amazing discipline.

"So, what's this place?" She asked.

Qinrir's eyes glanced around with a light chuckle. He clicked his fangs, or at least tried to, but they made no sound, since they weren't physical. To cover his embarrassment, he left behind the theatrics and quickly answered Sera's question.

"It's the Realm known as the Sea of Cogitation. This is where every conscious person's mind resides, regardless of their physical position!"

Sera glanced around in awe, and soon another question popped into her mind, "How can we move into another Realm without a Gateway?"

The Arachnid moved up beside Sera and stared at the glowing stars, which represented every conscious person's mind.

"Not every Realm is the same. No two Realms possess the same rules... However, the Sea of Cogitation is special, like the Dream World, Limbo, or the Spiritzone. Everyone's conscious mind resides here, but interacting with anything without consent isn't allowed... or more like isn't possible.

"You can try moving towards any star, but the distance is immeasurable, so you'll never reach it. Imagine this place as a Realm between Realms, something that connects everyone regardless of physical location."

The Angel wasn't certain if she understood Qinrir's words, but when she compared the Sea of Cogitation to Limbo, everything made sense.

Limbo is the Realm everyone ends up in after death, regardless of time and space. It connects every other reality, and you can reach it from anywhere without issue. You didn't even need a Gateway to gain access.

The fundamental difference between Limbo and the Sea of Cogitation was that everyone had a constant connection with the Sea. If someone was conscious, their minds would appear here, and it seems a select few could travel here, like Qinrir.

However, while he can enter this Realm, he can't do much. There were rules in effect preventing Qinrir from interacting with anyone's mind, and Sera was pretty certain that there was an overseer similar to Death in Limbo, who acted if someone tried breaking its rules.

Sera didn't want to meet with this overseer, especially if 'They' are as annoying as Death.

Everything made sense in Sera's mind, but one question still echoed around the empty place...

"So, what's next?"

Qinrir's six eyes glanced up at the Angel as he said, "We'll enter your memories from here. First, we'll begin exterminating the newer roots, which connect to your immediate past, then we go deeper, until we destroy the entire system..."

"In other words, we'll enter your memories starting from the most recent. The roots reached deep, so we'll need to enter your darkest, forgotten memories... I'll warn you now. Whatever happens, I'll see it too, so if you've anything to hide, let's abandon this plan now. If you begin panicking or lose control, we're both dead!"

Sera smiled and laughed. Her voice, confident and full of determination, reached Qinrir's ears...

"I'm certain we can do this. I've nothing to hide, but... Before we begin, I've to warn you too. My experiences in the past few years were quite horrible... Are you certain you can handle even witnessing it?"

Confusion etched Qinrir's face.

He did this kind of Seed removal a few times in the past. Some people opt out when hearing about their exposed past, while others, determined to survive, abandon their dignity. However, this was the first occasion his patient had offered to stop treatment for his sake!

The arachnid made a strange noise akin to snorting in mockery...

"You don't need to worry about me. I might seem young, but I'm actually a few hundred years old. I've seen plenty of horrors I'd prefer to forget. I'm sure I can handle whatever you went through!"

Sera nodded in understanding, albeit her eyes shone with skepticism. Either way, she trusted Qinrir's judgement and kept silent about her feelings.

After the explanation, both of them fell silent, which meant they cleared their minds of any remnant thought.

Sera closed her nonexistent eyes and moments later she felt two sticky appendages attaching to her temple. Qinrir's fangs glowed with dark green colors and soon they disappeared from the Sea of Cogitation.

Moments after their disappearance, a gentle ripple danced through the Sea, and a sound akin to laughter echoed...