Day 24: The Descent

While she slept, Sally entered a state of dissociation.
The shadows from the day before surrounded her in silence.
They only watched her.

Then, without warning, they shot forward toward a single point, as if guiding her.
Sally followed them.

The scenery shifted, and in the distance, a shrine rose through the mist.
Just as she was about to step inside, one of the shadows brushed her shoulder.
In that instant, she woke up.

Still breathing hard, Sally felt an almost physical pull toward that place.
She didn’t remember every detail of the dream, but she remembered the path.
And that was enough.
She left.

Her perception of the world had changed.
The streets, signs, and lights looked pale—almost desaturated.
The artificial glow didn’t match what was happening.
Missing-person posters were everywhere.

The shadows were there too, following her.
But they didn’t react…
Except for one thing: they repelled the heavy burden saturating the air.

Sally kept walking.
The closer she got to the shrine, the more the colors shifted.
They became more intense, more alive.
Too alive.

The path led her to Kifune Jinja—a Shinto shrine.
She stopped at the entrance.

“Why…?” she murmured.

The colors there vibrated, as if nature itself still breathed cleanly, untouched by the city.

A shadow whispered behind her:
“Don’t disappoint us…”

Sally turned sharply.
Then she understood.

Those shadows… were herself.
Fragments.
Errors.
Failures from her past taking form.

Her energy trembled, slipping out of control for an instant.
On her hands, the mark of the distorted pentacle emitted a strained glow.

Her energy took shape—chains that wrapped around each shadow.
Then, merging together, they transformed into a crown of barbed wire with a pentacle at its center.

Sally collapsed to her knees.
“It was my fault…” she whispered, crying. “I’m so sorry…”

The environment reacted to her energy.
The plants around her absorbed part of it, awakening for a brief moment, as if they were breathing.

And then, for a second, something looked at her through them—just a flicker, as if something had recognized her presence.
Then it vanished.

Sally clenched her teeth.

She could face the pain… or let it consume her until nothing of her remained.

Both paths existed, and in her world—overflowing with energy and memories trying to return—no outcome was entirely good or entirely bad.

Everything depended on which part of herself made the choice.