GUILT (OMORI AU) BLOOD/EMETOPHOBIA WARNING

Chapter 13: Falling apart

Sunny could feel his body again. But he felt cold. He slowly opened his eyes, expecting to be back on Hero's bed, but looked up to see a string. He was in Whitespace. Did he pass out again? He slowly sat up, and realized that something was wrong. Surrounding the square he laid on was a black bottomless pit, and pieces of any land left were cracking and chipping off slowly. Despite there being a ceiling, it had cracks too. A white object slowly fell onto Sunny's nose, before disintegrating. Whitespace was being destroyed. Right before his eyes. His eyes darted around... where was Omori? He stood up and began to panic, a cold breeze blowing through his hair. He then looked at the door to Blackspace. Or what once led to Headspace. The doorknob shook as someone tried to open the door. Sunny stepped back, eyeing Omori's knife beside dream Mewo. But the door swung open, and there Omori stood. His body had begun to crack as well. He slowly walked up to Sunny.

"I tried... to reason with it... it wont stop.."

"What do you mean? What's going on??"

"This beast... is destroying Whitespace. And since I am a part of it, I am being destroyed too." Omori sat down, maintaining his blank expression.

"Why? What's it's goal?"

"To erase everything in your mind. And to erase you. Right now, it has complete control of your body. The minute Whitespace collapses, you and I will cease to exist."

"Wait what?? How do I wake up. Surely I can stab myself again.."

Sunny grabbed Omori's knife and plunged it into his chest. But, it didn't pierce him. It simply cracked and started to fall apart in Sunny's hands. Omori closed his eyes.

"Though it is difficult for me to feel emotions naturally, I still care for you. I tried to protect you before. But things still slipped through the cracks... no pun intended. The Stranger had been trying to make you remember every time I reset Headspace.. but you started listening to them. And then I realized that... What I was doing was not actually protecting you. It was making you worse. Yes, you remembered what happened before the recital that one day, and feel immense guilt as a result. But if I had not helped you to realize in a less harsh way, you wouldn't be dealing with this. As strange as it is to say, I am not just a part of you. I am you. Stripped of everything that you're known for. And I played a part in staying neutral, to help you build Headspace as an escape from the outside world. An escape from trauma and guilt. But I now know that this was bound to happen. But, there is no way to destroy the beast..."

"What... are we supposed to do?"

"You have to gain control again. But in a different way."

"How?"

"We have to go through Blackspace. I will stay by your side, but in the chance that I am unable to continue, move quickly. In Blackspace, there is a heart planted by the beast. If we can get to it before Whitespace is destroyed, then you can gain control again."

"But can we kill the beast if we destroy the heart?"

"No. The heart is too strong, and my abilities are too weak. Your mind is so fragile that not even you can do much. But at the heart... You have to take a piece of it, and consume it."

"Ew, why?"

"The beast relies on others for its meals, and has been taking your energy and storing it in the heart. But if you can get a piece of its heart, even a small scrap, and eat it, you will regain most of your energy, and possibly be able to wake up. "

"What about you?"

"Sunny, for the last four years, I served as a guide. But I was not exactly a good one. You need to rely on yourself. You need to get over what happened.."

"With... Mari?"

Omori nodded, walking to the door, which had also begun to crumble.

"Quickly. Avoid any interactions with the creatures. Ignore what they say. And do not follow the girl in the dress. It is not Mari."

The two of them walked out the door into the dark abyss. The door closed behind them quietly, creaking. The sky around them was a dark blue, with clouds seemingly covering it. The ground was made of black grass, that was dried and frail. Figures walked across the space, some of them in the shapes of his friends. In the shape of his mother..... even his father. Omori held Sunny's hand, looking at him.

"You can do this."

Sunny nodded, beginning to walk with Omori. The figures hissed as they walked by, following them. Despite not attacking, they still felt threatened. Sunny could hear their whispers. He tried to ignore them. Everything that was said to him.. regarding what he did,, was echoing across the field. That someone was disappointed in him. Someone wanted to hurt him. Someone... said that he wasn't his son. But most of all, he heard his own voice. Echoing things he said about himself repeatedly. Self deprecating sentences he had been saying for years about himself. He squeezed Omori's hand a little. He didn't mind, simply continuing to look foreword. In front of them, the girl in the white dress appeared. She smiled warmly, her body emitting a white glow.

"Sunny... come here.."

Sunny and Omori walked around her, and her expression faded. The fake Mari pushed into Sunny, almost causing him to fall on Omori. He refused to look at her face. This wasn't his sister.

"Want to have a picnic? I love baking cookies for you..."

Sunny walked faster, feeling a few of the figures behind him trying to grab him, but their limbs phased through him. Omori still maintained his stark expression.

"We are almost there.." Omori said quietly. "You are doing well, Sunny."

Fake Mari frowned as she walked beside Sunny. "Brother, why are you ignoring me? Did I upset you?" Sunny could see her in the corner of his eye.

"Are you still upset about what I said earlier? I'm really sorry. We can keep practicing."

...

"Little brother?"

...

"Please answer me." She said sternly, her brows furrowing.

...

Sunny flinched as the fake Mari yelled in his ear. Her mouth opened wide, and her neck began to crack and contort. Her eyes turned black, and she was usually thin and tall. He tried his best not to see, but she was right next to him. He looked at the grass.

"Brother!! Why are you so angry!? Dont you love me!?"

Omori was the one who started to walk faster, Sunny taken aback by this. But the fake Mari continued to follow, beginning to weep. Her cries echoed and she sounded more furious.

"SUNNY!! I LOVE YOU!! DONT YOU LOVE ME???!!"

The Mari let out another scream, Sunny wincing. Omori then started to run. This was taking too long. And the Mari wouldn't leave them be. Sunny ran with him.

"DONT LEAVE ME!!! NOOOOOO!!" She reached a long bony arm out, trying to grab Sunny by the collar. She continued to weep, her cries becoming louder and louder. Her body became more and more distorted as she cried.

Sunny and Omori came across a blue door. "Quickly. Get in." Omori opened the door and ran in with Sunny. Sunny looked behind him to see the Mari flying toward them, screaming his name. The door slammed, and her screaming faded away.

Sunny panted, trying to catch his breath. Omori seemed perfectly fine despite running for so long. He still held Sunny's hand, but waited patiently for him to gather himself. Once Sunny's breathing normalized, he looked around. They were surrounded by monochrome trees in a forest, stretching far into the horizon. The two continued to walk.

"I have never made it past this point. The heart is in the next area. I could not enter the room it is stored in. That is when I came back to Whitespace. I had a feeling you were here, and we could go together. The room simply pulled me away once I got close enough.." Omori stated as he walked, stepping over a strange substance.

Sunny looked down. There were puddles of blood in the direction they were going to. Omori didn't care to step around it, but Sunny tried to avoid the blood as much as possible. Even if this was technically a dream, he didn't like the feeling of him stepping on blood. But as they progressed, they heard a giggle echo from behind them. Sunny glanced in that direction, yet nothing was there. Omori didn't seem to care, continuing to walk once Sunny turned around.

"Was it this bloody when you were last here."

"No."

"Then why are we following the trail of blood?"

"This was the way I went last time. I am more familiar with it. It happens to have a trail of blood. Nothing here can hurt us if we do not allow it to."

Sunny sighed. The path continued, seemingly more blood appearing as they walked. It was strange. It looked as if a body had been dragged and was dripping. The image in his mind disturbed him, and he tried to block it out by looking at the leaves of the trees. They too were simply black and white. Omori then stopped, looking foreword. There was a door. It was pink. But it was more destroyed than the other doors they entered.

"We are running out of time. Let's go."

Sunny and Omori walked faster, before being stopped by a small child who held his head. The child was.... Basil. The Basil from Sunny's dreams. He knew he wasn't the original Basil he created, walking around.

"I wanna play hide and seek. Can we?" The boy smiled, still holding his head.

"Just ignore it. It is just another distraction."

Sunny avoided eye contact with the Basil, but he kept walking in front of them. Or rather, simply appearing.

"Why are you guys avoiding me?" The Basil held his head, but suddenly had a jump rope in one of his hands. Sunny's heart sank at the sight of it.

Omori continued foreword, as did Sunny. They were getting closer to the door, but the Basil kept annoying them. He started to whine, just as the Mari did previously.

"What did I do wrong??" he hiccupped. He dropped his head, and it rolled in front of Sunny and Omori. "Please play with me." he sobbed. his tears were made of blood.

Omori raised a foot, Sunny's eyes widening. "No don't!"

Crunch.

The head broke open. Instead of revealing a skull or a brain, it was made of a watermelon. Yet the Basil was still able to speak, a tear falling down the eye that wasn't destroyed.

"Please don't leave me here. Please don't-"

Omori kicked the head, and it completely shattered as it hit one of the tree trunks. Omori had a mixture of blood and watermelon juice on his face, but didn't bother to wipe it off. Sunny was disturbed by what happened, but trusted Omori that he did the right thing. They finally stood in front of the pink door, which emitted a red glow. Omori slowly stepped foreword before Sunny, before being pushed back, falling backwards. He huffed, getting back on his feet.

"I cannot enter. But I believe you can. Try.."

Sunny hesitantly stepped foreword, fearful that he too would be thrown backward. But he got close to the door, and was perfectly fine. He then turned to Omori.

"Wait, but what about you?"

Omori looked at his hands as they slowly crumbled, then looked up at Sunny. "Do not worry about me. Your life is at risk. I am simply another part of your mind."

"Wait but what if you disappear when I wake up??"

Omori smiled slightly. It was a rare sight. "Then that is okay. I did what I needed to do. Thank you, Sunny." He continued to smile as other parts of his body started to crumble at a fast rate.

"Now go. Do what you need to do. I will miss you, that is, if I cease to exist once you eat the heart of the beast."

Sunny had tears welling in his eyes. He quickly dashed over to Omori and hugged him, but his body began to fall apart. His legs cracked and broke into pieces, but Sunny still held onto him. "It will be okay. Maybe this is a good thing. I hope you are happy once things are resolved." A small tear fell down Omori's cheek. Sunny put him down.

"Go."

Sunny ran to the pink door, staring back at Omori before he closed the door. All that was left of him was his head and an arm.

"Goodbye."

The door then shut by itself. Sunny gasped, tears streaming down his cheeks. But he had to calm down. If he wasn't quick enough, he would also disappear. He turned around, looking to see that he was in a flesh-like room that throbbed slightly. In the middle was the beast's heart, sat upon a circular surface. The heart was huge. Sunny climbed up onto where the heart laid, standing up. He wasn't sure what to do next. He lifted his right arm, planning on ripping a piece with his fingers, but in his hand was a knife. Omori's knife. He chuckled a bit at the sight of it, more tears streaming down his face, and he then pierced the heart, cutting a large hole. Blood poured out from it, and Sunny quickly cut off a chunk and bit into the tissue.

It tasted like heaven.