Ego Sickness: The Archives.

In-Depth Summary - Afraid of the Dark (2/3).

Continued from part one of the In-Depth Summary for Afraid of the Dark. This section contains Chaptee Fifteen to Chapter Twenty-Five.

Chapter Fifteen:

This chapter starts from within Mark's head as he is having a dream. In his dream, he is practically nothing. He has no senses, he has no body, he has no feeling, he can't move, he can't say words out loud. He is practically thoughts and nothing else, and this terrifies him, making him believe that he is paralysed. A voice speaks to him, with its key features being that it is deep and smooth, and belongs to a man. It speaks about how it was surprised that the two of them got to meet so quickly, but is glad they got this chance as it has things to say.

Mark is scared and demands an explanation, bombarding this entity with questions. The entity touches Mark just to annoy him, on the back of his head, and it makes the man terrified as he doesn't know who just touched him. When the American man doesn't listen to the entity's requests to be quiet and listen to what it has to say, Mark is forced to be quiet. Mark tries to move his fingers even though he can't feel them, to try and give himself a starting point to regain control.

The entity lets Mark feel his body again as it begins to crush him, demanding that he simply shut up and listen. The entity states that it will be reasonable and excuse Mark this one time because it was their first meeting and he had no way of knowing about the entity's standards. However, Mark couldn't be quiet even if he wanted to because he was screaming in pain. Annoyed at this, the entity orders Mark to be calm. Mark can't resist and follows instantly. Every time that he tries to fight the forced relaxation, he quickly loses the motivation to do so. He can't think for himself, and can only listen.

The entity speaks to Mark about how they haven't gotten to talk together before but they have met each other; the American man just didn't realise it. The entity states that it let Mark borrow some of its power when he needed it the most, giving him an extra burst of energy – more specifically anger – to get through everything. It tells Mark that he shouldn't be scared of this power, as it does nothing more than get rid of his weaknesses. Mark disagrees, but can't exactly say anything in response.

The entity begins to manipulate Mark through the power of doubt. It speaks about what happened with Seán and makes Mark doubt that the Irish man was doing everything because of Anti, and was instead using that as an act. A mask. A way to deal damage with "reason" so that others would empathise with him. The entity asks Mark how Seán could have really gotten so bad so fast, stating that people don't just loose it and go insane within a few days, suggesting that Seán had been planning something. It begins to perform an action which would be a reoccurring theme throughout the story: it makes Mark feel good to be angry. Through all of his upset and his anger, Mark is forced to feel relaxed and comfortable, a feeling which he enjoys. A feeling which he becomes somewhat addicted to, as it greatly distracts him from his normal way of thinking. And it always starts in the heart.

At this point in time, Mark can resist the effects and keep hold of his logical sense of thinking to some extent, so doesn't believe the entity fully but he does start to doubt Seán ever so slightly. The entity is happy with this, and lets Mark go, not before saying (in my personal opinion) the best character line because it sums up the entity's character perfectly: "Perhaps I am your guardian angel. Or maybe I am your darkest demon. In truth, I am whatever I need to be, whenever I need to be."

Mark wakes up, forgetting the dream he just had. He wakes up in a place that he recognises but can't name, and begins to look around in confusion, concerned about how he got here and where the others are. The last thing he remembers is being in the Hangout and having people who he thought were there to help him discuss something about "bringing out the other sides" and "putting them in the sim", calling Seán a freak and joking about all of the injuries and pain that had been caused. So, he thinks that he is in a simulation of something.