Three Months

Challenges

Dimentio skipped lunch the next day, though it was not intentional. He simply forgot to eat while doing all the research he possibly could. Not that he cared all that much. Back at Castle Bleck, lunch was hardly ever served. Plus he could eat an extra big dinner to make up for the missing meal. The only thing that concerned him about missing the meal was the fact that Mario or Luigi might have found it somewhat suspicious. He WAS spending quite a lot of time hiding away in his room just reading.

He still wasn't getting too far along the lines of finding a way to stop his seemingly inevitable fate, but he tried not to lose too much hope. He was still early on in the project. There was a world's worth of information out there, and he had only just dipped his toe into the pool of knowledge. 

What he really needed was to stay focused and not lose hope or faith. Isn't that what all the heroes did when focusing on an end goal? Stay hopeful and stay determined. Even if it seemed idiotic at times, it seemed to work pretty well for those good guys. If he were to lose hope, he'd lose everything.

So he stayed hopeful. Or at least tried to, until dinner came that night. 

Just to be clear, there was nothing wrong with the meal. He checked multiple times, being sure to ask for all the ingredients used when making it. (not that it mattered. He had no real allergies and though he avoided meat, for the most part, it would never actually make him sick.) The food also was fully cooked. It had been properly stored before the meal and everything. There was literally nothing wrong with it!

However, something still felt off. He was only able to get through the bread roll appetizers before he felt a sinking sensation within. He wasn't quite sure how to describe it. He had been sick before during his lifetime, as have many people, but it's hard to remember how one feels while the sickness is taking hold.

He suddenly felt very... horrible. That was the only word he could think to describe the feeling. 

It was the only word he could think of period! 

While his mind was somewhat peaceful less than a moment ago, it was now screaming at him, telling him that he needed to do something, anything to make the horrible feeling go away!

He had been feeling better for quite a few days. He was almost convinced that some miracle had happened and that he had been healed somehow, so the fact that he was suddenly hit with this wave of pain felt like he was being shoved to the ground by two strong hands.

He didn't know what to do, so he just sat at the table, staring at the food that had been placed in front of him, far too afraid to even think about taking a bite. The thought of ever eating anything ever again made him want to throw up. 

Even though he had hardly eaten that day, he had never felt so full.

"Dimentio?"

The voice sounded like it was underwater. He couldn't tell who it came from. Logically, the voice should have belonged to Mario or Luigi, but his brain was far too busy screaming about how horrible he was feeling for him to register that.

"Dimentio?"

The same voice again... Dimentio wasn't sure if someone was actually talking to him, or if it was all in his mind. The voice sounded so far away, that it very well could have been imaginary. He truly could not tell.

"I... I'm gonna go to sleep...." He breathed, shocked by how exhausted he felt after simply saying a few words. He felt as if he ran a mile. He could tell that whoever else was at the table, (he didn't even know anymore) was saying something, but he couldn't tell what. It just sounded like distant babbling. 

He could hardly feel his own movement as he stood up and turned away. It almost felt ghost-like. His head felt way lighter than usual, however at the same time his limbs felt oddly heavy. His movements were slightly sluggish and his steps were uneven.