Castle by the Sea

***Note: this is an alternate ending***

*This ending corresponds with the Universe of Love, the Universe of Blood, and the Universe of Motivation*

Written by Pensplatter13

Unlike the original ending, Mind ends up not accepting the key from Dennim and therefore does not die. Dennim continues his ‘visits’ to Mind's room until one day the topic of dreams emerges while they are playing.

Mind asks Dennim if he's ever had dreams, to which he replies the only types of dreams he's had are ‘wet dreams’, as a lewd joke. His response causes Mind to gain a thoughtful expression on her face before she replies that she supposes she has those kinds of dreams as well. Dennim is caught off guard by what he initially thinks is Mind admitting to lewd thoughts, but she immediately clarifies that she dreams of one day seeing the ocean in person. While she describes her dream in more detail to Dennim, her mother happens to walk past her room.

With the door to the room being slightly open, Minerva partially hears Mind express her desire of seeing the ocean, though thinks her daughter is just talking aloud to herself, rather than somebody being in the room with her; thus decides not to interrupt and enter.

Later that evening, when Mind's father is turning to bed for the evening, Minerva tentatively suggests that they should take Mind to see the seaside, as it would make for a delightful family vacation. Mark immediately rejects the idea, creating farfetched excuses like the ocean being dangerous and that beaches are trashy places where only lowlifes and criminals hang out. Her husband’s unyielding stance and his multiple excuses cause Minerva to drop the subject and not bring it up again.

The next day, after her husband has molested Mind once again, Minerva hears her weeping from within her bedroom and mistakenly believes that her sadness is due to her unfulfilled dream of seeing the ocean. As a result, she later visits her and presents her with a surprise; a book about oceanography.

Minerva confesses to have heard her talk about the ocean the day before, and while she does not condone the idea of Mind actually visiting the shore, due to being convinced by her husband’s fearmongering arguments, she personally sees no harm in having her learn more about it from an educational standpoint.

Mind is caught off guard by the gift, but is ultimately touched by the kind gesture and gives her mother a warm hug in gratitude. Minerva then pointedly emphasizes that she should not mention the book to her father, as he may not approve of her possibly feeding Mind's urge of going outdoors. Mind simply nods and Minerva leaves the room feeling pleased that she was able to make her feel better without directly defying her husband.

After Mind's mother has left, Dennim appears besides Mind, claiming he heard the whole conversation. Mind shows him the book and is somewhat pleased that her mother listened in and cares about her dreams. Dennim immediately dismisses the gift in a bitter tone, reminding her that her mother never cared for her desires before or even her repeated reports about her father’s molestations. He goes further by pointing out that she did not even consider defying her husband, and that her gift is just a half-hearted substitution. Mind dismisses and ignores Dennim’s condemnations, and begins pouring over the book.

Days go by, and every time Dennim visits Mind, she is reading her oceanography book. Even when she agrees to put it down and play with Dennim, their games take on oceanic themes that exasperate Dennim to no end.

One day Minerva receives a letter from her relatives in America. The letter reveals that Minerva’s uncle has passed away and that she and her family have been invited to attend the funeral. She brings up the funeral to her husband, who is initially dismissive, claiming that traveling so far to mourn an uncle would be a waste of time and that a funeral would be a poor environment to bring a ‘sensitive’ girl like Mind to. Once again Minerva bows to her husband's opinion, but eventually laments that the family member who died was a loved and wealthy relative. While remembering the good times she used to have with him, she unintentionally reveals that her uncle had enjoyed her company so much in her youth, that he often joked she would inherit his whole fortune once he'd pass away. While Minerva remembers those times as funny moments of teasing, Mark immediately begins to see the worthwhileness of attending the funeral, especially if his wife, and he by extension, would inherit a sizeable and useful portion of her uncle’s fortune.

Mark immediately changes his stance and insists that Minerva goes to attend it, suddenly listing the reasons he had dismissed just minutes ago; such as it being important to show loyalty towards one’s family, despite the inconvenience it may bring. Minerva, while surprised by his sudden shift in opinion, seems accepting of it, but reminds him about his previous comment that Mind would be too sensitive to attend such a sombre event. Mark quickly thinks it over, and decides to use the situation to his advantage by offering himself to stay with Mind while she is away. He ensures her he'll take time off from his important job, so that she can fulfil her responsibility to her family.

With her husband having successfully painted himself as a selfless, dutiful spouse, Minerva graciously thanks him and begins packing with the intention to leave immediately.

Mark then heads upstairs to Mind's room to inform her of her mother’s pending departure. He sees the door is slightly ajar, thus silently enters the room. He approaches her from behind and notices that she is working on something at her desk. When he quietly draws nearer, to his shock he sees that she drawing colorful fish from inside the oceanography book that he is unfamiliar with. A dark look crosses his face, and he coughs to reveal his presence to Mind.

Mind spins her chair around to find her father glowering at her with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He immediately asks her what she is doing, to which she hesitantly replies ‘nothing.’ He then grabs the book from her desk and asks if ‘it is nothing.’ Mind quickly tries to change her answer, trying to dismiss the book as being part of her studies, but her father, however, cuts her off and says that her mother had discussed with him to go on a family trip to see the ocean, almost as to remind himself of it. He starts to connect the dots while eyeing the drawings Mind made of various aquatic creatures that are stuck between the pages of the book, and he becomes furious over the planned ‘deceit’ of his wife and daughter against him.

Mind tries to make up another excuse, but her father’s eyes flare with a white-hot rage that immediately silences her again. He then says in a steely tone that he doesn’t know how she gets these flights of fancy, but promises her that she will never leave the house. To emphasize his points, he summons an almost superhuman strength as he rips Mind’s book and the drawings apart, until there is nothing left but tiny shreds of paper on the
floor.

He then draws his face near to the now quivering Mind and whispers into her ear that her mother will be leaving the country immediately and will be gone for a week, leaving him alone with her the entire time. He promises that by the time her mother returns from her trip, he will have broken her of her delusional fixation on the outside world, even if he ‘must break her apart and put her back together again’. He then turns around and leaves the room, slamming the door behind him as he exits.

The force of the door causes the ripped pieces of the book to fly into the air, before falling in front of Mind like snowflakes. The loss of her precious book and the looming threat of being alone with her father for an entire week begins to wash over her, and the reality of the situation sets in and makes her shake. She starts to feels moisture on her cheeks, brings her hands up to it, and realizes there are tears pouring from her eyes. She then clutches her head, as broken sobs erupt from her throat. She begins to wail in despair.

What feels like a gust of wind then blows through the room, and next to a newly opened window, Dennim is seen standing. Mind does not notice his arrival at first and continues her sobbing, but when he approaches her and gently touches her on the arm, she realizes his presence and withers at his touch. She weakly asks if he heard everything once again, to which he only nods. Mind collapses onto her nearby bed, seemingly exhausted, and sadly laments that perhaps the situation is her own fault. Dennim does not respond, but she continues that if she had never dared to dream, then her father would've never had the opportunity to snatch it away from her.

Dennim stares at her intently before quietly asking her what her dream means to her. Mind seems confused by his question and tries to dismiss him, but he persists, clarifying his question by asking what she'd pay to make her dream come true.

When she sees the intense look in his eyes, Mind closes her own and whispers that she would pay any price to have it come true. Dennim nods, while a twisted grin spreads across his face. He then leans over and whispers the words ‘in order for one to dream, one must sleep first’, then blows into her ear, causing her to become incredibly drowsy and disoriented.

She collapses onto her bed, and when Mind is completely knocked out, Dennim starts to hear noises coming from outside and goes over to the window to check. He sees Minerva placing her bag into a cab and then reaching out for a kiss from her husband before departure, which Mark does not seem to notice. A disappointed frown spreads across Minerva’s face, whereafter she enters the cab and leaves. Mark turns back to reenter the house and Dennim grins maniacally when he hears the front door close, and Mark's footsteps heading upstairs.

The next day Mind groggily awakens to the sunlight pouring into her room via her bedroom window. As her vision comes into focus, she sees Dennim on the other side of the room, staring intently at her. Confused by his presence, she groggily asks why he's earlier than usual. Her eyes then widen as she wraps her sheets around herself and pointedly asks if he slept in her room last night. Dennim laughs at her behaviour and assures her he did not.

He walks over and pulls her from the bed towards him, announcing he has something to show her. As they make their way out into the hallway, Mind suddenly remembers her father’s words from the night before and tells Dennim that he must leave before her father catches them outside of her room. But Dennim claims that he has already scouted ahead and her father is nowhere to be found. He then deliberately hurries Mind towards the back door of the house, in order to make sure she doesn’t direct her eyes at her parents' bedroom, where there is blood ominously splattered everywhere just beyond the slightly ajar door.

As they reach the back door, Mind hesitates for a moment, but Dennim takes her hand into his own and invites her to take her first step outside. In the backyard, Mind is utterly shocked to see that just beyond the back patio is a sandy shore that leads to a vast ocean where her backyard used to be.

She is utterly flabbergasted by the sight, but Dennim looks at her with hopeful eyes and asks her if she likes it. Mind registers his question and then turns to Dennim, asking him how this is possible. Dennim is surprised by her questioning of the scenario instead of appreciating the view, but jokingly claims that there was ‘a heck of storm after she had fallen asleep, though she probably couldn’t hear it over her own snoring’.

Mind’s face blushes and she argues that she doesn’t snore. Satisfied that he has distracted her, he asks her once more if she is pleased that she has finally attained her dream. Mind is caught off guard by his question and mulls it over momentarily. She then admits that she is indeed pleasantly surprised, for she never thought that she would see her dream fulfilled, let alone this soon. However, she then admits that she is slightly melancholic as well, since having attained her dream means that she no longer has one. Dennim’s eyes widen in disbelief at this revelation and his shoulders slump in defeat. Mind sits down upon the sandy shore and stares out into the water. She admits aloud that perhaps what she should wish for now is a chance to find a new dream for herself.

Dennim’s eyes seemingly flash upon hearing this, unbeknownst to Mind. Suddenly, the ground begins to quake and sky turns dark, as storm clouds roll in and block out the sun. Mind becomes startled by the rapid shift in the weather. She turns to Dennim and shouts that they need to get back inside the house to safety, but he does not seem to listen or move, while the very earth itself seems to tremble around him. Mind then hears a loud sound increasing in volume behind her. She turns around, and to her horror she sees that the sea has risen to form a giant tidal wave, heading straight towards her. Knowing that there is no way she will be able to outrun the wave, she covers her head with her arms as the wave envelopes her.

After an unknown period of time, there is no sign of Mind’s mansion, or anything else for that matter. There is nothing but open ocean and grey fog for as far as the eye can see. Suddenly, Mind emerges from the deep, gasping for air, while desperately treading the water. A broken piece of one of the lawn chairs from her back patio is floating onto the surface, and Mind awkwardly attempts to swim towards it and clings onto it as though it were a piece of driftwood. She then looks around and sees that there is no sign of civilization nearby. Figuring she has nothing to lose, she begins paddling in a random direction, assuming that moving may produce more results than simply staying put.

After paddling for another unknown period of time, Mind is at the point of near exhaustion. Thinking that she is about to die, Mind reflects upon the sad state of her life and how she never expected things would have turned out the way they did. As she goes through her memories of the few who were close to her, she suddenly remembers that Dennim too must have been caught in the wave.

Despite her weakened state, tears that taste just like the salty water she's surrounded by begin to fall from her eyes, and she cries Dennim’s name into the fog. Her wails echo through it, until Mind is surrounded by nothing but the sound of her own misery. However, Mind then hears a new sound emerging through the fog, and to her astonishment, she sees a light not too far ahead.

Mind begins frantically calling out to the light, hoping that it is a nearby ship that will be able to rescue her. To her utter shock, the light appears to belong to a motorboat, being piloted by none other than Dennim himself, wearing an outfit stereotypically worn by sailors in cartoons.

Dennim throws the flailing girl a life preserver and pulls her onto the boat, jokingly
wondering if he perhaps caught a mermaid or a new species of sea slug. Mind lightly punches him for his comment, before quickly pulling him in a tight embrace, weeping into his shoulder that she thought he was dead. Dennim is pleased by her embrace, but quickly ends it in order to get them moving. He heads to the back of the boat and pulls the ripcord of the engine, starting it. He then shifts the rudder and moves the boat into a new direction that feels random to Mind.

She tentatively asks him where they are heading, to which he offhandedly responds ‘his place’. Mind raises an eyebrow in confusion, but when the fog suddenly parts, she is shocked to see a large castle appear.

They pull onto shore and the pair disembarks. Mind marvels at the castle's size and appearance and asks Dennim if he truly lives in the building before them, on this island. Dennim jokingly says that it is indeed his humble home, to which Mind questions how he was able to journey to her bedroom so easily every single day. Dennim realizes his story is showing weaknesses, so he quickly distract her by pointing out that her talking caused him to forget to drop the boat’s anchor. Mind's eyes widen and she turns around to see their only means of transportation drift out onto the ocean. She starts to panic and expresses her worry of being stranded on Dennim’s island, but he replies that supplies are regularly delivered to his home, and that someone will come eventually. This calms her back down a bit, and with an improved mood, she follows Dennim into his home.

Inside, Mind marvels the opulence of the building, which seems even bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. Almost all of the furniture and decorating is black and white, like Dennim himself, with only a few items having splashes of color in them, making them stand out from the rest of décor. Mind asks Dennim if he lives by himself, and he makes the excuse that his parents are wealthy world travellers, who only occasionally visit their island home.

She then realizes she is still wet from nearly drowning in the sea, so Dennim leads her to a room he says she may use as her personal chambers while staying with him. Mind gladly accepts and announces she's going to clean herself up, whereafter Dennim jokingly responds he will watch her do so. Mind throws her wet shoes at the cheeky character and tells him to leave.

Once alone, Mind takes in the luxurious furnishings of the room and the adjacent bathroom. After a quick bath, she heads to the closet located in the main bedchamber and finds many gorgeous evening gowns.

Mind eventually exits the room wearing a lovely golden gown that feels like warm sunshine upon her skin. Dennim is standing right outside the room, unusually dressed in a suit with a yellow bowtie. She compliments that he looks quite nice, while Dennim retorts she looks like a scrambled egg.

Mind curiously asks him why her room is housing so many small sized gowns if he is the only child in the family, and he quickly makes up the excuse that his mother had hoped for a daughter, rather than a son, so she used to collect dresses from around the world. He then jokes that her hobby hasn’t exactly helped end his cross-dressing habit.

He then extends his arm to Mind and leads her to a grand dining hall, where there's a vast quantity of food spread across a large table, all smelling quite inviting. Mind is in awe of the food and asks if Dennim has prepared all of this himself. He jokes that he has a rather impressive microwave oven.

He offers her a chair at the head of the table and takes a seat next to her. She takes a plate and starts sampling the dishes, exclaiming that they taste just like all of her favorite meals from home. She then notices that Dennim has not eaten anything and asks if he's not hungry. He quickly makes up the excuse that he sampled the dishes while preparing them and is already quite content, hiding the fact he does not need to eat. Mind dismisses his explanation and holds up a fork with a piece of cake upon it. In a rare moment of self-consciousness, Dennim blushes and opens his mouth, allowing Mind to feed him the cake. Mind is quite pleased, thinking he enjoys the food as much as she does, while Dennim is actually flattered by Mind's affectionate behaviour towards him by feeding him.

After the meal, Mind’s belly is quite full and she becomes rather drowsy. Dennim grabs her hand and takes her back to her room, informing her he would have had the dinnerware sing to her too, but then they would have to pay royalties to Disney. Mind chuckles at his apparent joke, while he gently tucks her into her bed. He tells her goodnight and says they have much to do when she wakes up.

Late in the morning, Mind eventually wakes up, sheds her previous gown and picks out a new one from the closet. This dress is red and feels like rose petals upon her skin.

She emerges from the room and finds Dennim waiting for her again, dressed more casually; wearing a black shirt, a red vest, and black slacks. However, what Mind notices the most about his appearance is that he looks noticeably more mature. Mind asks about his strange new appearance and he responds that he had a growth spurt after yesterday's heavy meal. As Mind had not seen a mirror since she arrived at the castle, she is left clueless over her own appearance and has paid little attention while dressing herself. Before she can question things further, Dennim announces to have something to show her.

He takes her to a new door previously never seen, and upon opening it, he reveals a menagerie of strange animals. Mind is taken aback at first, but her tension eases when Dennim hands her what initially appears to be a cuddly koala. She is pleased by the koala’s softness and is pleasantly surprised when she realizes its ears are actually folded up wings, that allow it to fly out of her hands and onto a nearby tree. More of the strange animals approach Mind and she has a fun time petting them and watching them move about.

She then turns to Dennim and comments that she has never seen animals like these before, and that it's almost like they are combinations of the animals she had often looked at in her study books. Dennim nervously chuckles at this, and quickly produces a platypus out of nowhere, and argues that it too looks strange and resembles a cross between a duck and a beaver, even though it's acknowledged to be a legitimate animal. Mind hesitantly admits this is true, and her suspicion decreases as she takes the platypus from his hands to pet it, not noticing it starts to absentmindedly chew on the sleeve of her gown.

After her time in the menagerie, Dennim walks Mind back to her room and bids her goodnight once again. But later that evening, Mind quietly opens her door and peers out from within. When she sees no trace of Dennim, she exits the room, holding a lit candelabrum. She begins heading towards the direction of the main hall, not noticing Dennim’s red eyes gleaming in the darkness behind her.

Mind almost excitedly begins her lonesome journey through the mostly unexplored hallways, while arguing to herself that it's fine to snoop around and she just wants to get a look of the great castle without Dennim steering her. However, as she begins wandering the corridors, she soon realizes that it is taking much longer to reach the main hall than it first used to. She wonders if she possibly made a wrong turn, but then gets distracted when she notices a window. She peers outside, and at first sees only pure darkness. She starts to wonder why she isn’t able to even see the stars in night sky, but while still looking for them, suddenly something moves across the glass. She assumes it might have been some large, rare bird, and when she notices some more windows further down the hall, she decides to pursue the mysterious creature.

She runs down the hallway, not noticing that the windows are getting larger the farther she goes, creating an odd optical effect. She pauses to catch her breath, thinking she’s lost the bird, however, a light emerges and Mind gasps at what she sees. On the other side of the glass is a very large, glowing fish. The fish resembles an illustration of an anglerfish from her oceanography book, but to her surprise it also resembles a photographer who had been one of the few people her parents let into the house, and used to take her yearly photograph. A growth starts to sprout from the fish’s head, and begins to flash like the light bulb the photographer always used. Upon seeing the fish, Mind realizes that the darkness on the other side of the glass is not the sky, but the ocean surrounding the castle, meaning she had inadvertently traveled lower into the castle’s depths.

Then another glowing fish swims into view and Mind immediately identifies it as resembling an angelfish, yet also having traits of a familiar face; her mother. The new fish seems to acknowledge Mind, and stares at her, smiling warmly from the other side of the glass. This causes Mind to smile herself and she cautiously places her hand upon the window.

Suddenly, the warmth of the moment disappears as the two fish turn around, seemingly detecting something. They bolt away, but Mind remains close to the glass, briefly wondering if they'll return. However, a red light begins flashing from far away, grabbing her attention. Mind squints her eyes as to try to better see what it could be, and the light grows larger. She then realizes that whatever is glowing, is approaching her at a high speed. She shuts her eyes for a moment and opens them again to see only darkness.

But then, a large, single blue eye opens on the other side of the window and the creature’s whole body lights up with red rings, revealing itself to be a giant squid. Its blue eye and the flaps on the side of its head greatly resemble the eyes and hairstyle of her father.

The squid lets out a mighty roar, resembling her father’s own angry shouting, revealing a sharp beak between its tentacles. The tentacles latch onto the glass and the squid begins ramming its beak into it, seeming determined to reach Mind. Memories of her father’s abuse flood back into Mind’s thoughts, and she wails as the monster almost seems upon her.

But then another roar erupts from behind her, while the lights in the hallway flicker on and off. A large beast leaps in front of her and stands between her and the aggressive squid. The beast, which unbeknownst to Mind, is Dennim’s monster form. He roars once more, which has a noticeable effect on the squid, causing it to shift in and out of existence momentarily. But rather than to disappear, the squid swims off.

The lights in the hallway flicker once more, and the place where the beast was first standing not too long ago is now occupied by Dennim. Mind is shell-shocked by what had just occurred and she weakly reaches out to Dennim, before collapsing in his arms. Dennim lifts her off the ground, cradling her close to his chest as he makes his way back to her room. Once again he tucks her into bed for the night, but rather than leave immediately, he lingers and gently strokes her face while smiling softly at her.

The next morning Mind awakens, absentmindedly placing her hand upon the cheek Dennim had held throughout the night. She finds that it is wet, and she realizes that she has been crying in her sleep. She heads to closet and chooses to wear a blue gown that feels like a cool, night breeze upon her skin.

Outside of her room, she finds Dennim again, this time wearing a black suit with a blue ascot and looking even older than before. Once again Mind attempts to ask Dennim about this, but he interrupts by asking if she slept well. She replies she did not, due to vivid nightmares, to which Dennim cryptically answers it is dangerous for her to let her mind wander at night, due to her not knowing where it will necessarily lead her. His answer seems a little too specific for Mind to ignore, but when she is about to question if the things she saw last night were real, he announces that they have arrived at their destination.

He opens a new set of doors to reveal a vast, elegant library filled with books. Mind stares in awe at the collection, asking Dennim if he, or anyone, has read all of them. He sarcastically claims that his father brought them from his worldly travels to act as kindling for the fire, but he then shifts tones and earnestly asks her if she likes the library. Mind eagerly tells him that she does, and sets off to peruse the vast selection. Dennim
whispers under his breath that they certainly owe Disney royalties now, alluding to the similar scene in Beauty and the Beast.

When Mind goes through a book, she notices something strange, and soon realizes it is identical to one she had read previously at home. She goes through another and realizes it is also a copy of another book she had read, and also stumbles upon multiple duplicates of the same book. She mentions this to Dennim, who panics and tries to mix and match passages from different books to disguise their familiar content, but he only succeeds in creating incoherent drivel that Mind cannot decipher, leaving her confused.

Suddenly, Mind gets a realization as she stares at the books before her. She begins to realize that the food, the animals, the books, and even the creatures she believed she had dreamt up the previous night were all based on things she had seen or done before. She realizes that she hasn’t felt anything ‘new’ since arriving to Dennim's house. She turns to him and asks in a very serious tone if he knows why this is. He realizes there's not much he can do anymore and senses she is demanding a truthful answer, so admits that he does.

Dennim confesses he is a creation of her mind, and because the castle is his creation, by extension it is hers as well. The reason everything feels familiar to her is because everything within the castle is created from her memories, which is why she is unable to experience anything ‘new’, as only her established memories can be used by him. Mind asks Dennim is she is supposed to honestly believe such a ridiculous tale, but he quickly reminds her of the familiar fish and hostile squid from last night, alluding to the fact that she inadvertently entered a darker section of her memories when she decided to go out on her own without his guidance.

She seems somewhat convinced by this, but then asks why Dennim would set up something like this to begin with. He reveals that he derives his power from her and that her happiness and appreciation for him enhance his strength. As he was called into existence to please her, this is what has always been his purpose and what gives him happiness as well.

By having her live in the castle, he had hoped that she would see what a life with him could be like; where any fantasy of hers he could make into a tangible reality. He then admits that if she were to love him, his power would increase tremendously till the point of becoming a reality himself, and that he may no longer be limited to using her limited memories, meaning he would be able to create new and exciting things.

Dennim then produces a mirror from behind one of the bookshelves and reveals that his questioned appearance is in fact based upon her own altered state; as for every night she slept in the castle was actually five years passing by, with her put in a deathlike slumber, as he needed to recharge his abilities to maintain the illusion of the castle for her. As a result of her few nights in the castle, Mind and Dennim both physically appear to be twenty years old at this point.

Mind is astonished at her unexpected entrance into adulthood, but Dennim bitterly reminds her that her father stole her childhood through his repeated sexual abuse and she missed nothing. She then recalls her father and asks if Dennim knows what has happened to him. He reveals that beside her love, he is able to draw power from the blood of others, and it was needed to make the first steps of fulfilling her dream. Before continuing his answer, he reminds Mind that she herself admitted she was willing to pay any price to fulfil her desire of seeing the ocean, thus he took that as permission to sacrifice her father to himself and use his blood to create the ocean in Mind’s backyard.

Dennim picks up on her disagreeing facial expression, but still coldly states that using her father was the most logical choice, since it provided him the power to make her dream come true, while also removing the one obstacle that would have prevented her from enjoying it. Mind still angrily berates Dennim for her father's murder by claiming murder is wrong. Dennim bitterly points out that her father did a lot of wrong things, and no one else seemed to have a problem with it, so why should she feel guilty if her father lived by a worse standard. Mind weakly replies that she never wanted to hurt anyone though, but Dennim points to himself and says that apparently some part of her did.

Mind decides to change the subject by asking if Dennim knows what happened to her mother. Dennim replies that she had already had left for her trip to America when he decided to kill her father, but adds to see no reason to have treated her differently if she had been there. Mind angrily defends her mother, claiming she had never hurt her like her father did, but Dennim once again coldly replies that even if that were true, she let the molestations happen through wilful denial and therefore could be considered just as guilty. Dennim then takes Mind’s hands into his own and looks deeply into her eyes. He starts to argue that they both always knew that the world she came from had nothing to offer her, insinuating it should be easy for her to abandon it. He asks Mind if she could be happy living as she did in the last few days, with him doing everything in his power to ensure her happiness.

Mind reflects upon Dennim’s words and realizes that they contain the truth, despite how horrible she feels about acknowledging it. She quietly admits that she is willing to open her heart to Dennim and consider a future with him, which causes Dennim to initially beam with joy, but she quickly adds that she will only do so on the condition that he allows her to see her mother again. Dennim looks repulsed by the idea and asks Mind why she would want to reunite with the woman who allowed her to suffer through years of sexual abuse. She counters him by pointing out that he informed her her father was dead, therefore there should no longer be any tension over her mother having to choose between believing her husband or her daughter. Instead, they now have the opportunity to understand each other mutually as women, without him as a barrier between them.

Dennim initially scoffs at the idea, but Mind reminds him that if he shows cooperation and fulfils this request for her, she would appreciate it and open herself to possibility of loving him. Dennim nods in agreement and together they exit the castle and enter the perpetually gloomy fog outside. Dennim raises his hands and a sleek boat emerges from the grey waters. Dennim helps Mind onboard and as they disembark from the island, Dennim playfully lets Mind know that he would have taken her to see her mother, even if she hadn’t offered her love. He adds it is nice to know he won’t be wasting his time, though, which earns him a painful jab in ribcage from Mind.

Meanwhile, on the still waters of a fairly tiny pond within a British park, a fog suddenly rolls in. A strange sound that could either be thunder or the roar of an engine is to be heard, and Dennim’s boat suddenly emerges from the fog-covered pond, sprouting wheels from its side that transform it from a boat into an automobile. Paying no heed to park-goers he almost runs over, he drives back wildly to Mind’s childhood home. Once they reach the old Victorian mansion, Mind is shocked to see its abandoned, dilapidated state.

A short distance away, a young woman with the same hair and eye color as Mind passes by, on a slow walk with her old, ailing father in order to maintain his health. Mind tries to get the girl's attention and get more information about her empty home, to which the girl's father calls her by her first name, Winona, and lets her know someone needs her help. This moment can allude to the possibility that if Winona had not perished at a young age, her father would not have confused Mind for his daughter.

Winona attempts to be helpful to pair, despite the off-putting appearance of both Dennim and his car, and reveals the tale that happened to become widespread knowledge after Mind's father died;

Mind's father was reported to have been murdered in an especially brutal manner, a way that was specifically engineered to remove as much blood from his body as possible while keeping him alive, and that the man’s daughter had mysteriously disappeared as well. Many people had theorized that she had been carried away by whoever had committed the crime, as she was considered valuable by the family, however, after a few weeks of no calls coming in and no ransom demands, a new theory began to emerge. It was rumored that the man’s daughter had killed her own father and ran off with whatever she could carry.

When the man’s wife came home to the mess, she was horrified to find that her family, and the wealth and social status she once had, was all gone. A local photographer from town arrived that same day for an appointment that Mind's mother had forgotten about before booking her trip, and found her in her situation. With no one else to turn to, the dead man’s wife was taken in by said photographer, and is currently living with him in a nearby town.

Dennim disbelievingly questions Winona on how she knows so many details, to which she replies that local news made a big deal out of the story at the time, playing up the drama of the situation by following Minerva for a while after the murder, due to its sensationalist nature.

Mind asks against hope if she knows where the photographer lives, and Winona replies that in fact she does, as her father had hired him not too long ago to take a family portrait of them.

After Winona provides them with the address, Mind thanks her deeply for her help and the two head off. Mind laments how awfully her mother must have suffered after returning to the scenario Dennim created, causing him to smile pleasantly at the thought. Eventually they reach the photographer’s address, and they both approach the entrance.

A young man with a triangular face, blonde hair, and a green hoodie opens the door and upon seeing Dennim’s strange appearance, politely informs them that neither he nor anyone in his family wishes to join a Satanic cult. Mind ignores this and pleads to see Minerva, to which the young man immediately gains an irate expression upon his face, and he angrily accuses Mind and Dennim of being reporters out to torment his poor mother once more. Mind’s eyes widen in disbelief upon hearing the boy refer to Minerva as *his* mother, but then Minerva approaches the door herself, referring to the boy as *Johnny* and asks who is at the door.

Upon seeing Minerva, Mind’s tentatively addresses her as ‘mother’, after which Minerva’s eyes widen in disbelief. She asks if the young lady before her is Mind.

Mind nods, as tears well up in her eyes, and she embraces her mother, grateful that they are together again. When Johnny realizes who she is, he invites her and Dennim into their home. He hastily apologizes for accusing them of being reporters, but he states that they used to come around quite often, forcing Minerva to relive a horrible time within her life.

He graciously seats everyone at a table and heads into the kitchen to make some tea for their company. Upon sitting down, Mind notices that her mother looks visibly uncomfortable. Minerva quietly asks where Mind has been for all these years, after which Dennim jumps in, claiming that he and Mind had met as children. He tells her that when a madman had entered her home and attacked her father, she fled for her life and got lost in a storm afterwards. He claims to have found her with no memories, as she had probably been traumatized by the attack. His family took care of her throughout that time, providing her with psychiatric care. She recently had a breakthrough with her doctor, remembering her past and they immediately set out to find her.

Mind is at first surprised by Dennim’s decision to lie, but gradually realizes that his explanation makes more sense than her having slept the majority of the last ten years in an imaginary castle by the sea. Minerva nods in response, only having halfheartedly listened to Dennim’s story, and then quietly explains that her trip to America was a horrible experience. Hardly any of her family members acknowledged or recognized her, since it had been so long ago since she had moved to Great Britain. Furthermore, her uncle apparently had not left her any of his inheritance, and many of her relatives accused her of returning to unfairly claim some of his money. Rejected and offended by her kin, Minerva had hoped to at least return home to her loving husband and daughter. However, upon returning all she found was an abandoned house, her dear husband brutally murdered, and her daughter nowhere to found. The fact that she had lost everything in so little time had pushed her to the brink of madness, and it was only through the kindness shown to her by their photographer, who had taken her in, did she avoid becoming completely insane. Eventually, a loving relationship developed between the two of them, one much healthier than the one with Mind's father, and she eventually became the stepmother to the photographer’s son.

But after having finally found a happy home life, Minerva then began to have night terrors about Mind returning to her life and disrupting her happiness. At first she felt horrible about having these thoughts, since she believed she was supposed to be happy if Mind were to return to her life. However, after thinking about the issue for several years, a dark theory emerged in Minerva’s mind. She had remembered her daughter accusing her husband of unspeakable acts since an early age. She had began to wonder if she hadn't simply decided to use her absence during the trip to America as a means to kill her well-intentioned father and run off of start the ‘rebellious’ live she always craved for.

At first she felt deeply ashamed for thinking such thoughts, but upon hearing some of the news channels expressing similar theories, Minerva felt vindicated and the hole where her sadness and absence of the truth rested got filled with a growing distrust for her missing daughter.

Minerva's mind goes back to these dark thoughts and her initial excitement for Mind's return starts to visibly fade, making for an awkward moment at the table. She comments on the strange appearance of her friend, Dennim, and says that she has certainly found herself in some rather ‘strange’ company during her absence. She starts to wonder out loud if she simply didn't kill her father, and then fittingly seeked out the company of a Satanic cult. She then asks her if she returned to ruin her currently peaceful life once again in an act of sadism.

Mind is horrified by her mother’s wild accusations and feebly tries to argue against them. However, Minerva cuts her off and directly asks her if she had any part in her father’s death. Knowing that Dennim murdered her father causes her to pause longer than is desirable, and Minerva takes her silence as a confession, and immediately orders her out of her house, shouting that she never wishes to see her again. Dennim becomes livid at Mind's mother and seems almost ready to attack the woman, but Mind silently rises from the table and heads to the door, just as Johnny returns with tea and biscuits.

Dennim quickly follows Mind outside, attempting to both comfort her while also insulting her mother. This causes Mind to turn around and slap him across the face. Breathing heavily with tears in her eyes, she states that he not only robbed her of her childhood, like her father, but also destroyed her relationship with one the only person she cared for in the world, like her father. Dennim places his hand on his stinging cheek and solemnly asks Mind if he's not included in her care, given everything he has done for her. Mind shrieks that he himself admitted that he is only a demented figment of her own broken mind, meaning that her mother was technically not wrong in thinking she had killed her own father. Dennim quietly states that all he ever wanted was to make her happy, to which Mind erupts that if he truly wishes to grant her happiness, he will never appear before her again for as long as she lives.

Upon saying so, the sky darkens with clouds and thunder, and lightning fill the air for a moment. A heavy wind blows over Mind, seemingly taking the clouds that had suddenly appeared away as quickly as they came. Mind opens her eyes and sees that both Dennim and his car are gone. She suddenly feels incredibly weak, almost collapsing where she stood. She notices a nearby
puddle and moves toward it. Glancing at her own reflection, she sees that she has become bone-thin and her fancy clothes have been reduced to rags. While initially confused, Mind realizes that she had not eaten a true meal in ten years and that her rags are actually the remnants of her childhood dress. Mind briefly looks back to her mother’s home, wondering for a moment if she could possibly go back and entreaty them for help. The thought quickly passes, as she realizes that without Dennim she is now truly alone in the world. She grabs a nearby fallen branch off the ground, using it as a walking stick as she hobbles away, out to seek whatever destiny lies before her.

Sixty years pass by and on a beach, one can see Mind sitting on a opened beach chair, staring out at the sea before her. Behind her is a cottage, identical to the one Dennim had created for her in other realities, implying that it was an idealized design she had in mind herself.

She appears healthier than when she took those faithful steps sixty years ago, at least for an eighty-year-old woman. She has a kind, grandmotherly appearance, and is wrapped in many thick shawls to warm her against the sea breeze, as for a large rimmed hat to keep the setting sun’s rays out of her eyes. She seems content for the moment, not even noticing a figure walking up beside her.

She turns to the stranger and sees that it is a gentleman about her age, based on his stooped figure and dark grey hair. His other features are hidden by a scarf around his mouth, a
pair of sunglasses over his eyes, and the hood of his jacket over most of his head.

Despite the man’s unusual attire, Mind does not seem perturbed and pleasantly states that the setting sun before them offers a beautiful view. The stranger only nods in agreement. She then claims that she has been fortunate enough to have seen this view for the last sixty years.

She tells him that she came to make her way to the beach from a nearby town, despite being in poor health, and that she had various odd jobs. Eventually she saved enough money and built the cottage she now lives in. In her free time she began to create paintings of unusual subjects, such as castles by the sea, menageries of impossible animals, and boys with skin as white as snow and eyes as red as blood. Eventually an art critic stumbled across one of her pieces at a local art showcase by the beach. He had informed his colleagues of Mind’s art and soon her work became quite valuable. She sold her early pieces for a substantial profit and continued to live comfortably in the following years.

She then turns to the stranger and wonders if he knew all of that already. She then quietly says, ‘Hello Dennim,’ causing the man remove his scarf to reveal his pointed teeth, then glasses to reveal his red eyes, and finally his hood to reveal the rest of his dark grey hair. She smiles upon seeing him, claiming in all her years she was never able to imagine how he would look as an old man. He jokes that he’s aged like fine wine, while she looks closer to sour milk.

They both share a laugh at the familiarity of their banter, before falling into a heavy silence. He then states that she could have called on him anytime and he would have returned. Mind nods, claiming she had always felt that might have been the case. However, for the first time in her life she was finally only dependent upon herself, so she wished to see how she could fare on her own strength. She admits it was not an easy life, but she is surprisingly pleased by what she was able to accomplish.

She then asks Dennim why he is there, as she had not called him. Dennim quietly reminds her of what she said sixty years ago; how he would never appear before her again for as long as she lived.

Dennim’s words sink in and Mind lets out a heavy sigh. She then asks him what lies ahead, but he says he doesn’t know; that it could be paradise, damnation, or she may just start all over again, either as herself or someone completely new. She lets out a low chuckle at the last suggestion, claiming that once was quite enough. Dennim asks her in a serious tone if there truly isn’t anything she would change if she could go back and start over again.

Mind reflects on that possibility for a moment. She then turns to Dennim and says if that she had the chance to do it all again, she would have liked to made choices that allowed Dennim to be happy as well.

Dennim chuckles at this and jokes that he expected her to say she would have castrated her father with a pair of rusty scissors when she was still three years old. They both laugh at his crude humor and Dennim offers her his hand. She rises from her chair and then turns around, seeing her body still remaining behind. Her body is still wrapped up in her shawls, eyes closed and with a small smile on her face as though she was simply sleeping. She then turns her gaze forward and sees that Dennim is leading her to the same motorboat he carried her in towards his castle by the sea all those years ago. He helps her board first, before hopping in himself. The boat begins to the leave the shore and the pair sail off as though they were chasing the setting sun over the horizon. The wind seems to carry a familiar song in the air as the two continue to sail, until both they and the sun itself seemingly sink beneath the waves, whereafter thousands of stars dot the night sky.