The Aspiring Archivist

"Got it. Any solutions so far other than 'die'? Because if there isn't... well, I guess I probably die alone trying to fix this, or I live like this for the rest of my life."

"Why are you so against these books, anyways? Don't you read all the time?"

"Yeah, okay." TAAron found himself shaking as he climbed back into his chair. He began to read again. A paragraph down the page, he realized he had forgotten everything that he had just read. He looked back at where he had started, not even recognizing the words there. He tried again, then once more. Finally, he could remember what he read, but he found that he somehow couldn't concentrate on the book, his mind feeling like it was full of dissonant echoes. Frustrated, he put it down on the table. "I can't. I don't know why, but I can't. I was fine until I tried tapping zinc... is pain from using metals a symptom on any of those, Nameless?"

"Not quite. See, my mind is damaged, kind of. Not my brain, but my Cognitive aspect. What you're talking about is something that helps with synapses, which are physical mental connections between neurons. I'm sure that if that chemical had medicinal properties that would have been helpful to me, the doctors would have already administered it, anyways. At it's foundation, my situation is metaphysical, so a physical approach likely wouldn't work." Without thinking, TAAron began tapping zinc to quicken his reaction time. Naturally, his soul-pain flared to insanely high levels. As the marshmallow hit him, he yelled, falling out of his chair.

"Wow, this one has 157 edge case examples, and... none have to do with dying halfway. Let me reference the symptoms index." He flipped through several more pages. "'Headaches, pain of the spirit, hallucination...' all pretty common, actually. Oh! 'Increased exocognitive perception: This is a theoretical symptom that might be caused by major, irrevocable damage to one's cognitive and spiritual aspects. If you or someone you know has experienced this symptom, please contact us!'" TAAron put down the book. "That's not a great sign."

"Wow. It doesn't work, and it gave me an allergic reaction? They really need to work on that." His eyes widened. "How to Damage Your Soul, by Reesa MacWeeney. Don't think we'll be needing that one." He shuffled through a few more books. "Ah, this one might work. A Comprehensive Guide on Cognitive and Spiritual Maladies. How about you? Anything helpful in that scroll?"

Seeing the book in Nameless' hands, TAAron smiled. "Wow, Nameless. Did you take your Brandofandonitis medication this morning?" He sat down and began sorting through the books.

TAAron chose not to talk about it further. They arrived back at the library. "@Nameless! How's it going with the research? Can I help?"

"It's fine that you're angry, you know. You found something you had dreamed of, and it got torn away from you. I'm sure there were reasons you had to leave, but that doesn't make it wrong for you to be upset."

"Well, that's odd." He paused. "I don't know if it's what I meant, but I really am sorry that you had to leave that place. I can tell it meant a lot to you."

"I have no idea. This is way out of my study range. I mean, what exactly happened? Did I just get up and go?"

"I... let's just go back to the library. Maybe Nameless has found something on my situation."

She finds him curled up in a corner, shivering. He looked up, seeing her. The fear was still in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He blinked, looking confused, terror evaporated. "Haly? Why am I here?" I swear I was just in the library..."

Suddenly TAAron cried out, scrambling backwards to get away from the two of them with terror in his eyes. He ran out of the door and down a hallway.

"I—I'm sorry. Is there anything I could do to help? I could help you find a way to get back, if you want. No, not right now, you said you didn't want to think about it... rusts, I'm bad at this." TAAron was getting annoyed at his lack of tact. Ever since he'd discovered he could feel people's emotions, he'd been badgering them nonstop about their problems. I guess understanding emotions doesn't necessarily make you more socially adept. As if in response to his frustration, he felt an agony in his head, like a migraine but somehow worse. Soul-pain. He sunk to the floor.

"Oh. So something about the place? Is something wrong there?"

"Well, you probably can't help, but it's good to see you. How do I put this succinctly... well, I started dying and then the doctors stopped it, and now my soul is damaged." TAAron frowned. "You're upset about something. Other than this. Is it something that happened in the other dimension?"

"I would say I'm fine, but I'm not a very good liar."

Yes, I have. Not a lot, nor anything published. Just the occasional thing for fun. I actually wrote an insomniac poem on a status update the other day. It should be on page two of my content list thingy if you want to read it. No, I'm pretty terrible at drawing and painting. Absolutely! That's the best part! Kind of depends on the situation. In controlled environments, sure, but I'd rather not have it all over me. I'm sorry, I'm very bad at favorite-type questions. I believe they are called superlatives, i.e. asking for something on the extreme end of a spectrum. Being the indecisive man I am, I cannot answer that in good faith. Triangles are pretty cool though.

Who saw Minecraft Live?

By the time they reached the library, TAAron was getting out of breath. "Okay," he panted, "Is there a catalog here?"

"Perhaps we could do some research, then. Although, I'm not sure it's very common for people to have soul damage because they are literally half dead." He stood up again, wincing at the pain. "I think the worst part if this is going to be not being able to burn metals." He staggered to the door. "To the library, then?"

"I see. How many have tried?" TAAron paused, looking worried. "Is it really the only way to heal soul damage?" As if on cue, his ears began ringing painfully, and he cried out, covering his ears. That's a new one.

"Is that for certain? Or is it just a likelihood?"