The storm raged beyond the lace curtains, the night sky split open by jagged strokes of lightning, and it fractured the sky in feverish strokes. Wind howled through the trees like a chorus of the damned, tearing at the mansion's outer walls with relentless fury.

  Thunder rolled in shuddering waves, each boom shaking the room, making the pendulum clock rattle and the candlelight flicker precariously. The wet rot of old wood and the damp musk of the attic clung to her senses.

  Rain pounded the roof like a thousand falling rocks, and the closed window trembled under the onslaught, its glass shivering in its frame. Beyond it, branches whipped like flailing limbs, and the garden below writhed as if clinging to life by its fingertips.

  By the window, a mouse perched on the sill, its beady eyes reflecting the lightning outside. Within it, Isidora, in the form of a possessed mouse, calculated her next move.

  Once her plan was set, the mature mind shifted inward, diving into the sea of their shared consciousness and arriving at a strange, colorful space.

  A surreal and vibrant world unfolded before her. It resembled an amusement park from her previous world, complete with sounds and colors that seemed to hum faintly.

  After the last time she focused on the young mind’s thoughts, she had glimpsed a bit at this space but initially ignored it, dismissing it as irrelevant, because it wasn’t the right time to prioritize such a space.

  This space was likely the young mind’s creation, a place where she conjured imaginary things when she was bored. It was just as unusual as the young mind herself.

  Now the mature mind stood within it herself, surrounded by sights that felt at once nostalgic and hollow. The sight twisted something deep within her chest, if she even had one in the first place, of course.

  To be honest, in her former life when she was young, Isidora did indeed have an obsession with amusement parks.

  It had been her dream to visit such a place.

  From outside the tall fence, her former younger self would gaze inside with sparkling eyes, captivated by the various rides and plays, the lovely families clutching cotton candy, and the sounds of laughter of children tumbling onto rides that spun, soared, and screamed with delight.

  “He” would walk around the perimeter of the amusement park, holding the small hand of a young girl, and together they would observe and imagine it was them playing inside. Pretending that they belonged to such a place.

  Bystanders sometimes looked at them with curious eyes; some avoided them, while others offered food and money. Occasionally, they were chased away by guards, who claimed their presence was bad for business if they lingered too long.

  Still, their fascination never waned, and they refused to let go of their dream.

  Yet, life was harsh. By the time Isidora opened her eyes again, many things had changed, and her obsession with amusement parks had gradually faded with time.

  The mature mind steeled herself against the unexpected emotions rising within her. The young mind’s mindscape had triggered memories she had long wished to forget.

  Overhead, the sky shimmered with streaks of color, each one a drifting ribbon of emotion, a physical echo of the girl’s playful spirit.

  On the ground were various playgrounds: roller coasters with endless tracks, glittering horse carousels, Ferris wheels, drop towers, rows of carnival shooting games, bumper cars, a funhouse, a circus tent, even a haunted house lurking in the corner, ball pits,...

  And yet, vast sections of the park remained empty and unfinished, probably because the young mind hadn’t touched them or being an absolute ADHD lad and left the unfinished one untouched.

  Her attention turned to a theatre nearby. Usually, she would find the young mind here, probably her go-to place to rest and have fun. What was fun in this seemingly boring place, you might ask?

  Inside, as expected, the young mind of Isidora sat nestled in one of the seats, eyes wide in attention at the play unfolding on the stage.

  It was a play of her past life, their past life, broken into scenes of memory, interactions, faces of people long gone, and various parts of herself...

  ‘Hey. Go and prepare.’

  ‘Oh, Izzy! Oke!’

  The young mind answered with its usual cheerfulness. Together, they left this strange mindscape behind.

  ‘You should redesign that theatre similar to concert halls for musical entertainment too.’

  ‘Concert halls? Opera house! That’s a great idea!’

  They returned to reality together. The storm still raged outside the window, thunder cracking across the sky as the wind howled beyond the glass.

  Isidora took another long glance at the chaos beyond the sill and then asked a trivial question that had unknowingly plagued her.

  ‘If I’m jumping down, it will definitely hurt, won’t it?’

  ‘Probably?’

  ‘…’

  It was not reassuring at all.

  If she trusted science, then as a mouse, it shouldn’t hurt to the point of dying. Skeptical, she glanced outside again, tracing the long plunge down. Judging by the distance, it seemed they were on the fourth or fifth floor.

  ‘Can we throw the mouse outside, cut off the connection until it touches the ground, then reconnect with it?’

  Isidora grimaced. She had hoped the young mind might offer a more creative solution, given its knack for envisioning extraordinary abilities.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  ‘I’m... not sure. Should we try it?’

  But the response was as uncertain as she had feared.

  As for flying, the mature mind initially did think about it, but could her Psychokinesis do that? The answer was no.

  The last time she trained her abilities, the young mind had attempted to fly while possessing the mouse, but...

  ‘I’m not sure, Izzy. I can’t imagine us moving up using our own hands.

  The young voice admitted sheepishly. It struggled to imagine moving itself upward using its body as a base. When employing Psychokinesis, it envisioned an invisible thread extending outward to manipulate other objects aloft.

  But using it on themselves? It made no sense whatsoever. The thread did connect to itself, but it was just like the feeling of using your own hands to grab your head upward.

  And besides, based on the third law of motion, no pushing against nothing, so true flight was simply impossible.

  Still, levitating or jumping might be feasible, if only her Psychokinesis were strong enough to lift heavier objects.

  For now, she needed to focus on the matter at hand. The storm's chaos was a rare blessing, masking her actions perfectly. She had to act swiftly and decisively.

  If she could find a way to descend safely, she might finally explore the mansion and uncover some secrets that could be used against that lunatic man, or just simply escape from here.

  ‘Isa, are you ready?’

  ‘Isa?’

  The young mind stirred at once, its thoughts spilling over in a chaotic rush that nearly drowned out the mature mind’s own. It was like trying to think straight in the middle of a storm.

  Although they had already established that they were, in essence, different minds in one weird existence, their thoughts were still linked to each other.

  Was this one of their weaknesses or strengths? Only time could tell.

  ‘You call me “Izzy”, so I figured I should call you something other than “the young mind”’

  Overwhelmed by the young mind’s storm of thought, the mature mind muttered the explanation awkwardly, fully aware there was no real need to justify herself. And yet, here she was, fumbling with words.

  ‘Izzy…’

  The young mind trailed off, its thoughts swirling with astonishment and enthusiasm. Yet beneath its fervor, the mature mind could sense what was about to come next, as they were one and the same.

  ‘Has no one told you that you have no naming sense?’

  ‘Oh fucking god, shut up.’

  ‘Ahahaha! You’re blushing!’

  No, we didn’t even have a physical body in the first place, how could we blush? The mature mind scowled, refusing to believe that she, once a man in his thirties, could be flustered by something this childish.

  ‘Yes, as ready as ever, Captain Izzy!’

  ‘...’

  Her young mind was getting weirder and weirder, for the briefest moment, she couldn’t help but question if they were truly the same mind at all.

  The preparations were already completed. By the window, the little one stood, its black bead eyes glinting in the dim light. Behind it, a rusty hammer floated midair, its iron head angled back like a drawn bowstring, waiting to be loosened.

  There was no certainty of what would happen next. If the old man had some hidden alarm tied to the mansion’s structure, then the moment the glass was damaged, it would likely alert him. In that case, she needed to act swiftly.

  ‘Alright, let’s do this, Isa.’

  The mature mind, Izzy, steeled herself for the leap.

  ‘Hai~’

  The young mind, Isa, replied cheerfully, as she manipulated the hammer to accelerate at a higher speed, sending it hurtling toward the window.

  *Bang!*

  The hammer collided with the window just as thunder growled overhead, lightning splitting the sky into a blinding flash, illuminating her surroundings.

  Sparks of stormlight rippled through the attic, yet to her dismay, the hammer recoiled back, leaving the window undamaged.

  ‘What?!’

  Reinforced. The damn thing was reinforced! How had she overlooked that?

  Isidora’s heart raced, panic rising as she realized her oversight.

  She’d assumed it was ordinary, fragile glass. She hadn’t accounted for the possibility that the window was reinforced, and the strike had failed. Now, she was faced with an unexpected obstacle.

  She had been too careless.

  ‘Again! Hurry, Isa!’

  Yes, Izzy!’

  Isa responded, pulling the hammer back once more. This time, she moved it farther and pushed it with greater force, burning through their shared energy recklessly.

  Outside, the storm poured harder, rain slashing like knives, rattling the frame, stirring an anxious sensation in Isidora’s heart. It was as if it was warning her to move faster.

  If her prediction was correct, if the window truly doubled as a ward or detector, then the alarm had already been triggered. She only had no more than ten seconds left before the old man reached the attic.

  The hammer set off on its course again, its iron head striking the window’s reinforced glass with tremendous power.

  *Bang*

  This time it was a success, at least partially.

  The glass fractured, the impact created a jagged crack, veins spiraling outward like frozen lightning across its surface. At the core of the strike was a vicious nexus, a pit no wider than a coin appeared, the point where the hammer’s iron teeth had bitten deepest.

  But the crack was still too small, not enough for Isidora to carry out her next plan. She commanded her young mind once more.

  ‘Once again!’

  ‘Oke!’

  As the hammer was yanked free, gusts of violent wind rushed eagerly through the cracks. The lace curtains thrashed, the attic was thrown into chaos, caught in the storm’s fury.

  Now faster than before, the hammer was raised higher and farther, supplied with gravity force, it hurled down with brutal force.

  *Crash!*

  The reinforced window exploded, shards spraying across the attic like crystal shrapnel.

  And with it came the violent storm. It tore through the room, rain lashing inside the attic as if trying to invade the new territory, and the curtains billowing like desperate flags.

  ‘Izzy!’

  Isa called out. At that exact moment, the possessed mouse leapt. Its small body clipped against the jagged rim of broken glass and accidentally sliced its skin open, leaving a trail of blood on the jagged edge as it jumped through the window.

  The violent storm immediately seized its body by force, carrying it away from the rooftop’s edge and sweeping it into the torrent.

  ‘Ten!’

  The final count instinctively formed in her mind. Just as the mouse just barely escaped and disappeared outside, the door burst open.

  An old man rushed in, his eyes bloodshot, his expression sharpened into raw fury. Still wearing his usual grayish robe, his breath was erratic because of the sudden circumstance, as his focus locked on her instantly.

  Simultaneously, a trace of warm air breezed through Isidora’s mind like fingers against her skull. Her thoughts froze momentarily against this unexpected sensation. This was her first time directly coming into contact with this sensation in person!

  ‘This is…?’

  You might have noticed, i rarely use ' ; ', because I have no idea how to use it properly.

  This chapter was originally one, but I split it into two parts because it was too long for one chapter, and editing it was a damn hell of a time. (I haven't finished editing the latter half, I also add more elements to this chapter and add more 'personality' to MC.)

  Anyway, the latter half is probably tonight or tomorrow, since it's originally one, I will still stick to the previous deadline.

  I use quillbot to check grammar, haha.