'What kind of question was that?'
Before I responded, I had to make sure the entities wouldn't come back and take control of me.
"It's when someone or something dies."
"No," she replied curtly.
"It's when something fails to live."
"No."
At this point, I gave up. You asked a simple question, and I gave you answers, which were correct by normal standards. You can't expect me to continue giving answers to your question only to be told 'No.'
"No matter how new you are to this world, your brain should be far more advanced than most. You should be able to think beyond. Such elementary definitions of death don't suit someone like you."
What does she mean by someone like me? Was I the same as her? I decided against the thought; I couldn't do what she had done previously. I was below her level.
Still, what kind of answer did she expect from me?
What did she mean by elementary definitions of death?
What came to mind was what the being had first told me regarding my name. The being said I should always remember my name.
I didn't know if I was correct or not, but I felt my name was connected to her question. It wasn't a question that required such a straightforward answer.
For some reason, I closed my eyes and looked within myself. As I did so, I could feel my consciousness move away from my body to somewhere else.
I kept my eyes closed because I felt like I was not meant to see what I was passing through.
I came to a stop suddenly, and the effects of traveling at such a speed caught up to me as I buckled down, holding my mouth to prevent vomiting.
I opened my eyes due to the need to puke and saw darkness. Nothing more than darkness. It was all-encompassing and consuming. What first surprised me even more was the complete absence of sound in this place. I stomped my foot on what I assumed was the ground, and no noise was produced. I tried speaking, but I couldn't hear a word I said.
If I were normal, I probably would have panicked about my situation and lost my mind. But I wasn't normal, unfortunately. I was always supposed to remember my name.
'How the hell is my name supposed to help in this situation?'
I remained on my knees for quite a while until I remembered something I had previously discussed with the odd woman, or was it a being? At this point, I didn't really care what she was.
'Elementary definitions.'
What exactly was the definition? I reasoned this to myself as I recalled what I hadn't noticed before. She had carefully emphasized the word 'definition.'
I reached deeper than I had before all this time.
It felt like I was digging for something buried long ago. I strained every single part of my body, searching for something, anything. I tried this with my memory and spectacularly failed, but this was different.
What I was looking for was mine. Rightfully mine.
This was what I felt the moment I entered this place?
Had I gotten cocky? It couldn't have been possible for someone like me to have become cocky in such a short period.
I was getting sidetracked. I postponed all useless thoughts and focused my full attention on what I assumed was finding a definition.
After what seemed like an eternity, a small tree with no branches appeared in front of me. It illuminated the darkness with a blinding white light shining from it.
My eyes hurt from the sudden exposure to the light, and I had to squint to reduce the amount of light entering them.
I moved closer to the tree, still squinting, but was pushed back by the immense pressure and heat emanating from it. Is this the 'definition' that the woman was talking about, if so, it was rather impressive.
I pushed forward, my eyes watering due to the heat and light emanating from the tree, but I could still see. I stood right in front of the tree and began walking in a straight line, so whatever happened to my vision would not affect the path to my destination. It wasn't a problem.
I reached the tree, feeling the pain caused by the newly formed burns on my body. The heat became so unbearable I thought I was melting. I reached the trunk eventually and saw what looked like 'Death' carved into its trunk.
I was beginning to think the strange woman just wanted to end my life painfully for trying to deceive her.
I didn't notice how bad my condition was until I looked down. I could see my bones and the remnants of my skin clinging to them.
I collapsed on the cold ground, bleeding out. I couldn't see clearly anymore; everything was blurry and hazy.
For some reason, I remembered my near-death experience in that river where I fell in. It reminded me of easier times, but this time I was actually going to die without any abnormally strong woman to save me. Comparing both times, I would gladly take the river again if I could.
I was about to die, and I felt nothing.
As I slowly died, I recalled the woman's question. Even though I knew she couldn't hear me, I answered her question.
My voice was no louder than a whisper.
"Death is silent."
For the first time since I came here, I could hear my voice.
I heard a strange sound and looked to see a large branch growing from the tree.
"Death is hot." Another large branch grew.
"Death is blinding." Another branch grew, a smaller one this time.
"Death is swift." A branch grew right below the smaller one.
As the last branches grew, the light and heat became so intense that I could feel my consciousness slipping away. I fought off the urge to faint because fainting would mean I was dead before I could realize it.
I still had things to do. Who was I, what am I, and how is the being related to me?
I attempted to get up, only to be met by more pain. I doubled over and coughed up blood. Any hope of still being able to move was crushed by the pressure of the tree as I was pinned to the floor.
I didn't give up. I held onto the trunk of the tree and used it to support my weight as I got up. As soon as I did this, I regretted it. The tree was burning hot. The light emanating from the tree further impaired my vision.
"Death is..."
I felt a sharp pain in the upper region of the left side of my chest.
I looked down to see a branch sticking out of my chest. It had completely pierced through my heart. I coughed up any remaining blood I could.
'I hadn't even given a definition yet.'
My body felt extremely cold. I could feel my body trembling as I held on to the tree. Everywhere felt numb.
"Death is cold."
Everything went black as a branch the size of my arm went through my head.