Silas's "choice" echoed in Elara's mind like a cruel trap, disguised as mercy. Crystal perfection or shattered freedom? Both options were equally horrifying, distorted reflections of Silas's unhealthy obsession with control and destruction. There was no real choice for Lisa, only different forms of captivity in her tormentor's mind.
But Elara couldn't reject the offer outright. She had to use it, manipulate it if necessary, to buy time, to find a breach in the crystal prison, to reach Lisa and wake her from her mental trance. She had to play Silas's game, at least for now, even if the idea revolted her.
"What will Lisa choose?" Silas repeated, with an almost childlike persistence, anxiously awaiting her answer. His blank gaze remained fixed on Elara, searching her face for any clue that would decipher the riddle of "choice."
Elara took a deep breath, trying to appear calm she didn't feel. She had to choose her words carefully, as if walking through a mental minefield. "I don't know, Silas," she replied, her tone deliberately hesitant. "It's up to her, isn't it? It's her choice."
Silas frowned slightly, as if the answer didn't entirely satisfy him. "But... you... what do you think I should choose?" he persisted, seeking validation, perhaps seeking guidance from Elara's mind, as if even in his madness he needed the approval of someone outside.
Elara felt a chill at this unexpected revelation of vulnerability in the killer.
Silas Thorne, the nightmare monster, seeking approval… It was a disturbing paradox, but also perhaps a possible escape route. He had to exploit that need, use it to his advantage.
"I think... Lisa will choose what makes her happy, Silas," Elara replied, her tone soft and understanding, trying to empathize with the killer's twisted logic, "And you... you want Lisa to be happy, ¿right? You want what's best for her."
Silas watched her silently for a long moment, slowly processing her words. Then, a strange, almost… sad expression crossed his distorted face. "Happy…" he repeated, as if the word were a foreign and confusing concept, "What does… happy mean?"
Elara seized the opportunity, the small crack she'd opened in Silas's mental armor. "Happy means… being whole, Silas," she explained gently, "It means… having everything you need. Being… whole. Not broken. Not incomplete." She gestured to the garden of dolls surrounding them. "Like… these dolls. They're not whole, are they? They're broken, incomplete. They can't be happy like this."
Silas looked around at the garden of mutilated dolls, his expression thoughtful, as if for the first time questioning his own macabre creation. "They're… free from pain," he murmured, "Free from… imperfection."
"But they're not whole, Silas," Elara insisted, moving a little closer to him, "And Lisa… Lisa is whole. She's strong. She's… perfect just the way she is. She doesn't need to be broken, she doesn't need to be… crystallized. She's already perfect." She gestured toward the glass house, where Lisa still sat, inert. "If you really want Lisa to be happy, Silas, you must let her be herself. Let her… choose her own happiness. Not your… perfection."
Silas was silent for a long, agonizing minute, his gaze fixed on the glass house, as if fighting an internal battle, a conflict between his unhealthy obsession and a vague spark of… understanding? Empathy? Finally, he turned back to Elara, and in his empty eyes, Elara thought she saw a hint of… surrender?
"Perhaps... you're right, intruder," Silas said, his voice a tired whisper. "Perhaps... perfection... isn't... what I thought. Perhaps... Lisa... must choose... her own path." ¿He reached out a trembling hand toward the glass house, and for the first time, instead of possession, Elara thought she saw in that gesture... release? Surrender? "If she chooses... the glass house... it will be hers. Forever. But if she chooses... the garden... I will set her... free." He paused, and one last question, heavy with uncertainty and longing, hung in the virtual air: "What will... intruder... really choose?"
The choice was made. The crystal pact was sealed. Now, Elara had only to wait, her heart in suspense, for Lisa's decision in Silas Thorne's mental labyrinth. And pray that decision wouldn't be the final doom for the girl trapped in the glass house.
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