Stage 3: Integrity vs. Despair

11. A relationship blossoms between the two--they dance with one another and are excited to be together. This joy is only rarely colored by their knowledge of the temporary nature of life. Everything seems great.

12. In a droning, monotone sense, the creature finds a sense of fulfillment and contentment, his nostalgia for his previous states of being overcoming his consciousness of the forces that constantly threaten to end his existence.

13. Hoping, as always, for better things to come, the creature writes a letter to his future self, only to find that his expectations for future happiness are bound to be dashed. His depression and anxiety overwhelm him and leave him obsessing over the last words he'd written, "You'll die alone, you'll die alone."

14. As physical death looms, the creature meditates on his love. He imagines a world in which death represents a final return to his blessed state at the beginning, and envisions how happily worms and other small creatures will devour his corpse as his soul ascends to heaven. This dream mitigates the threat of the death of his loved one.

15. The souls of the couple depart their corporeal forms. The regrets of their lifetimes have faded into the background, along with everything else, and they sink into oblivion.