All sorts of memories came to Corwyn's mind while he was staring at his best friend. What he had said was indeed true. Without the support of this young man, who knew what kind of person he would have become after his father had disappeared.
After reminiscing about the past for a short while, he returned his attention back to the person he was in conversation with at the moment. Yana seemed to have watched his expression the whole time. In her eyes, he could see great sympathy, but also envy and a tinge of sadness. Corwyn was momentarily curious about what could have triggered those emotions within her. However, he soon came to realize where the problem lay.
The woman sitting opposite him was a bandit, an outlaw. Although he barely knew anything about her, he was pretty sure that Yana hadn't grown up in a safe and warm environment like he had. She might try to appear indifferent about it, but seeing Corwyn and Teo's bond and listening to Corwyn's story about his family, the loneliness inside her must have surfaced from her heart.
Yana must have noticed it, as she was quickly spinning her head to the side, breaking the eye contact. Corwyn sighed.
"Do you still have any family?"
He knew that she wasn't keen on talking about herself. But somehow, Corwyn couldn't hold himself back from asking. It wasn't like he thought that everyone's problems were his business. He knew all too well that sticking your nose into something it didn't belong to would often make matters only worse. And he also wasn't someone who could give advice to others on how to live their life, like an elder. He was merely 19 years old. What advice could he give?
Still, he had asked, because he knew one thing: They were currently traveling together with this woman, so he wanted to know her better. That was all there was to it, and if a chance appeared, he would grasp it.
Meanwhile, Yana had yet to turn her head back towards him again. Her eyes were fixated on the ground, and her hands were balled into fists. Her long black hair had fallen over her shoulder, hiding part of her face. Corwyn wasn't sure, but he thought that an eventual eruption was incoming. Quickly, he raised his hands and waved them around in panic.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that! My curiosity got the better of me. I'm so sorry, it won't happen again!"
Even as he apologized over and over again, Yana didn't even look at him, let alone raise her head. She appeared to be in her own world, not noticing Corwyn's pathetic sight. The seconds passed, but no reaction came from her. Corwyn sighed in relief, and let his body sink onto the mat until he was lying in a comfortable position.
"Alright, I'll be going to sleep then. Don't forget to wake Teo later for the shift switch!"
Having declared so, Corwyn closed his eyes and let sleep approach him. In order to avoid dangerous surprises, they were guarding the campfire in shifts. His turn came in the early morning, so he had to get at least a few hours of sleep until then.
The world was becoming dark, and Corwyn's consciousness was drifting away further and further.
"No one..."
A voice was reaching his ears, but his mind was already too far away to grasp who it belonged to. Just before he entered the world of sleep, he heard the voice whisper once again.
"There is no one... and there never was."
After the sun had risen from the horizon again, the trio prepared to leave. Corwyn had already been awake for three hours, so he had finished packing his belongings into his backpack some time ago. While waiting for the other two to finish their preparations, he was focusing on his Arcor practice. Lately, the speed at which he was able to create a weapon had increased by leaps and bounds compared to what he could do a month ago. As he was improving and improving, Corwyn started to wonder if there was actually a limit on how far his ability could grow.
The more he thought about this problem, the more he had to think about the mysterious Tehr who had once lived alongside humanity. If the legends were not lying, the amount of Arcor they were capable of controlling was immeasurable, and their talent in manipulating it was of another world entirely. Humans couldn't even hold a candle to them. But lately, Corwyn started to think that this might not be necessarily true. Maybe, if they were able to master the control over the strange energy, they would get closer to those mythic existences of the past.
The only way to find out was to continue to improve, until he hit the limit of what was humanly possible.
Once Teo and Yana were ready, the three set out again towards their goal, the hidden oasis. According to Yana, the place was about three days of travel away from the village the Red Vipers had occupied. Since this was the third day of marching, they should be able to reach it over the day. Expectation was flooding into Corwyn's mind, as well as anxiety. Yana had no map or guide whatsoever to tell them if this was the right direction. She was simply following her intuition. Should the case arise that she had made a mistake, they were pretty much done for. It was not like they had another option though.
Corwyn's eyes wandered over to Yana. The slender woman with black hair was currently walking at the front of their three-man group, her golem following her to her side. Lately, the mechanic doll's movements had become more dull and sluggish. Since their group was getting farther and farther away from the Arcor network, this was no surprise to Corwyn. The amount of Arcor Yana should be able to use at the present moment had to be barely sufficient for controlling the golem. And they were still further distancing themselves from the Arcor vein. Corwyn actually got worried that she would become unable to move the golem soon.
The hours passed, and noon arrived. The group took a short break in order to let their bodies rest for a moment, as well as to eat and drink some of their rations. From the looks of it, their supplies would barely last for the rest of the day. If they couldn't find the oasis until then, their situation would become extremely dire.
Contrary to Corwyn's expectations, Yana's golem was still capable of keeping up with them. It was an impressive feat that she could take him with her all the way, but her actions seemed to have some downsides. Of all three of them, Yana was looking the most exhausted, breathing heavily and gulping down her water in large amounts. Gathering all that Arcor to maintain control over her puppet even far away from the Arcor vein must have taken a great toll on her body and mind.
"Hey, I know that thing is an important battle asset to you, but at this point, it's only slowing us down! Even I'm aware that trying to bring that golem with us will only make you suffer, and it hurts to watch. Leave it behind! It won't help you in this situation!"
Corwyn was about to address the issue at hand, but unexpectedly, Teo walked over to Yana first. Wheezing, she looked up at him, her face hard, and decisively shook her head.
"I won't abandon him! Even if it slows me down, even if it hurts me, I will never leave him behind! Never!"
"Why are you being so stubborn? All our lives depend on this! You might act all indifferent towards us, and keep on telling us to mind our own business! But we're in this together now. So it IS our business!"
Teo's words were becoming harsher, his exasperation clearly visible. Corwyn was hesitating about whether he should intervene or not. He didn't like that Teo spoke with Yana in that tone, but in this case, it was justified to some extent. Because he was right, their lives did depend on Yana. If that golem slowed her down and made her consume more of their provisions, then it was decreasing their chances of survival.
He didn't like it, but he had no other choice but to stay out of this and let Teo handle the problem.
Meanwhile, Yana's expression began to crack as Teo continued to barrage her with his words. Normally, it was Yana who appeared disinterested and cold, occasionally getting mad at Teo and Corwyn. But this time, it was her who started to feel nervous under the pressure, and her usual attitude was gradually disappearing from her face. Instead, anxiety and sadness became apparent. Corwyn felt like he was watching a father scolding his daughter.
"I will ask you one last time: Why are you so stubborn about this golem, even if he's hindering us?"
Teo's voice had gotten louder and louder, to the point where he was actually screaming. Yana looked like she would cry at any moment. And apparently, she had enough. Her face downcast, she said in a low voice:
"Because he's my partner."
"Hm? What?"
She stood up to face Teo, her face completely red from anger and frustration. Her hands were balled into fists, and her voice which had been quiet just now was rising to a volume rivaling Teo's.
"I said, he's my partner, my only partner!"
Tears were flowing out of her eyes, and her teeth were gritted tightly together.
"All this time, I had no one who was there for me! No matter if it was the Red Vipers, or anyone else, they all saw me as nothing more than a tool, something you use and then throw away once it has finished its purpose! I got kicked around and was humiliated, and I had no one to rely on but myself!"
She continued to spat the words out. Her eyes were spilling out even more tears. Teo was taken aback, as he had not expected such a hefty reaction. But she hadn't finished yet.
"But then, I found him. Buried inside an ancient city. He is a puppet, a tool just like me, so we fit each other perfectly. I grew more and more accustomed to him, and he continued to serve me well in battle. We are the perfect partners. He might be a machine, but to me, he's my irreplaceable companion, and I won't abandon him, no matter what it takes!"
Finally having said what she had wanted to say, Yana let her head sink, still crying. Teo, as well as Corwyn, didn't know how to react for a long time. Neither of them had ever seen so much emotion coming out of her. So they both said nothing, and the only sounds were the wind blowing ever so slightly in addition to Yana's continuous sobs.
Corwyn wanted to go to her, to tell her that it was alright. But he refrained from doing so, as he didn't have the right to. This was something Teo had to resolve, since he was the one who had provoked this situation. He turned his head towards his friend, making eye contact, and silently urged him to do something.
Teo seemed to have realized that he needed to apologize by now, and moved forward. He barely came to a stop three feet from Yana, and lowered his head as well.
"I'm sorry about shouting at you, I overdid it! But to us, survival is important, you see. So I had to know what was making you act like this, as you are part of our group now as well."
His words appeared to have an effect, as Yana was stopping her sobs at last and looked him in the eyes.
"I will not say anything against you bringing that golem with us anymore, so rest assured. However, it would be better if you fixed that stubborn attitude of yours. Your issues are also ours, and our issues are also yours! You said that that golem is your only partner, but that is not true anymore! As for how things stand now, you have three partners at your side, whether you like it or not!"