Even having left the Morgan farm, Emma's stay in the village would still last for some time. Her next goal was to find another mission to complete the task.
At that moment, she was looking for anyone who could be with the mission sign above their head, walking along the segment of the dirt road that divided the whole village. During this search, she also noticed that that human settlement in the middle of nowhere was much bigger than it seemed from afar, having its streets in a "T" shape, being at that moment in the left segment of the semi-cross.
After walking from one end of each segment to the other, she realized that there was nothing but normal people living their days quietly. Emma wondered if those people were real or artificial souls created by the many codes that were part of the bowels of that universe. For a brief moment, even surrounded by supposed people, all having fun and living a happy life, she felt lonely.
Trying to regain her focus, she amazed the thinkings of her mind and thought again about her primary objective, heading towards the central segment of the village, determined to explore from the heart of the village to her entrance, determined to leave that place soon.
Suddenly, she began to hear a strange sound, which was repeated in a short period as she approached a strange construction, whose shape stood out within the uniform pattern of houses built around it. The sound reminded her of something like the shock between two metal objects. The house was larger than the others, having almost double the length, besides having a plate above the main entrance with the sayings: "Weapon and Armor Shop". Looking up, Emma noticed the chimney coming out of the smoke she saw the day before, remembering it and associating it with the one in front of her.
Although she was still looking for the mission, Emma let her curiosity get the better of her and decided that she would enter that weapon shop, using the excuse that she couldn't concentrate enough to look for a mission because of the noise to justify it. And then, with a few steps, she walked to the door ajar and pushed it with one of her hands, causing the little bell resting on the door leaf to ring, which resulted in the little object ringing softly. Soon after that, the repetitive sound that echoed through the establishment ceased, being replaced by rushed steps towards the bench.
- God, please don't be someone who just came to see! - said a female voice from inside the place.
Then, from a room behind the assistance counter, a girl appeared, who continued walking to the counter and leaning on it. She was all sweaty as if she had just done an intense exercise session, and if she was, it wouldn't be a surprise, since she carried a robust and muscular form of someone who did manual labor. Her blonde hair was held in place by a tiny witch, leaving his beautiful face detached, with brown eyes, thin mouth, and nose.
- Oh, hello! Sorry about my sloppy appearance, work won't let me rest. - she talked, laughing. - Anyway, what's the deal? Are you looking for something specific? A sword, perhaps... a spear?
- Ah... no. I'm after a general mission to get my occupation, sorry to bother you.
- Well... don't need to be that! You sure you don't want to take anything? Take this for example! - she said, taking a sword that looked very well worked and putting it on the table. - I worked all night on this sword, and I believe it has great quality! I can make an exclusive discount for you!
- Seriously... I don't have any money, if I got some, I'd even buy something if I needed it, but I don't have anything.
At that moment, the great radiant smile that the saleswoman had started to fall, but she didn't let him go. Squeezing the cross hanging from her neck, she held the smile on her face and kept the cheerful state of before.
- Oh, sure, all right... if you want, you can look at things at the store, you can be back for an hour. Well, I have to get back to work. Thanks for your visit. - spoke in a depressed tone, contrasting with his happy expression.
Before she could leave, Emma realized something in the girl's hands, a detail she could simply ignore, but if she did, her heart would be heavy with the guilt of not having done anything.
- Wait a minute. - spoke out loud, drawing the girl's attention. - Your hands... they're bleeding.
The young woman looked at her own hands and saw with horror that there were several cuts on her hand from which blood was flowing. She quickly searched through the various boxes scattered around the room until she found a bandage.
- That? It's nothing! Thanks for caring, I'm fine. - she spoke, well carefree as she finished bandaging her hands - Now I'm going back to work, bye-bye!
- No, come here, please. - said the girl, leaning over the counter, calling the saleswoman with the look. With a little hesitation, she approached and faced Emma head-on. - How long have you been working? How hard are you giving to keep doing this?
- I, uh...
- You don't have to work this hard, I know something is bothering you. Please tell me what's going on. - Once again, Emma felt compelled to help someone she barely knew, simply on impulse.
After this talk of Emma, the smile that the girl was struggling to keep on her face collapsed into a sad expression, accompanied by tears that flowed down her face.
- I need help... my mom... she's... not well. I thought I could keep the blacksmith's job to get enough money to get out of here and buy efficient medicine in the big city, but hardly anyone comes to this city, and no one in the village can help me. Not even the Morgan, with all the money they could help me.
- Medicine? But why would anyone need that in this world? Do people get sick here?
- Yes, of course! This is a world like any other. Yharag or Earth, people are still people.
Wouldn't the developers put a disease in a place where the goal is to live normally forever... or would they put it to test the effects of that?
- Got it. Okay, look here, I want to help you, but for that, you're gonna need to give me the details. What's wrong with your mother? Where can you find a remedy besides a big city?
- To be honest, I have no idea, nobody does. No one in the village or client I asked knew anything, but it's leaving her with a very high fever and a lot of fatigue, and it only gets worse every day! The medicine... well, it was my bet, I don't even know if there's a cure for what it has, and if it has to sell somewhere. But my faith guided me to the thought that there would be a possible cure in a city far from here. I could even walk, but it would take many days, since there is no map here in this place, and she might feel very lonely if I were not here. Do you have any idea what to do to help me?!
At that moment, the book that Emma had searched so hard finally appeared above the girl's head, and Emma knew that it was time to act, even if she didn't know what to do. With this, she held the girl's hands gently and, with determination, said:
- I'll be very honest, I have no idea what to do to help you, but I can't leave you and your mother like this. I will do everything in my power to help you.
With these words, the girl's smile came back and she was soon happy again. She quickly dried her tears and resumed her firm posture.
- Okay, then let me introduce myself. I'm Alexandra Magni, but you can call me Alex. - she spoke by stretching out his hand.
- Emma Adams, nice to meet you. - ...she responded by shaking her hand back with a strong shake. - Well, the first step is you close up the shop for the day. You won't be able to help me working here.
- But, I'm not even done with...
- No, you'll have to close. Put that fire out and let's act.
- Okay, if it's for my mom, I'll do anything!
⥏☉☉✡☉☉⥑
After tidying up all the things and cleaning up the store, Alex guided Emma through her residence, which was very tidy and free of dirt, which was a great contrast to the shop that was one door away from the house. They walked to what looked like a living room, with a table near a large sofa covered with a colorful cloth, where Emma sat while Alex leaned against the nearest wall, facing her.
- Here looks pretty nice, I have to admit.
- Thanks for the compliment, we only have the basics. My mother and I have always been modest, even when in the other world. Although it wasn't like that the first few days...
- First days? - asked, hoping to get more answers about that world.
- When my mother and I came out of nowhere in this place, thousands of other people came along with us. At first, I imagined that the world had ended and humanity had been snatched away, until those hologram messages began to appear, besides the monsters and bad people that inhabit this world. And so far, I have no idea what this place is. I know it's a different world than ours, but... what kind of world?
- We don't need to know if we live happily in it, my child. - a voice echoed through the room, coming from a room in the right corner of the room. Leaning against the door, a beautiful woman, much like Alex, looked at them with a receptive smile. - You should have told me we had a visitor, Alex!
- Mom?! What are you doing standing there? - The girl ran towards her mother, helping her to stay on her feet.- You know you can't leave the room like that!
- Hey, stop it, I may be sick, but I can still talk to a visitor.
Being guided by her daughter, Alex's mother was guided to an armchair that faced the sofa on which Emma had sat. Up close, it was possible to notice the great resemblance Alex had with her mother, both in her hair and face. However, unlike the young woman's robust body, her body appeared to be more fragile and thinner, probably due to the disease.
- Welcome to our home, lady. I'm Helena Magni, Alexandra's mother. And you are? - the woman's soft, calm voice gave the impression that she was fine, despite her downcast appearance.
- I'm Emma, Emma Adams.
- Ah, Emma then? Well, Emma, what brings you to this place?
- I came to help your daughter find a cure for your disease, she was working too hard to get money and find a way to help you.
At that moment Helena's happy face changed to a surprised look and then to a serious one. That sudden change of look made Emma doubt something about that woman. Meanwhile, the smile soon returned to her face, and she turned her gaze to Alex.
- Daughter, I told you, you don't have to do this for me. Your mother is a warrior! I'll get better over time.
- You always say that, but it always gets worse the other day. I'm not a child anymore, don't treat me like one, damn it.
"The relation between them looks good", Emma thought, giving a smile.
- Alexandra, can you make us some tea? I think that'll make me feel a little better.
- Now? Well, I guess that's okay. I'll be right back. - she said, leaving the room and disappearing into the hall.
Suddenly an unusual silence fell over them. Emma felt that something was strange, that something was about to happen.
- Emma, you know, right? - Helena suddenly asked, breaking the silence
- I know what?
- What is this world, why we're here, the whole project behind it, you know, right? - With this question, the tense climate has finally settled completely in the room.
- So you know too? For a moment I was surprised that Alex didn't know where she was, but in the end, you knew everything, right?
With an expression of guilt, Alex's mother nodded, making Emma even more curious than before.
- Yeah, I know, I'm the one who chose to come here. Our family has always been happy and united, but we've never had this much money. When my husband left me to look after Alexandra alone, I did as much as I could to support the life she deserved. We had faith, we had hope that God would give us better conditions someday. Until one day I got in an accident while going to work, and I lost the movement of my legs. Irrecoverable...
- I'm sorry, but... how did you get here? The people who came in here paid too much to get in.
- That´s true, we would never have the money to pay for both of us, but that's when I decided to bet everything I had to give my daughter a chance to be who she wanted to be, without needing money or anything like that.
- What the hell did you do to get a deal with the government? The price must not have been cheap.
- The price to pay for our entry... was to be a test subject for the development of new tools for the program.
Emma at first couldn't understand what it meant, but she soon remembered something that made her understand everything, being surprised when she finally understood what that woman meant.
- You don't...
- Yes - she completed, sighing with regret. - I volunteered myself to test how a possible disease mechanic could work in this world. Only then could I give my daughter a new life free from the evils of the real world. They passed me a list of diseases that would come linked to my avatar, that would be activated over time, and when the final disease finally ended my life, they would come and collect the data in Yharag's final testing phase. And no, no cure can save me.
- W-What? - a trembling voice was heard behind Helena, accompanied by the sound of something reminiscent of shaking porcelain.
They both looked back and saw Alex, carrying two plates with cups of tea on them, totally shocked and about to collapse.
- Is that true, Mom? - She asked, with tears coming down her cheeks.
Emma realized how it would end so promptly she got up and tried to prevent something worse from happening.
- Alex, calm down, it's not what it looks like. - the young woman spoke, even though she knew it was a lie.
- No! I heard you two talking!
- Daughter, wait, it's not...
- Shut up, Mom! - she shouted, letting the cups full of tea fall to the ground - For all these months in this place, you lied to me! I believed you because I never imagined that you could lie to me! Why didn't you just tell me everything at once?! I thought I could believe you!
- Alexandra, stop, please. I did it because...
- No! I-I need some time! - she said, running away from them.
Her mother tried to do something but ended up falling to the ground because she didn't have the strength to stand up. Emma quickly went to help, but her support was denied by her, who had begun to cough a lot. Amidst the cough, Emma could hear the words "Go" and "Alex." Understanding the message she wanted to send, the girl ran again, looking for Alex.
"Shit, why did I go and ask that?!"
In the shop, a door in the back of the establishment was open, leading outside, which looked darker than when Emma had arrived on the scene. Running to the outside, the girl was surprised by a rainstorm, which came accompanied by lightning and thunder that at that moment were making a commotion in the skies.
And then she saw, in a tree not far from there, Alex was leaning against the trunk, leaning with both hands as she looked motionlessly to the ground. Calmly, Emma got closer to where she was, being surprised when suddenly she started hitting the thick wood with her bare hands, giving several punches in sequence, which made Emma rush her step. Divided between sadness and anger, the girl needed to discount all her feelings into something.
When she got there, she stopped Alex holding both her hands and pushing her away from the tree.
- Alex, stop it! You won't achieve anything by keeping these acts
Panting and with her fists bleeding, Alex struggled to regain her posture and stand up, looking directly into Emma's eyes. Contrary to what she expected, she did not look at her with anger in her eyes, but with sadness and tiredness.
- Emma... you know what's funny?
- I... I don't know.
- My name is Alexandra Magni. Alexandra is Alexander's feminine, which can mean "protector" and Magni, means "strength". But now... I realize that I don't represent the meaning of the names that were given to me. I wasn't strong enough to hold on to the truth, and I couldn't even protect my mother from a fate that there's no way she could escape. Now, I feel the weakest person in this damn world who is about to take everything away from me.
- Your mother did what she did because she wanted you to have a better life, which she could not give you on earth. Alex, you have to understand, all the events in your mother's life were for you, she dedicated herself totally to you. She could have told you, but she thought the truth would be too much for you. Don't blame her, you'll only feel worse if you do.
- To be honest, deeply I always knew that my mother was lying to me, but I just couldn´t believe in myself. To think that the person you most love in the world might be lying to you... is horrible...
Feeling forced to do something, on an impulse, Emma ran into the girl, surprising with a hug. "Maybe I'll take with grief it later, but I can't stress it now"
- Let's get out of here, or you won't be able to talk everything you want to your mother.
In the end, Alex gave in to Emma's warm embrace and gave up resisting, accepting the girl's request.
However, when they got back in the house, the situation was the worst of all. Alex's mother had blood gushing through her nose, eyes, and mouth and was about to drown in her own blood. Quickly, Alex ran to save her mother, holding her.
- Mom! Mom! Please don't leave me here! Mom!
Upon hearing her daughter's voice, Helena purged all the blood that had accumulated in her throat, breathing again. She glared at her daughter with a calm, serene look to try calm her down, but it only made her cry even more.
- I think that's the end... my baby.
- No! It can't end like this! I don't want to live without you!
- I'm sorry I didn't tell you... I... I just wanted you to have a chance to have a good life...
- And I had it! Every moment I spent with you here was the best in my life! And now, after all, I can't be angry with you. Mom, I forgive you! I love you!
Upon hearing these words, not even she could contain herself, and she began to cry too. Emma remained still, but she also let the tears fall on her cheek.
With her last strength, Helena made one last move and laid her hand on her daughter's face, giving her the best smile she could, she said her last words.
- I... also... love you.
As soon as she finished speaking, the essence of life left in her body was gone, letting her hand fall and his body weight. Right before their eyes, Alex's mother died with a smile on her face.
Emma couldn't believe it, even though she was already waiting for this outcome. Alex, on the other hand, remained motionless, only staring at the deceased mother's body slowly crumbling into a strange luminous matter, and finally turning into a small red crystal.
The deadly silence that ensued lasted little, as Alex began to cry desperately, squeezing the red crystal against her chest, waiting for her mother's impossible return.
Emma fell to her knees on the floor and cried with the girl, not wanting to believe what had just happened.
⥏☉☉✡☉☉⥑
Later that day, things had calmed down a bit. Emma was sitting on the sofa, lost in her thoughts, while Alex was sitting next to her, staring at the red crystal that was leftover from her mother. They were both in silent mourning until Alex decided to say something.
- You know, Emma, I have a confession to make. - said, taking the girl out of her thinkings and getting her attention.
- And what is it?
- During the time my mother was sick, I began to doubt God - she spoke, squeezing the cross around her neck with one of her hands - I doubted my faith because I didn't believe that God would leave my mother in that situation. One day, I asked her how she could keep her faith unwaveringly even though she suffered so much. The answer she gave... was that when you are suffering and in need of something, you look for something to put your hope on, someone you can trust. After that I put everything I had into God, believing that if I believed enough, my mother could be saved. But now... I don't understand what she meant anymore.
- Have you stopped believing in God?
- No. I think if God planned it, he must have had a good reason. But despite that, my faith is no longer the same. It was broken, fragmented into several pieces. And to put these pieces back together, I must seek my faith elsewhere, I can no longer stay here.
- What do you mean by that?
- Please, let me accompany you on your journey.
Once again, that request Emma never wanted to hear was made. She knew she couldn't accept it, but the situation and the state Alex was in made the decision difficult.
- I can't guarantee that you'll stay alive after you get involved with me, something very bad could happen. The path I'm taking will lead straight to the gates of hell, and there's no way back.
- I don't care. I got nowhere else to go anyway.
- Are you sure about that?
- It's the only certainty I have now.
Even going against her philosophy of involving innocent people in the war that would be fought during her journey, Emma could not deny that request. With a smile, she shook Alex's hand.
- All right, but don't think it'll be easy.
- I wouldn't offer myself if I were. - he said, returning the smile.
That day, Emma not only completed the mission she needed, but she also went through things that she would take for life. With her main goal accomplished, she could finally continue her journey.
However, the thing that was watching her from the shadows finally made direct eye contact with her during the storm. And what was about to happen, could start the war that had been doomed to happen since Emma entered that story.
In the heavens, an iron star lurked in the darkness.