Getting ready to leave, Irina finally took a hot shower after so long. She observed her weak and pale appearance in the mirror, realizing it was necessary to return to good habits of life. After all, when was the last time she got some sun or did some physical activity? No wonder if she was anemic and sick.
The 'Unbreakable' routine was unsustainable and pushed her body to its limits, so she was thankful it had ended.
Irina had an Envoy called ZDF987, but he became more and more quiet as her appearances in the storyline diminished and the story ended. They now had no more ties in relation to carrying out tasks since their function was mainly to act as a mediator between the plot, audience, and character. He was mostly an assistant and helped to make sure that everything went according to what was expected of the story. Even his sense of humor was good, and he always tried to be kind to her. A world without a minimum of kindness would be unbearable for her to live in, so he acted that way or the plot could all be put to waste.
Irina's main mission was to successfully complete the 'Unbreakable' storyline as the most evil of villains. Yes, it was difficult, but she did it. Just as the hero would be unharmed, so would the villain, so she could leave that place and enjoy her freedom. But for the end to come, everything had to fit in with the story's purpose, and the Envoy was the main responsible for ensuring this.
Irina had a very kind personality, and this proved to be a huge problem when the goal was to be mean. She always ended up being stopped by her moral concepts and her willingness to act according to her real feelings. But the real Irina really didn't matter at that moment, much less her feelings and desires, so it was difficult to mediate it. It was cruel, and the cruelty only spread, making the character even worse and wilder.
ZDF987: *Do you think we won any prizes?* The robotic voice came again, a little less serious and a lot more laughing than usual; he seemed to be in a good mood. Irina heard the Envoy's voice and smiled. She had a very conflicted relationship with him. After all, it was really problematic for her to be forced to do something that went against her will, and to live peacefully, he was exactly that. Somehow, they seemed to have gotten over their disagreements when 'Unbreakable' ended. It was like getting rid of a heavy burden.
Irina still remained imprisoned for a long time, even after the story had ended and only showed the romantic life and routine of Emil and Bella. So she needed to be the character very few times since she was arrested. Peace came in a really unusual way; who could say that being arrested was the best thing that could happen to her?
ZDF987 also helped make Irina's days less lonely. Even though she knew she would be leaving soon, he would pop in to ask how things were going or to express how much he missed the fans. Even so, the rhythm was slow inside that prison, and there were days that dragged on almost like an eternity.
Irina felt the hot water hit her face, and the stress and fatigue seemed to be lost in the steam. She ran a hand through her hair and somehow came to her senses and confessed. "I don't know, everyone is praising us..." She wasn't really excited about it, but the Envoy was, so she just let him be happy. ZDF987 laughed and applauded. He felt confident about it; he had done a great job, and many would like to be in a position like him as Envoy of the great 'Irina'. She had no opinion about the award; she just wanted to be able to go back to the comfort of her home and see her little dog again. What real difference should this bring in her life? She doesn't have good memories of 'Unbreakable'. She sighed a little irritably, but if she forgot any modesty, it was true that 'Unbreakable' was the best story of the season and perhaps unsurpassed in many ways. But was it right to feel proud of standing out simply for being completely disgusting and vile? Perhaps it was right that Irina was the first villain to have a role comparable to that of the heroes. Her reasons, full of emotion and justification, made the public empathize with her ambitions and were completely tempted to support her, even if she acted in a monstrous way many times. She definitely came out on high notes and was much adored by popular opinion, or at least a large part of it.
The System Plots were still not accepted with normality by everyone. There was always the argument that people were being good and bad in a shameless way, as if they were simply acting when in fact they were just demonstrating their own essence. Many actually believed that it was as if they were trying to hide the real nature of it all. They understood that if someone was capable of doing something bad to another, it was simply because the person was capable of such a thing in real life. There was no plot behind it, so for them, it wasn't really a mix of real and fiction, but rather the wide-open reality.
Of course, there were the radical groups: anti-systems. They demanded heavy punishments against people like Irina; they were evil people and completely capable of committing crimes. They must be stopped immediately. But if that was real, Irina wouldn't have suffered so much every time she needed to do something against her brother or against Bella. It was hard to sleep every day knowing that she did what she did.
The Envoy could slightly understand Irina's thoughts, and he was very respectful about it, but he didn't mind if he hadn't been called. Despite everything, or perhaps everything, ZDF987 was rightfully happy to hear that he and Irina had reached such a high point regarding work on 'Unbreakable'.
But this was his life's great work, and even though he tried hard to contain his emotions, it was still difficult.
Within the universe of the System, not much is needed to generate connections. The Sent Ones and the Chosen Ones are predestined, and this fact is as natural as the brain's ability to generate synapses. Two beings communicating and being one.
The two were connected for life, so a good relationship was necessary. Now that tensions were eased, ZDF987 just wanted a good relationship with Irina.
ZDF987: *I think we'll take all the awards, even the best system...*
Finally, the water was turned off, and only the sound of the drops was audible. Irina grabbed the towel hanging next to the shower and used it to dry herself. Especially at that moment, she wasn't in a big hurry or need to prolong that conversation, which was easily noticed by ZDF987.
Then just ignore it and change the subject... "Do you think Bella and Emil are okay?"
The Envoy was thoughtful for a few moments. It wasn't easy to answer; he didn't care for people other than Irina, and although there was fiction, there was also reality. Certain things could be really confusing, even for him, who understood the System Weave. After all, each individual could think in very different ways.
The possibility of Bella and Emil really falling in love was real, as there was also the possibility of the relationships between them becoming the extreme opposite of love. Yes, during 'Unbreakable,' the emotions were truly experienced, and there were also pains and tears. So even if easily cured and healed by The System, there would still be traces left, and the scars from it all would still be there for some time.
Everything was really alive between them... Even Irina's hatred and resentment.