Ren loved her. He really loved her.
His love was so vivid, but just out of her grasp.
"I love you, too," she whispered, her voice hoarse.
Emi turned her head and something soft, almost mink-like, rubbed against her face.
That wasn't right.
It was a far cry from what she had just experienced. Dying felt cold, but in the moment she strangely felt no resistance to it. It was as matter of fact as living. She had no say in it either way.
Was the golden light shining through her eyelids a sign that she had been good enough to reach heaven?
Was heaven comfortably warm?
Did it smell like trees?
Despite feeling comfortable, her thoughts were plagued with Ren. She wanted to cry out his name and ask where he was, but if she was in heaven, then he was still on Earth.
However, if she were in heaven, there was someone else she could find.
The only thing motivating her to finally open her eyes was the thought of seeing her brother again. It had only been a few weeks since she last saw him, but it would be so good to see him. Healthy, happy, and alive—so different than he was just before he died.
[Mission: Find Him]
So, it wasn't her imagination before.
"Jiro?" She called her brother's name, finding her voice. Was it him she was supposed to be seeking, but when she received that message, she was with Ren…
Her eyebrows lowered. She was inside of what seemed to be a cabin, but far more modern. The extremely tall door at the edge of the room was wide open. The tree scent she had been smelling was because of the unbelievably massive trees just outside of the room.
Everything was covered in pale cream colors, wood covered the ceiling and floor, and some of the walls were light brown. So natural and peaceful.
She had seen spas like this before, but never experienced them herself.
The natural sort of setting wasn't really something she was used to. She was born in the city and stayed there her entire life.
Her mouth hung open in disbelief as she found the strength to get up and push off the fur that had been covering her in her slumber. When she was finally standing, a bloody cloth fell from her forehead.
"What?" she uttered unintelligibly as she reached out a hand to catch it.
Emi rushed forward. Nothing made sense. Nothing added up.
Everything she was seeing was unlike anything she had ever witnessed in her life. What was she meant to do with this information?
She threw the cloth down and rushed to the door.
Outside she found other… people? Could she call them people?
Everyone outside was tall and green. They had red hair that cascaded down their backs, and when they turned, golden eyes scrutinized her.
She finally looked down at her hands and really took in what she was seeing. She was green as well.
"Plangdef!" one of them yelled at her.
"Help me!" she shouted in a voice that definitely wasn't her own.
"Scerfo masia!" one of the beings shouted at her.
She kept running, finding the long, lanky body she was piloting to be fast and easy to control. Whatever she was certainly was athletic.
"Help! Please!" she cried.
The place she ran wasn't a road, despite it going between the buildings and weaving between the unbelievably tall trees that seemed to go all the way to the atmosphere of this place. She was on what she could only describe as a bridge because it was made of wood.
Her, what she assumed to be golden, eyes looked down at her feet. They were bare, just as everyone else she saw, as she kept running.
It wasn't until she made it to the very end of the strange road and found a pond at the base of one of the trees that she fell onto her knees and looked into the water.
She gasped because she looked just like everyone else she had seen so far. Emi kneeled, and her hands went to her face. Then her head. There was certainly a wound there.
This wasn't her, nor was this where she was supposed to be.
Her eyes scanned her surroundings once more. Pine trees that went all the way to space. Everything was green or light brown. It was all-natural, and all the buildings looked the same.
As her trembling hands went to her body, she felt for more signs that she was alright and it wasn't some kind of nightmare she was in.
It felt real. She could feel her trembling hands touching herself. There was hard armor over her chest, but when she got to her midriff it was bare. Green hands met a green stomach. Her lower half was hidden by more armor.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, but she realized right away that they weren't there to comfort her.
Emi was thrown onto her back, and she let out a gasp as the wind was momentarily knocked out of her. Her voice was taken for a moment.
[Mission: Succeeded]
[Mission: Fall In Love]
It couldn't be her brother…
Soon, she managed to cry out, "What?! Please! Tell me where I am!"
Her hands shielded her face as the message disappeared and the being raised a massive spear at her.
The massive warrior who stood over her gave a look as if he was conflicted. He seemed hesitant to cause harm to her.
[Affection +10]
This message was less persistent and smaller, but it didn't go unnoticed.
However, it was pushed aside because there were such deep-rooted emotions that crossed his face; she was certain he knew her, but she was no longer herself. He tried to speak to her, but the words that came from him were unintelligible.
"I don't know who I am either," she explained. "Please, tell me where I am, and then I can figure out what to do now. What the messages mean…"
However, the warrior crouched over her was thrown to the side, and someone far meaner-looking grabbed her by the chest armor. She struggled in his grasp.
"Please! I mean no harm!"
"Gafasfek!" he shouted at her. "Cunreein masta!"
She struggled until he whipped her like a piece of cloth rather than a living, breathing being. After that, she was too overwhelmed to fight back.
As she was dragged, her eyes went to the person who was following them.
The warrior from before seemed so upset over the situation. Her heart went out to him because he seemed to be the only person to remotely take pity on her.
All she needed was someone to listen, and then these people would understand that she meant no harm. She was as confused as they were.
Before she could figure out how she was going to get herself out of there, or at least find answers to the situation, she was dragged into a large wooden structure at the far end of the area she had explored. It was closer to the house she woke up inside of.
"Storf ep!" the massive being shouted at her.
He yanked her arms behind her and forced her to stand on her feet.
In front of Emi was a large, beautiful warrior with his reddish hair in a braid that cascaded down his neck and his massive chest. He sat on what seemed to be a throne. He was glaring at her.
The one who'd dragged her here walked her all the way down the long, thin room until she was in front of the throne. She was then forced onto her knees in front of him.
"Ouch!" she shouted. "What was that for?! I'm not resisting!"
She turned to glare at the man who forced her down but someone forced her face forward.
The man who sat at the throne had gotten up when she looked away from him and had grabbed her chin, forcing her attention back onto him.
He was holding her jaw so tightly, she couldn't even utter anything else.
"Stenfa, storf mastia," he said to her, venomously.
She couldn't understand what he was saying but the tone he used was petrifying.
Her eyes merely widened, but it was apparently not the right answer.
The man once on the throne held out his hand and one of the men who had been standing bythe wall tossed him a spear.
"Sastfa!" he shouted before he brought the weapon down and tore off the armor. He then impaled her in the chest with the spear and then the neck.
[Mission: Failed]
The one who had shown her pity before shouted out in horror and he was immediately at her side. He cradled her body and the message disappeared enough for Emi to see tears fall from his eyes.
Again, she thought of Ren. Her heart clenched. This world was entirely absent of Ren, but he was still very much with her–in her heart.
Her dying heart.
This feeling of death, she already had experience with it. The complete and total acceptance of something she couldn't keep from happening made her feel miserable but she knew there was no other choice.
She hated to disappoint another person as she went from one life to the next, but she didn't even know why she was here in the first place.
At his expression, she managed to wipe a tear from his cheek, feeling sorry that they couldn't communicate with one another properly.
[Affection +10]
A small smile appeared on her face, but it faded quickly.
'What sort of game would have me fail a mission and still gain points?' she wondered.
But that was it for her, yet again.
Until she felt the urge to roll over and she realized she was underneath a bed.
Her eyes opened to heavy leather boots walking across the cement floor. It seemed she was hiding, so she decided to remain still.
[Mission: Find Him]
A hand suddenly reached underneath the bed.
She was dragged out by her hair as she hoped that this wasn't the "him" she was meant to find.