Only One Mind

The Heron looked at the two girls with disgust, feeling furious for having her attack defended by Alex's shield, ruining her plans for a quick and stealthy murder. However, the presence of two combatants did not shake her, as her determination to kill Emma was greater than any feeling she could feel at that moment.

The people around looked at the scene and walked away, watching from afar the fight that was about to begin. For a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, they just stared at each other, waiting to see who would do the first assault. And the first advance came from the Heron, who dodged Alex's attempt to stop her, passing straight through the girl and running towards Emma, who defended the powerful onslaught of the mercenary with her small knife.

The difference in strength between the two was felt by the girl, who felt more and more pressured by the Heron. Observing a breach, Emma risked taking off the strength of one of her hands pushing her dagger in the opposite direction and threw a punch in the face of the woman, who retreated a little on account of the blow while holding her face.

Trying to take advantage of the opportunity, Alex came behind the woman and tried to hit her head with the shield, but the villain was faster, deviating from the attack and counterattacked at the same time, hitting the girl's arm, which received only a slight scratch near her elbow. Taking a few more steps back, the Heron finally accepted the undeniable truth that, even though it was stronger than its enemies, the numerical and equipment handicap meant that its sword skills did not carry as much weight in the fight.

- Heron! Stop it now! This fight will not lead anywhere! - Emma said, standing next to Alex.

- No! I will not allow you to escape from here! This is the chance I have to prove my value to the organization, and I will not waste it! - she fought back, getting back into combat position.

- Look, I don't know what happened between you two, but it can't stay that way! - Alex said, getting in the middle of the conversation - If one of you dies, it's the end! There's no turning back!

- Don't tell me something I already know, idiot! - shouted the Heron, advancing on Alex and preparing for a diagonal attack. Alex tried to defend the sword, and Emma was ready to intercept the woman, but unexpectedly she turned her sights on Emma, making a powerful diagonal cut on the girl's chest. If it hadn't been for the two layers of clothing she was wearing, it would have come out with much more than a cut that went from above the hip to just below the breasts.

The Heron tried to attack once again but was stopped by Alex, forcing her to retreat. She smiled as she watched Emma tremble a little because of the pain, putting her hand over the wound that did not bleed so much. Alex, looking at the situation, put himself in front of his friend with the shield facing the killer.

- Stay away from her! This is the strongest shield I have ever made! - she screamed, trying her best to intimidate her opponent.

- Alex, stop it! If you stay there you're sure to get hurt! - Emma warned her, trying to stand next to her again. - That's nothing... I can fight.

- Alex, right? I think you should listen to the girl! If you stand in my way, I'll be forced to kill you too. But, if you do anyway, I don´t care. Even in greater numbers, all you need is a good strategy to finish you off. - spoke, looking at them with a disdainful smile.

- You´re lying! You can come with everything you have! I couldn't protect a person before, but now I won't surrender even if I'm going to die for it.

- You're persistent, but it won't lead you anywhere. - Holding the handle of her sword tightly, she raised her hand and lifted one of her fingers - one hit, that's what I need to break your shield - she took a deep breath and mentalized a specific point that would be able to destabilize Alex's defense. Putting one of her legs behind her, she put herself in a forward position and looked firmly at her target. - Ascending Blade. - she said, making her sword emit an orange glow. With this, she advanced towards Alex quickly, jumping in the middle of the way and raising the sword above her head.

In reaction, the girl raised her shield, with faith that the equipment would resist the impact. With all the strength she had, the Heron struck the shield, causing a loud metallic noise colliding and producing sparks. A few moments after the clash of weapons, Emma took her knife and ran towards the Heron, who, on seeing this, quickly turned away from the blow and looked at the cracked shield fall to pieces on the ground.

- What?! - Alex asked, not believing in the strength of the Heron. Instinctively, she took a few steps back, pulling Emma by the arm while walking. - Okay, do you have any plans now?

- If I had, I would have said something by now. I guess all we have left to do is run. - she answered, searching deep in her mind for something that could save them.

That's when she realized something was wrong around her. While they were focused on the battle, none of them noticed the approach of strange people around them. They were all wearing a complete set of white armor with gold ornaments, carrying a spear and shield each. In one of the individuals, the helmet stood out because it was shaped like a dragon's head, making Emma think that he would be a kind of commander of the others. Before she could see, they were already surrounded by soldiers in white armor.

- Attention! Drop your weapons and put your hands up! You are under arrest for breaking the imperial law of non-aggression in public places! - said the man in the dragon's helmet.

- What?! - they all spoke, almost at the same time. turning to face the soldiers.

- I'll just say it one more time! We are soldiers of the Imperial Order of Civil Defence! Drop your weapons and stop the fight immediately!

- E-Emma, what do we do?

- We have no condition whatsoever to fight these guys - she said, dropping her knife and raising her hands - Being arrested must be better than dying, I imagine.

Without options, Alex raised her hands too.

Different from what Emma imagined, the Heron surrendered promptly, which caused doubts for the young woman. The soldiers then tied all three and took their weapons, putting them in line to go towards two standing wagons not far from the altar.

- Miss in black, you will accompany me to the front wagon. - said the man in the dragon's helmet, turning to another soldier behind him. - Ixia, take the girls to the other wagon, Athert will be able to take care of the young girl's injury. The others, with me!

- Yes, sir!

So Emma and Alex were guided into the wagon by the soldier, who entered next to them in the wagon. At the end of it, there was a boy, wearing a cloak of the same colors as the soldiers' armor and with his head uncovered, carrying a silver staff with a blue gem at the end.

- Boy, take care of this wound on the girl, it will be good to train your potential! - said the soldier, taking one of the seats for herself. The boy kept quiet.

"Well, at least they'll be kind enough to take care of me." Emma thought, by going near the young man.

- Ah, hello. - said the boy, taking a look at the cut, who had already stopped bleeding - Man, what a problem you got there, huh? You barely leave this town in a coffin

- Too soon to die, I still have a lot to do in this world. - Emma responded, laughing at her situation.

- Many people to beat, I imagine - he said, laughing with her, putting the tip of the staff over the wound - Healing Technique: Curative Light. - he recited, causing the open wound to begin to shine and then close, surprising Emma - Well, that should do it. It won't take the pain away, but it helps enough already.

Soon after being cured, the wagon driver received the signal from the commander in front, following the movement of the main one out of the village. Emma didn't know where she was going yet, but she thought she could get some information from the healer. Looking closer, Emma can see what he looked like. His green eyes matched her short black hair, and he appeared to be the same age as her.

- Athert, right? Come here, where are we going? - she asked, looking at him.

- Iron Sentinel Prison, is located after the uplands that are near the Forest of illusions and near the rivers. I think you guys got lucky, you shouldn't be in there more than a few days. Your friend in the front wagon, on the other hand, because she made that cut on you, probably won't have the same luck.

- Do you have any way of getting your soldier friends to change their minds about us? My partner and I just acted in self-defense, the woman in black started it! - Alex spoke, trying to help Emma.

- Very difficult, the laws have not been developed enough here, probably when the Alpha stage is over things will really start to stabilize.

- Athert, don't talk to the prisoners! You'll end up letting some important information slip away. - Yxia said in an authoritarian tone, making the boy swallow dry.

- Well, girls, you heard Yxia, it's good I stay put before I end up in jail too.

- But...

- It was bad, but now my mouth is a grave.

With the chance to get more details about that world reset, Emma just gave up and decided to wait until she got to prison to think about what to do.

⥏☉☉✡☉☉⥑

A few hours later, Emma woke up with her head down. She felt tired and a little sore from sitting too long."Where... where am I?" she thought, turning her gaze to Alex, who was also asleep.

- Hello Again. Feeling good? - Athert asked when he realized the girl had woken up.

- I thought you couldn't talk to me.

- I just asked if it was okay, to know if my work was done well

.

Ignoring the boy's question, Emma looked around and noticed that the two wagons were following a narrow path beside a rocky hill on the right side and a direct fall into the great river that Emma saw when she arrived in Yharag. on the left side. The beautiful, deadly sight of the cliff made Emma's heart race, afraid only to look at it. On the banks of the river, a dense tropical-looking forest stretched across the horizon as far as could no longer be seen.

- It's rude to ignore others, you know? - Athert insisted, trying to get the girl's attention.

- Will you answer my questions if I give you attention? - spoke, already with patience on the edge.

- Eh... - He looked at Yxia, who faced him with an expression that clearly said "no".

- Good, then shut your mouth.

With the conversation over, Emma resumed her recognition of the environment. Even if it was not much use at that time, knowing the world around her was essential, at least that is what she thought. However, her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden stop of the wagon, making everyone in the wagon look forward.

A little away from them, the front wagon had stopped for some reason, and some soldiers started to come down from it to investigate what was happening. Yxia promptly grabbed her spear and shield, jumping out of the back wagon.

- Athert, watch them both, don't let them getaway! - she spoke, going out of the wagon and running to the other soldiers.

Focusing a little on the vision, Emma was able to see that part of the hill had collapsed in the middle of the way, preventing the passage. Going back and looking for another way would cost a lot of time, so the soldiers started to remove the stones from the road to see if it was possible to continue. However, Emma noticed that something else was happening. Some stones still fell from the top of the side, but not in large quantities.

Looking up, Emma saw several black figures running back and forth. And before she could think or see anything else, a large orange sphere was thrown near the front wagon, exploding into flames and turning the wagon sideways. Soon, the chaos didn't take long to spread among everyone there. The horses in the wagon where Emma was were scared, starting to run desperately, causing the wagon to misrule and hit the rock wall, throwing Athert, Emma and Alex to the ground.

A cloud of dust rose, disturbing the view of anything more than two meters away from Emma. She soon spotted Alex, who was having trouble getting up. The girl ran to her friend as she heard the sound of screams and metal clashing outside her field of vision.

- Alex! Are you all right? - Emma asked, ducking.

- I think my leg is broken... damn it, I can't get up.

- Come here, I'll help you. - she said, helping her up.

As soon as it did, the dust came down and revealed that, further ahead, several hooded people were coming down from the top of the wall by ropes and fighting the soldiers, who were still stunned by the sudden attack.

While the battle was going on, Emma's gaze was turned to something else: the Heron had not appeared since the wagon turned. The thought that she might be somewhere where she couldn't see gave her a lot of fear. In the meantime, Athert approached them and stayed behind, afraid to get involved in the fight.

- So, what do you say we make a partnership and get out of here? - he spoke, fearing for his life.

- Wait, there's something I need to see first. Take care of Alex for me! - she spoke, running towards the overturned wagon.

Getting into the middle of the fight and dodging everyone, Emma arrived at the wagon to see that the Heron was not there, let alone near there. Uncertainty and fear began to take hold of the girl, until she thought of what was most unlikely to have happened, and decided to arrive. Approaching the edge of the cliff, her theory has been confirmed. The Heron was on the verge of falling into the turbulent waters of the river below, holding on to a side that was almost giving way because of her weight. When the two of them met, they both didn't know what to do.

For an impulse that Emma didn´t understand, she bent down and extended her hand to the Heron, who looked incredulously at that act.

- What do you think you're doing? If you're as smart as you look, you sure will let me fall!

- I may be smart, but I'm not cold enough to let someone die. Just hold my hand, you idiot!

Even hating the fact that she had to be saved by an enemy, the Heron left her pride aside and raised one of her hands to get Emma's. However, in doing so, the tenuous balance that she created by leaning on two hands was broken, and her poorly distributed weight caused the sedimentary edge to break. With her eyes wide open, Emma watched the Heron fall from the cliff from a considerable height and hit her face on a rock in the wall, becoming unconscious and falling into the water, being carried away by the river.

Shocked and sad by the inability to do anything at that moment, Emma chose to stop looking at her enemy's body and turn her gaze back. When she did, she found herself cornered by dozens of bloody swords pointed at her face. The person in the center removed the hood from his head and revealed himself.

- Eh... peace? - she spoke, hoping for a peaceful outcome.

Because of that comment, they all laughed and put their swords down. The man in the center extended his hand and with a smile on his face, he said:

- Yes, peace!

⥏☉☉✡☉☉⥑

On the banks of the great river, far away from where Emma was, the Heron crawled along the muddy ground, looking for land. Even exhausted, she desperately used all her strength to keep walking through the mud. When all the energy of her being ran out, she turned to the sky, lying on the ground. Her right eye was no longer working, as it was damaged by hitting her face on the rock. She felt heavy, her lungs were on the verge of collapse and she barely felt her body. And to make matters worse, a severe headache hit her, but there was nothing she could do about it.

His gaze remained fixed to the sky, staring into the blue immensity with tired and hopeless eyes, in search of something to lean on.

"Why every time I do something, it ends like this? My faith isn´t enough? What I was doing all this time? Did my motivations failed in some moment?"

And then the headache passed, and she started to feel lighter.

- Free yourself. - said a voice with a tone she had never heard before.

Her attention was regained, and she began to feel that she was beginning to regain her strength.

- Who... who are you? - she asked herself.

- Your own mind. Come on, look inside yourself. Close your eyes and come in.

Following the instructions of the voice, she closed her eyes and focused, trying somehow to get into the depths of her mind. Suddenly, everything became silent, and the darkness took over.

⥏☉☉✡☉☉⥑

A few moments later, she woke up, panting, getting up on a leap and sitting. All around you, just the emptiness and the darkness. But out of nowhere, a strong light flooded all space, transforming it into an infinite sea where it could hold on. Above it, the sky with clouds.

- So you're finally here - this time, the voice was more like her own, which scared her.

Looking at the origin of the voice, she found a reflection of herself a few years younger. That was herself before it all happened.

- What? How could that...

- Happen? Well, a lot of things happened until I got here. But it's good to see you again, Another Me.

- No! You're dead! You died that day!

- Did I die? No... you just took the control that was mine. Our life has always been like this, hasn't it? A war for control. A soul shattered in two, the spirit of peace, and the one of chaos.

She stood up, walking to her Other Self and facing him.

- That's not true. It's always been my control, there's never been the two of us, only me. You... were just an illusion born of a life that no longer exists.

- A very real illusion, don't you think?

- Never mind, I want to know what the hell you're doing here.

- You should already know - she spoke, putting her finger behind her ear - the chip, the artificial intelligence stored in it. When you entered this world, she began to look for a way out of the depths of her mind, but what she eventually found was me. And when that happened, we became one. - Soon after she spoke, two great wings spread on her back, giving her an angelic image.

- No! You shouldn't be here! You don't even exist!

- You say that because you're afraid to admit that you used to be someone, preferring to be someone you're not. And for what? For some people that saved us? Your motivations are just a form to make us continue to exist! I'm going to ask you a question, and you have to answer it with the truth, not what you think.

- Then do it!

She smiled and looked deep into the eyes of her other cheek.

- Which one of us is the original?

At the same time that the answer seemed to be on the tip of the tongue, it seemed not to exist. There was no coherent answer in her mind, nothing seemed right. Surrendering to tension, she fell to her knees on the watery ground and stared down the void below her.

- The answer is none of us - said the younger Heron, drawing the attention of the older one - When we were abandoned, our soul split in two to try to protect itself. In the early years, you controlled while I was dormant until the day we were adopted. At that moment, I was able to flourish and experience all that the world could offer. But then came another fateful moment in our life, something that gave you control again. Now... in this world... in this situation, we cannot be separated. We must unite so that the true Esther Eisen may be born - she said, stretching out her hand to the eldest. - Come, let's unite peace and chaos to create something totally new.

Seduced by the words of her youngest copy, the Heron placed her trembling hand upon the other's, causing everything to be taken by darkness again.

⥏☉☉✡☉☉⥑

- Hey! Hey! - said a male voice, waking the Heron.

In that instant, she found herself again in Yharag, feeling refreshed. Scared, she stood up, scaring the boy next to her.

- Damn, you scared me! But at least you're alive, even though you have that bruise on your face...

She turned her face to face the boy, who had a nice smile on his cheerful face.

- So, what's your name?

She looked at her own hand and this time the answer was clearer than ever.

- I'm Esther, Esther Eisen.