Chapter 34: True Self

’Something is so strange here.’ Vell’s words played in her mind once more, suddenly making what he said sound not so crazy. ’The further we get from the city, the clearer my thinking is becoming, as if a fog is being lifted.’ She sat up, her wounds still stinging. Looking out the window, she noticed that Kana had been driving all night, as the sun was beginning to shine upon them.

Her eye color changed from black to dark brown. Her mind was hers again. She just sat there in shock, taking in everything she had done for years. She found it strange how she did not realize it, as if those moments were her true self.

“Hahaha…” It was a soft laugh, but Kana still heard it. She looked at her through the mirror, noticing the smile on her face. Something was different, she thought.

“…Is the hold on you broken?”

“You knew about this the whole time?” She ignored the question. It was more surprising to her that Kana knew Jolly was under the effect of mind control.

“I mean, I would not be running away from players if I was still under their control, now would I?”

“Yeah, that mak- WAIT! Then why did you beat me up so much!” Her voice was too loud, stretching her face, causing her wounds to begin bleeding again. “Ouch, see this? This was all your doing. My beautiful face…”

Kana did not know what to say. Whenever she was beating her up, it never crossed her mind that she was corrupted. “Sorry about that… but your corrupted personality is just… you know… she is annoying.”

“Hehe… yeah, I cannot argue with that. But how did you escape the control?” She leaned back, softly massaging her face to relieve the pain.

“It is a skill of mine. That is all you need to know. How about you? How did someone like you escape such a powerful hold?” She looked at her with a face that screamed suspicion.

“Sheesh, you do not need to give me that judgmental stare. I do not think I am completely free. I think I am just too far from the source for it to work. If I were to return, I would black out again. I wonder if Vell could help with removing it completely.”

“Huh, why are you saying that? Did he tell you something? Speak!” She tried to act serious, but Jolly could see through her tough act. She was just a kid who wanted to hear more about the person she held dear.

“He did not say much. He just said if he got strong enough, he could help remove the corrupted mana from our bodies. I was skeptical, but I still wanted to look into it. But then I blacked out, then she took over.”

A proud but stupid smile crept on Kana’s face, showing a side of her that had never been seen by anyone except him, of course. “Hihihi, that is my uncle. He is the best. The best, I tell you. This one tim-”

“WATCH OUT!”

Kana hit the brake with full force, turning the steering wheel to avoid the figure lying in front of them. Their eyes were wide with shock, with panic, but luck was on their side. They managed to avoid it, but it was close, too close for comfort.

“The fuck was that!?” Jolly was the first one to rush out of the car, making sure not to make any movements that would inflict pain on her battered body.

Kana was coughing. The sudden brake had propelled her forward, causing her to hit her throat on the wheel. She got out, following Jolly. They approached the figure, looking at it, not sure what they were looking at.

“Is it an ostrich?” Kana asked, crouching down to take a better look.

“Are you stupid? Where have you seen an ostrich like that? It is clearly some type of bird, a big bird at that. That thing is almost the same size as me.”

It was indeed a bird, but it was not like anything they had ever seen. Its massive body was covered in feathers that looked beautiful to the eye, giving it a magical look.

“It almost looks like it fell from heaven.”

Its wings were sprawled out, one of them twisted unnaturally, with feathers slicked with blood. Its beak was jagged, not smooth like a regular bird’s. Its talons dug deep into the dirt, as if it had been struggling to move.

“Hmmm. Maybe it is like… a mutant ostrich? Have you ever heard about the government making weird hybrid animals or something?”

Jolly squinted at it, tilting her head. “Yeah, you are dumb. Anyway, what should we do with it? It looks like it is dying. Should we put it out of its misery?”

She was ready to end it, but Kana stopped her. “…It looks terrible. Just kill it.”

Jolly was frozen. Kana expected her to be done by now, but she was just standing there, lost in thought.

“Dude, any time now.”

She returned to normal, approaching it. Kana was still expecting a kill, but instead, Jolly picked it up, heading back to the car. Kana ran after her, confused about what she was doing.

“What are you doing? We cannot bring that thing along with us. Like… look at it.”

Jolly placed the bird gently onto the backseat, ignoring Kana’s protests. She stood back for a moment, observing the creature’s labored breathing, the faint shimmer of its strange, otherworldly feathers.

“I do not know why,” her voice was steady but soft, “but I feel like we cannot just leave it here to die. It is… I do not know. It feels wrong.”

Kana threw up her hands in exasperation, pacing in circles near the car. “You have got to be kidding me! That thing could be dangerous! You just told me it looked like it fell from heaven, but for all we know, it could have crawled out of hell instead!”

Jolly shot her a sharp look. “Do you really think I am any better? People would say the same thing about me if they saw what I had done. It is hurt, helpless. Whatever it is, it deserves a chance.”

“Ugh, what is up with you all of a sudden? Bring the old you back. At least she listened to me. I am telling you, that thing is bad news. I can just feel it.”

Jolly gave her a sidelong glance as she carefully adjusted the bird’s position on the backseat. Her tone was calm; she was not giving up. “Maybe the ’old me’ would not have thought twice about leaving something helpless behind, but that is not who I am now. At least, I hope it is not.”

Kana groaned, throwing her hands in the air. “Fine, fine, whatever! But when it grows a second head, starts chanting in some ancient language, do not come crying to me.”

She smirked faintly, settling into the passenger seat again. “Deal. You can be the one to throw it out the window if that happens, but for now, let us at least try to help it.”

’Maybe I should just throw both of you out.’ Kana thought, taking a seat, turning on the car. They were silent for a moment until Jolly said something.

“You are really soft, are not you?” Her voice broke the silence, teasing but with a hint of curiosity.

“You little bitc-”

A voice cut her off, almost like an echo.

{Humans.}

“Eh!”

“I fucking knew it!”

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