I can understand now why Sofia was the way she was.
Through the paintings and the portraits we saw, we learned a bit about her childhood.
And also, when we fought her Dream Weapon, we learned so more.
About how lonely she was, and about how her father was the only person there after her mother's early passing.
Emily and Alma thought sothing happened to her, perhaps she got sick after giving birth to a child with a Dream Heart.
Maybe it was so sort of experint her father did with her, to create soone with a Dream Heart from birth, so they would be powerful from the very beginning.
To surpass all others, and perhaps this is why he also had such high expectations of her, and also why he was so disappointed once she lost against the person I am replacing.
I don't know her true na, but I saw her mories, and I felt the love and compassion she felt for Sofia, she understood her the best, even better than I could.
This Trial is a tricky one, there's no such thing as a big challenge of life or death, the challenge itself is about emotions, and how to deal with a life that was never yours, how to replace soone, and how to save the people closer to this person while doing so.
It's complicated, and harder than I imagined, harder than any battle I've had maybe... Battles simply end, it's a fight after all, they can be intense and bloody, but at the end, they end, and there's nothing complicated other than fighting, sothing I've grown so acclimated to.
But this? This is really a test, too hard for mostly every single person before us, a world that is in a constant loop, cursed, and unable to move on.
"Mama, I want to eat that next..."
"But you've eaten enough, dear."
"I want so more... I don't want this day to end!"
"Well, she usually doesn't eat that much, let her have a bit more."
Sofia asked for a piece of cake, as her mother gave it to her, she ate it slowly, savoring every inch of that cake with the tiny fork she used.
I could tell right away that she sohow knew this was not completely real, she wanted this day to never end at all after all...
She wasn't completely conscious, but perhaps partially, without a doubt, there might be a part of her mind that's aware of what's happening.
But after going through so much, she is probably happily living within this illusion, made by her own Dream Heart Weapon, her Familiar, the Automaton, that broke apart its own heart and use it to give her what she wanted.
He gave her his heart, the heart he created over many years by living by her side and becoming her friend, the only friend she had...
"I-Is this really okay?" Emily muttered. "Sofia... She looks so happy; it makes feel terrible."
"Yeah..." Alma said. "But... at the sa ti, we know this isn't real. We can't leave Sofia like this, what if she gets even worse afterwards? What if she dies? The Nightmare Decaying Rate... we can't let it advance any further, Emily!"
"She's not wrong," I nodded. "As happy as she is, this is rely an illusion that is eating away at her own mind, maybe even her soul."
"R-Right..." Emily nodded. "Ah, I don't know why I said that..."
"I an, I kind of get it too..." I said. "Her own Familiar said the sa thing, that it didn't matter if she were to die, as long as she could be finally happy, even if it was all an illusion."
"Then... is it really wrong to leave her like this?" Emily muttered.
"Emily! B-But she'll die!" said Alma.
"Yeah! I know... I love Sofia, she's my friend..." Emily said. "And I would be so sad if she died but... What makes this wrong at the end? To leave her do whatever she wants... Wouldn't it be selfish to take her away from her happiness just because we think that's better for her? At the end, we only just want her for ourselves then, it wouldn't change anything... She would still live a sad life, even with us, she didn't seem that happy."
"E-Emily..." Alma sighed, looking at Sofia, and shedding a few tears. "I-I don't... I don't know what to say... I-I... I wish I could be closer with Sofia. I wish I could have been her childhood friend... Maybe I could... I could have changed her life."
Alma gripped her fists, doubtful.
"What do you think, Maria?" Emily asked .
"What should we do?" wondered Alma.
So it was all up to at the end, I had to take the decision. I had to decide if Sofia dies happily, finally leaving the world she hates.
Or if we rescue her, and we force her to keep living a miserable life, while trying our hardest to make her happy, and, as it was shown before, failing miserably.
Both options are terribly sad.
But perhaps not having known her for too long is a blessing in disguise for , because it helps take decisions much more coldly than these girls.
"We'll rescue her." I said nonchalantly. "You don't need to co. But I'll grab her and take her away from that place. She's being parasitized by an evil nightmare. And we kill those. So we'll kill that nightmare. And she'll have to deal with her life and keep on living. We'll be there for her. And she'll either have to choose, if she wants to keep being a self-loathing bitch, or to accept that there's people that love and care for her. Like you two- Like us."
The two looked at in surprise, they didn't expect to get so rowdy, but that's how I am. "Y-You're for real..." laughed Emily. "I guess... I guess so! Yeah..."
"I wouldn't call her a b-bitch..." Alma said. "But yes, let's save her... I guess Maria is right."
"Then let's go."
We stepped forward, as we walked right towards Sofia, interrupting her in her family picnic.
"Sofia!"
Emily called for her.
"Sof!"
Alma called for her too.
"Eh?"
Sofia glanced towards them; her eyes slightly widened.
At the sa ti, her parents were confused.
"Who are... these girls, Sofia?" her mother wondered.
"Do you know them?" her father asked.
"I-I..."
And then I walked in front of her, extending my hand towards her.
"Sofia, we've co for you. Let's go back to the real world."
User Comments
0 comments from readers