The group got closer to the mysterious person. With every step they took, the figure appeared less like a threat and more like a victim of a house fire.
Even if had serious burn wounds all over him, something about him caught Remy's eyes. The way he looked at the machine in his hand seemed like he could read parts with no text. Even after all those years, the person's features strongly resembled Aatos's.
Maya remembered seeing him before, but couldn't recall where. Hexa, on the other hand, stared at the white-haired man as if to study is very existence. Not for one bit did she believe the friend who had died infront of her was suddenly alive again.
"Aatos..?" Remy asked, their voice laced with quiet hope. They weren't the only person in the group who was hopeful about it. The whole Ashborn wanted the impossible to be real.
The man glanced at Remy, but didn't respond. He simply tilted his head to the side as if waiting for someone called Aatos to answer. When he saw no one answered, he spoke.
"Is that my name?" he asked, a genuine quiestion made of confusion.
To Remy, who had played a lot of video games at home, it was like seeing an old online friend online again, only to find out someone else was using the account.
"What happened?" Ocean asked.
Hexa stepped closer to the man infront of them. Every little move by him just just fueled her inner suspicions that had felt more like conspiracy theories or hallucinations before.
"What game did you beat before me and rub the victory in my face for six whole years?" she asked. The question something only the Aatos that Hexa had known since childhood would know.
"I don't know," Aatos said.
Silence hit like a tsunami. Hexa's lips curled downwards.
Suddenly, for the sake of the years spent with Aatos, her foot connected with his stomach. And even after the kick, he didn't act like the enemy. He didn't get mad at her or analyze the power of the kick. He was simply confused and hurt. Hexa didn't show many empathy towards him.
"We spent all our lives together. I watched you die like some kind of a hero. I watched you disappear. What even am I looking at?" Hexa spat. Remy wanted to say something, but Hexa continued the verbal assault.
"You are not the Aatos I knew. You don't know all the times we played together or the times you poured water on me for not knowing how to swim. I don't need you," she ranted.
"Hexa, you need to listen," Ocean said calmly, but was stopped by her again.
"I'm not doing whatever this is anymore! He isn't real! This isn't real! Nothing is real!" Hexa shouted at everyone before storming out of the situation, leaving the others in the forest as she took long strides out of the forest.
"Hexa!" Maya called out, trying to go after her before she was stopped by Remy who grabbed her wrist firmly.
"Don't! I know my sister. When she needs to be alone, she really needs to be alone," Remy explained.
"Plus need your smarts. Combined with Aatos's, of course. So yeah, I'm with Remy. Let the crazy have a breath or two alone," the young woman with mismatched eyes said.
"I didn't say it like that," Remy mumbled, their eye narrowing. Hazel let out a mocking laugh and rolled her eyes.
"Any way you put it, genius," Hazel replied before she screamed to Hexa even if she was already too far away. "Ever heard of a concussion?! Well, you both probably have it! Him and you!"
Hazel would have added more fuel to Remy's annoyance, but Maya stepped in reluctantly.
"Just let me go. I have places to be. Hexa is my friend, but don't mistake me for your ally," she said plainly. She shook the wrist that was still being held captive in Remy's palm.
Maya's wrist was released. She sprinted where Hexa went, but it was already too late. She was nowhere to be seen. The forest path was empty, the coast in the horizon had no one, and the meadow infront of her was clear. Maya was left with no one, but the wind.
Hexa was already where her tent was—or was supposed to be. It was gone. Not even a note had been left behind. Was this just another glitch in the coma? Her eyes filled with tears. She didn't even bother wiping them. She let them spill freely.
Where do I go now? The hunters in this coma dream could put me in prison with my thoughts again. Who are they even looking for? I can't risk it being me. I won't risk it being me.
With long, desperate strides, she made her way to the coast. There is only one way to end this once and for all, she thought as she climbed the on the highest hill she could find. She took a deep, shaky breath as she looked down to the water from the ledge. She stepped forward.