'Did she say my name?'
It was the only thought running through Ian's head right now. Ian wasn't sure if she meant him exactly but the way she looked at him suggested she knew him. It was simply impossible because all his life, Ian grew up in the city of Los Angeles within California and under the United States of America. And to add further to that, he grew up on Earth.
For a start, Ian never mentioned his name to her and that's if she remembered her time as her other 'self'. There was the slight chance that she was there from the beginning when Primus first talked to him but she would've presented herself right after Primus disappeared or during their conversation. The more Ian's mind continue delving into this matter, the more his head hurt until eventually he had the urge to pull at his hair in frustration.
'Forget it. I'll ask her when she wakes up....if she ever wakes up.'
The memory of the elf woman's sunken malnourished appearance was seared deep into Ian's mind.
She look like she could die any moment judging from her appearance alone. Speaking of which, Ian snapped out of his thoughts to find out he was standing in a white mist. The mist itself was up to his waist and it was the only thing in his entire surrounding.
Just endless white mist.
Until Ian saw what appears to be a holographic screen in front of him.
There was a string of unknown characters on the screen until it shifted into recognizable letters in the English alphabet.
[Ian Argencrest]
Curiously, Ian opted to touch the screen in front of him but he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness then his surroundings shifted yet again.
It was dark.
But the darkness was illuminated by electrical lightings from surrounding buildings.
The vibrant sound of automobiles could be heard from afar.
The familiar scent of a modern city wafted into Ian's nose.
All of it was a reminder that Ian was finally home. He closed his eyes feeling a wave of relief over his body and his body shook momentarily from the overwhelming emotions he was feeling right now. Then another wave of dizziness hit Ian prompting him to look down as a way to stabilize himself.
Before Ian could put more thought into what he was feeling, he noticed the elf woman was lying unconscious at his feet.
And his feet...
Ian was wearing the same converse shoes before he was transported into that hellscape. He then examine himself realizing that he was wearing his original damaged clothes from the accident and even stranger was that his body was intact. It was as if he never suffered those injuries during his escape. Though the rotten sewage smell was still prevalent on him reminding Ian that it wasn't a hallucination.
He shook those thoughts away to check on the frail elf woman who was still wearing the same rags as before. Laying on the ground, the elf woman was deep asleep covered in so much muck from years stuck in that hellscape that Ian could barely see her pale skin underneath. Ian ignore her filthy state and as gently as possible, he picked her up into a princess carry.
Unsurprisingly, the frail elf woman was incredibly light to carry.
Surprisingly, Ian was able to carry her with no effort needed.
Before, Ian wasn't very athletic to the point his arms were sore from carrying that old sword during the sewer tunnel journey. But now, the elf woman was practically weightless in his arms. Regardless, he needed to help the woman. Ian owed her that much from the woman saving his skin multiple times.
As Ian was about to take a step forward. A voice resounded out as its owner stepped out of the shadow presenting themself in the light.
"Welcome back Ian. I almost fell asleep waiting for you fufu."
It was his supposed mother. The person he needed to see but the person he didn't want to see. Ian was still processing the fact that this woman in front of him was his real mother. But this wasn't the time to expel his grievances or talk about their relationship, so Ian took a deep breath before speaking.
"What should I call you?"
"Why of course, Mom or momm-...No wait, your friend Mike said that word was forbidden in this world...very strange. But anyway you can call me Mom fufu."
The silvered hair woman in front of him was still bubbly as the last time he saw her, but this time, her appearance changed a bit. Instead of the fancy suit of armor and blue cloth attachments, she was now wearing a grey plain blouse with blue skinny jeans along with closed toe silver heels. Overall, her new outfit highlighted her hourglass figure and the fact she was wearing clothes from his world.
But Ian was unfazed from her new outfit. He didn't want to question her on how she was able to buy those clothes because deep down he dreaded at her potential answer. So he continued their conversation, saving the clothes topic for later.
"There's no way I'm calling you that! Not when you haven't earned it. What I meant was your first name.....sigh.....so please tell me."
Ian almost spat out venom towards the woman, barely suppressing his rage. He couldn't help it not when she sent him into that hellscape of a dimension. But he quickly suppress that rage to the best of his ability. He still needed her help but he also needed to set boundaries with this woman too.
"You can call me Cora. But I can see you're still on edge so I'll give you some space."
The woman's or Cora's beaming smile almost felt like it was lighting their surroundings even when she put some distance away from him. Ian chose to ignore the strange phenomena to ask his first burning question.
"Okay Cora, can you help this woman? She protected me in...that 'place' to the very end. Its the least I could do in return."
"Hmmm...."
Cora walked forward to examine the elf woman in Ian's arms. She looked her over from head to toe and even open one of her eyes like a medical professional would do. This was the first time, Ian was seeing Cora putting on a serious expression as so far she always presented herself as the cheery motherly figure. As time went on, Ian waited impatiently for her answer then he held his breath at her answer.
"This half-elf just needs rest and hydration. Though to be honest, she shouldn't even exist in your legacy trial."
Confused, Ian instantly question her:
"Why?"
"Because everything in a legacy trial is an illusion of the past or from your world's term, a simulation."