Isla’s eyes opened slowly as she took in everything around her. Her capsule opened its door, letting her out. She stretched her arms before she looked around her. Her bedroom looked like every other room with no actual extra decorations.
She wasn’t really into any particular artistic sense and she found bland and rather boring places far more interesting than overly flashy or overly sophisticated ones.
She closed her eyes for a moment as she sucked in a small breath before she walked toward her bed and sat down. She looked at her table and picked her phone up. She looked at it deeply as if she was thinking about something.
One could see the endless thoughts flashing through her eyes at that moment. Then, she opened it and made a call. A few seconds later, several faces appeared on her phone’s screen.
Looking at the screen, she saw the faces of her three friends. She had known them basically her entire life and they were the only trustworthy people she had in her life. Everyone else, including the people in her own family, is either too cunning to be trusted or too vile to even think of them as a family member.
However, Isla was glad she had these three as they were the only ones that she didn’t have to be wary of. That was why, she had to talk to them privately and know why they were against her idea. After all, their opinions were important to her.
“Why did you want us to log out, Isla?” Herculia asked.
“I want to ask you a question.” She began. “What is our main goal in Divinity Online?”
“…” The group went silent for a moment before Danny finally spoke.
“To establish our presence in that world as a powerhouse?”
“Exactly. And what does that require?”
“… For us to get stronger.” Emmy was the one to speak this time.
Isla nodded her head faintly before she looked up. “I have told you before we even started this game. There will be huge risks taken across the road. Risks that could make or break us. There is no easy way to power.”
Just like the real world, DO was a place where only those who were ready to take risks and do massive leaps of faith would truly reap the rewards. Playing it safe and trying to avoid threats will only put you in the column of every other person. Just another player playing the game that will never be recognized.
“Nobody said otherwise. But, we can’t afford to do it now.”
“It is precisely now that we must do it. We are now in a perfect position. We are ahead of most players. But, that won’t be for long unless we can enlarge that gap even more.” She said. “There cannot be any other way but to face far stronger enemies.”
The other three went completely silent as if they didn’t know what to say. They understood where their leader was coming from. But, there was one thing hindering them from accepting. One simple thing that weighed on their minds and Isla knew what it was.
“Why are you this afraid of trying?” She asked as she squinted her eyes. “I know that weight on your shoulders that you must carry. They expect a lot from you.”
Her words struck their hearts where they didn’t expect. She was right, they were very afraid. They were horrified of failure as that meant they would lose a lot. Their families and the society they lived in was a battleground. People schemed against one another to try and emerge victorious.
They were born into that violent environment and had to learn how to adapt and become like them. Greedy, unstoppable monsters that would do anything to acquire what they want no matter the results.
However, they also learned that failure is inexcusable. If they fail, others will instantly consume them. So, they could only do what they were taught.
Isla wasn’t anything different. In fact, she had it far worse than they did, and for completely different reasons. The Goldsmith family was an extremely influential family and their power was simply unimaginable. The head of such a family was bound to become one of the strongest people in the world.
Isla was the expected heir of such a conglomerate and those who were opposed to this were numerous. They all waited eagerly for her to fail so that they can take the opportunity. Many others took it into their own hands to make sure that she fails. Yet, so far, they couldn’t do it.
The girl was simply far more brilliant than they expected. She was a cold and harsh monster that could predict the moves of her enemy way before they could execute them. She had no weak points to exploit either.
“That is why… Let me carry that weight with you.” She finally opened her eyes again as she spoke. “Have I ever let you down?”
“… Isla.” Danny looked at the girl through the screen with a surprised look. “Of course not. You never let us down.”
“That is true.”
“You have always made it work, one way or another.”
The other two affirmed quickly.
“This won’t be the first time. We are going to make it. So, follow me.” She said in a firm and confident tone. In her eyes, there wasn’t a flash of hesitation. All they could see was someone who firmly believed in themselves. That was Isla, and they grew to love that side of her.
A true leader in every sense. Someone who was ready to carry their fear with them till the end. Her words resonated in their heads again and again like an echo. They could only ask themselves why they were afraid when they had Isla with them. Their leader won’t let them down, not now, not ever.
“Goddamit, let’s do this!” The first to speak was Herculia as he rubbed his hair aggressively. “I don’t like being a coward!”
“Yeah, Herculia is right. We shouldn’t be afraid now.” Emmy shook her head as she smiled. “We need to do what it takes.”
“What about you Danny?” Isla turned to the last one. The boy was completely silent as if he was contemplating it still. However, instead, she noticed that he was looking at her in a daze.
“Danny?”
“Huh? Oh! It’s… Ehem, it’s nothing. I am also in.” He coughed awkwardly.
Isla nodded her head with a relieved look. “Well, we should go back now. We can’t leave Arthur alone for too long.”
“Tsk, that bastard must’ve stolen everything and ran away,” Danny grumbled.
“He doesn’t seem like the type of person to do that. If anything, he does seem like quite the innocent person.” Emmy replied.
Her impression of Arthur so far was that he was a happy-go-lucky boy who did whatever he wanted. He didn’t seem like the cunning type nor the type to betray them.
“I agree with Emmy. I honestly like this guy. He isn’t bad at all.” Herculia replied. “Even Isla seems to like him too.”
Hearing that, Danny’s heart sunk in as he quickly looked at his screen again. “That can’t be, right?”
“I don’t like nor dislike him,” Isla responded. “He is, however, a curious person who seems to be hiding far more than the eye could see.”
As brief as it was, their interactions had only been revealing how unique Arthur was. Whether it was his monstrous strength or his ability to find things that others can’t. He was a complete mystery that Isla could only feel even more intrigued to solve.
‘A very curious person indeed.’ She mused.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3
