“Tell me how did training in a virtual space actually result in exhaustion in real life, again?”

“Come now, the physical exhaustion was likely just a placebo effect, considering your physical body did not move at all,” Hunter said, her tone laced with amusement. “I assume it is a side effect from lack of training.”

“Hey, I did some scheduled training with the system before, you know!”

“Perhaps, but still not enough. Remember that you were meant to be a docile thing they can hold and use, not something that can fight back or attempt anything against them.”

Well, as much as Izabel wanted to retort, she had to admit that Hunter was likely right in that regard. 

She looked at the time, finding that it was still ten system hours before she must follow the schedule and head to the designated area for busywork. Unfortunately, as Hunter has confirmed, even if the system data in this living unit can be spoofed, it is much harder to do the same to the system linked to public places, and such a large-scale alteration would likely cause a bit of chaos.

Well, at least it was only a few hours.

“You can just not do anything, I think they would not notice,” Hunter said. “Actually, I bet they will not care even if you fall asleep in your designated room.”

“But they’ll be sending their machines to check if something is wrong, considering the system sets up how much you need to sleep.” Izabel replied.

“Right. The surveillance.”

Their wait was interrupted by the distinct alert of a message.

[A routine upgrade for the Coronam Vitae system will be conducted at the following time. A team of specialists will be dispatched to aid the process. Necessary announcements will be made during the maintenance, and inhabitants are encouraged to visit and look at the process]

Below the notification, there was a timer that continuously ticks down.

“And there we have it. You have to admit that Adler’s guess was accurate,” Hunter said.

“… How? This is practically guessing,” Izabel frowned, looking at the seconds tick down.

“I would say that this is likely a combination of knowing patterns, a little bit of educated guessing, and prediction. I do not possess such an ability, at least not to that degree, but, considering the diverse array of Mirror Avatars available, the possibility that some could predict the future would not be out of the question.”

“Then, can’t these two just predict how the Primeras will be defeated and take it from there?” Izabel asked.

“You would have to ask Adler about that, however, to me, I would say that it is similar to how I cannot just set everything here ablaze to accomplish our goals. There may be some limitations to what she could see, such as how far, how accurate it is, and so on, and if I were in their position, I would hesitate to reveal the full extent of my abilities before confirming they are truly an ally, or someone that can be trusted with such an information, at the very least,” Hunter replied.

“That’s entirely fair,” Izabel nodded. “Regardless, what do we do about this?”

“We proceed as planned. Go to the event, get things done, and come back with what we need.”

Once again, they were interrupted by the distinct alert indicating a message has been received. A holographic image was projected in front of her, showing a short girl with youthful features. She wore a simple white shirt, her pants reaching her knees, while her brown hair was done up in a ponytail beneath her cap. Her green eyes stood out, striking and showing off the kind of strength that sharply contrasts with her youthful appearance. The hologram showed that she was sitting on a slightly uneven surface, likely her bed.

Above the projection, a name was shown.

[Barnett (Claire Saphira)]

[“You’ve probably gotten the message, have you?”]

The voice came out slightly distorted for some reason, perhaps due to the masking effect applied by the Heart Mirror. Such an imperfection was something she had never experienced before.

“How did you know?”

[“There are various ways to use your entertainment time. Using the Vine is one. It’s practically full of people gushing about it.”]

The Vine. Izabel vaguely remembered the term, though she had thought of the app as mostly obsolete after the creation of the Mirror Device IDs and their associated features. It was basically a board accessible by everyone, where one can start a topic, and others can respond to the topic or watch the discussion unfold. The closest equivalent Izabel could think of was a crowd of people gathering in one place, divided into areas according to what topics are currently relevant, and anyone could enter or tune in the discussion as needed.

“I thought that app isn’t a thing anymore.”

[“It wasn’t, but then someone wanted it back. One of those Primeras’ designer people probably said they would miss it, and knowing them, they’d just put it back to satisfy the request-”]

“Fair point.”

Under Claire’s command, the hologram started to shift and expand, showing a small, familiar room. It was not the living unit, and then, realization sank in with the weight of a hundred rocks – Barnett, no, Claire, was currently being held in one of the correctional facilities. The layout was similar to the medical facility Izabel has been in, and it would be so, so easy to mistake it as one of those. However, the dead giveaway was how one of the walls were replaced with a thick glass panel, where sometimes, machines were passing through. 

[“-after all, I, and most of those who are here, have almost nothing but time to spend.”]

The line was spoken with a nonchalant tone, a contrast to Izabel’s shock.

“Claire, you…” Izabel shook her head. The sight was a reminder that without the timely intervention of Heart Mirror, without the luck of being able to hide and suppress most of her dissatisfaction, she too would have been there, stripped of what little freedom she has in the name of fixing her, molding her back to what was deemed acceptable. Though the room was pristine, perfect and without flaw, and likely made with comfort as the first and foremost priority, it looked just like a blinding white cage, made to imprison, to restrict, to break any deviations with soft touches and equally soft words until there was nothing left but sheer obedience and happiness.

Perhaps, docility would be a more fitting term at this point.

[“Don’t worry about it, if the numbers are any indication, they’re going to allow me some outside activities soon.”]

Claire smiled, a smile meant to reassure, yet a hint of bitterness seeped into her expression as her lips trembled, just a little, but enough for Claire to notice.

[“You see, the numbers have been steadily improving thanks to the Heart Mirror.”]

“Likely, there would only be a few aware enough of their unfortunate state behind the veil of perfection and kindness. Cruel, lying monsters, all of them,” Hunter spoke. 

“I’m looking forward to meeting you, then,” Izabel reciprocated the smile. There was a stark, sharp, piercing awareness, this is their chance, a first step to finally win their freedom. “Hang in there.”

In response, Claire nodded. 

[“If everything goes well, I’ll be there with you for the event. Good luck-”]

Claire gave a nod, an encouraging gesture.

[“-Izabel.”]

“Thank you. I won’t let you down.”

With that, the call ended, and Izabel were left with Hunter in their living unit. For a few seconds, the quiet hung, infusing the air with a sort of calm that bolstered their resolve.

“The Heart Mirror has given us a chance, and we need to make good use of it. Come on, Hunter.”