Elex and the others fought hard against the barrier, but there was no way for them to get through it. They could only stay put and look on as Jarreth protected the woman from something that was not visible to the average person.

The wires wound themselves around the arms of the man and worked hard to prise them apart, so they could get to the female NPC, but it seemed to have underestimated the strength of the man. He was the Hero, after all; no matter what, he wouldn’t let her go. Not when she was in a vulnerable state.

Faye, oblivious to what was happening, was fighting an inner battle of her own. NPCs were created with human appearances, but that was where all similarities stopped; no matter what, NPCs didn’t function as a person made of flesh and blood did. Her fainting was not normal, and unusual for someone like her. The same could be said for her bleeding and getting hurt. It was just that with everything that was happening, no one had time to stop and question it.

In her unconscious state, images floated through her mind. Buildings differed from the old-fashioned ones found in the game, brands she had never even heard of, people in odd clothing and a home far different from the one behind the bookshop. The language was the same, but there were words that were unfamiliar, and Faye struggled to understand their meaning. Along with these images, there was a familiar feeling, but she couldn’t quite place where they were coming from.

Soon the scene changed, and this time it was a spacious room somewhere in the house. There was no furniture, and the windows were blocked off with thick curtains, so the light was scarce and a large object in the room’s corner was glowing in the darkness. Beside it was a machine that was beeping and wires trailed along the floor and entered certain points of the object. When looking closely, you could see that it was a pod of some sort, and Faye saw a person inside.

There was a woman wearing clothes of white with a high collar and long sleeves. Her auburn hair fanned out on the soft cushion, and her pallor was grey. Attached to every inch of exposed skin were more of the wires, and a metal cage-like thing was placed on her head. It was uncomfortable to look at, but Faye couldn’t take her eyes away.

The woman’s breathing was shallow, and her cheeks were almost hollow. It looked like she had been in this pod for a long time, and hadn’t left it to rest and took care of her other needs. This could also be seen from how dusty the pod was and how grimy the rest of the room appeared.

Faye’s heart clenched and fought to leave this nightmare disguised as a dream, but nothing she did worked. She was trapped here and could only watch as the woman drew nearer to withering away. 

On the outside, Jarreth was still being attacked by the Main Computer and had to think of something to get rid of it. The only issue was the electricity the wires exhibited when they contacted his skin. And Faye in his arms was showing no sign of waking up. Sweat glistened on her forehead, and her eyes were scrunched up in pain.

Jarreth looked about him for anything that could rid himself of the wires wound about him. Fortunately, his sword had fallen out of its sheath attached to his back when he had fallen down and was lying close by. With one arm still around Faye, he struggled to reach out with the other and grab the sword. He swung up and severed one wire and could move more freely. Although he was still restricted, it was better than before.

With more freedom, he moved away from the Main Computer and continued to hack away at it, until the wires loosened and its grip loosened, making it easier for him to move away. He stood up straight and picked Faye up and laid her gently on the ground, and got into a protective stance, the sword held out in front of him. 

The Main Computer became incensed when the female NPC was taken away from it and rushed up to fight the Hero, only to be pushed back by the sharp tip of the sword. 

“You won’t get past me!” The Hero pushed forward with the sword and the Main Computer had no choice but to back up so as to not be pierced through the screen. For the first time since the game had been created, it felt a sense of danger. And in its crisis, it forgot to keep up the barrier and just when it wanted to put up a fight against the Hero, the other players ran forwards and joined their leader in protecting the female still passed out on the floor. 

They didn’t know what he was fighting against, nor why he was so adamant about helping the NPC. However, before Jarreth was their leader, he was their friend. And they would always fight by his side.