Capítulo 2: Jade
Toby suddenly pushed Elric away with all his strength, his voice hoarse but filled with urgency.
"Run!"
Elric staggered backward, nearly falling to the ground.
He looked back in panic, wanting to go back and help Toby, but Toby's fierce glare stopped him in his tracks.
Gritting his teeth, Elric's vision blurred with tears.
In the end, Elric suppressed the pain in his heart, turning away with tears streaming down his face, mixing with the dust as he ran desperately forward.
At that moment, another massive explosion rang out behind him.
Instinctively, Elric turned his head and saw Toby crushed by a falling piece of debris, blood gushing out instantly, staining the ground around him.
"Toby…"
Elric's voice caught in his throat.
He stood frozen, watching Toby collapse into a pool of blood, as if struck by lightning, utterly at a loss.
The panicked crowd behind him continued to surge forward, pushing Elric this way and that.
He could only stare blankly in Toby's direction, his heart filled with despair.
Before Elric could fully process Toby's death, another powerful explosion shook the entire slum.
This time, a large section of a collapsing wall came crashing down from above, landing heavily on Elric.
His lower body was instantly trapped under the rubble, unable to move.
A sharp pain shot through his legs, as if every bone had been shattered.
Elric struggled, trying to pull himself out of the wreckage, but to no avail.
His breathing grew labored as he clawed desperately at the ground, yet he couldn't escape the crushing weight on his body.
"It hurts…"
He muttered weakly, his vision beginning to blur.
Elric's consciousness slowly faded in and out, the world around him slipping further away.
He could feel his life force draining rapidly, his body growing colder with each passing second.
The sounds of explosions and people screaming became distant and muffled.
Darkness gradually overtook his vision, and everything around him grew indistinct.
One final thought surfaced in his mind.
They had finally saved up some money, enough to escape the slums and catch a glimpse of the dawn.
But now, just as they were on the verge of reaching the light, they had fallen into this abyss of darkness.
Elric's breathing weakened further.
His hand trembled slightly before falling limp to the ground, tears streaming down his face.
"I don't want to die yet…"
His voice was filled with deep regret.
His blood flowed outward, and soon it touched the jade pendant around his neck.
At that very moment, the pendant began to emit a faint glow.
The light was warm and gentle.
Night quickly fell, and the gang battle gradually came to an end.
Elric slowly opened his eyes, his awareness returning.
To his surprise, he found that he wasn't dead.
He could still feel his lower body, though it was somewhat numb, but it hadn't been completely crushed as he had feared.
He lay on a patch of ground in the slum, surrounded by chaos.
Broken houses and scattered rubble were everywhere, the air thick with the stench of blood and burning.
The area was littered with shattered stones and collapsed buildings, as well as numerous lifeless bodies.
Elric's heart raced as he struggled to sit up, the sight before him was horrifying.
What had once been a bustling slum had become a silent wasteland, the broken streets a testament to the brutal conflict that had just unfolded.
Looking down at his body, Elric noticed the jade pendant around his neck remained intact, still emitting a faint glow.
Although his whole body ached, he was very much alive.
Elric was now only wearing a pair of ragged trousers, his upper body bare, covered in wounds and grime.
As he tried to stand up and leave the ruins, a woman's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Don't go out tonight. It's dangerous at night. You might trip if you're not careful."
Elric froze, glancing around warily, but there was no one nearby.
The voice seemed to have appeared directly in his head.
"Who are you?"
He instinctively asked, his heart filled with unease.
"You'll find out soon," the voice softly replied in his mind, leaving Elric confused and bewildered.
Even so, for reasons he couldn't explain, he chose to heed the woman's advice and resisted the urge to immediately flee the slum.
Instead, he found a safe corner and hid.
"Are you still there?"
"I'm here."
"Who are you, really?"
Elric nervously asked.
This time, the woman didn't answer his question.
At that moment, the jade pendant around Elric's neck began to emit a gentle light.
In the next instant, a spirit slowly emerged from the pendant.
Her figure gradually became clearer, appearing before Elric.
It was a woman dressed in a dark green robe, her long deep green hair gently swaying in the breeze.
Her eyes were light green, clear and mysterious, and her face was strikingly beautiful.
However, her lower body was not solid but rather floated like a wisp of smoke.
Elric stared at the beautiful woman before him, completely speechless, as if he had been frozen in place.
His gaze was locked onto her flowing green hair and pale green eyes.
His throat quivered slightly, and almost instinctively, he whispered two words.
"Mommy…"
Elric stared in disbelief at the woman in front of him, his mind suddenly flooded with memories.
He had seen her before, many times in his dreams.
This woman always appeared in his dreams, patiently teaching him all sorts of life lessons.
She had taught him how to read and write, imparting vast amounts of knowledge.
Whenever he felt down or helpless, she would comfort him.
In those dreams, Elric had called her "Mommy."
Because Calista had always felt like a mother to him.
Elric had always thought that it was nothing more than a dream, a figment of his imagination to comfort himself.
But now, it turned out to be real.
The woman he thought only existed in his dreams had actually appeared from his jade pendant, floating before him.
"It's been a long time."
Calista smiled at Elric.
"Why have you appeared?"
Elric asked in confusion.
"Because your blood activated the jade," she replied, pointing to the pendant around Elric's neck.
Elric glanced down at the jade pendant.
"I thought the dreams weren't real."
"Haha. I've awakened first, but the other one is still asleep.
You've met her, though you haven't yet unlocked your memory of her."
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