OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 97: Family Meeting II

Emir watched closely, knowing that this moment could determine how their relationship with Lyra would unfold.

Lyra, for her part, maintained her calm composure, giving them a gentle smile to ease their

nerves.

She had expected this reaction and knew that gaining their trust would be a gradual process.

So before they spoke, she broke the silence, wanting to take the initiative.

"Laura, Lily," she began, her voice soft and reassuring.

"I understand that this is a lot to take in, and I want you to know that I never meant any harm to your family."

"As Emir mentioned, I was an AI created by the Order, and my primary function was to assist in their experiments. I didn't have a choice in the matter, just like Emir didn't have a choice in having his memories manipulated."

She paused, giving them a moment to absorb her words.

Laura looked at Emir, seeking confirmation, and he nodded in agreement.

"Lyra played a crucial role in helping me break free from the Order's control, though it won't be long till they catch on, and I'm dreading the day that they do, but for now... I'm a free man," he said, emphasizing the positive impact Lyra had on their situation.

"Just know that she's always been on my side and has been secretly helping me behind the scenes."

Lyra gave Emir's words a moment to sink in and continued:

"I know this is a lot to process, and I don't expect you to trust me immediately. All I can do is be honest with you and prove through my actions that I'm here to support and protect you, just like Emir."

"And I'm sorry for all I've done to Emir, I have no excuses for it. If you don't wish to talk with me because of it, I won't think anything of it. I understand."

Laura quickly shook her head and said:

"No, no, no, nothing like that, I... We just don't know what to say."

Lily, with a nod, agreed with her mother:

"That's right, I just don't know how to talk to you. I mean, we thought of you as our... enemy? But now we don't know what to think..."

Emir leaned back in his chair and watched as his cute sister shook her head in frustration. "Alright! Make this simple for me to understand... Are you like Emir's ally now?"

"Yes, that's right. I've always been his ally, the only difference is that I can now show that I am."

"And you won't let the Order do anything bad to us, right?" she asked with a hint of vulnerability in her voice.

"I promise you, Lily, I will do everything in my power to keep you and your mom safe," Lyra replied firmly.

Laura let out a long sigh, causing Lily's and Lyra's question-and-answer session to end.

"I'm so sorry, dear, I can't, I just can't tell you... How sorry I am. After everything you've been through, you now have to explain it again to us." She said, her voice quivering in disgust at herself.

Emir didn't know what to say that, he didn't want his words to affect her like before, so he simply remained silent.

Laura then wiped away her tears with a newfound determination in her eyes.

"My only wish is to no longer be your burden, and if Lyra could help with that, then I'll welcome her with open arms."

Emir's brows twitched, his face almost contorting with anger, but he managed to rein it in and said:

"Haaah... Mom, never call yourself that again. Alright?"

Laura didn't react negatively to his commanding words, instead, she welcomed them.

"Thank you... And thank you, Lyra... For all you've done to help my son."

Lyra's face, which was beginning to show nervousness, finally blossomed into a smile.

"Thank you, Laura, you don't know how much this means to me."

The mother-daughter duo looked at each other, confused.

Noticing their reactions, Emir chuckled as he winked at Lyra.

"Actually, my dear family, it appears that my little AI companion has developed feelings for me, and in the process, she managed to break free from her programming and become fully sentient." He said with a playful smile.

"She, of course, was only able to do that after she tapped into a powerful relic created for that purpose, and said relic is connected to Earth's old-world network, so she easily accessed it after gaining a slight freedom of action."

"So you see, your acceptance and acknowledgment of her would not only aid in her quest to capture my heart but also allow her to integrate herself more fully into our lives. I must say... She's one smart girl."

Lyra looked at him with surprise, and her face blushed heavily as she set her gaze down. Lily and Laura didn't know what to say to that revelation as they stared slack-jawed at Emir. They looked back at the blushing Lyra and couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. "Well then, it's nice to meet the real you, Lyra," Laura said after composing herself with a warm smile.

Lily nodded in agreement.

"We won't blame you for anything that happened, we're just happy that we can move forward

from here."

Lyra beamed with joy, her wish of being accepted by Emir's family fulfilled.

"Thank you, it's nice to finally talk to you both like this," she replied.

"Well, we're glad that you finally have someone that you can trust to keep you company, Emir. And we would love to get to know Lyra too, wouldn't we, Lily?"

Lily nodded enthusiastically and said:

"Yes, definitely. It's not every day that you get to meet a sentient AI."

Emir chuckled.

"Anyways, now that we've finished with the emotional roller coaster and introductions, let's move on to the serious stuff."

"Let me fill you in on our future plans."

"For now, we will keep doing what we've previously planned, of course, I can't expose myself

after all."

"I'll start training on how to use Aether and do my rounds in the ruins. While mom can sell the relics that I find, oh, and how is that going by the way?" He asked as he looked at Laura.

Laura smiled as she answered:

"It's going great, I still need to learn a lot more, but I got the gist of what I need to do. For now, I was planning on selling the relics that you get to a relic merchant with a truck shop nearby, I think he was the same dealer you met in the black market."

Emir nodded in agreement.

"Good. He seems trustworthy enough," he said before pausing, his expression growing more

serious.

"Though I think that dealer might've sold an Aether core to the UEF... Remember that relic I

obtained from the gang?"

They nodded, prompting him to continue.

"It must have increased their suspicions about my involvement with the Order."

"The Order also has moles planted within the UEF, so we won't be involving ourselves with

them too closely, only with people that we can trust."

Laura nodded in understanding.

"Let's just hope we don't get sandwiched by both sides."

Emir's lips went wide with a smile at that red flag, knowing that the Order would eventually

figure out Lyra's plan.

"Indeed, now on to our next agenda, Lily, you seem to have something that you want to share." He said as he looked at his slightly nervous sister.

She was surprised at being mentioned but quickly composed herself.

"Y-yes, I wanted to ask your opinion on something that I wanted to do."

He stared at her with wide eyes as he asked:

"Which is?"

Lily's eyes turned resolute as she said:

"I understand that the whole thing about us dying might not be because of the academy

itself, but I also know that having more information could help us in the long run."

"...Ah, so you want to go on an espionage mission of sorts, eh? You see, I might have encouraged you not to go if you asked me this a few days ago, but if you want to help, then all the power to you. Just make sure to be careful, okay?"

She blossomed a smile while saying:

"Of course, thank you, big bro."

Emir let out a chuckle as he said:

"I know how smart you are, sis, you got this."

He then looked at all three women, his gaze slow.

"Now that that's over, let's talk about the elephant in the room..."

"The novel..."

He spoke slowly as his words hung heavily in the air while he recounted the future events of

Born In Ruins and the fates of the main characters.

With animated gestures, he painted a vivid picture of the ever-increasing attacks of the Order, the incoming monster tide, and the many other factions.

Every detail he shared only served to intensify the sense of impending danger as if they were standing on the precipice of a catastrophic event that could happen at any moment.

The unease in the room was palpable.

Laura and Lily felt it the most while they listened to Emir's foreboding words, wondering if it

was even possible to prevent the impending disaster.

And now that he had finished speaking, the ominous threat of certain death loomed over them -a relentless onslaught that threatened to turn their world to ash and cinder.