The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

After calling Reina, Aria had spent the rest of her day trying to regain her full condition back after exerting her utmost power.

Reina had taken care of her accommodation in the institute, telling the staffs that Aria would be staying there.

They were planning to meet. In order to discuss things further and come up with an absolute decision, Aria made up her mind to face Reina once more and ask some things.

But before that, Aria had time all to herself.

Of course, she didn't just sit idly. She maintained her daily necessities and called the staff for food and such, but the rest of the time was spent in a productive way.

Such as practicing madly.

Right after tiring herself up to the point where she couldn't continue further, Aria went back to the bed and slept.

She would've never thought that she would end up regretting trying to sleep.

If she knew, she'd choose to not fall asleep.

_____

Aria had another dream.

This time, she was put into an enclosed space. It had little light. A cold temperature.

Aria was unable to see anything. Not even her own palm when she tried to bring it closer to her face.

Then, a bright 'light' in form of a figure appeared. Aria winced, feeling her eyes burn due to the overwhelming brightness. The sudden change from dark to light.

Her eyes soon got accustomed to the exposure, and she began to look up. Trying to figure out what the source of light was.

Then, she widened her eyes. The figure that she had met not too long ago with a similar case. She recognized the man. She would recognize him in a heartbeat even if he was left disfigured heavily.

Aria knew that this was a dream.

This was a dream, because the body she possessed was not that of the adult her. It was the younger version of her. The childish Aria when she was still under the tutelage and care of her master.

When her master was still alive and present in her life.

This was a dream, because Zehell Rivkins, the man that brought her up was now standing in front of her with a disappointed expression.

This was a dream. It couldn't be reality.

"Why...?" Aria weakly called out. Since her body regressed, her voice did so too. "Why does Master..."

"Aria," Zehell cut her off. "Haven't I told you that........"

His voice was blocked by loud buzzing noises. Aria closed her ears instinctively as the buzzing noises sounded like bugs trying to get into her ears.

Zehell shook his head, his face discontent. In his vision, Aria must've looked like a child that escaped his lecture. His words. Whatever he was trying to convey.

Aria wanted to say to him. Tell him that what he perceived was not what she was feeling. That wasn't the case on her part.

She closed her eyes as well, trying to erase the noises from her head. But it wouldn't stop.

Back when she was a child, there were only several moments where Zehell showed displeasure towards her. And it was when she made a serious mistake. A fatal one.

Aria was a good child to begin with, and 'accidents' were of course, few.

She was his beloved student, a daughter to him.

The expression hurt her to the core.

"Master...?" Aria tilted her head, not knowing what he said.

She hoped that by speaking up, she would be able to reconnect with her master.

To her call, Zehell's face warped. It crumpled up. Signs of disgust appeared. Aria was terrified. She had never seen such an aggressive approach from her master.

Her solace. Her everything. Her light.

Who was this? Where was her gentle master? The one she knew of? The one who gave her a purpose in life?

She couldn't hear what Zehell was saying, but it must be the explanation for why he displayed such an expression.

Aria wanted to hear.

She scrambled up from the ground, running to him to hear more.

However, when Zehell realized that Aria was going to get closer to him, he backed away too.

With fear in her heart and the constant buzzing noise annoying her, Aria paid no heed to all those and chased Zehell.

"Master! Master!!" Aria ran, and ran without stopping, but her master Zehell was always five steps ahead from her.

After an endless round of chasing, the precise five steps increased. From five, to ten, to twenty, and to the uncountable.

Zehell Rivkins disappeared from her sight.

She was left devastated, slumping down to the floor as she cried uncontrollably for the ache that knocked on her heart. She didn't know what caused it. She just cried. Sobbed and whined.

The young Aria was trapped in the strange and unfamiliar place alone. Without a trace of light. Only darkness accompanied her, and the terrifying thought of being consumed by this silence ate her mind from the inside.

She felt like the space was slowly shrinking. Trying to capture her. Bind her.

Her mind spun like a rollercoaster.

"No.. Please, no more.. I'm sorry, I was bad. I was wrong. But- I, I'll repent. I was a bad child, I'm willing to repent, please, I, so-" Aria begged, prostrating so low that her head banged against the floor.

Her words were incoherent, she herself didn't know what she was talking about.

No one answered. Within the tight, dark space, nothing responded.

She couldn't take it anymore.

"GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE!!!" Aria screamed with all her energy, shouting on top of her lungs as she clawed at the rough ground, drawing blood her fingers. Her nails were crooked and pain shot up through her entire body, but she didn't stop.

Clawing helplessly, wanting to be freed and yet still entrapped within the space.

She stood up and banged at the walls. Instead of letting her out, the space continued shrinking up.

It reminded her of..

The coffin.

The coffin she was forced to call 'home' for all those years of suffering below the ground.

Her memories overlapped with each other. Black and white, everything mixed together. She no longer knew which memory was right and wrong.

Everything was grey. The shade of a dull grey.

Her lifeless soul. Nothing can heal it back to what it previously was.

No matter how hard she tried to do it, it would never recover completely.

What was the meaning of this hellish sight?

"Help.. me," Aria weakly cried out.

She lost consciousness.

_____

Aria awoke to find out that she was still tucked in the same hospital bed she was put in yesterday. Of course, this time Reina wasn't here.

Even so, during their phone call yesterday, Aria had asked for Reina to come and visit her in the place. Because she had little choices and possibilities to make her moves. Because she had to be mindful of [Golden Insignia] and [Magnolia].

Looking at the clock hung on the wall, she saw that it was nearing 1 o'clock and panicked. Reina's visit should also be around 1 o'clock.

Even so, more than the fear of missing Reina, she was devastated from the dream she had.

She touched her face. Then, she brought her palm in front of her eyes.

The bleeding and pain she felt from clawing at the ground was no longer there. Her fingers were safe and devoid of those heinous wounds.

"What.. was that," Aria wiped the excess sweat from her forehead. Her breathing was uneven and she was anxious as a result of many different causes.

The complexity of the situation she struggled hard to understand. The messy dreams that appeared out of nowhere, each showing her teacher's figure trying to say something to her and failing to be heard by her.

The buzzing noises, the realistic sensation, everything plagued her.

How miserable was she?

Her heart was actually hurting from the short reunion she had with this faux teacher of hers. Did she desire to meet the man that badly?

Zehell Rivkins. His actions in the dream was unlike what she projected him to be inside her mind.

What would be the cause?

It would be...

Azef. Azef Harkan. The imbecile that betrayed her.

Was this karma? A warning for what she tried to do?

She was reminded of the phone call she had with Reina the previous night. The fact that she was trying to take the chances. Was it her fault for trying to achieve the best result?

Was that it?

Why?

The world operated on survival rules. The strong win, the weak lose.

Especially in this situation where everybody was endangered to a certain degree, of course one needed to grow stronger as soon as possible.

"...You've got to be kidding. There is no way, there's no way... Those two are dead. Only I am alive. Stay calm, Aria Schreiner. Keep your head on the goals," Aria motivated herself, taking several deep breaths in and out.

Her body was trembling. It stemmed from fear of the unknown.

A mystical experience, being that of a meeting with her past acquaintances.

Aria clenched her blanket, curling her body up as she tried to compose herself.

Just then, a few knocks sounded out from the door.