The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

Chapter 69: Rush Hour

Human.

How do you act 'human'?

First of all, what was acting human like?

To grief over another's death?

Aria realized something.

She was different.

In one way or another, her mindset was different from back when she struggled against the endless twists and turns of the world.

When she was desperate. Deprived of her goals. Betrayed.

What did she think back then?

Why couldn't she recall sparks of emotion that she had during her interactions?

The world was grey.

Monochrome.

But on that day, on that special day, a spark appeared.

She felt so overwhelmed with...

Colors.

Like colors rushing to her brain. Overloading her senses.

She was not blind to colors. She viewed colors.

But the colors she discovered ever since the betrayal.. they were different.

Colors stemming from her heart.

She was.. a Summoner.

But there was something strange.

She couldn't put her hand on the matter.

Summoner Aria Schreiner, revered by many.

Did she even know herself?

Had she changed?

How did she feel this trace of warmth again?

She.. mourned over Ha-young.

Mourning over Ha-young. What did that entail, what did it mean?

Was it because her humanity...

Her humanity what?

She was human to begin with.

She had humanity. Compassion.

As a human inherently should.

Mourning?

Actually, has she done that?

When her teacher died, what did she do?

Zehell Rivkins.

Did she mourn after that 'loss'?

....

Did she even do anything after her teacher's passing?

She thought that her emotions towards Zehell were very strong.

But why couldn't she recall much?

How did he teach stuff to her?

Was he a strict teacher? A nonchalant teacher?

....

'I can't recall.'

'It annoys me.'

//

Sounds of crying. They cried 'help' multiple times.

//

Like a broken television, her mind continued revolving back and forth.

Like searching for a signal that was weak. Countless beeping sounds. Overlapping memories.

Who was Aria Schreiner in the eyes of another?

...

Who was right and wrong?

Azef Harkan, who the hell was he again?

...

Who?

Why?

What was the question in the first place?

To Aria, her mind was just like the cluster she defeated.

Jumbled up. In shambles.

It hurt her head to think about it.

'I can't... continue.' Aria felt like her throat was drying up.

It hurt so bad.

To think about..

'If my head hurts this bad, what is the use of continuing to think about it?'

Forget it.

Forget everything.

Yes..

Just like she forgot #$!!?@%.

...What was that?

Cryptic.

What did she forget?

She forgot what she had forgotten about.

It's all so complex.

So be it.

Leave it.

_________

"...ria. Aria. Aria Schreiner, what are you thinking about?!" A loud voice rang, waking Aria up and snapping her consciousness back in place.

"I.. What did I do?" Aria nervously spoke, opening and closing her lips.

"Are you alright, Aria?" Reina asked, her facial expression warped to form pure fear.

Aria pursed her lips, still feeling a slight hint of dizziness elapsing inside her head.

"..It must have been the aftermath of the fight. I became a little dizzy. I am.. fine now," She held her head upright, trying her hardest to keep a pristine mindset.

Not only a headache, sleepiness also attacked her simultaneously. She felt like she was in the clouds. Standing, but not standing. Awake, but not awake.

"You should rest. You have been fighting continuously. Go rest," Elgin grabbed Aria's wrist, the other hand positioned on her shoulder.

He applied force, trying to make Aria sit down.

"No.. I was just feeling a bit unwell," Aria shook her head, refusing to succumb.

"Just rest. Your spirit is not going to finish in seconds. One minute of rest matters. Heavily. Aria Schreiner, what if you become dizzy mid fight? Do you need us to scream at you at that time too?" Elgin tried to reason with the woman.

Aria took a deep and shaky breath. She acknowledged Elgin's worry and sat down.

She then proceeded to sort her mind out.

Humanity.

The topic that triggered the familiar feeling inside her deepest memories.

She felt like she was drowning. In a pit of fire and water. Both sensations at the same time.

Closing her eyes, she took regulated breaths to calm down as best as she could.

'Aria Schreiner, you are turning crazy now?' she asked to herself.

"Sleep," Elgin's calming voice called out to her. "We will take care of things and alert you if we need help, so be assured and sleep comfortably,"

Hearing those words, Aria gradually felt comforted and finally became peaceful enough to enter a sleeping state.

//

"Kill me,"

A male voice.

Who was it?

This familiar voice.

"You are not human, you are a monster,"

...

No, I am not.

I am a human.

Not a monster.

//

"Aria, it's time to move," a voice woke her up.

It was Reina.

She crouched in front of Aria as her hand stretched forward, grabbing her in an attempt to help the sleeping beauty wake up.

"Mmh," Aria moaned out, her eyes clouded as she had just woken up. However, her mind still worked clearly. "Did Rallaka finish?"

"We are not sure. We could not understand what he was saying, so we woke you up," Reina replied.

Because her mind did not enter a completely relaxed state, she was able to enter work mode directly after her short nap.

"I did... not," Rallaka's voice entered, answering Aria's question.

Since he was talking, then the absorption process must've been halted.

Aria yawned, rubbing her eyes and shutting it tight in order to escape from the drowsiness that overcame her.

"What happened?"

"We have to change our plans. Cleaning everything up is impossible. At this rate... it's better to risk it and charge through. I will provide you all with some stones to the best of my ability, so platforming mid air is the way to go," Rallaka explained.

"...I understand," Aria nodded. She had expected failure.

Aria conveyed Rallaka's plan and received positive replies from the team.

From the beginning, even before Rallaka left to absorb the goo, the team had been briefed with the possibilities.

"How safe is it, though? If the chances are small, then shouldn't we just go retreat for now?" Reina questioned.

"If Rallaka proposed the idea.. I reckon that he must have thought it all out," Aria mused. "I will go,"

She suddenly gained the motivation to push through.

The room was currently unstable. The part where the explosion happened compared to the part Aria and the team were standing on. One was almost falling apart, the other was shaky but still held together.

"We have to move right now?" Aria asked her spirit.

"Yes. I will conjure the platforms. I suggest that.. The folks named Reina and Yan go first, followed by Elgin and you,"

"I also think that is the best line up," Aria nodded.

And thus, they started the plan.

The path was full of holes. Patches of black void could be seen peeking from behind the uncovered holes.

"Reina, Yan, when my spirit makes the stones, run there. Don't fear anything. Trust my spirit, he will know," Aria patted the two on their shoulders.

The two nodded, gulping their saliva down to ease their mind.

Rallaka set up the cue to the beginning, and the first contender, which was Reina, began to run with all her might.

She only looked forward and erased the thought of the lurking void from her mind.

Next, Yan did the same, and they both crossed.

It was not only a test of whether the jump was possible or not, but also a test of courage.

Their run was smooth sailing. Since they were given prior mental confidence, they were able to forgo their fear of failures and charge through. Rallaka configured the steps with their trails, making up and down scales to match their next steps.

"Okay, there's that. Next, Elgin. Be safe," Aria gestured for him to get on his starting point and be ready.

Rallaka, by the side, spoke up.

"I had to use more of my stones to ensure their safety. You must know why I made you two go last, right?"

A hint of warning was present in his voice.

Aria nodded, relaying the same information down to Elgin to make him conscious of his duty. They were both very agile and needed less steps for stable crossing.

Rallaka put down much less pavements for Elgin. They were spaced out quite far.

Even though each pavement was unstable and would easily break, making it not usable for repeated use, Elgin sped up his momentum and jumped fast through the void path.

He joined the other two, safely making it.

The last one would be Aria.

"Now, I mean no harm to you, but your trip will be much more dangerous. To shorten things up, I will position things diagonally, scaling upwards. But.. there is one thing I need to remind you of,"

"And what would that be?" Her heartbeat raced as she waited for Rallaka's answer.

"The ceilings. The bricks up there are still mostly intact. That's awfully strange,"