Chapter 78 - I Win

Here Tara was still desperately trying to wake him up, meanwhile in the arena, many were mocking Ruth for her hollow hopes.

"Lady Ruth! Don't be an idiot, just forget about him, he is probably dead!"

"How is he going to fight? How stupid someone can be thinking an almost dead will come to fight, let me guess with Broken bones magia?! Hahaha!"

"Poor girl! She must've got her heart swept. Are all women in Grey house so easy? Should've obeyed his majesty, we are seriously wasting our five minutes over a dead's memorial."

The mockery was getting louder and some of the teaching staff was annoyed by this too,

"Why is Lady Ruth tolerating this foul mockery because of a hopeless guy! Does she really believe in the miracle, that puny guy with no mana will come here to get beaten up to death again?" A crabby professor growled at his seat.

"My...my Sir. Xin, you shouldn't underestimate a maiden's heart, she kinda reminds me of the beautiful Gladiolus in my lawn." Bianca looked at Ruth with empathy in her eyes.

Whatever the crowd was throwing at her, Ruth didn't pay any attention; keeping silence in her mind, joining her hands, and pleading continuously to the high skies of the Spirit realm for Aaris to make it here in the arena.

Tara was shaking Aaris repeatedly and sometimes pouring her mana for him to recover, but everything was futile.

-- Tara - PoV --

What should I do? We don't have much time!

Wake up you brat! You won't get another chance like this!

It's already one minute up! What should I do?

He is not even moving, what can I do? what can I…

How can I forget this? I can't waste my time anymore. If I use that, maybe I could bring his consciousness back!

***

Tara remembered something, she moved a little back from Aaris and relaxed herself,

[ EYAN MIKEAL ]

The seven-pointed star Heptagram appeared in her eyes, with spell marking in her Iris, and bursted a huge amount of aura which shook the whole tower.

"Well then…" she walked close to Aaris and placed her hands over his closed eyes and closed hers too.

"You need a wake boy, even if it means to drag yourself from the deepest pit of consciousness." She channeled her mana to her hand and chanted,

[ St. Mickael, I HEREBY ASK FOR YOUR LIGHT TO GUIDE THIS SOUL ]

[ LUMEN QUOD VIAM STERNIT ]

A bright light gleamed in the room, and Tara's hands began to tremble.

"It hurts! It has never happened before but it's the only way!" she forced all her breaths and the resistance came down.

-- Tara - Pov --

Am I here? In his consciousness? With the spell I used, I could enter his consciousness and even look at his soul. His damaged mana is probably keeping him asleep.

If I could find him here, I can give him some part of mana, and he will definitely wake up!

I slowly opened my eyes and raised them but I wasn't expecting the sight that was in front of me,

'What the hell is this!' Everywhere I looked there was nothing but pitch-black darkness with glowing violet hues, in that vast open-world there were thousands of giant black spheres oozing sinister light.

They all were entangled and connected with a giant network of red strings. It was like a fantasy of a dark galaxy with stars stuck in a giant red web and I was like an insect in front of it, some of them completely wrapped like a cacoon and some were slowly getting wrapped.

'What is this place? A person's consciousness is supposed to be an open transparent world of their memories, impersonating their souls, but what is this? There is nothing but giant orbs tangled in a red weave.'

I can't bring out my ethereal mana here, something is blocking it! I can't waste my time on needless thoughts. I have to find him!

I took a deep breath and shouted,

'Aaris!'

My voice echoed and came back to me along with dead silence, I yelled again, and again and again but nothing happened,

'I won't give up! Aaris can you hear me?! I know you are here!

Aaris! Answer m-'

"Who is there?" His voice?!

Suddenly the red string quivered, and one of the orbs resonated in a strange sound mixed with Aaris' voice.

'Aaris it's me Tara can you hear me-' I ran toward that orb, but he spoke again,

"Who is it?"

"Lady Tara?"

"Who is it?"

"Where are you?"

What's happening? His voice is coming out of other orbs in different directions, how? What the hell is going on here?

"Lady Tara, can you hear me?"

"Who are you?"

"Where am I?"

They all are his voice, but why do they sound like they are coming from a different person!

Damn it! I need to calm down!

'Aaris, listen to me! You have to wake up! We have given you another chance to fight! You can still make it!

Don't give up you brat! Come out!'

I was screaming my lungs out, and the disturbances weren't ending either.

"Who are you?"

"Lady Tara? Where are you?"

'Tch… time is running out! Aaris please come out, I'll take you from here! You need to wake or else everything you worked so hard for will be gone!

Your 2 years in that forsaken land!

Your sacrifice to save your friend!

Your struggles and suffering of all these years,

I don't give a damn if you are alright forgetting and throwing all these away but…'

The old and painful memories I tried to forget from a long-ago came to me, I bit my lips and wiped my tears.

'But… I won't forgive you if you try to forget and throw away everything Cara did for you damn it!'

Suddenly all cries stopped, all of that expanse of his consciousness went dead calm.

'You were her child and must've had a lot of memories with her, but are you okay to let her death go to vain now!

I trusted you, idiot! I thought finally…

Finally, we all could be free from that sickening curse but in the end!'

Before I could know my vision went hazy because of tears…

'Why is your whole family like this! A bunch of idiots who don't care for themselves, why? why don't you put yourself at first,

Why?

Please just wake already… for your mother… for your father… for me… for this kingdom… wake up! Aaris!!'

I screamed my lungs out none stop with flowing tears until my voice broke,

'Please...wake-'

"Oh my, who's this uninvited guest? You can't come here anytime you like-

Hmmm… your mana… ah, it's the same as that troublesome guy, no two swords can share a single sheath, you don't belong here...shoo!"

A voice echoed from behind me like someone was standing there, … but before I could see him, something threw me out of Aaris' consciousness.

My spell was undone automatically and insufferable pain ran in my eyes and head, I fell down on the floor and rolled in the anguish.

'What the hell! This pain!... It feels like... my eyeballs and head...would explode, why am I on the floor? What happened I can't remember anything! I went to Aaris consciousness and…'

As soon as I tried to remember The pain intensified many folds,

'Ahhh! Fuck this! Did the spell fail? I have to try again.'

I smacked my head on the floor and tried to open my eyes, but the pain was too grave, I poured all my mana to my head and eyes to heal myself but it only eased little enough to open my eyes a little again,

I took the support of a wall nearby and stood up. I walked back to Aaris' bed with hazy vision and fell on his mattress.

'Damn it! We don't have much time and I won't stop until you wake up brat-'

"Time for what?" I heard, and my heartbeats stopped for a second. I forgot about my pain and raised my eyes, and it was Aaris who spoke, I couldn't believe it myself but he woke up, but something was different.

The smile I had before because he woke up fainted in fear,

He was sitting on his bed with one arm on his knee, and a strange mana's aura totally different from his prior mana was visibly smoking out of his bandages, his black hairs slightly grew longer and covered his scarlet eyes, but I was able to see them from a gap of his bangs, they were glowing in bright violet hue with a slit pupil like the devil is gazing right at me.

'Aaris you-... No, we don't have time for this we have to go to the arena right now-" I grabbed his wrist and raised my hand to use teleporting magic, but that stinging pain rose again and I fell on his bed,

"Lady Tara, are you ok?" He picked me up,

'Aaris… hurry!... Arena!' And I fainted in his arms.

***

"There are only 30 seconds left! It's a lost cause! Stop it, lady Ruth."

"I really want to go home now.."

"He is not coming! Forget about him!"

The crowd was laughing hysterically and ridiculing her, but she didn't open her eyes and stopped praying.

"Come on! Lady Ahren, end this useless facade!"

"It was hopeless from the start."

Professors were also prepared for this commotion to end too.

"Prepared to lose Elena?" Einar smirked,

"Just you wait-"

Elena was saying then she heard a boy screaming.

***

" 10!

...9

...8

..7"

And all the crowd joined him and started counting in unison with a loud echo,

"…6, fool tried to rebel!

...5, on to the next ceremony!

...4, Lady Ahren, join us!

...3, that's it for him.

Ahren and Edward left their seats and walked up to the balcony, Ruth was crying desperately, her eyes went red and she fell on her knees, weeping and begging to gods,

"...2, you lost Elena." Sylvie joined them,

Ahren took a deep breath after sigh but abruptly both moved their gaze on the sky in terror.

"what the hell is that?"

"And...o-"

*boom!*

Before the counting could end the ground of Arena was shattered with something that crashed to land, soaring down from the sky.

it was like the thunder broke the ground, dust and rumbles flew and scattered all over, like a sand storm and everybody panicked and started running away.

"What the hell was that!" Einar jumped from his seat but Elena grabbed his hand and stopped him.

"Sorry but, I win president!"