07: Awakening

Airys, although she believed not, was a little girl. For a long time her foster mother and foster father cared for and pampered her within their capabilities. She knew how to cook, light bonfires, and do all kinds of jobs. However, for her it was the first time she endured hungry. She was unable to compare what she felt at that moment with any of the "worst" days of her life.

It was barely the fourth day. She couldn't recall seeing or knowing anything about Seng in the past few hours. That guy was a mean bastard.

It hurt, it hurt too much.

Everything was dark among the makeshift burrow she made, full of broken branches and rotten leaves. She could take it… yes… If only that evil young man didn't put more obstacles in her way.

Seng in all those days wasn't only in charge of taking care of her from beasts —if you call that to save her at the last minute—; rather, he destroyed every fire and food he could get from the trees over and over again.

He even crushed the caterpillar she was going to eat! Why?!

"Seng! Seng! Seeeng!" She cried through tears.

Starving was horrible, having cuts all over her body was horrible, she was sick, her mother told her that if she got sick she had to eat well, if she doesn't eat well she will get worse.

"This is not what I had in mind! It's not… I wanted to go on an adventure; I don't want to go hungry… " She sob.

The place was humid and dark, with very tall trees that hid the sunlight almost perfectly, was a perfect coffin.

"Why don't you answer me you piece of shit?! Why ha ha ha ...?"

"Stop complaining, Brat."

As soon as she heard those words, the dying Airys stood up using all her strength, an action that caused severe dizziness and pain in her head. Her legs shook. She searched everywhere during the time her weakened senses left her, but did not find that cruel man.

"What's wrong with you all? You all bring me to this place… leave me alone…" She fell to her knees to the floor. "I don't understand… y'all told me I was the Chosen…" Her torso was heavy and she had no choice but to give in to the force and lean her hands against the ground.

"I'm... I'm hungry... everything hurts..." Tears and more tears came from her reddened eyes, the only thing that kept her alive were the miserable sips of water that she had been able to drink, the same ones that she was now wasting in her tears. "What do you want of me?"

Seng was standing on a branch a few feet behind her. He did not care about her welfare; however, it does not matter if he hates her to die, telling the truth seemed to him to be someone truly soulless.

"Summon your creatures without using your hands," he said.

"Ahhhgr!" She yelled. "Can't you see that I can't even do that anymore?!" She held up her hands full of leaves, unable to use any to summon Leaf.

Her sight was going from one side to another, perhaps it was from crying but everything was blurred and the hardness of the branches began to seem comfortable.

"Seng... am I going to die...?" Her haunted mind clouded, her skin instantly blanched and the pain… gone.

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Airs consciousness returned to the speed of lightning that strikes on a stormy day. She opened her eyes almost against her will in a painful reflex she didn't know she had. Her eyes didn't hesitate to water, predisposed to the sad reality of continuing to suffer from hunger and other pains, but it was strange, she felt a little better.

"No, you didn't die," he said wearily.

"Seng...?" Airys was lying on an old mat stuffed with leaves and feathers from years ago. "Where are we?" She got up as far as she could to appreciate the place.

It was an ugly and grimy cabin in need of a severe cleaning season for at least half a decade ago, however; even with the miserable candlelight at her side and the campfire in front of Seng, she gave off an incredible aura of well-being in contrast to her possible deathbed.

"It's the house I made when I lived here, alone." Seng had built the fire in a small hole that opened onto the ground in the middle of the cabin. "Drink." He reached out his arm to offer her a small cup of hot liquid.

Airys took it, saw small branches floating and untied of any inhibition enjoyed each sip.

"Why am I not so hungry anymore?" She asked between drinks.

"Well, because I fed you."

"While sleeping?"

"Yep."

"Why?

"What do you mean by why? It's obvious Brat" Seng replied without stopping to make his tea or deign to look at him.

"Why did you put me through that?!" Airys pressed the cup. "I don't understand you… first you play with me, then… then you put me in danger and save me… and-and you leave me without eating… And now you take care of me?! You are crazy!"

"Hm, hahahahahaha." Seng pinched his nose to gulp the tea and then wrinkled his nauseated face. "Brat," he sighed, "I won't ask you for any kind of forgiveness because what I did is correct."

-What/

"Don't you realize you've wasted your life?!" He interrupted her. "While I trained arduously every day with methods more macabre than you can imagine, you spent your days playing and helping your mom with the house."

Seng got up.

"Although it may seem that I do this out of cruelty, I also do it out of necessity."

"Also?!" Airys screeched internally.

"I have to make sure that in less than three-" Seng was frustrated for a second and corrected himself: "In less than six years you will be ready to face the Demon."

"I only have six years?"

"Yes! Now you understand?! I have to accomplish the impossible with you and make you level become of the Archmages and more! They trained me all my life and I could hardly run away from them!"

Airys lowered her cup and a thick cold sweat trickled down her forehead. The Demon? It's true, she's supposed to be the Chosen One, her duty is to defeat that thing. The point is… how?

"Seng… to be strong I must starve…?" Her hand wouldn't stop shaking.

Seng took a deep breath, sat across from her by the fire, and after a minute's silence he decided to be nice for the first time.

"Yes." The irritating gaze he cast every moment on poor Airys was replaced by the eyes of someone who has been in that posture full of uncertainty. "I know you're tired but I really need you to listen carefully to what I'm going to say."

Airys nodded.

"As I said before, you have to learn to use your soul." That implies being able to invoke your creatures always and with every possible method, learning to strengthen the resistance of your body, discovering, developing and mastering the other Resonances of your Soul...

Seng proceeded to explain that of the various ways in which he learned to use the Soul —perceiving herself beyond the body— the fastest was the only viable option given the time they had. If he put her to meditate, it would take months to see the progress. Intensive exercise is a safer option with the downside of not being able to predict when you will succeed. Being on the verge of dying is, ironically, the safest thing to do.

"Tell me Brat, do you see something different?"

Airys placed her palms in front of her. Her senses were still altered from exhaustion and stress; however, when she saw her hands, the illusion that they were further away than usual crossed her mind and stayed there. The same happened with everything around her.

It was weird.

"Hm." It didn't take long for Seng to realize that she was experiencing the first symptoms. He told himself that she was capable of it because of her good tactics of tor-training, yeah, indeed was thanks to him, sure. "Okay Brat, it looks like it worked."

"Eh? How do you know?���

"It's not the first time I've seen it." Seng went to the opposite wall of the hut, grabbed the hammock that had a dusty cherry tree, and walked outside to shake it. "You can rest today; tomorrow we will start classes and practices."

"Of…" she swallowed her nervous saliva "magic?"

"Of course" Seng smiled a not very cheerful and somewhat sincere smile.