3 For an Eternity

'A pity that I wouldn't be able to fight with her anymore.'

The bond they shared was more than just a summoner-summoned one. It was more. Much more.

When she was starting out to become a Summoner, no creature responded to her call. Only Dianthe did.

She was quite pathetic back then. A Summoner who couldn't even form a proper contract.

She remembered. She had encountered a life-threatening danger.

Dianthe was the one who rescued her and listened to her commands as her first summon.

From then on, her career escalated.

Fighting against the harsh currents of fate and ending up as a winner.

Reaching the pinnacle and attaining the highest level possible.

Her past was colorful, to say the least.

It made her regret a bit, thinking back to all the things that she had done. What she could've done differently.

Perhaps, she wouldn't be here if she was much more cautious and wary of the people around her. Perhaps it was one of her actions that triggered them to do this. To collude against her.

______

Time trickled by.

Aria lost track of how much time had passed. The count was definitely already in years. Multiple years.

Contrary to her first optimistic response, she had lost all thoughts of revenge not long after she got trapped.

Now, she only wanted to be freed. From the flame. From everything.

She was optimistic at first. Gullible. How could she have thought of spending time, waiting for the flame to die out for an unimaginable amount of time down here?

But at the same time, she also relished in the small feeling of freedom the eternal flame gave her.

Somehow... The flame made her feel liberated, too.

She no longer had to worry about anything. She had spent over half of her life researching something she was unsure about, but now she didn't have to continue that.

After building a tolerance system, she was able to sleep. That was a weird feeling at first, since the current her had lost her eyesight.

She wasn't even able to see the raging blue flames at this point.

Maybe it was for the better, because there was no bright light to obstruct her smooth sleep.

_____

'Azef and the others must've died by now.'

Even if they were strong, death always tailed them. Including her.

If it wasn't for the flame, Aria too would've died.

It's just that the flame didn't allow her to die. For unknown reasons.

'Surely, there was no way he can succeed. He missed the unmentioned ingredient.'

'What did they become after failing to reach the higher realms?'

'Did they keep trying?'

'Lorelei definitely quit. In the first place, she joined because she was bored. If the big reveal was ruined, she would definitely return to her land.'

'Azef is stubborn. Needlessly so. If he really did spend the rest of his life continuing my research, I would gladly count that as a win. He was also prideful, yeah? For the first few years, I was waiting for him to come seek me and make me cough up answers, but he didn't.'

'Well, even if he did come, my vocal cords are long gone.'

'What about the others? Yerenica, Arthur, that brat Zeno, Eris, what did they do?'

She let her thoughts run wild. Rewinding her memories.

There were seven of them. The strongest seven.

Comprising her, Azef Harkan, Lorelei Rozenthal, and the four names she had mentioned.

The seven who held the world's most influential titles.

'I sure wish that they keep me in their minds.'

'...'

'I treasured them, truly.'

_____

'I don't even know how I'm able to breathe. Wait, why am I breathing anyway? Should I try dying by suffocation?'

Of course, the eternal flame was not that easy to beat. Every time she was almost about to die, the flame would engulf her and that somehow gave her air.

After a few tries with the same results, she was no longer willing to put herself through such torture and stopped.

_____

'A millennium.'

'I'm convinced that at least one.. no, ten millenniums had passed.'

'Why?' was the only question she had now.

What was all of this for? Why was she still living?

The objects of her revenge, who at first she used as fuel for her passion to continue on being sane under these absurd conditions, were gone.

The chances of her being discovered shouldn't have been low if Azef dies.   

Even if she was buried, natural disasters were a thing.

Especially if they used magic, they would eventually uncover her body, which was buried under normal circumstances.

There were just too many things that could uncover the truth of her disappearance. Bringing justice to her.

When she was charred under the flames for the first time, she was still able to recognize the sounds of those around her- Azef's voice was the most prominent one. Didn't this mean she was buried not too deep?

She recognized the place she was in. It was a rather secluded location, but that didn't mean it never had visitors.

With so much time, how could no one discover her existence?

But why? Why was she still stuck here after countless days and nights?

It was nonsensical.

'Bullshit.'

Time was no longer something that applied to Aria.

Forget tens of millenniums.

If she once thought that a millennium was a long time, then that same perception had now been erased and rewritten.

The pain of loneliness and solitude. The very action of being confined killed her spirit.

Each second felt like eternity. At the same time, hours passed like nothing.

She lost her concept of time, her hope, her emotions..

Herself.

Aria Schreiner was still alive.

She underwent a treatment that she wouldn't wish to anyone.

Not even Azef Harkan, her mortal enemy.

She just wanted to be freed.

______

One day, she woke up to her body feeling mysteriously sore and in pain.

She thought that after all those years, the concept of pain would be demolished and long forgotten, but it seemed like that wasn't the case.

She rolled around and tried to get the painful feeling off.

Instead, she was met with a sensation she had stopped experiencing long ago.

The feeling of skin touching skin.