Chapter 9 - A Custodian & Argument

"ARIS!!!" She threw his hands off her, as if his touch had ignited something primal. It was as if Aris had unleashed a demon—a wild, untamed force that he couldn't control. The submissive Sophia was gone, replaced by someone with fire in her eyes, seething with barely contained rage. Her arms were crossed defensively, but her posture screamed defiance, her very presence now a storm.Sophia's eyes flicked around the room, desperate for something to anchor her, but all she found were the unfamiliar surroundings that only fueled her frustration. Her breathing was ragged, and her hands shook uncontrollably, whether from adrenaline or the overwhelming surge of emotions, she couldn't tell. She clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white, her nails digging into her palms in a futile attempt to hold herself together.

"Who do you THINK YOU ARE?!" Her voice cut through the air like a blade, each word dripping with venom. She stomped towards him, her boots slamming into the floor with each step. "You think you can RULE ME? You think you're in CHARGE HERE? JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Her index finger jabbed his nose as if marking him for death.

Sophia's eyes darted around the hallway, searching for something, anything, to ground herself, but finding nothing. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and her hands shook—whether from adrenaline or the surge of emotions, she couldn't tell. She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her palms as if trying to keep herself from unraveling completely. She tried to calm down—tried to breathe—but it didn't work. Her voice exploded again. "You have 'NO' RIGHT to shove your MYTH-CHASING NONSENSE in my face, to drag me into your messed-up world, to BURN THAT DAMN TRAM, and then bring me here, to this… THIS… NORTHERN RIDGE, TO A BUILDING I DON'T KNOW, TO A LIFE I NEVER ASKED FOR! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, ARIS VON FREZ? AND

WHO… AM I?"

Aris and Sophia stood on the cold, stone floor, the heavy silence lingering after Sophia's outburst. The air between them crackled with tension, thick and suffocating. Aris tried to maintain his usual calm, but the intensity of Sophia's anger, combined with the surroundings, made it impossible to ignore the growing sense of unease.

Then, without warning, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble. A low hum echoed through the hallway as a square space formed around them, glowing faintly with an amber light.

Sophia, too caught up in her world of emotion blast, didn't notice the change at first. Her mind was consumed by a storm of anger, confusion, and bitterness—directed at Aris, her father, and the entire world that had dragged her into this nightmare. She clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Aris… What is this?" Sophia's voice quivered with a mix of fear and frustration, but there was no answer.

Aris didn't respond immediately, too focused on the shifting space around them. The square that had formed was growing brighter, its edges sharp and unnerving. The reality they knew seemed to be fraying at the seams, and his concern deepened.

Sophia's emotions surged again. She felt herself teetering on the edge, but the tears wouldn't come. Instead, her anger turned inward. Her voice trembled, no longer loud and defiant, but broken and strained. "I didn't ask for any of this, Aris… I just wanted… I just wanted a normal life."

Aris's eyes flickered towards her, finally acknowledging her words, but before he could respond for an apology, the ground beneath them gave way. The square space that had surrounded them suddenly collapsed, pulling them both into a free fall.

The world blurred as they tumbled through the void, gravity twisting and pulling them in every direction. The sensation of falling was endless, disorienting, and terrifying. Aris reached out instinctively, but there was nothing to grab onto—no solid ground, no anchor to touch.

With a sudden, jarring impact, Sophia landed hard—directly on top of Aris. Her body crashed into his, sending a sharp pain through both of them as they hit the ground together. Aris groaned in frustration; his voice muffled by the weight of her on his chest.

"Get… off… me!" Aris snarled, his anger flaring as he tried to push her off.

Sophia, dazed and disoriented from the fall, scrambled to get up. "I… I'm sorry! I didn't mean to… I don't know what's happening!" Her voice was panicked, breathless, still trying to process everything that had happened.

Aris managed to shove her off and stood up, dusting himself off with a huff of irritation. "Of course, you don't know what's happening, Sophia. You're not a true Custodian. You're just… caught up in this mess."

Sophia's frustration boiled over again, her emotions swinging wildly from fear to anger. "And whose fault is that? I didn't ask to be dragged into your world, Aris! You keep acting like I'm supposed to know everything, but I don't! I don't know anything!"

Before Aris could respond, they both realized they were no longer in the hallway. The void had spat them out into a completely different place—a large, open room with walls made of polished wood and intricate tapestries hanging from the ceiling. The air was warm, and the soft amber light filtering in through the windows revealed a breathtaking view of snow-capped mountains outside flanked by a dazzling morning sunrise. The room had an eastern aesthetic, with low wooden tables, sliding paper doors, and intricate carvings of dragons and phoenixes adorning the walls.

Aris stared at their surroundings; his anger momentarily forgotten as he tried to make sense of where they had landed. When a second later before the continuation of Sophia's emotional outburst a spark of realisation occurred in his head "Never thought that there would be a summon like this.."