Eyes twitched as they fluttered open, and as they did, they were met with an unusual ceiling.
It was Emilia, and as her beautiful blue eyes registered her return to reality, her entire body felt unusually stiff. It was as if her body had been frozen in place for a long time.
"Ugh…" she groaned uncomfortably before a door slid open followed by voice which then approached her.
"Maybe it was a coincidence or providence, but considering what day we are today, I suppose I should say Happy 15th Birthday, young lady."
It was Hugo, removing his hat and sitting beside her bed.
"I wish you a good return among us."
"S-sir…?" Emilia's head faced him painfully, her hair that now seemed longer than before swaying with it.
"Careful now," Hugo raised his palm, gesturing her to stop. "You've been in a coma for 6 months now. It's only natural for your body to be rigid after all this time."
"Eh? 6… months?" Emilia couldn't believe her ears, but at the same time it sank in quite easily. 'Was my time in that place that long? Or does it have to do with what he gave me? In any case, with everything I learned, I guess it's not that surprising.'
'So she did venture within that realm,' Hugo pondered, watching Emilia's reaction.
Emilia repositioned her head straight, staring blankly at the ceiling before Ace's face came to mind.
"Ace. What… about… him?" Emilia asked, Hugo gripping his cane tighter.
"He still hasn't woken up," another voice came out as the door to the room slid open once again. "You're the first one to have come to."
It was Victoria who had tied her hair into a low ponytail.
"Glad to see you're awake. Though I would have preferred that the circumstances be more favorable," Victoria admitted, the grave shift in her expression evident.
Emilia remained silent, having a hint of what Isabella meant by her words.
"We should let you rest now," Hugo stood up and wore his hat. "We'll talk later."
The two visitors left the room, but as Isabella stood by the door frame, she shot a glance at Emilia. Emilia, on her side locked eyes with her, a silent tension settling between the two of them.
After a short moment, Isabella completely left the room, leaving Emilia to her own thoughts.
'So he is also in a coma? The dean, Professor Isabella, it's obvious that they know what happened that night. I wonder what's going to happen to me now.'
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Weeks passed and Emilia slowly recovered her mobility, Isabella and Hugo regularly checking in on her. The residence she was in didn't seem to be known and it also seemed that Isabella and Hugo had blocked her from everything from the outside world, especially the events of what happened during the academy festival.
The residence seemed like a small villa located within a mountain forest in the middle of nowhere, but it didn't bother Emilia that much. Different rooms composed the residence's structure with one where the comatose Ace was confined in.
As she looked at his face, sleeping in pure solemn serenity, Emilia couldn't help but see Ace as resembling an innocent child in his slumber.
During her convalescence she also had the opportunity to explore the residence. A living room, kitchen, bathroom and expansive, underground training room with fitness equipment and combat area were also included.
At the same time, Emilia never tried to investigate what became of Mira or what happened with Frank. Instead, she slowly built up her strength through physiotherapy rehabilitation until she was finally able to function independently for menial tasks while also retraining her magical and physical abilities occasionally.
One day, Hugo came to visit.
Emilia had fully accustomed to life within this residence, and she had completely recovered her strength.
"Good to see you are doing well, young lady," Hugo greeted, sitting face-to-face with Emilia.
"It's all thanks to you, sir," Emilia politely bowed, her home clothes that included a brown, wool sweater and grey, rest day leggings. "You even brought all our belongings from our dorm."
"Don't dwell on it," Hugo gestured her to stop bowing as his expression became serious.
"You have something to tell me, don't you?" Emilia raised her head, her determined and steady eyes locked with Hugo's.
"It would seem I can no longer hide anything from you," Hugo humbled himself.
"To begin with, I apologize for everything that you've endured. I don't expect your forgiveness nor do I expect it," he continued, revealing what he had on his mind.
"I have always known about your past, and I was also the one who revealed it to that young lad."
Emilia took in Hugo's words in silence, having heard and experienced so much that it didn't surprise her at all.
"In reality," Hugo began, his following words giving Emilia some unexpected clarity. "I orchestrated your encounter with that lad for my own goal."
"Why?" Emilia asked, her curiosity piqued. "Why did you want me and Ace to meet?"
Hugo seemed uncomfortable yet calm as he gave her an answer.
"You have already witnessed the truth of our world and the power held by Realizers, haven't you?" Hugo returned a question that filled Emilia with surprise.
"That lad could be considered similar to the entity you met on the other side, but unlike them, he's somewhat unstable. I'd even wager to say that he's unreliable."
Emilia had a composed expression that seemed to carry a hint of anxiety.
"I cannot disclose who or what he is, but I can assure you that we need his power. Our world is at the mercy of forces that simple humans such as us can hope to measure. Just like you, I've fallen victim to such forces. The experiments that you've endured have long existed since before your birth. Unfortunately, they were never the work of simple mortals."
Emilia's mind sank as the truth she was hearing was far bigger than what she expected.
"Ace Blakelord is our only hope to destroy the powers behind them… Or at least he should have been. For reasons unknown to me, he was more inhumane than I originally anticipated. I had no choice but to take a gamble for the greater good."
"It was me, right? The gamble," Emilia looked crushed under the weight of everything.
"Yes. I orchestrated your meeting in hope of you influencing him, even if only a little bit. As you will have noticed that lad has a darkness that can't be measured nor explained. Hence, your past, your evolution, his actions, I gambled on each of those possibilities in order to conclude on the most optimal outcome."
"Heh," Emilia smirked, a dark expression harboring her face no matter how hard she tried to stay composed.
'My life…' Emilia thought to herself, Hugo's words sinking into her as if trying to drown her. '…really is a mess.'