"Okay, now the first thing to do is to find out where that kid went," Ryu started, him and Emilia finally ready to conquer Ace's inner world and save him.
"Can this ring help with that?" Emilia asked, the overall atmosphere around her now feeling more optimistic.
"Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!" Ryu continued his playful act, easing the atmosphere between them, Emilia finding it refreshing and wholly welcome. "Correct! A hundred points for ya!"
"What you're gonna need to do is to interfere with that ring to create something similar to a string," a mischievous phrase then escaped his mouth. "The red string of fate."
"Please stop joking," Emilia gave a dry, deadpan response.
"Okay!" Ryu smiled brightly as he finally got serious, though his playfulness didn't subside.
"So, interfere…" Emilia muttered, her eyes closing as in her mind, the process became akin to permeating her mana onto the ring the same way you'd do it while trying to enchant objects with magic.
A subtle blue aura covered the ring, a fine blue thread emerging from it as the other end of it went in a particular direction.
Emilia released her breath, her eyes opening as she noticed the thread.
"Maybe it's because it's on a small scale, but I don't feel as drained as before," Emilia's eyes followed the direction of the thread.
"No doubt it is the case," Ryu drifted in front of Emilia as if swimming in the air. "Now, how about we go find our target?"
"Mhm," Emilia simply offered a nod as she started running, following the path of the thread with Ryu sticking close enough to her as they went in the same direction.
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A little earlier before Emilia and Ryu started to follow the thread of mana, the child, Ace, was sitting at the very top of a building, his body lying on the ground as his eyes reflected the gray clouds filling the sky.
With his sight on the clouds, images flashed before his very eyes as if trying to make him remember something important.
A dining table where three people were seated, seemingly enjoying breakfast. One seemed to be a red-haired woman, the other a child with reddish-orange hair, and the last one was a man with brown hair.
The only unsettling thing was that none of their faces were visible. It was as if a glitching, static mask was covering them, making them unrecognizable.
Yet even as he continued to gaze into the sky with those images before him, Ace's eyes stayed clear and undisturbed.
Other images flashed before him, this time in a place that seemed to be an institution and then in another that seemed to be a classroom.
First person to appear was a purple-haired woman, then a blue-haired man. After them was a gray-haired old man, a seemingly beautiful blonde-haired woman, a brown-haired young man followed by a long-haired young girl with the same hair color.
But it didn't stop just there.
A young girl who seemed to have dark skin and blonde hair followed by another guy who had blonde-hair and with them was another girl. But unlike everyone else, her face wasn't hidden instead, Ace's eyes reflected the blue eyes that stared at him, the form of the black-haired girl, who was evidently Emilia, seeming to engrain itself into his retina.
And yet, at the same time, it was as if the specific image had been encased into a single little drop of rain that immediately fell onto Ace's forehead.
"I finally found you," a huffing voice, its owner's focus becoming slightly interrupted as they felt a drop falling onto them.
"Huh? Is it raining?" Emilia's gaze momentarily went up into the skies before immediately falling onto Ace, who glanced back at her with eyes wide open, seated on the ground.
With eyes locked onto one another, Emilia stepped towards Ace calmly as if something had become evident to her.
Ace simply continued to stare intently at her as she approached him.
When Emilia finally reached him, she went on and sat right beside him.
"It's been a long time since we last saw each other, so hi, Ace," Emilia, knees against her chest, simply greeted him with a clear and unwavering gaze.
Yet for all the words she had just said, Ace remained silent, examining Emilia before simply tilting his head to the side.
'Well, seems like she'll be able to handle things from here on. Guess I'll go and prep for what comes next. Don't wanna be the third wheel, after all,' thought Ryu, his spectral form glitching silently and fading into the air unnoticeably.
"Does that mean you understand what I'm saying?" Emilia eyes turned towards the same direction Ace was staring into blankly… the dark sky above their heads.
And to her question, he simply remained silent. And in response, Emilia was plagued with her own thoughts.
'No answer. So, what should I do now?' she also stared into the sky, her gaze drifting to Ace who still had his eyes locked onto the same sight.
Her drifted back to the unappealing yet melancholic view.
"Why are you staring at the sky like that? Is there something there?" Emilia questioned Ace, still getting no response.
With a short sigh, as she understood that asking questions seemed to be pointless, Emilia continuously wondered what she could say to Ace, and at that moment, she remembered Ryu's words to her.
Then tell him.
His words rang out in her mind.
When you drag him out of this place by the ear and finally see him in the mortal world, tell him everything you've been bottling up inside!
She took deep and calm breath as she tried to clear her thoughts and steady her heart, the ring on her finger subtly glowing with an unnoticeable blue aura.
Hit him with it like belt to ass without holding anything back!
As she exhaled, the words left her mouth naturally in the most composed tone.
"You know, Ace. For the past three years, I've hated you."