"Why…"
"How…"
"ARE YOU HERE?!", they shouted in unison.
With fingers pointing at one another, both with narrowed eyes,
Ren looked up and down from the name tag above Aria's head to her face, while Aria closed and opened her eyes as if denying her current reality,
Their shouts soon turned into a strange silence, as they slowly dropped their hands, still staring at each other.
Ren's mouth opened first, speaking with slight surprise,
"So you really were a lady…"
At his words, a slight irritation welled up, causing her to frown, hand tidying her hair, the other pointing at Ren once more,
"Yeah, obviously! And here I thought you were an old man…"
"Old man? We've known each other for what? 20.. 30 years? If I'm old, you're old too!"
Aria's eyes widened with shock, shouting back in retaliation,
"I'm only old when I want to be old!"
"What kind of logic is that…?"
Letting out a sigh, Aria in turn turned her head away with a pout.
They had talked tens of thousands of times in the past, though it was only through a system where they couldn't see each other's faces or hear each other's voices
'It really is her.'
'He really is here.'
But despite that, whether it be the emotions they felt or the way they spoke, it felt so familiar that at this moment, an understanding was formed.
That the person in front of them was really the same person from the system.
'Ms. Star… someone I've known for ages.'
'Though her language is very different.'
The last message she had sent had her speaking in fancy tones and using quotes a bunch, though this only occurred about.
'2.. No.. probably a year ago.. Something about needing to practice sounding like a monarch.'
The current Aria was actually how she communicated for the majority of their friendship, a friendly and joking person.
Ren had talked with her when he first started his adventure in the Abyss,
When he was sad at the death of his master, or happy at a success in his journey when he defeated the first subordinate of the Ash God; the same could also be said of Aria.
It was obvious that the emotions flowing throughout his body would be positive, a warm smile plastered on his face,
For there wasn't a reason not to, for the person in front of him was someone he shouldn't be frowning at or being sad to meet, this was a joyous occasion, one that would only happen once,
Their first meeting,
A smile to a friend, from years ago to the present,
"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Star…"
Her eyes widened, breath seemingly stopping at his words, eyes flickering before returning with a smile of her own,
"Likewise, Mr. Night."
Bright, the smile was even brighter than the sunshine draping the forest.
…
After greeting each other, to get up to speed, they started talking about their situation,
"So.. when did you first wake up Ms. Star?"
They were currently walking in the forest, looking around at its seemingly infinite array of trees.
The leaves waved with the soft breeze.
It was quite the picturesque sight, but their first order of business was to find a source of water, leading them to be less focused on the beauty.
When asked the question, Aria held her chin, counting in her head,
"About 4 hours ago."
"So it's about the same as me. You were fighting that person the… Witch of Calamity, right?"
In Aria's past life, similar to Ren, she was sent into the game world from a game she had been playing,
Though it wasn't a Soulslike game, judging by what she had to do, it wasn't any less difficult than what Ren had gone through.
The reminder of what she had gone through caused Aria's face to turn into an annoyed scowl, whining while bringing up the recent memories,
"Hah… I managed to win with my trump card, but that bitc-, she blew herself up with me like some…. fucking glorified human firework!"
Her attempt not to curse was futile as her expression grew more and more frustrated, she cursed with a slight shout,
"Why the hell is someone like that in a dating sim anyway!?"
Grabbing the ends of her shoulder length hair, she grit her teeth while squeezing them in annoyance, all while shaking her head,
Soon after her anger slightly subsided, yet still present, she gave Ren a curious look.
"How about you, Mr. Night? You also failed, right?"
"That I did. Don't look so down, Ms. Star. Not only did I fail, but I got blown up as well."
As Ren started regaling his grand tale, Aria stared incredulously, sighing,
"How… Reassuring"
They continued to walk.
…
"Do you not feel anything while looking at me?"
"No? Why do you keep asking me that?"
They had been walking for nearly an hour with no water in sight as the question was once again asked; she had been asking the same question over and over again like some parrot.
In response, Ren matched her energy and repeated the answer he had been giving her,
'Odd… is it actually gone?', bad memories of a certain problem plaguing her former life appeared before disappearing as she smiled,
"I was just trying to confirm something. Anyway, I was wondering, how did you move your body so well back there?"
"Do you mean when you hit me with that wind blast?"
"Yeah.. you blocked pretty well."
Both her tone and the smile on her face were apologetic; she still felt slight guilt for attacking him, whether he was someone she knew or didn't.
Aria had noticed that Ren had blocked the more sensitive areas of his body, like his neck or eyes.
He had also taken a stance that made his sword absorb the largest amount of impact from her attack,
In addition, although creating space from a mage wasn't ideal, by jumping back when the spell was launched and allowing it to push him back, Ren sustained the least amount of damage possible in that situation.
Having known him for a long time, she knew he wasn't a slouch when it came to combat and was strong in his past life.
But since this was a new life entirely, his movements were way too smooth for someone who had just woken up in a new body and with no memories, causing her to be curious.
Although Aria hadn't attacked him with the intention to actually hurt him,
If she did, her attack wouldn't have done much damage, only grazing him shallowly.
Ren fell into thought, his fingers propping his chin before he answered,
"How did I? Well.. I noticed this earlier, but this body feels very natural to me."
"Natural?"
"Yes.."
Nodding, he gave a brief explanation about his body and how it was much more talented than in his past life, how he felt oddly more familiar with it than he should have been, and how odd it was considering he had only recently started using it a couple of hours ago.
"Physical, magical talent… and barely no delay ?" Aria listed the main points.
"That's right."
Falling into thought, her eyes glowed slightly, recognizing the cause.
"Ah! Your soul must be compatible with the body."
"My soul? But my current build and power are completely different from my past life. If anything, shouldn't I be flailing around like a fish out of water?"
Aria smiled, raising a finger,
"Well, if you were sent to your past body from the future, would you be able to control the body well?"
Ren's past memories flowed.
He had once fought with a soul mage, this person swapped bodies when they were about to die in order to extend their life.
Although Ren himself knew little about soul magic he remembered some of their words as he responded,
"The mind changes as we age and adapt to our growing body, so I shouldn't have complete control in a younger body, but… I would be able to control it better than if I were just sent into a random body. I've been told the soul is formed to be compatible with the body upon birth."
"That's correct, the body is the perfect glove for the hand that is the soul, just as the body grows with the soul, the soul grows with the body…"
An oddly excited smile appeared on Aria's face,
'Wasn't she a soul mage in her past?'
As the fact came to Ren, Aria continued,
"So! A soul can't be put inside a body, it isn't compatible with..."
"The fact that you can use your body well indicates the soul is compatible with the body and brings up the question…"
Ren's eyes glowed figuring out what Aria was trying to ask,
"Why are we so compatible with these bodies? When we have nothing to do with them?"