Two days had passed since the incident at the concert
For Aren, those two days had felt strangely quiet.
Principal Virel had been very clear about the situation before leaving the apartnt: do not leave the house.
With the amount of attention the incident had drawn, it was safer for him to stay out of sight until the expedition departed.
Which ant Aren had spent the last forty-eight hours doing little more than recovering. His family had already been notified.
That conversation alone had taken nearly an hour and his sister almost blew up again. His father had nearly fainted when he heard his son was involved in a bio-terrorist attack.
Thankfully, the Professors handled most of the explanations.
Now, the apartnt was quiet again.
Aren stood beside his bed with a half-open duffel bag resting on the mattress. A few sets of clothes had already been folded inside, alongside several pieces of gear that Luna brought from the school’s equipnt facility back.
The expedition to the Wildlands would leave at sunrise tomorrow.
Which ant tonight was the last chance he had to prepare.
Aren tossed another shirt into the bag before zipping open one of the side pockets. His hand paused briefly as he checked that the dampener was still secured firmly around his wrist.
Good.
After what had happened two nights ago, he had no intention of taking that thing off again anyti soon.
He reached toward the table beside the bed, grabbing a small pouch of tools when—
His phone buzzed.
Aren blinked once as he letting it ring. Then the na that appeared beneath the number made his eyes widen.
Miu Harmonia.
Aren didn’t even think. He answered almost imdiately.
"...Hello?"
For a mont, there was nothing but faint static on the line. Then a soft voice ca through.
"...Aren?"
He froze. Even through the phone, he recognized it instantly.
"Miu?" he said, straightening unconsciously. "You’re awake."
A faint pause followed before she answered.
"...Yeah."
Her voice sounded weaker than usual, quieter, but unmistakably hers.
"They told you were the one who brought back," she continued softly. "Professor Voss explained a little of what happened."
Aren rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah... about that."
Another silence settled as all he could hear was static on the other end.
"...Did anyone get hurt?" Miu finally asked. "Did I..."
The question ca out carefully, almost like she was scared of receiving the answer.
Aren leaned back against the desk beside him.
"A few people got knocked around," he said honestly. "But no one died."
He could almost hear the breath she let out on the other side of the line. For a few seconds, neither of them spoke again.
Then she chuckled weakly.
"You know... this is kind of embarrassing."
Aren blinked.
"...Embarrassing?"
"Yeah," she replied. "First ti we t, you were hired as my bodyguard."
"And now look at this," she added faintly. "We’re just chatting it up."
Aren huffed quietly.
"...Wasn’t exactly in the job description."
That earned a small laugh from her.
"Guess I’ll go to the Committee and tell them you did a great job protecting !"
"Haha yeah..."
But the humor faded quickly.
"...I rember sothing," she said after a mont. "Just barely, when I was conscious."
Aren’s brow lifted slightly.
"What?"
"When everything was going out of control," Miu murmured. "When I couldn’t stop it."
Her voice dropped softer.
"...I heard soone talking."
His fingers tightened slightly around the phone.
"...Yeah?"
"...Soone was repeating my lyrics."
On the other end of the line, Miu sang quietly.
♩ "Even when the world pulls far away..." ♫
♫ "...Your warmth is the song that helps stay." ♩
Aren stared outside at the window, at the soft breeze that entered into his room.
"...You rembered that?"
"I did," she said. "...Was that you?"
Aren froze for a fraction of a second. Then he cleared his throat lightly and looked away from the phone like she could sohow see him.
"...The lyrics were just catchy, that’s all," he said quickly.
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. Then Miu let out a quiet laugh.
"...You’re terrible at lying."
Aren frowned slightly.
"I’m not lying."
"Mmhm," she humd softly, clearly unconvinced.
For a mont the line went quiet again.
Then her voice returned, gentler this ti.
"...Still."
"...Thank you."
Aren cleared his throat again, shifting his weight as the silence on the line stretched a little too long.
"...So," he said, trying to move the conversation along. "What are you planning to do now?"
The mont the words left his mouth, he realized he might’ve asked the wrong question.
On the other end of the line, Miu was quiet for a second.
Then she gave a small, awkward laugh.
"Well," she said lightly. "They told I’ll likely never be an idol again."
Shit... Aren thought as he almost slamd his head into his desk drawer.
Why the hell did I ask that question. I know the goddamn answer!
"It’s fine," she said quickly, though the faint crack in her voice made it clear it really wasn’t. "I an... it makes sense."
"Tens of thousands of people watched turn into a monster on stage."
She let out another small laugh, this one far more forced than the first. "Not exactly great for an idol’s image."
"...Still," Miu continued after a mont, her tone quieter now. "Professor Voss said sothing interesting."
"What?"
"She said if I learn how to control my Bloodline..." she said slowly. "Then maybe I can beco a Mystic."
It really was ironic.
"Funny thing is," Miu continued softly, "I spent all my early life trying to be a Mystic, and now...here I am."
Aren rubbed the back of his neck.
"...Life’s weird like that." Miu humd faintly.
"...Yeah."
"But don’t worry!" her voice suddenly filled with excitent. "I’ll control this power, and soday—I’ll be able to sing again!"
Aren blinked at the sudden burst of confidence.
"...You bounced back pretty fast."
Miu laughed softly.
"Well, what choice do I have?" she said. "If I’m stuck with a Siren Bloodline now, I might as well learn how to use it."
Her voice softened after a small pause.
"...And when that day cos..."
"...I want you to be the first person to hear my song."
Aren’s mouth hung open as he tried to find the right words to respond, yet nothing ca out.
After a mont she added,
"...So co back alive from the Wildlands, okay?"
That snapped him back. Aren shook his head and quickly stood up before grabbing the duffel bag and putting it on his bed.
"...I was planning to."
"Good," she said softly. "Then...I’ll see you when you co back."
"Yeah," Aren replied. "See you later."
BEEP!
The call ended a mont later. Aren lowered the phone slowly, his gaze drifting toward the night sky outside the window before he continued to pack his things.
And sowhere else in Imperial City, a girl who once dread of her voice reaching the stars no longer cared about that dream.
She was already happy...
Because her song had already reached one heart.
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