“Wake up, child,” spoke a soothing voice.

“I finally met you… but it is no time for a reunion. You must wake up!”

Mm..mmnnggh...

Aria opened her eyes and looked around. Or atleast, attempted to look around. Everything was dark around her. Around her, was nothing. A void as far as the eye can see, not that anything could be seen. She couldn’t see or hear anything except her heartbeat. Her heart thudded and the deep sound filled the silence around her.

Mmmpff...huh?.. Wh-what is happening? Where am I?

『 Skill Acquired: Analysis 』

Huh? This is...

I'm in some type of void?

Why can’t I see anything…?

"Here, a gift as one of my kin."

Who..?

『 Skill Acquired: Infinity's Eyes 』

『 Skill Acquired: Creation 』

I can’t tell what’s going on...

『 Skill Acquired: Sharpened Senses 』

What is happening?

“I’m sorry child, this will hurt. But bear with it, for it is necessary.”

A sudden bolt of pain struck through Aria. Her chest burned as if on fire. Aria gasped for air while hugging herself. She curled up as the pain intensified. It swirled around her entire body as she felt like her body was squeezing and shredding itself. Aria screamed, wishing anything to stop the pain.

It hurts…. It hurts so much! Stop the pain! Stop it stop it!! I don’t want to hurt.. I don’t want to feel pain! I don’t want.. to feel-.....

『 Skill Acquired: Weak Regeneration 』

『 Skill Acquired: Pain Reduction 』

『 MAGIC LIMITER Acquired 』

“It is done, child. Soon, you will be free."

Help.. Please don’t leave me alone...

"Hmm.. indeed. In preparation for the future, I will give you one more special skill. It will help in keeping up with them when they arrive on our planet. Hmm~ I said too much, for now my darling, remember this…"

『 Skill Acquired: Guide 』

『 Skill ‘Analysis’ Has Been Added To Skill ‘Guide’ Sub-Skill Tree 』

『 New Skills Acquired Through Acquisition of Skill ‘Guide’: ‘Pocket Dimension’ and ‘Status’ 』

"The world is on your side and--," said the voice. "I will be watching."

It hurts.. Am-... am I dying?

I don’t want to die...

『 . . . 』

『 Unique Acquired: ??? 』

Aria’s consciousness had already begun to fade. The pain she felt in her chest was no longer present. Though it still felt like her heart was getting crushed nothing was happening-- it was the shock of the pain that lingered. Aria shook her head to stay conscious, but to no avail. Her vision faded away as her pounding headache slowly dwindled into nothing but an afterthought.

---

It’s warm.

『 Good Morning. I am Guide, one of your skills. 』

Aria slowly opened her eyes, staring straight up into the glaring Sun. Unfazed, Aria took in her surroundings--- there was a waterfall to her left and trees surrounded her in a very large circle. She seemed to be in a grove. Stone debris that varied in sizes lay here and there along with many forms of brushes and vines. The debris seemed to be a remnant of a temple. In fact, by the looks of it, she would have been sheltered by the temple still if it weren't mostly rubble now. The roof was pestered with holes and the sun showered everything in bright warm rays of light. The temple was run-down, that was obvious--- the vines covering everything implied the absence of proper maintenance for a long time. It seemed she was in a secluded part of some forest. Now that she examined herself, she realized she lay in a weird material that oozed a warm viscous substance. The shell lay around her like an egg cracked open. It created a puddle of viscous soup that covered the cobblestone flooring.

Where… Who am I?

『 Answer: Location... Unknown; Insufficient Information. Identity Known: Your Name Is Aria 』

Aria… How do you know?

『 Answer: Aria’s Memory Reserve Contains 2 Memories. One Of Them Was Of Aria’s Name 』

Oh.

After a few moments, Aria realized that she couldn't move the entirety of her body save for her head. She didn’t know how she knew that she couldn’t move properly, but she knew something was wrong. She knew that she should be able to move her limbs and walk. Her instincts screamed ‘uncomfortable’ at being restricted from movement.

I.. I can’t control my limbs. What am I? Why can’t I move?

『 Answer: Aria Is Currently A... Human. As For Your Current Situation, During Aria’s Body Construction, Aria’s Magical Framework Was Adjusted. Thus, Your Body Was Disassembled To Accept This Change. In The Process, Aria’s Nervous System Was Split And Reconnected In Several Thousand Locations. Nerve’s Recollection Of Movement is Nigh-Impossible.』

So I can’t control my body? Like my hands or fingers or toes?

『 Correct. However It Seems The Nerves In Your Entire Head Were Untouched, Along With Key Nerves That Are Vital For The Operation Of Your Organs 』

Umm, Guide… Your way of talking is too complicated..

The voice had been speaking in a professional, matter-of-fact voice. While this wasn't bad, Aria didn't like it. Aria slightly pouted as she thought so.

『 Understood. Would Aria Like To Suggest A New Way Of Communicating? 』

Talk easier! More like a friend… or something?

『 Underst-... Ok. Does this way of talking sound suitable for you? 』

The voice became relaxed and spoke more casually than before.

That sounds better... yes I guess it is better. Thank you… but what do we do now? Stay here forever? That sounds somewhat… dull?

『 That is a possibility, but this might be a better suggestion: Aria’s body is that of a small child, and the nervous system is currently wrecked. With the only exception being the nerves in your head and organs, no movement of the limbs are possible. This is an unwanted situation- 』

Yes, that's what you were saying just now right?

『 However, with Aria’s improved magic framework, magic usage is already possible. Meaning using magic to move is possible. Unfortunately, due to your lack of proficiency in magic, current chances of success is 0. If you grow accustomed to using magic, it is possible to use it to hijack your body and move using nerve-signals created purely by your magic. Usage of telekinesis-like magic to move your body with current magic proficiency will likely result in death considering you haven't learned telekinesis magic. Mastery of telekinesis-like magic would take way longer than you would prefer and you're currently not in a suitable condition to begin learning telekinesis magic. Thus, hijacking the body, namely the nervous system would prove to be the best path. 』

Okay.. but how do I get better at magic? And how would I hijack the nervous system too?

『 Answer: If you wish to become proficient, you can begin improving magic proficiency by gathering it and exerting it with force and re-collecting them back within your body. One can hijack their nervous system if they collect all their magic within their body, specifically in or surrounding the nervous system, to send signals through the nervous systems with magic. 』

Uhmm...

Aria concentrated and tried to get a grasp on sensing this ‘magic’. She closed her eyes and felt around her senses. Opening her eyes again, Aria figured out what this ‘magic’ was. It had been leaking out this whole time. And she realized she could see it as well, if she wanted to. If she focused slightly, she could make out iridescent colors floating around from her at various points of her body. She looked at a nearby animal--- a small bird ---which leaked the magic aura as well. However the amount that came out from the bird were extremely minimal, each amounting to a small bubble. Thus, she couldn’t tell if she had a large magic capacity or not. Definitely more than the bird, but now that wasn’t much of a comparison was it? Now that Aria knew what it was, she concentrated on it and imagined it moving to her will. After a couple minutes, she succeeded in gathering her magic within her, as if trying to keep the magic from leaking. A couple seconds had passed until she let go. The magic floated back out of her as if it was pushed out. However, it did not stray from her and dissipate. It remained as it did before she gathered it, lingering around her body.

That wasn’t too bad. I could easily gather my magic thingy that was all around me.

『 I believe the magic you emit out of your body is called your 'Magic Aura' or just 'Aura'. After analyzing it through your senses, I have determined that it is invisible to the naked eye and to an extent, cannot be physically felt. You are an exception and are able to see it thanks to [Infinity's Eyes]. However, other beings with magic may be able to detect it. Also, it can also be used to gather information like our surroundings beyond our vision: this is called 'Magic Sense'. Or due to its nature as an anomaly, magic can defy logic and create physical objects from nothing but magic, though magic consumption doing so is high, increasing exponentially depending on what it is you wish to create. 』

Interesting. So, our first goal together is to move around? I also want to try out that.. creation magic option you talked about. Alright.. I guess I have no choice but to get good at manipulating my magic aura.

Aria closed her eyes while focusing on her magic aura. She repeated what she did before; manipulating the magic and dragging it into her. It was a little bit more difficult than the first time. It seems the rebound from doing it the first time released a higher density of her magic and thus making it harder to control. It was as if it was heavier and each time it would expel from her grip harder when she let go of it.

Hmm. If I increase the density a lot, I think I can improve my magic skills tons more! I can get density fast by constantly gathering my magic within me and letting it go over and over quickly right? Will that work?

『 Answer: It should work, however the higher the density, the bigger the effect your rebound causes. This means it’ll be easier to detect for beings that can utilize magic. 』

I’ll try it.

『 In that case, repeating the process 5 or 6 times should be enough for our goal. Or repeat until it feels as if your magic is unable to be any tighter After you gather up your high density magic, please try to hold it within you for as long as you can. 』

--

Aria spent the next couple hours repeating the process, the voice in her mind said 5 or 6 times was sufficient, but Aria decided she would do it as much as possible. And thus, Aria came into the situation she was in right now. After doing it a hundred and one times, the magic was so dense that she could barely manipulate it any further. It refused to be squeezed smaller and dragged within her. It took unwavering concentration just to maintain it.

『 ... 』

H-Hey… don’t.. y-you see… the situation.. here.. Guide? Please tell me.. how to fix… this. It feels like.. it’ll explode.

Aria felt herself shiver as it slowly crept out of her control.

『 Aria’s magic aura is so dense that the molecules within the air were shredded and have had their atoms split. The explosions caused by the split atoms were absorbed by your magic, greatly increasing its density and strength. That’s why there was a sudden increase in difficulty when Aria repeated the process the last couple of times. 』

This is.. bad isn’t it..

『 Yes. 』

Ugh..

『 A positive result from this is that Aria’s magic proficiency has increased more than tenfold the required amount necessary. 』

Why did you…. not stop me?

『 I felt there was no need. However, be cautious, if you release your magic now, it would result in a devastating blast decimating everything in a 200 meter radius including us. There is a possible solution, however it is unknown if the requirements are met for it. You could try to convert your gathered magic into a physical object of any kind. It would require immense concentration and likely deplete your remaining magic reserves. But that is the only known solution for the current situation. In other words, use [Creation]. 』

Turn it into a physical object. Hm. I did not think we would get to try creation magic so soon, but it’s worth a shot. I also had not expected my magic to be this difficult to handle… Guide, do you know how exactly I could use that creation magic?

『 Answer: There is insufficient information to answer that question. However there is a theory that might work. Since the magic of the skill is essentially Aria’s, it should react accordingly as you wish. The only struggle is the level of proficiency you have at controlling magic. If you are proficient enough, nearly anything would be possible with magic. Thus, if you just wish your magic to convert into a physical item, it should react accordingly while using up the required amount of your magic reserves. However, the immense concentration needed is put into use when restraining the magic as to not let the reacting magic go wild in the process. 』

That makes sense… kind of? I just need to make sure it doesn’t go wild and escape my control. Uhmmm a physical object…

Aria’s magic began to shake and swirl violently as it slowly shrunk in size. Aria winced as she focused with all her willpower. Not a speck of her mind was thinking about something else. She was completely focused on this one exact task. Converting her raw ultra-dense magic into a tangible object to stabilize its existence in the world. The voice in her mind remained silent the whole way, presumably to keep from distracting Aria. Her magic shrunk and shrunk and its presence slowly transitioned from its explosive, violent state to an unchanging state of stability. The conversion was going well, but it completely depleted her magic reserves. Fatigue washed throughout her body and mind distracting Aria for a split second. In that moment a miniscule amount of her magic had escaped her control floating away slowly. Aria, curious, followed the stray magic with her eyes as it came closer and closer to a nearby stone pillar. In only a few seconds, it made contact with a pillar causing it to violently explode into many shrapnels to which Aria instinctively looked away with her eyes shut.

It must’ve missed me… I didn’t feel anything hit me. A-anyways. That's some fearsome firepower.

『 ... 』

At the same time, Aria’s magic had continued to undergo [Creation].

『 Conversion of Aria’s ultra-dense magic into a tangible object is complete. 』

That's.. good...

Aria’s eyes closed as she began to lose consciousness. The minuscule amounts of strength left in her dispersed and fatigue took her consciousness as a result of completely depleting her magic reserves. The last thing she saw was an orb the color of white fall onto the ground next to her hand.