***
In a dark abyss, a slumbering child lay on top of a coffin ensnared by nine enormous chains. It couldn't be seen where these chains led to, but at this moment, this place of absolute silence was suddenly shaken.
"Your soul has completely recovered from the partial awakening. Wake up, Raizel."
CLANK!
One of the chains suddenly broke; a blinding light surrounded the child, and soon, his consciousness began to return from nothingness.
Raizel opened his eyes at last, and unbeknownst to him, it was already a month since the last time he was awake in the real world. He urged his body to move, but he felt that he was too weak to even fiddle with his fingers.
He was too weak to move, so he began to think. He remembered Emil, and he also remembered the feeling of being sucked into an abyss before waking up and falling asleep once again.
He didn't understand what happened, but somehow, he felt something was amiss. And of all the things he was worried about, he felt really hungry.
He tried to turn his head toward his left, and then he saw his mother sleeping. Her blond hair was disheveled, her eyes, although closed, showed signs of being sleepless. "How did my mother become like this?"
The last image of his mother that came to his mind was very different from the one beside him. He tried to lift his hands. He felt the urge to touch his mother's head. He felt pity. Somehow, a tear fell from his eyes.
Since he was born into this world, his mother gave him lots of affection. He was cherished and loved. Everyone else was kind to him. It was the first time he saw her mother like this.
His thoughts lingered on all kinds of topics, but it all boiled down to the thought that whoever or whatever it was that made her like this, he would surely make them regret it.
As he was gently ruffling his mother's hair, she suddenly woke up with a start. Her expression turned from shock to relief, and then to exhaustion. A tear fell from her eyes, and in an instant, she hugged her son tightly.
Raizel felt warm from inside his heart. The love his mother was giving him was truly incomparable to anything he felt during all the years of existence he had. Although weakened, he mustered all his strength to hug his mother back and spoke, "Mother, why are you crying?"
Hearing his voice, Amaria fell into a trance. She wailed loudly. Time passed, and she just held him in her arms and cried.
"Little Rai, you, you're finally awake! Are you okay? How do you feel? Is there anything wrong with your body? Like something hurts or… Oh! You must be hungry! Wait. I'll call for Maester Mai and your father, then I'll prepare some food."
Amaria suddenly rushed out of the room, leaving Raizel dazed. He didn't really understand what was happening, but judging from the tone of his mother, she was worried about him. No, she was really worried about him.
"Heh, you're finally awake. The integration took longer than expected. I'm really sorry for worrying your mother."
"Who!?"
The boy looked left and right, but he found no one. He suddenly heard a voice out of nowhere. He was so shocked that it took him a few moments before realizing that the voice it was the voice of Emil.
"Oh, I'm speaking from inside your mind. Don't worry, I won't stick my nose into your business. I… never mind. There's a lot to explain, but let's talk about these things later on. For now, go and greet your family. You've been asleep for a month."
Once Emil finished talking, Raizel suddenly felt his body turn light. It was as if a giant rock pressing on his body was lifted. The weakened state he was in a few moments ago was gone, and the only thing left was a feeling of hunger.
All of these things seemed to be unbelievable at first, especially after knowing that he was in bed for an entire month. How could he stay alive after not eating for so long, not to mention there were no such things as dextrose here… But then he remembered this was a different world. Something probably kept him alive. There were still a lot of things he didn't know, and he would gladly ask Emil later on.
And then his thoughts wandered once again toward his family. Thinking about what Emil had just said, he had finally connected the dots. It seemed like his mother was worried because he had been asleep for a month. She looked so distressed because her beloved son hadn't woken up for such a long time.
Her heartbroken expression gave him a feeling of loss. He didn't want to see her like that again. The urge to reunite with his mother and hug her tightly became his imminent desire.
It was already afternoon when Raizel was done with everything else.
When Amaria returned, she fed him a bowl of soup. During that time, she didn't speak a word. She watched him intently while he was greedily devouring the first food he had ever since he woke up.
After a while, the door was slammed open as his father, who held his elder sister in his arms, came rushing toward the side of the bed. Behind them, Maester Mai was slowly walking.
Once everyone was gathered inside Raizel's room, his body was thoroughly checked by the family doctor. Judging that there were no problems with his body, the whole family heaved a sigh of relief. Afterward, he was bombarded with questions about how he felt and what he remembered during the last time he was awake.
The boy then told them of seeing a white streak of light forming inside his room and then suddenly falling unconscious. Other than that, he simply kept mum about Emil.
After a few more rounds of questioning, everyone was finally relieved. The boy was completely okay, at least for now. When everything calmed down, everyone left except for Amaria. She nestled him in her arms for a very long time before they both fell asleep.