After the demonstration concluded, I was about to send Aria back into the subspace of my grimoire when she suddenly turned to me, her dark eyes steady and unblinking.
"Food," she said simply.
I froze. "Food?" I echoed, tilting my head in confusion.
Aria nodded, her expression as placid as ever, as though this one word explained everything.
Summons could reside in the subspace of a grimoire indefinitely, existing in an energy-sustained state, but they still needed sustenance—especially those in a physical form. And it seemed that Aria, in her human-like guise, was hungry now.
"Er… what do you eat?" I asked, glancing down at my grimoire as though it might conveniently offer an answer. Of course, it didn't.
Aria blinked at me, clearly perplexed by the question. "Food," she repeated, her tone carrying just the faintest trace of impatience.
"Given that she's taken a human form, human food should suffice," my father interjected, saving me from what I suspected would have been an increasingly circular conversation.
I sighed in relief. "Can she eat with us, then?"
"The only reason summons don't usually join their summoners at the table is because they rarely take human form even if they can," my father said, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "But in this case, I see no harm. Butler," he called, turning toward the man standing attentively nearby, "prepare dinner for four."
The butler inclined his head. "And what would… Miss Aria prefer?" he asked cautiously, glancing at the petite figure with a hint of wariness.
"Spicy," Aria said promptly, her voice carrying the same unshakable calm as before.
The butler blinked, caught off guard by the directness of her response, before quickly regaining his composure. "Very well. I shall prepare accordingly."
"Father," Kael said, his voice cutting through the exchange, "will my summon be able to speak to me as well?"
My father turned to him, his expression thoughtful. "Your dragon is still a baby with just one divine core," he explained. "My Jade Dragon began speaking after forming three mana cores. I suspect your Royal Dragon will need at least three divine cores to develop speech and the ability to assume a human form."
Kael nodded, absorbing the information with his usual poise, but I caught the faintest flicker of impatience in his eyes.
Father turned back to me, his gaze settling on Aria. "This is an advantage for you, Elara," he said. "You can build rapport with your summon early on. Speak with her, learn about her abilities, and establish a foundation of trust."
I nodded, though my thoughts were already swirling. My father's words made sense, but how did one build trust with someone—or something—that felt so utterly other?
I glanced at Aria, who was now staring blankly into space. Everything about her appearance suggested she was a perfectly ordinary preteen girl: the way her legs swung idly beneath her chair, the serene stillness of her face, the soft way her hair framed her delicate features.
But I knew better. The grimoire in my hands told me better.
Still, I couldn't shake the peculiar sense of innocence that clung to her, no matter how much her traits declared otherwise.
I cleared my throat, deciding to take the first step. "Hello, Aria," I said, offering her a small, tentative smile. "I'm your summoner, Elara Veylin."
Aria's gaze shifted to me, her dark eyes focusing with an intensity that made my breath hitch. "I'm Aria," she said, her voice cold yet oddly melodious, like the soft chime of a bell carried on a winter breeze. "The Heavenly Demon."
The room seemed to quiet at her words, the weight of her title hanging in the air. For a moment, I could only stare at her, caught between the almost childlike simplicity of her demeanor and the staggering truth of what she was.
And then she blinked, her head tilting slightly to one side, as though she were waiting for something.
"Welcome, Aria," I said at last, swallowing the strange knot in my throat. "Let's… get you something spicy to eat."
Her lips curved ever so slightly—a smile, or perhaps just the faintest acknowledgment. Either way, it was a beginning.
As I stood there, caught in the moment, I felt something cold brush against my hand. The unexpected sensation startled me, and I instinctively pulled my hand away. I glanced down, my heart skipping a beat, to see Aria's small, pale hand hovering where mine had been.
She tilted her head at me, her expression serene, devoid of anger or sadness at my reaction. It was almost as though she were studying me, quietly waiting. Swallowing my hesitation, I offered my hand again, allowing her to take it.
Her fingers curled lightly around mine, soft and cold like winter frost. She was so small, so delicate in appearance, but as her touch lingered, I couldn't suppress the faint tremor that ran through my body. It wasn't her doing; I knew that much. No, Aria wasn't trying to intimidate me. This was the weight of what she could do—of the power she carried so effortlessly.
Her hand remained still, yet my single mana core shuddered faintly, a quiet acknowledgment of the vast chasm between her and me. A summon could never harm its summoner; that was an immutable law, the foundation of our craft. Yet the mere possibility of her power was enough to send a chill through me.
The thought came unbidden: 'What if she could?'
I could picture it all too clearly—her slight fingers tightening with unimaginable force, crushing my hand until it was nothing but shattered bone. The image lingered, visceral and vivid, even as her touch remained gentle.
I led her toward the dining room, my thoughts swirling. She followed without resistance, her steps light and graceful, the faint rustle of her dress the only sound she made. 'Cold,' I thought again, her touch a quiet reminder of what she was. A being of absolute power contained in the guise of a child.
My father, walking ahead, glanced back briefly. His brows furrowed as his eyes lingered on Aria, but he said nothing, turning instead to take his seat at the head of the table. Kael was already seated, his Gold grimoire resting on the table beside him like a trophy.
I guided Aria to the chair beside mine, her hand still in mine. As she let go and settled into her seat, I exhaled softly, the tension that had coiled in my chest easing ever so slightly. The sense of danger, though never overt, dissipated as her small fingers left my own.
She sat quietly, her posture straight, her gaze distant but attentive. She didn't fidget or glance around as most children might. Instead, she exuded an almost unnatural stillness, as though she were waiting for something to happen—or for someone to speak.
I studied her for a moment, unsure of what to say. Her presence felt simultaneously alien and familiar, a paradox that was becoming a theme where she was concerned. She was my summon, bound to me by the immutable laws of summoning. Yet, she wasn't mine in the way a human might claim ownership of something. She was something beyond me—beyond any of us.
My father's voice cut through the stillness, his tone as measured and deliberate as always. "Aria," he said, addressing her directly for the first time. "You have chosen to take a form that resembles us. Why?"
Her dark eyes turned to him, calm and unwavering. "This is my form," she replied simply, her words carrying the weight of absolute certainty. "No other form."
My father blinked, his usual composure momentarily faltering. "So… you are human?" he asked, incredulity seeping into his voice.
Aria tilted her head slightly, as though the question itself was strange. "Evolved from human," she said, her tone unhurried, as if she were stating the obvious.
Kael muttered, "Incredible," and I found myself nodding in agreement, though my thoughts were a whirlwind. The implications of her words hit like a tidal wave.
Summoning had taught us that other worlds existed, each vastly different yet somehow connected. The beings we summoned were evidence of this: creatures of flame and shadow, beasts of unimaginable power, things that defied logic and natural law. Yet, we had never encountered a summon that claimed to have evolved from humanity itself.
This wasn't just a revelation—it was a paradigm shift. Aria's existence meant that humans, or something like them, existed in other worlds. A theory long debated by scholars, now standing before us in flesh and bone.
My curiosity bubbled over, and before I could stop myself, I asked, "Do you miss your world?"
The question hung in the air, fragile and uncertain. For a moment, Aria was silent, her gaze distant. Her stillness carried a weight, as though she were sifting through memories too vast and too deep to comprehend. Finally, she spoke, her voice steady but devoid of emotion.
"No," she said. "I killed everyone I had to kill there."
The room seemed to freeze. Even the faint clinking of cutlery from the butler preparing the table stilled. Kael's usually composed face faltered, and my father's sharp eyes narrowed as though trying to gauge the depths of her words.
"You… killed everyone?" I asked hesitantly, my voice barely above a whisper.
Aria turned her gaze to me, her expression as serene as ever. "Yes," she said simply. "They were enemies. They needed to die."
The finality in her tone sent a chill down my spine. There was no malice in her words, no boastfulness. It was a statement of fact, as though she were describing the weather or the passage of time.
My father recovered first, his voice sharp but thoughtful. "A world where humanity has evolved… and wars that required such measures," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. "This changes much."
Kael's gaze darted between Aria and me. "If she… if you've done all this, then why answer a summoning?"
Aria didn't hesitate. "I was bored," she said, her tone so flat and matter-of-fact that it was almost absurd. "There was nothing left to kill. Nothing left to learn. Then Elara called, and I came."
A silence followed, the kind that wasn't merely quiet but heavy, thick with thoughts too large for words. My father's expression had become unreadable, his sharp mind clearly working through the implications of what had just been revealed.
I, on the other hand, couldn't stop staring at Aria. This girl—this childlike being with cold, doll-like features—had lived an existence so far removed from anything I could imagine. Entire worlds, entire histories lay behind her calm exterior.
And yet, she had come to me. A Diamond-grade summoner, yes, but still just a girl fumbling her way through a destiny I barely understood.
"I see," my father said finally, his voice cutting through the haze of my thoughts. "Elara, you have summoned something… extraordinary. But extraordinary is not always simple, nor safe. Remember that."
I nodded slowly, the weight of his words settling over me. My gaze flicked back to Aria, who had returned to staring into the distance, as though the conversation had already slipped from her mind.
"Aria," I said softly. "Thank you. For answering my call."
Her head tilted slightly, her dark eyes meeting mine. "You called," she said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "And I answered."