Explaining what had happened to his disciple, Master Jiang felt like it wasn't enough but Zao Wu Hai was even more intent on figuring out what the problem was. He picked up the cubes to examine them for a moment, then he cast them onto the table. The lights flickered and changed just as they had done with Old Man Jiang. They clicked and alternated as it tumbled.
The lights stopped on the Stars and Water symbols.
Not noticing any change, Zao Wu Hai tried to summon a fireball. It wasn't what he expected, in fact, nothing had happened as a result of his rise in energy. He felt strange and his body was giving him a weird feeling.
His fire was gone, in its place he could feel a cool touch of energy coursing through his muscles and veins. He did his best to pool his energy in his hands like he would when he condensed a flame.
The strange liquefied essence was especially strong when he stopped near the window and saw the night sky.
Suddenly he vanished from sight only to appear on the other side of the wall when he tried to lean on it. He could pass through a multitude of things. Wu Hai was astonished at everything that was happening to his body. He had a creeping feeling, one he couldn't shake and an itch he couldn't scratch. Things were absolutely different but he could still feel the Blackfire in his body.
Getting the urge to test things out, he tried using his movement techniques, they still operated in the same principles. Old Man Jiang was staring at him from inside along with his parents. Wu Hai sprinted into the distance.
"Your magic still works but your innate and physical manifestations as well as bloodline magics have all changed. I believe this is the cause of my own change." Old Man Jiang wasn't sure which confused him more, both problems could only to be shoved to the back of the mind.
Pushing on, he watched as Wu Hai effected his movement techniques and sprinted into the forest's treeline attempting to plow through trees. On his disciples first attempt he bashed his shoulder into an Iron Oak tree and passed directly through it.
Never minding the reason behind it, Wu Hai felt unstoppable.
"Arrogance can turn to hubris in a flash. Don't underestimate the power of magic." Master Jiang stroked his beard by the window until Wu Hai returned to the room. He had originally questions and had never expected Wu Hai pass through a wall and let alone take off. "Can we try to figure out what is going on? Please?"
It was the first time Wu Hai heard Master Jiang especially disturbed, everything he'd known his entire life was changed instantly and he wanted things back the way they were.
Grabbing the two cubes, Old Man Jiang was unsure of what to expect. He had decided to wait for Wu Hai's attention before he threw.
"Throw them again, see what happens." A teasing thought came to mind, Old Man Jiang to cast the two cubes once more while Wu Hai's mind was spinning. Throwing the cubes, the lights began to flash once more and when they stopped tumbling, they had stopped on Fire and Metal.
"I am unwilling to accept this," Old Man Jiang threw again, the two cubes landed on Lightning and Healing. Never having considered this possible outcome he thought about it briefly and threw several more times. Lightning was a wonderful ability and healing was especially wonderful but it was not what the old man had known for his many years of life.
'Water, Metal' He read them off in his head and kept throwing.
'Fire, Soul' A deep sigh came from the old Bookstore owner, he swiped them up to throw again before changes could begin to manifest.
'Ice, Darkness' Shivers went through Old Man Jiang before he quickly threw again.
'Earth and Mind' Suddenly Old Man Jiang wasn't sure he wanted to change, the Wood Element had been with him for a long time. Additionally, he could learn a lot faster but if he didn't have the Wood Element, he would use up the remaining lifespan he had.
Thinking this had only one result, he shouted. "FUCK MY LIFE, I have to go back to wood Element or I will die!"
Earth and Wood were on the same cube, he wouldn't be able to regain either of his affinities without sacrificing one of them.
"Master, just take as long as you need to to get the right combination." It made sense, twisted and abject reason but it was still a truth he couldn't ignore. There was only one real choice, everything else was simply a waste. After some careful thinking, Wu Hai was finally able to calm his master down.
He heard enough to continue with his throwing. 'Ice, Stars'
'Fire, Mind'
'Lightning, Darkness' This was the second time Old Man Jiang felt the Darkness affinity being his source of power. Having already touched it once before, now, the feeling had evolved past fear. It felt somehow unrelated to evil. He couldn't keep it either way but his fear of it had passed and he kept rolling the cubes until finally he had what he was looking for. However, what happened was beyond his immediate expectation, 'Darkness, Wood.'
Unable to come to a decision about what to do in the moment, he stopped. Having gotten the Wood Element was fine. Old Man Jiang thought to himself and threw the metal cube once more, but nothing happened.
Wu Hai noted that no change had occurred when his Master threw them separately. "So, they have to be thrown at the same time to take effect? Strange, but they are already strange.. AHHGH, its out of my league." Master Jiang threw them once more. 'Wood, Healing.'
Old Man Jiang was slightly satisfied, the worry over his waning lifespan was a little regretful. Water Element was a big deal for him, he had gotten through many problems with it at his command.
Saddened, he picked up the cubes and said, "Why didn't I think of that earlier!" Honestly, he was trying to figure out what to call them until that point. Cube worked but it didn't really roll off the tongue. However, he knew, in the back of his head, that they had another name. He just couldn't make the sound come out. "Dicey, Dice.. We should call them Dice. Since, it is a gamble."
Wu Hai liked his new found abilities but he also wanted to see what other combinations he might come up with. It didn't take but a second's thought.
Wu Hai threw the dice, 'Lightning, Darkness.' The Combination was close to what he had before but he felt like it was familiar and wanted to try something completely different.
Throwing the dice again, he rolled 'Earth, Soul.'
Instantly Wu Hai felt connected to everything around him, so much so that it was nauseated at first. After a few moments he could feel the cells of everything and his face changed to grimace. He saw small things moving all over the place. Ultra tiny worms and things with many arms and no face. A plethora of microorganisms came into view, closing his eyes and picking the dice up again, he threw them fairly fast.
'If i can sense those things, does that mean they have energy and souls?' He couldn't see what they had landed on but he knew they were not the same, the sensations he had before had passed. Wu Hai looked down at the soil and didn't feel the living things under his feet.
'Water, Stars' Wu Hai's mind was racing after he read the outcome. "What a Strange combination."
Thinking that it wasn't all bad, he tried channeling the water ability and found it very easy, refreshing. He had seen his master using his own versions of water spells. Putting aside his awkwardness at pulling the water element, Wu Hai was unsure what he could do besides passing through things. When using star magic everything seemed very ethereal but with water at his command he wasn't sure exactly what he would manifest.
Wu Hai started to think about his mother's tea. He wondered what it would taste like with the Ethereal Water. Then, the little mouse in his head started to run at full tilt toward the wheel.
'If the water was ethereal, then I should bottle it!' Thinking that, he filled all the basins in the house with the water and showered himself with it.
The water was sublime and nearly intoxicating. Heavenly would sound right if it didn't cast too large a shadow. The effects the Ethereal Water had left Wu Hai feeling inspired, he noticed that since the star magic allowed him to pass through things and that the water was equally mystifying. Both he and Master Jiang were eager to see what the effects would be if he used the stars magic on his body's water.
Blood was a very important matter in many circles of magic. There was an old saying, 'Sometimes its just not in the blood.'
'By the guardians,' Wu Hai's hand started to slowly scatter then, return to normal. 'Like a Steam Rabbit Elemental.' He played with the ability in his hands for a moment then turned entirely to mist while he moved around. He had the ability to move at great speed in the form of water droplets.
Amazed he swiftly ran back to the table and threw the dice again.
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The City was bustling, it was past brunch and and many of the Citizens of the Capital ignored Wu Hai when he was doing something completely over the top and endangering anyone nearby. But, eventually he had gotten a lot of people very angry.
After experiencing quite a few strange rolls involving soul, he kept receiving the ability to feel the many things around him. He had became numb to the microorganisms and was able to start seeing people in a great distance, his ability to perceieve souls and people of power from a distance had grown so much that he could feel them even after changing his powers again. Not only could he see them, he could feel them, taste them and sense their magical power. Some people were harder to sense than others, likely due to their own power but those that were just budding and learning that they even have power to begin with lit up like a fire would at night, uncontrolled, unrestrained.
Wu Hai decided not to spend time focusing on one ability and everyday he would roll the dice at least once.
One Day when he had thrown 'Earth, Metal' he went into the crafting store.
After learning what materials the shop needed, he left the store to enter the alley and started dropping materials in bulk into his storage bracelet. It didn't take long for him to get a reputation in the City, Wu Hai had too much money and a strange source for materials.
He spent the rest of that week making gifts for his family and one especially for Master. Wu Hai had made him a Platinum Anvil and expanded his yard lot to include a small fish pond. When he was finally done with all his gifts, he had given his mother a new set of cooking pans, his father a set of armor and a platinum sword for his Brother.
For his baby sister he made a tiny toy. He left it in a box for when she was older and passed it to his parents for safe keeping. It wasn't much but there was a note inside. It had a message from him. 'I love you little sister, keep me in your heart like this message was in the toy. - Forever.'
The best part about his recent boost in wealth was that he didn't have to search for the materials. They were all things he made by himself and most of them were very rare, borderline impossible to obtain. Even the City officials had gotten wind of his trading habits.
Sitting there, he started to wonder about his big brother. Wu Hai asked his father, "Where is Zhan?"
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