Rada looked at the elder with a strange face "Master I really don't understand" he said.
"I have already told you, that the relationship between the bearer and the Pearl is quite special, no?" asked the elder.
"Yes, I think I got that far, what I don't understand is, why should my Pearl be any different?"
Before answering, the elder took a deep breath, the explanation he was about to give would be quite lengthy, even for him.
"Well, we can say that each Pearl has its own will, however that will comes from the bearer himself. In the test that each bearer must face in order to open its own door, each of them must do nothing but accept that will, because it is other than, another part of the bearer's own will, as if they were two entities."
Rada continued to assume a perplexed air.
"Excuse me master, but in what sense?" it seemed they were speaking two different languages.
"Each Pearl is born together with its child bearer, so that will we are talking about is directly related to the personality of that bearer," replied the elder.
"So if I understand correctly, if a bearer is evil the Pearl will be evil in turn?" asked Rada for confirmation.
"We can say yes," nodded the elder.
"However, there are rare cases where the Pearl remains, despite the death of its bearer."
"What happens in that case?" asked Rada, listening carefully.
"What happened to you Rada, you become the new bearer of the Pearl," replied the elder.
"I see, so that makes my Pearl special. But is it an evil Pearl or a good one?" he asked to himself out loud.
"I really don't know boy" the elder interrupted his line of thought.
"Is there anything else?" Rada began to get impatient.
"Calm down son, let me explain" the elder mediated.
"For those who inherit the Pearl instead, they must first erase the will of the previous bearer" he explained.
"Cancel the will of the previous bearer???"
For Rada it seemed he was back to square one, the old master's words were a succession of answers and doubts.
The elder sighed and smiled, before his dumbfounded expression.
"Yes son, they must first fuse their will with the acquired Pearl, before they can enter into symbiosis with the latter, they are called Semi-Bearers."
There was a moment of silence, the elder gave a moment to process all the information to the pupil. Who in the meantime, was massaging his temples.
"So let's recap, each Pearl is born with its bearer, and being part of the bearer there is only need for the Pearl to be accepted by the bearer in order to pass through the door, am I right?" asked Rada.
"Very well," nodded the elder, smiling.
"For those who instead obtain it externally, they must first force it with their will before the passage each bearer must face, correct?" he asked again confirming.
"Quite right!" affirmed the elder.
"Well, the only question that remains to be known is, how to force the will of the Pearl you acquire then" the boy said with anticipation.
"We have finally reached the climax of the whole thing boy!" the elder pointed his finger at him with vigor in saying it.
"Master?" Rada gasped at the old man's strange behavior. He was still not used to his mannerisms.
"Eheh, with simple physical contact!" the elder's voice was louder than it should have been, it seemed to become an echo in Rada's ears, who was dumbfounded with a dumbfounded expression.
"Q-q-this means..." with a trembling voice, Rada couldn't even finish the sentence.
"Exactly Rada, your Pearl is still keeping her will!"
"..."
So many explanations and reasoning, to arrive at one plausible answer, the Pearl that possessed Rada had a will of its own.
This, was the main reason why he had not been able to pass through his own spiritual door.
"What should I do then?"
Awakened from his moment of shock, Rada sought shelter in the good advice of the Elder.
"At the moment nothing son, your situation is like a land yet to be discovered, no one knows what they will find there," replied the elder in a desolate tone.
"However, that is not necessarily a bad thing" he encouraged.
"It is something you will have to discover in time, whether it is good or bad, only you can know, my boy."
"Alright" the boy replied sighing and nodding.
Despite the desire to go through with it, there were other things to take care of at the moment.
"Let's think about the test for now, it's not long now and you've been sleeping most of the time. Use these last few days to better learn what you need," advised the elder.
"I don't want you to win the race, the world is not roses and flowers, make a gift of this experience."
"It will be done" replied Rada with confidence.
The discussion between the two ended there. Rada returned to his room where Cody and Rei were waiting for him.
"Big brother how did it go? What did the Elder tell you? Huh?" Cody greeted Rada peppering him with questions.
"One question at a time please" Rada stopped him by smiling and ruffling the little boy's hair, who protested as usual.
Smiling, Rei stood by and watched the two. The jovial atmosphere in the room there put him in a good mood.
"Long story short, for some mysterious reason, my pearl is keeping her will and forbidding me to walk through the door," said Rada with a self-deprecating smile.
The two brothers gaped like two boiled fish.
"Don't look at me like that, even for me it was quite shocking, I think even the master was surprised not a little" he said before the shocked looks of the two brothers.
"Big brother if everything you say is true, all that..." Cody spoke in a low tone, as if he was talking to himself.
"Unbelievable..." Rei concluded his brother's sentence.
"Never heard of such a thing," the girl said.
"Nor read about it in history books," Cody continued.
The impromptu duet of the two brothers caused uncontrolled laughter in Rada.
"What are you going to do now, did the Elder tell you something?" asked Rei worriedly.
"I will continue to train the best I can, together with you, the rest will show," he replied. His tone was calm, somehow he tried to reassure the girl.
"It's almost time for the test now, do you think you can make it?" asked Cody, also worried.
"Of course I can make it! I've got my studious know-it-all here to help me, and my irascible instructor! ahahahah!" he replied jokingly.
"Grr! I suggest you go to sleep then, because starting tomorrow, this irascible instructor won't give you a break!!!" Rei smoked from her ears in anger.
The days that were to follow would be her inclement blows. She was going to take out all the built up frustration on him.
"Big brother what a mess you've gotten yourself into..." whispered Cody.