Birds can be heard chirping through the Redwood Forest as the sun rises to mark the beginning of a new day. Aaron was still in a deep sleep, as the the training Via had put him through the night before proved to be more tiring than he had previously thought it would be. Via however was already awake and on the move. She was making her way over to a nearby river where she has several traps laid out. Her morning routine consisted of checking and collecting whatever may have found itself inside any of her traps. Then she would travel a bit further up the river to a waterfall which she uses to clean herself off. Finally before heading back home, she would spend a few minutes at a certain special location.
"I wonder if Aaron even likes fish." Via said to herself. "His body is essentially Venmi's so he should like it. Then again personal taste wouldn't be the same in this situation."
As she continued to ponder to herself, Via approached a small flower garden of mostly different color tulips. Amidst the garden was a hole that was roughly six feet deep. She carefully walked into the garden and kneeled down beside the hole, however instead of facing it she sat parallel to it.
"Good morning mommy. Remember how I told you I was gonna take that risk. Well, I did it. I carried Venmi's body to the Lake of Lazarus and I tried to bring him back. Things didn't exactly go to plan though. In short, I couldn't get Venmi back. But! That doesn't mean my mission was a failure. A different soul took possession of Venmi's body and I know that may not sound like a good thing, but he's actually a good person. His name is Aaron and he isn't even from this realm. I remember a long time ago you read me a book about two lovers from different realms. You really thought it was possible for different realms to exist and I guess me meeting Aaron proves you were right... I guess I should fill in this grave now but, there's nothing to put in it... Ah but don't worry mom, I promise I'm not sad. How could I be sad when I'm not alone anymore. I'll be back tomorrow and one day I'll bring Aaron to meet you. Bye mommy."
With a smile on her face, she stood up and began to make her way back home. This was a normal morning for Via.
.....
"Open your eyes buddy."
"Huh." Aaron said as his eyes jolted open.
He looked around and saw that he was in a different place from where he fell asleep. He was suddenly in a completely white room that was filled with a white mist.
"How did- what is this place."
"It's strange that I was able to reach you before the other one." A male's voice stated.
Aaron frantically looked around to try and locate who the voice was coming from.
"Ah sorry, I forgot it could be hard to see me in this place."
Right then a figure appeared from the mist directly in front of Aaron.
"How about now?"
The figure was a tall and slender man that was dressed in long white pants and a white hoodie. However his face in the hoodie wasn't visible, Aaron only saw darkness.
"Who are you?" Aaron asked.
"For now you could call me 'N'." He replied leaning down closer to Aaron. "I can't answer anymore of your questions right now because we may not have much time here. So listen, I have some advice for you. When you get to Aestus, ask Kenzo to show you Kaden."
"Kaden? What do you mean?"
"I need you two to meet as soon as possible. Both of you will be needed for this to work out. Usually I wouldn't interfere with human lives, but this is an exception."
"Wait I don't understand anything that you're saying." Aaron exclaimed.
The area then began to fade from white to gray.
"Damn, we barely had any time. Next time will be longer, so I can elaborate more then. For now, listen to my advice. Aestus, Kenzo, Kaden."
"This doesn't make any sense." Aaron said as the area became even darker.
"You'll understand eventually."
The area became so dark that the only thing visible was his white clothing and the white light that was seemingly being emitted from his body.
"Don't die again, Aaron Cooper."
"AH!" Aaron quickly shouted as his eyes sprung open again.
This time he did wake up back in Via's camp.
"That was a dream?... That was way to vivid to be a dream."
Aaron noticed that he was stuck inside since Via had extended the tree Vines over the cave's entrance. He began to take a closer inspection on everything inside the cave. Among the markings on the wall was what seemed to be someone measuring their growth in height. Probably Via. Not to far to the left of those markings were scratch marks.
"She did mention that they had to tie down their mom when she lost her mind." Aaron said to himself. "...That must've been extremely tough seeing their mom like that everyday."
SNAP!
What sounded like a branch snapping was heard just outside the cave's entrance. Instead of reacting, Aaron decided to stay quiet.
...
"Oh shoot, I think I locked Aaron inside when I left!" Via said to herself. "Hopefully he's still sleeping, I don't want him feeling like he's a prisoner."
As she approached her home, she noticed two women standing in the clearing outside of her cave. She immediately raised her guard because people hardly ever pass through the Redwoods. On top of that Via made the assumption that they were Elders from Aestus because of how they were dressed. She read that Aestus Elders wore fancy but practical clothing that were white with blue trims.
Do they know about Aaron? Via thought.
"Good morning." Elder Treya said with a smile a Via approached them.
"Hello." She replied cautiously.
"Are you out here by yourself?"
What do I say? If I say no they'll definitely ask about who's out here with me, and If I say yes then I can't let them inside no matter what. Aaron's in there with no clue of the situation. It isn't a coincidence that I used the lake yesterday then they appear this morning.
"..."
"Child?"
"...No, I'm not out here alone." Via replied. "I have my older brother."
Faye and Treya glanced over to each other briefly before continuing the conversation.
"Is it possible for us to meet this brother?" Faye asked.
"Well he's sleeping right now, and he doesn't like strangers coming by randomly like this."
"Do you get visitors often out here?" Treya asked.
"Not at all actually. Which is why I'm wondering why are you two here."
"Hmm, do you know who we are child?" Faye asked.
"...No." Via replied.
It was then when Treya's facial expression turned from her previous curious expression to a more serious one.
"That was a lie." Treya stated.
"What?"
"What's your name child?" Faye asked as she walked over to Via.
"My- my mom told me not to give my name to strangers." She replied.
"My name is Denise Treya and this is Liya Faye. We are Elders from Aestus, the capital of the water continent. We have questions for you and your brother regarding a disturbance that took place yesterday morning."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Via insisted.
"That's another lie." Treya responded. "I can tell whether you're lying are not so please don't make this more difficult than it should be."
How?! Via wondered. Can she really see through my words. She's called me out twice now. What do I do? Mom, Venmi, what do I do?!
"May you please take us to see your brother?" Faye asked. "We have more questions for the both of you."
Via stared at the ground without answering her and clinched her fist tightly. She then began to slowly walk over to the entrance of her home which was still covered in thick tree roots. She hesitantly raised her hand and stopped just before she made contact with the vines.
"..."
Not again. I'm not losing anyone else.
"Kálymma." Via whispered as she touched the roots.
Two of the roots then swiftly extended outwards and wrapped around both Elder Faye and Treya and suspended them in the air.
"Xemperdévo." Via said to remove the other roots from the cave's entrance.
"Via?" Aaron asked as he was stood directly by the entrance.
"Don't ask questions, we have to get away from here." She replied as she grabbed his arm.
As they tried to run, two shadows flew over their heads which grabbed their attention. The shadows were two pieces of ice shaped as boomerangs which sliced through the roots that was holding Faye and Treya. Another shadow appeared before them which served as the landing spot for Ty. He wielded two more ice boomerangs which he pointed towards Aaron and Via. Without hesitating, Aaron then created a strong air current by directing both of his arms at Ty. The unexpected wind launched him backwards into a nearby tree and temporarily took him out of the fight.
"Air essence?" Treya questioned as she watched on.
"Let's go!" Via said pulling Aaron again.
After running for just about five seconds they were haulted again, this time by Damien. He stepped out in front of them and kneeled down to place his hands on the ground. Aaron again sent a strong gust of wind out but this time before it reached Damien, he anchored himself into the ground by freezing his own feet. Damien then slammed his hands to the ground again and immediately after, a wall of water surrounded both Via and Aaron. The wall caved in and trapped both of them inside a ball of water. As they struggled to escape the water prison, Via grabbed onto Aaron's arm to get his attention. She then looked him in the eyes to calm him down and raised his hand up alongside her own. Aaron caught on to what she was trying to do and after a three second countdown, both of them expelled a sudden burst of air from their palms which propelled them out of the bubble. Before they could even catch their breath or even get back on their feet, the water on their bodies quickly froze and trapped them.
"You really left me to fight all alone." Damien said to Ty.
"Ah, I wasn't expecting wind." He replied holding his back.
"Let us go!" Via shouted as she struggled beneath the ice.
"I've never seen life essence be used like that." Faye said as she approached them. "That was very interesting, but I should've expected much from 'the Witch of the Redwoods'."
Via looked at her with a stunned expression before shouting. "Don't call me that!"
"What's going on here?" Aaron asked looking around at everyone.
"Don't worry son we have a fair amount of questions for you as well as this girl." Faye replied.
"Answer my question first! Why are you attacking us?! And what do you mean by 'Witch of the Redwoods'?"
"Watch how you're speaking." Damien stated.
"That's alright Damien. To answer your questions, we didn't want to attack you, but violence encourages violence. If you two hadn't escalated things then we wouldn't have ended up here."
"What do you expect to happen when-"
"Aaron." Via said stopping him from talking further. "Stop, I'm sorry."
Aaron looked over to her and saw that she had a single tear falling down the side of her face. Once Treya noticed that Via was crying, she intervened on the situation.
"We've detained them, so let's make our way back to Aestus." Treya stated. "This is a situation that all of the Elders should have a say in."
"Yes sister, I know." Faye replied. "But I would still like to gather some information on our-"
Faye stopped talking and quickly turned her head to the direction of Aestus.
"What is it sister?" Treya asked.
"...Something's happening back home."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's hurry back." Faye quickly replied. "This doesn't feel right."
.....
"Miss Mai, wake up." Kuria whispered as she rocked Mai back and forth.
Mai woke up after a few seconds of Kuria rocking her while Kaden still slept peacefully on the ground beside them.
"Good morning Ria." Mai said.
"Shhh, talk softly." Kuria said to her.
"What's the matter?"
"...What is that?" Kuria asked as she turned and pointed towards the lake.
Just above the surface of the lake sat a swirling vortex of wind with what seemed to be a person at its center. The person however, seemed to be made of wind himself as he was transparent and the outline of his body was an ever-changing structure of wind.
"What is that Miss Mai." Kuria asked again in a scared tone.
Mai sat in shock as this was the first time she's seen something like this. However, she knew exactly what she was looking at.
"...It's an Arashi. A living storm."