"Hey... can you hear me?"
"Who is that?" Kaden asked. "I can't see anything."
"Damn, looks like I still can't quite reach you yet."
"Who are you?" Kaden asked to the mysterious voice.
"It'll still be a while before we could talk. For now just be on the look out for a friend. We'll see each other soon Kaden."
"Wait! What do you mean?! Answer me!"
"..."
Kaden opened his eyes and found himself resting in a room that was unfamiliar to him. The interior wooden design hinted that this was a place in Aestus. However this room was a bit more modern with smooth wooden walls and patterns carved into the ceiling.
"I'll soon get use to waking up in unfamiliar places." Kaden said softly to himself.
There was a light bump on the outside of the door before it crept open, followed by Mai entering inside.
"Good morning Maira." Kaden said.
"You're finally awake. I was just coming to check on your progress."
"Where are we?" He asked.
"Back in Aestus, more specifically were at my residence."
"Yeah that makes sense. How long have I been out?"
"A few hours." Mai replied. "You really over exerted yourself with that last attack you did."
"I had to make sure I killed that thing with one blow. We probably wouldn't have gotten a second chance. Speaking of which, how's the twin?" Kaden asked as he sat up in the bed.
"Kuria exerted herself even more than you did. She was still unconscious when I carried her back to her home. Kenzo assisted me by bringing you here after I brought you both back to Aestus... Sorry for getting you caught in that situation. I always get others caught in my problems because I can never deal with them alone. If only, I was more capable."
Kaden noticed that she was gripping her pants leg tightly and she hadn't made eye contact with him once during this conversation.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The door crept open once again and this time Kenzo came in. Along with him though was a very old looking man that was dressed similarly to all of the Elders Kaden had met so far.
"We finally meet Mr. Adams." The old man said.
"...I'm guessing your an Elder too?" Kaden questioned.
"Nice perception young man. My name is Colin Alexander. Most of the um, villagers call me 'Elder Alex'." He stated as he walked over to Kaden. "Seems you two had quite the run in with a stage one Arashi."
"Stage one?"
"All Arashi are classified into three stages depending on their danger level." Kenzo explained. "Stage ones like the one you encountered only attack beings that attack it first. They're easy to evade and deal with if you sneak up on it."
Mai hung her head even lower as she remained quiet.
"...So what, you're gonna punish us for fighting that thing?" Kaden asked.
"Heh, not me. I think the only way to learn is trial and error." Alexander replied. "The others will scold you for your stupid decision, but I don't care once no one died."
"I like your mindset old man."
"That disrespectful mouth of yours will cost you one day." Kenzo stated.
"If you don't like it, why don't you do somethin' about it?"
"Hehehe, calm down uh, Kenzo it's alright. I've told you formality doesn't mean much to me. Now... could you two leave us for a moment."
Mai and Kenzo both glanced over to each other before exiting the room together and closing the door behind them.
"..."
"How many essences are you able to use right now?" Elder Alex asked.
"I can only use air essence right now." Kaden replied.
"Is that so? Well you have time. You should know I have high hopes for you Mr. Adams. I respect your decision to return to your former world, but completing that goal of yours will take time. And during that time I intend to make use of your unique abilities."
"What are you talking about old man?"
"I'm the longest tenured Elder of Aestus right now, and during this time I've weathered many storms. My primary objective at this stage of my life is to protect Aestus by any means. Right now I can sense another storm brewing, and your affiliation with this village has already ensured that you're going to get caught up in it. If that's the case, you'll be needed in due time."
"Needed for what? You aren't making any sense at all."
"That's about all I'll say for now. Continue to grow stronger Mr. Adams, I'll be monitoring your progress."
"You can't just leave after saying all that." Kaden said as he watched Alexander walk towards the door.
"You should continue to rest for now, tomorrow is a new day." Alexander replied before leaving.
.....
"Elder Mildred has requested that I accompany her to the landing zone." Kenzo stated to Mai. "She predicts that Elder Faye and Elder Treya will be returning to the village sometime tonight."
"Thanks Kenzo, I'll be fine on my own now." Mai responded in a somber tone.
"...See you tomorrow Ms. Aira."
Kenzo exited the residence, leaving Mai standing on the last step of the staircase.
"..."
"I don't approve of your decisions."
Mai peered into the dining room and found Elder Aira sitting by herself in the dark.
"How is Kaden doing?" She asked.
"His recovery is coming along. He forced a lot of essence out of his body in a short period of time, rather than the gradual output you should start off doing."
"From what you told us, it seems you all were lucky that he was there." Aira stated. "It's important that he gets that experience if he is going to travel the lands some day."
"He shows a lot of promise." Mai replied.
"However, he was unknowingly placed in harm's way in a situation that was out of his control. That's not how we were planning on treating him. On top of that, Kuria who is just a little girl was also exposed to danger and she was seriously worn out. This brings me back to my earlier statement, that I don't approve of your decisions."
Mai's gaze became fixated on the floor as she tightly clinched both of her fists.
"I don't approve... but I understand why you did what you did." Aira stated.
"Do you really?" Mai asked with a shaky voice.
"You wanted to prove that you're capable of being strong, and this was a perfect chance to do that."
"...But I'm not strong, that's clear to me now." Mai struggled to say as tears rolled down her face. "Even though we won in the end, I hardly contributed in the fight. All I did was order the others around because I couldn't do anything myself. If Kaden wasn't there..."
"You are strong Mai, much stronger than you think. I hear all of the criticism that you receive from the villagers and I know about the expectations you've been trying to live up to. To shoulder all of it for as long as you have, all on your own. Surely it was rough. But no matter how rough it was, you never showed me your tears until now."
Mai then closed her eyes and tried to hold in the overwhelming tears that were flooding from her eyes. She didn't notice when Elder Aira walked over to her and embraced her with a tender hug.
"You don't need to be strong on your own anymore." Aira whispered into her granddaughter's ear. "I've noticed the amazing strides you've made to get to where you are now. You're only 19 so you still have so much time to get further. For now please continue to be the strong woman you have been until now. I don't want to see my only grandchild crying like this again."
"...Alright... Grammy." Mai replied.
The two word reply from Mai nearly brought tears to her grandmother's eyes.
"I still have to punish you however." Elder Aira said with a grin.
"I know." Mai replied with a chuckle.
.....
"Kenzo, what's your thoughts about that boy." Elder Mildred asked. "You have permission to speak freely."
"I detest him." Kenzo replied without hesitation. "However that is from a personal standpoint. He is ill-mannered, lazy, and the two of us just don't seem to get along."
"What are the chances that he's a spy from another nation?"
"That's highly unlikely. He lacks basic knowledge of the world and he's unmotivated to do a lot of things. I feel like a spy would be more active than he is."
"Elder Treya has also used her lie detecting ability on him, but it's always good to double check things." Mildred stated. "What do you think of his potential as a fighter?"
"If it's true that he can use all four essence types eventually, then with enough training he could become unrivaled on the battlefield."
"Excellent." She replied with a smile. "Once Faye and Treya return sometime tonight, we shall be having an 'Elder gathering' to begin preparations for the boy to face the first gate. We have differing reasons, but I believe we all want him to begin as soon as possible."
"Is that alright? He hasn't been able to release water essence as of yet." Kenzo stated.
"He has air essence so it'll be fine. Besides, the first gate is right outside of Aestus."
"If you don't mind me asking Elder Mildred. Is there anything you can inform me about the status of Ignus right now?"
Mildred went silent for a second as she glanced over to Kenzo out the corner of her eye.
"...We have reasons to believe that a civil war has broken out over there. We have no decisive information so we don't know the nature of the situation, but depending on which side wins we may have to start preparing for a fight ourselves."
.....
Later that night.
"We're almost there." Ty stated.
Elder Treya held out her palm and formed a sphere of water in her hand. She stopped walking and began to drink from the sphere. As Treya was drinking, her eyes caught Via's sneaking glances towards her. Treya walked over to her while enlarging the sphere of water in her hands.
"Are you thirsty?" Treya asked Via.
Via didn't respond and she maintained the blank expression on her face as she kept walking. Aaron looked over to her out of concern, because he knew she must be not only thirsty but starving as well.
"Drink some." Aaron said to her softly.
Via looked up to him into his calm and reassuring eyes, before glancing back to Elder Treya.
"Fine." Via responded.
Treya presented the ball of water to her which she now accepted.
"Are you two willing to talk with me now?" Treya asked. "When we get to Aestus, you won't have the chance to have a down to earth conversation like the one I'm offering now."
Via and Aaron looked at each other and Aaron gave her a loom which said "It's your decision." Faye and Damien also quietly watched on from behind them.
"... Why are you taking us from our home?" Via questioned.
"Is the water continent really your home?" Treya questioned.
"I was born and raised here. I know no other place but the water continent."
"What about your parents? You both seem fairly young."
"Our dad died before I was born and our mom died years ago. They came from Ventus though, but if you ask me I don't know why they left."
"I'm sorry to hear that, honestly." Treya replied.
"I'm sure you are."
Treya turned her head and directed a look of sympathy towards Faye.
"That woman is too caring." Faye said softly.
"What about you?" Treya asked directing her gaze towards Aaron.
"...She's the only person I care about in this world." Aaron responded gesturing towards Via.
"How do you know each other?"
"She's my sister."
"Oh, is that so?" Treya questioned.
"We're here!" Ty announced.
The surroundings became quiet as they approached the entrance of a glowing cave.
"What's this?" Aaron asked.
"This, is the outside of Aestus." Damien said as he placed his hand on Aaron's shoulder. "I little bit of advice for you, don't try anything sketchy when you're in there. You won't recieve the same leniency as what we've given you so far."