"I must say, it was looking kinda rough there for a minute." N stated.
Kaden took a second to realize where he now was as he layed on his back within the pure white mist. N stood by his shoulder and gazed down at the recuperating young man.
"... I passed the trial?" Kaden questioned.
"Just barely. Good work."
Kaden raised up into a sitting position and released a heavy exhale from his lungs as he mentally recovered from the previous trial.
"You were watching me in the trial just now?" Kaden asked calmly.
"Yeah, I saw all that."
"How much can you see?"
"... We should be able to talk more leisurely this time." N responded. "The first time you came here, we were rudely interrupted. That shouldn't happen again. So, let's talk."
.....
"Aaron, can I ask you something?" Jayson asked as he walked over to talk to him in private.
"Of course."
Via and Mai were focused on some moss that was growing on the walls of the cave. Via was giving her tips on how to use life essence to control different plant life.
"Back when we were voting for Mai to be the captain of our team, you didn't give an input." Jayson stated. "I'm guessing you weren't in favor of that decision."
"Putting me on the spot?"
"No, just curious."
"Well, I personally think you would've made a better choice." Aaron stated with a grin. "Nothing against Mai, and I think she'll make a great leader one day. But in the short time I've known you for, I think it's clear who should be leading. The person who pointed out in the first place that we should have a leader."
"... Mai is very hesitant. She questions everything she does before actually doing it. I don't know anything about her lineage, but I'd like if she stopped comparing herself to her family and just trusted her instincts. I think Kaden shares the same feelings. Which is why this will be a perfect learning experience for her. There are going to be instances where she won't have the time to second guess herself."
"Y'know, you're further proving why you should be leader." Aaron replied with a slight chuckle. "But I get what you're saying."
Aaron switched his attention from Mai and Via to the gate on his left.
"It's been about twenty minutes now. Kaden should be done soon."
.....
"So because you make contact with me and Aaron, the predestined future that you should be able to see changes." Kaden clarified for himself. "Just getting information from you changes the future, as that information is an anomaly like ."
"You got it." N replied.
"Which is why you only tell us certain things because you're trying to control the future to an extent. But that leaves the question of why are you intervening in the first place. You must have seen something in the future that you want to prevent from happening..."
Kaden took a second to stare at N without either of them saying a single word.
"... No, that's not it." Kaden concluded. "I don't think you'd care if something happened to the world. Otherwise, you would have intervened in countless events in the past. So that means there must be a supernatural problem, which would explain why you'd need me, a lost soul, to help."
"You're much smarter than I had previously thought. All of that deductive reasoning is impressive, but I won't deny or confirm anything you said."
"Then tell me this. Are you the only being of your kind?"
"... I'm not." N answered. "When you first arrived in this world, Elder Treya educated you on different realms and how they all exist on top of each other on different physical planes. For every realm, there are sentinel beings like me assigned to keep watch over that realm."
"Assigned by who?"
"Who you would know as God."
"So you're an angel!?"
"If that's what you want to call me, then by all means, feel free, but there is no name that we collectively identify as. I am one of the five who was created to look after this realm."
"Five..."
Right then, N felt a disturbance which pulled his focus away for a quick moment.
"Someone just activated the gate of gluttony." N stated while folding his arms.
"Gluttony... that one's on the fire continent, right?" Kaden questioned.
"Yeah."
"Well, maybe it's one of the natives. You said the gates are activated by the essence type of the continent it's found on, right? But there's nothing to gain from only doing one of them."
N stood quietly, staring off into the distance behind Kaden.
"You can see who it is, can't you?" Asked Kaden.
"I already knew who it was before I looked." N replied as his hooded face glanced down to Kaden.
"Who-"
"I'm not answering that. That person is an entirely different problem. A problem you'll probably have to deal with later on, but for now, don't worry about it."
Kaden was slightly stunned by that response but chose not to pry about it anymore right now.
"What's next?" Kaden questioned to change the topic.
"... You're visiting the air continent next, aren't you? I have three rules for you while there. Firstly, do not break any of their laws, please. Second, do not share information between factions. Lastly, protect Via."
"Why single out Via?"
"You'll see. Oh, and it's about time you got a crash course on how to fly. You'll need it for when you wake up."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaden asked as the room began to fade from white to gray.
"You'll see."
"You're not really that helpful, are you?"
"I think you're misunderstanding something, Kaden Adams. I'm not trying to help you, nor am I trying to guide you. At least not yet. For now, I just need you to stay alive because you are my key in all of this. But until things are set into motion, I would prefer if you lived your life without even knowing that I existed."
The room's color continued to fade until it was almost pitch black all around.
"If that's the case, then what was the purpose of even talking to me 'leisurely'?"
"... Who knows."
The last visible thing in Kaden's view was the pristine white glow emitting from N's body. Shortly after, Kaden blacked out.
.....
Fwooooo
The sound of rushing wind filled Kaden's ears as he slowly regained consciousness once again. His eyes creeped open and revealed an unexpectedly empty space. A beautiful blue backdrop occupied sporadically by white fluffy clouds was what Kaden saw before him.
"Where am I now?" He questioned in his head.
That is when a terrifying realization was made by Kaden. He glanced to his left and saw that the side of a mountain was quickly rushing past him. That's when Kaden confirmed that he was falling.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
Kaden quickly recalled what N had said to him before he had left his domain.
"It's about time you got a crash course on how to fly. You'll need it for when you wake up."
"FUUUUUCK!" Kaden shouted in a panic.
Luckily for him, the ground was nowhere in sight, as it was completely covered by a dense cloud that was steadily being approached by Kaden. He attempted to calmly release air essence from his palms to slow himself down, but he failed. He just spun himself around several times before looking down once again to notice that he was about to enter the cloud. Kaden punctured the top of the misty surface and was engulfed by the cloud. Inside, he felt the temperature drop drastically while also feeling water droplets condensing onto his skin. The wind also began to pick up rather quickly, and in no time at all, it was strong enough to make Kaden look like a plastic bag caught in a gust. There was no way for him to fight against it, and before he knew it, Kaden was stuck in a wind tunnel. He was violently thrown around while he was carried along by the tunnel before he finally attempted to free himself once more. He held his palm out directly in front of him and focused on creating the largest of gust wind he possibly could at this time, and he did just that. The blast was enough to shoot Kaden out of the wind tunnel and also out of the bottom of the cloud. Although he was still free falling, for some strange reason, Kaden became far more relaxed and calm than he was before. He gazed down and was able to take in the incredible view that was now presented to him. Immensely large cylindrical columns of rock extended far above the Earth's surface, each one connected by numerous bridges and platforms. The columns were located directly next to a rigid mountainous terrain, but the entire area was occupied by buildings and construction of all manner.
"Ventus." Kaden said as he took in the remarkable view.
His amazement only lasted a short while as he quickly went back to trying to stop himself from falling.
"Aaron and Via make it look so easy." He stated. "Just gotta control the output."
A soft, barely recognizable but constant stream of wind was released from Kaden's hands to start off. He then carefully increased the power, ensuring that he stayed balanced and in control. Surely enough, Kaden's falling speed began to decrease. As he focused on his concentration, Kaden was then slightly distracted by a swift moving unknown creature flying past him. He glanced to his left but found nothing when he did, leaving him confused, but not for long as he quickly ignored it and returned to concentrating. That slight distraction caused him to fall faster again, but only for a short moment. Kaden found himself falling into the chasm between two of the columns, but he didn't fall far as he was able to come to a complete stop. He steadied his breathing even more while trying to maintain the constant level of output of air essence he was using to hover in place.
"So this is the amount of air essence I'd need to use to keep myself floating." Kaden thought to himself. "I should remember this feeling."
As Kaden was looking down into the fog filled chasm, he soon realized that he had no time to sit still and collect himself. Quietly but quickly rising towards him were two vine like tendrils that Kaden didn't notice until the very last moment. Without any time to dodge, Kaden froze, but luckily enough, he was tackled out of the way by another person. The unidentifiable person was wearing a kite like device attached to their back that almost appeared like wings. They grabbed Kaden and flew upwards over all of the columns before dropping him onto a column that had nothing but peach trees on it. Kaden had a rough landing and rolled for several feet before coming to a stop.
"Agh!" Kaden groaned in slight pain. "What the hell was that?"
The man landed on the edge of the column and immediately closed the wings of his kite, took it off his back, and planted it the pole end into the ground. Kaden took notice of the man's apparel and then took a minute to process what he was looking at. A wooden mask and patchwork clothes, both decorated with odd symbols and markings that were glowing a light gray color.
"He's one of them." Kaden said in his head as he analyzed the person standing before him. "Their description of the people who attacked them when I first attempted the gate of pride was a man wearing markings that glowed blue and another whose glowed yellow. He isn't either of those two, but he's definitely one of them. A luminent."
.....
"Yeah, on my world we don't really do much walking." Aaron explained. "Honestly, technology has advanced so far that there isn't much we have to do on our own anymore. Unless you can't afford the technology."
"Your world sounds like a fantasy land." Mai replied while struggling to imagine what Aaron was describing.
"So controlling the elements with a spiritual power sounds more realistic?"
"Yes." The other three all answered in unison.
"That's perspective for ya."
It was then that Mai noticed the sapphire rune on the gate had stopped glowing. She lightly jogged over to it, and as she did, Taibai flew back onto her shoulder.
"What is it, Mai?" Questioned Via.
"The sapphire isn't -"
SCAAAAWWW!!
After screaming at the gate suddenly, Taibai flew into the light essence and disappeared.
"Hey, wait!" Mai exclaimed.
"Does that mean he's finished?" Aaron questioned.
"One way to find out." Via stated while stepping forward before being stopped by Mai placing her hand out.
"Kaden was supposed to come back on this side and give us the all clear if he completed the trial." Said Jayson. "If he completed it, then why didn't he come back?"
"Something must've happened on the other side." Aaron replied.
"..."
"Captain, what's the plan?" Asked Jayson.
"... Recovery." Mai answered after pondering on the situation. "We have to move quickly."