"So… what were you guys talking about?" Takahiro asked with a suspicious expression.
"I've already said for the thousandth time that we were talking about Ayaka's spiritual flames," Keiichi replied impatiently. He had been trying to persuade Takahiro for so long that he became irritated.
'Damn, this old man tried to kill me when he saw me near Ayaka!'
Yes, he had received some hits from Takahiro.
"Dad, I already told you we weren't doing anything! Why the hell don't you believe me?!" Exclaimed Ayaka. Although she looked angry, she was embarrassed. So embarrassed that she momentarily forgot about the sad events.
*Sigh!*
"...Alright. So, what is spirit flames?" Takahiro asked.
Ayaka was also curious, as Keiichi had never told her the name of these flames.
"Spiritual Flames is the name of the white flame," Keichi explained.
"Eh?! Did you find out what that flame does?!" Takahiro exclaimed exaggeratedly.
"Well, it(...)"
-
After Keiichi explained what happened, Takahiro was as excited as a child that he got candy.
"The spiritual flames seem to have a connection with the holy element, but I don't know why," Keiichi said.
"Wait- holy element? What are you talkin' about? And... why can't I feel spiritual energy in you?" Takahiro took advantage of the moment to clear all his doubts. The minute he saw Keiichi, he noticed many weird things about the boy.
"Well, I'm not a cultivator," Keiichi admitted. He didn't think it necessary to hide this information. His current power would already put him at the top of the Cultivator hierarchy of his world, so no one could do anything against him. Moreover, the Blue Dragon Sect was the best sect for him to ally with at this time.
'The leaders of the Cultivators' union may be strong, but I doubt they can defeat that demon.'
"Ehhh" 2x
Takahiro and Ayaka looked at Keiichi with a strange expressions.
"Let me explain. I am a mage. 'Mages' is what people call those who use mana." Keiichi replied.
"Mana? I've never heard of that…" Takahiro muttered as he scratched his chin.
"Mana is a type of energy, just like spirit energy."
"But I can't feel that energy anywhere." Ayaka shook her head with a confused expression.
"This energy is generated from my core. See?" Keiichi released mana from his body.
"Unbelievable!" Takahiro got up from his chair with a stunned expression. He tried to control the mana, but his attempts were fruitless.
'Are it rejecting me?'
"How the hell did you do that?!" Ayaka asked as she watched the blue energy.
"It's a long story." Despite everything, Keiichi didn't want to reveal the system's existence to anyone.
"There is no mage besides me, so you can rest easy. Now…" Keiichi took a thick book out of his inventory.
[Elemental Book]
Yes, he finished the system's quest. The purpose of the quest was to prevent Virzarod from taking most people's blood essence. "Most" also included people from the other cities he would attack if Keiichi did not stop him.
'Yato told me that elemental magic has four elements, but I didn't expect it to be that deep.'
"This book talks about the elements. Check this out." Keiichi flipped through the pages and found a page titled "Sacred Element".
Ayaka and Takahiro approached with curious expressions. They could feel a mystical vibe coming from that book.
"I was going to ask where you got that book, but I feel like you wouldn't answer me," Takahiro said.
"Does this book say anything about my flames?" Ayaka asked.
"No, but spiritual flames have similarities to the holy element."
〔Sacred Element:
〔Origin: Holy is a superior element of divine origin. That element was created to purify dark creatures and bring them back to the "light". Some consider Holy an "artificial" element because it does not have a natural origin like other elements.
〔Properties: Holy is an element used for purification, dissipation, healing, etc.
〔Info: Holy is an element that many have a hard time learning due to its origin, so it's an unusual element to find
〔Info 2: Don't confuse "Holy" with "Light", both are distinct elements〕
After Keiichi read about the element, Takahiro and Ayaka were even more shocked.
"Divine origin? Did a God create this?" Takahiro muttered. The gods were mythological beings and nonexistent to cultivators. Well, most of them didn't even consider the possibility of Gods being real.
'So they really exist. Maybe…' Takahiro looked at Keiichi with a serious expression.
"Probably. The Spirit flames have a connection to the holy element, but I don't know much beyond that." He said.
In addition to this information, Keiichi also discovered something interesting about the elements. According to the book, the elements had classifications.
'Elemental magic is composed of four elements…'
〔Elemental Magic: Fire, Water, Air, and Earth〕
〔Higher elemental magic: Light, dark, lightning, Holy, etc.〕
'Higher elemental magic has more than four elements, but I've never seen any higher elemental magic users.' Keiichi thought.
"Is there any cultivator who can manipulate lightning, light, or darkness?" Keiichi asked.
"Huh... I've never seen a cultivator manipulate light or dark, but some can manipulate lightning. One of the leaders of the Union of Cultivators can manipulate lightning, but it's a very rare attribute." Takahiro said with a thoughtful expression.
'So is the difficulty?' Keiichi thought.
'The superior elements are called 'superior' because they are more difficult, but the power of the element depends only on the user.' Yato replied.
'I see.'
Keiichi was excited to learn more about the elements, but he had some priorities right now.
Takahiro frowned suddenly.
"Boy, I need to go. Let's continue this conversation later." Takahiro said with a sigh.
"Uh, fine."
"Wait, Dad-"
"Ayaka, I know how you feel, but it's not possible to change the past. I'll have a proper funeral for Azumi, but you need to recover." Takahiro didn't want Ayaka to give up everything because of an unfortunate moment.
…
Ayaka lowered her head sadly.
"Boy, take care of Ayaka. If you try to do something indecent to her, I'll kill you. And remember, we'll be heading to the U.C. headquarters in a few days." Takahiro said before closing the door.
…
*Sigh!*
"Even if it doesn't seem like it, your father cares a lot about you. The sect is going through so much trouble that it's very difficult to deal with." Said Keiichi, touching Ayaka's shoulder.
Takahiro certainly wasn't the best dad in the world, but it's undeniable that he values his daughter's life and her success. The excitement on his face at seeing Ayaka's happiness knowing that her flames were amazing was evident.
"I once made fun of my father's face, and I bitterly regret it. I got angry when I didn't get what I wanted. I cried and screamed, but one day I realized that the pain of losing him was very big. Much bigger than the pain of not having a new toy." Keiichi left the room as he said those words.
…
"This…" Ayaka sat down on her bed with a helpless expression. Her eyes went back to the picture that was next to the bed. She picked up the frame and looked at the picture of a man and a woman together.
The woman was so beautiful, unlike the middle-aged man. Many wondered why such a beautiful woman married such an ordinary man.
"Mom, I wonder what you saw in him," Ayaka said with a weak smile.
"Love is something inexplicable, Ayaka. Sometimes it blinds people, but it's the purest feeling there is.
"Those were your words." Ayaka thought of Azumi.
'Love, huh.'
Ayaka lay down on her bed and closed her eyes. All she wanted now was time to digest everything that had happened. A moment of peace… and silence.
-
-
"Yato, talk about the abyss."
That was one of the doubts Keiichi had in his mind. How the hell did this demon end up in your world?
"The abyss is an existential plane governed by its own laws. Despite being a very hostile place, many intelligent species live there."
"Heh… Is the abyss like a city?" Keiichi asked in surprise.
"City? No, no. That place is infinitely bigger than a city. The abyss is made up of 3 'layers'. The demon you fought belongs to the lowest layer, also called the inferior layer."
"...Infinitely bigger?" Keiichi looked at Yato confused.
"You see, if your universe equals the number 10, the abyss would be the set of prime numbers," Yato said after creating an ice cream cup.
"W-W-W-What?!"
Yato's words left Keiichi so shocked that it took him a while to digest what he had heard.
"Are you saying that place is bigger than a universe? How is that possible? Isn't the universe infinite?" Doubts and more doubts began to arise in his mind, but Keiichi didn't know how to answer any of them.
"Yes, your universe is infinite. You'll understand my analogy one day, relax. Just know that 'everything' that exists can be represented by a universal language, mathematics. And behind it all, there's a reason... or almost all." Yato disappeared after saying those words.
"Wait- Yato!!" Keiichi shouted his name with an angry expression.
'Damn, you always disappear in the most important part!'