"Hello Alessandro, good afternoon Mrs. Carole and Miss Laurel."
Spark greeted the three dynamically with a cordial smile upon entering their shop.
As always, there was some traffic in the Fantissimo today. The Soul Bounds he sold were famous in Monsoon City.
Right... the second item to purchase today was a Soul Bound.
Specifically, a Soul Bound for Joey.
He needed to have a strong weapon at hand to deal with beasts and trouble in the future. A normal weapon just didn't cut it, now that he had awakened.
"Oh, hello brat!" Alessandro greeted back with a happy chuckle.
Spark's eyebrow twitched. He didn't like being denounced like this, but... it was in good humour and he wasn't actually talking down to him at all.
Yes, it was more one of his character traits...
Spark totally did not reason his way out of a confrontation with the towering blonde giant. Although, he did take a mental note to have a friendly talk sometime in the future... when he had some more cards to play.
"What ya' came here for? The usual?... Oh if it's not Joey! ...And thick and thin are also here hahaha."
Alessandro noticed that Spark brought company along with him.
Joey greeted the family respectfully, as did Milo and Bilo. Then the burly man revealed the reason for his visit excitedly.
"Today, I'm here to look at your weapons. Now, that I've been awakened for some time, it is time to look for a fitting Soul Bound."
Alessandro stroke his blonde beard and nodded:
"It's indeed time for a Soul Bound. Lucky you... Your good friend here actually has the best ones in town! I have several options to choose from."
Spark glanced at Milo and Bilo, who gulped and couldn't help but show an expression of longing. The businessman chuckled and commented in passing:
"What are you drooling for. Continue to work hard and I'll arrange a Soul Bound for you when you reach the Qi Realm."
The siblings were surprised and an excited smile found its way on their faces. Cupping their fist, they bowed in gratitude. It was a superb decision to follow such a generous boss:
"Thank you, boss! We will work hard to satisfy your demands!" Milo said submissively.
Spark waved them off and told them to look around. He had other things to do. Obtaining the Space Ring from Alessandro, he made his way to an empty room in the shop, while Alessandro showed Joey and the twins around the third floor.
Submerging the obsidian in his Mana, Spark intricately searched for around for its mysteries. He wasn't one to give up that quickly.
...
After half an hour, Joey came out the third floor with a grin stuck on his face.
It seems that he had found what he had searched for.
"Alessandro, thank you. This thing was exactly what I had in mind. How many Crystals do I owe you?"
The blacksmith smiled back, but kept silent. After a moment he shook his head and exclaimed loudly:
"How can I receive compensation from a friend? Just make sure to come to me for any Soul Bounds in the future. The first one will be a gift."
Joey's mouth gaped a bit, before he fell into laughter. He swung his arm around the blonde giant without hesitation:
"My friend! It's too late to take back now. Best believe, I'll come to you first in the future!"
He didnt reject the generous offer. The two seemed to have bonded quite a bit, Spark noticed.
...
On the way back, Spark checked if they were still being tailed. Hearing no discrepancies, it seemed the hidden tail has given up after they entered the Fantissimo.
Not surprising considering the profession of Alessandro.
If that person was following them for a while, he must know the connection between them.
And who was Alessandro?
The owner of many Soul Bounds, and strange weapons. Who knew if he had a Soul Bound to spy on, or detect presences?
It was reasonable to drop the tail...
Spark wondered who exactly showed so much interest in their party... Enough interest to tail them?
It was useless to think about.
The group made their way back in a carriage and everybody went back to pursue their own schedule.
Spark talked a bit with Borza and his sister, before playing a round of cards with Sogel, Marianne, Berenya and Anya.
After two rounds of card-games, he went out to the backyard to stretch and train a bit. He had changed to a light and casual linen t-shirt with an imprint translating to "Power of the Sun" with a bright, simplistic sun woven onto the surface.
Spark enjoyed to wear such simple and silly motives from time to time. And it was fun to create and design his own t-shirts. Why had he never tried it back on Earth?
'Well, it's only fun if you enjoy doing it...'
Perhaps, it wouldn't be the same back then. But Spark had to say that he loved seeing all the kids wear the shirts, too. Tailor Terry had been incredibly productive lately, both with production and designing.
'It seems I've found a great businesspartner' Spark thought with a chuckle.
Outside, Spark saw Heel swinging his sword like a maniac.
Cold gusts of wind blew through the garden, but Spark made his way to the younger man unaffectedly.
"Heel, your motion is too rough... You have to bring in variation and a profundity to your strikes."
"Like this!"
Spark had already grabbed a wooden sword from the weapon basket and began swinging the sword. First, he showed basic moves, but with each swing, their curves became stranger and more fierce.
20 strikes in, he was already drawing pictures in the sky, wielding Altymir's method of using the sword as brush and the world as canvas. A deep profoundness was mirrored in his strikes and Heel could only watch in wonder.
Slowly, the gusts in the garden became frigid, and Heel, who was dressed in a thick pullover started shivering. Dark clouds emerged from behind a clear sky, and drops of rain started pouring down.
"Spark, it's raining. Let's go back in!"
Spark was too focussed to extricate himself from Altymir's Swordplay, and kept on striking at an invisible enemy.
He felt like he was nearing something. He didn't know what it was, but he was sure there was something deep inside him, ready for enlightenment.
A fleeting thought crossed his mind.
"Is Altymir's Swordplay evolving already?"
Noticing that Heel kept calling out to him, he glanced at the young man and smiled cordially.
"I'm onto something here. Heel, you go back first, okay?"
Heel ruffled his wet hair, which by now, had been cut to make him look orderly and proper, nodded and told Spark to not take too long. He would catch a cold.
Myriads of drops climpered on Spark's body as he was swinging his sword. His clothes were drenched, fully soaked with rainwater, and chilling air engulfed his being, but strangely enough, he wasn't cold.
Spark glanced at the bleak canopies of clouds, which cried their sorrow onto Monsoon City.
"Must be one of these summerrains, it's still pretty warm... The climate here surely doesn't match how it looks like. But it fits the name of the city perfectly! Maybe it doesn't only rain in the Pluvial Grasslands all the time."
"I wonder why that is?"
...
The weather turned from bad to worse. The temperature dropped even colder, but Spark didn't notice it at all. It was a very weird feeling. Suddenly the raindrops turned heavy and solid and turned to hail.
Ice rained from the sky and hit the ground without melting away.
"Huh? Hail?"
Spark finally noticed the discrepancies. The strange feeling from earlier returned a dozen times more pronounced than before. Something deep within in him rose and developed and Spark had a deja vu.
He had experienced this feeling already...
He got seated on the ground, feeling every grain of ice that dropped on his body. It didn't hurt... They were far too innocuous to hurt, but he didn't feel any discomfort at all.
As if the weak inertia that drove the hail was annulled, making it completely harmless.
Inside him, a complex change was happening and quickly culminating into a mesmerizing feeling.
Yes, he had experienced it before... It was when he had bound himself with the Ancient Ghost Slayer.
Spark opened his eyes at one particular moment and willed runes to appear.
"Yes..."
"As I have thought..."
"A new Element."