A pounding headache seized me as her words sank in. More of those insufferable Bashka's? And now I'm supposed to be someone these four spirits are going to follow? This made no sense whatsoever.
"We are ancient elemental spirits," Gaia's voice rang out, heavy with reverence. "Embodiments of the primal force that course through all existence. Fire, water, earth, and air—each of us is a manifestation of one of these primordial elements. Guardians of the magic that flows through your ancestral bloodline."
She paused, her piercing gaze fixing me with sudden intensity. "The power within you is singular. You can command any form of sorcery, and bend the fabric of magic itself to your will. An ability unprecedented in your lineage…and a prize coveted by dark forced with greed unbound."
My heart raced as Gaia's words sank in. I couldn't wrap my head around half of what she was saying, but one thing was crystal clear—this supposed gift of magic would be the very thing that painted a target on my back. Why did everything keep spiraling out of control, the universe seemingly determined to make my life a waking nightmare?
"There are a lot of things that should have been taught to you from an early age," Gaia said, her voice heavy with grief and sadness. "But because of the circumstances surrounding your birth, nothing unfolded as your mother had desperately hoped."
My frustration simmered as I watched the ancient sorrow play across her weathered features. Whatever injustices have been visited upon me, it was clear Gaia had borne the weight of them just as acutely.
The mention of my mother unlocked a floodgate of emotions. She was the person inextricably liked to my shadowed origins, and yet a complete enigma to me. These four spirits knew far more about her—about me—than I could ever imagine.
My head spun as the revelations kept piling one atop the other. With Ellie, the Bashka attack, and now these four spirits pledging bizarre loyalties—it was too much to process all at once. I squeezed my eyes shut, struggling to make sense of the onslaught of new information battering my mind.
"As it is, we will be the one to teach what you need to know—" The confusion and chaos swirling through my mind reached a crescendo as Gaia's voice reverberated insistently. Too many unanswered questions, too much upheaval in too short a time. I felt the tenuous grip on my composure beginning to slip.
"Enough!" My voice thundered through the cave, startling even my self with its vehemence. I fixed each of the spirits with a steely glare, finally settling on Gaia.
"I do not care about your supposed loyalty to me or to my bloodline," I bit out, fists clenched at my sides. "All four of your knew there were gaping holes in my understanding, questions about my very identity that have haunted me. Yet not one of you bothered to ask what those questions were."
I shook my head in disbelieve, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. "Instead you prattled on about what I should do. As if I'm in any state to take on the weight of whatever expectations any of you have on me!"
I felt a surge of vindication as my outburst clearly took the spirits aback. All except Fenix, that is, who regarded me with an unmistakable look of pride.
"So what is it that you want, Ruby?" his gravelly voice cut through the tense silence. "Since these ladies are too afraid to speak of that night." He leveled his gaze at the others before returning it to me. "But I will answer. You ask, and I shall tell." A tremor ran through me at the prospect of finally getting answers.
Fenix held Glacia's icy glare unflinchingly as she admonished him. "How dare you. You know full well what transpired that night and the impact it had on us all." Her melodic voice was laced with an unmistakable edge. "You cannot simply divulge those events without reopening ancient wounds."
But Fenix seemed utterly unmoved, his piercing gaze locked solely on me now. As if the others had ceased to exist entirely.
"Ruby deserves to know the truth, no matter how painful it is for us," he stated, his gravelly tone brooking no argument. "She has carried the burden of that night's mystery for far too long already."
The tension was palpable as the spirits locked in a silent standoff. I found myself holding my breath, every fiber of my being straining to finally unravel the secrets that they carry regarding me.
"So, what is it, Ruby? What is it that you're yearning to have answered?" this elderly, weathered man is finally presenting me with the very answers I've been desperately seeking.
"You mentioned of that night, what of it?"
Fenix's gaze sharpened as he shifted his focus to the white warrior, "Rather than recounting the events, I prefer to demonstrate what transpired that fateful night. Amihan, you've safeguarded the gemstone for so long; I believe it's time to reveal it to her."
Amihan hesitated, withdrawing a gem from her pocket. A vivid blue gem, remarkably distinct. She murmured a word, and the gem illuminated, revealing a holographic image of a pregnant woman.
Her eyes as blue as the deep sea, hair shining golden in the torchlight, and her face, adorned with freckles, made me instinctively touch my own. It was almost like looking at my own freckled reflection.
"That lady's you're gazing at is your very own mother, carrying you in her belly," Gaia uttered, her voice tinged with sorrow and yearning as she gazed at the holographic projection of my mother. "You bear a striking resemblance to her, exuding beauty and kindness," she added, her words filled with emotion.
I gazed at the holographic image and finally grasped why these spirits regarded with such intensity. They perceive my mother's essence within me, and it saddened me that their longing was directed toward her image, not who I truly am.
"Mother…" I murmured.