"So you are telling me you flew into the whirlpool, found a cave entrance full of mana crystals and a giant glowing mushroom, barely escaped a giant green and black poison spider, fell underneath the whirlpool, ended up in a cave where an unknown man healed your wounds, and casually joined the gathering like nothing happened?!"
Novius' confused and angry expression of the events Elijah told his friends made Alexia giggle, but was immediately snapped back into line by Novius' cold stare. Novius was only angry because he almost lost his friend that he only just reunited with. Also, Elijah completely ignored the thirty minute time limit based on the fact that he voluntarily went into The Catacombs.
Elijah began thinking of ways to compensate for his lack of carefulness by showing his loot. "Guys, I am sorry, but I wanted to use my power to explore. And I was even able to get some special loot!" Two large mana crystals appeared one after another on the coffee table of Novius' bedroom. A grayish-white and blue glow brightened the eyes of the three almost ten year old kids.
"Are those affinity crystals?!" Novius and Alexia both responded with the exact same words. They were nothing short of amused, and it seemed to hide their discomfort of Elijah's decisions.
"Yes, I got them from the large cave I went into. I am going to focus on absorbing the water affinity, and Alexia, I want you to absorb the air affinity."
"I have to say Elijah, this is pretty incredible. I suppose since you made it back in one piece, I will let this slide as long as the suit made it back with you."
"Excellent! However, I do want to tell you that the suit is only slightly damaged. The runes are in perfect condition, but there is a cut in the suit on the back of the legs."
Novius sighed as the idea of everything being okay went away. Chances are, Elijah is underplaying the severity of the damage.
Elijah had a conversation with Alexia about how to absorb the affinity. It would most likely be a three day process, however, with Alexia already preparing her ability to sense mana, it may take only two days.
"I wish you all good night, I will probably be up all night working on the absorption of the affinity." Elijah left with words of grace after placing his affinity crystal into his spatial storage. With one month before turning ten years old and being able to join the Junior Hunters, Elijah only wanted to grow as strong as possible, even if it meant leaving his friends behind. Alexia was someone he was worried for. Novius, on the other hand, was someone who Elijah knew had talent, even if he hadn't seen it just yet.
Children are not allowed to spar or test their magical abilities until they either join the Junior Hunters, or the magical academy around thirteen or fourteen years old. The only exception is if you are a noble with a battleground in The Catacombs.
Elijah wished his father and mother a goodnight, and immediately threw off his nice clothes and replaced them with sleeping clothes. Simple loose cotton fabrics made for breathability and comfort. Looks and design mean nothing in this case. The deep blue glowing affinity appeared on the soft bed as Elijah sat into a criss cross position. The energy he felt after softly placing his hands on the cold crystal instantly started flowing through him and mixing with his core. Both cold and warm sensations washed over his body, and within fifteen minutes, Elijah stopped due to exhaustion. He knew this was not a normal occurrence based on him watching his brother absorb an earth affinity crystal. However, Elijah was in no way normal. With already having an affinity, something unexpected was bound to happen.
"Ahhh, I am finished. Goodnight…"
Elijah laid back into his pillow and instantly fell asleep. The window in his room was completely blacked out, which is why he did not see the light returning to the kingdom.
-{Above the Magical Barrier}-
"Rafe! I need you to spread your earth blanket out more."
Just above the magical barrier in the center of the kingdom, three individuals were either standing on the rocks and ash, or flying above it. Amaris, the Ice Judge, along with Leah and Rafe, the Air and Earth Judges, were starting the efforts to bring back the light.
By laying a thin sheet of ice underneath all the rock and ash, then reinforcing it with a layer of earth, Leah, the Air Judge is able to lift a set area of rocks and ash off of the magical barrier. This strategy was developed by no one other than Devan, the Water Judge who was also one of the kingdom's best strategist's.
"Haha! Excellent work! I'm sure the kingdom is going to be buzzing after seeing the light. Half of them are probably asleep!"
After three hours of clearing the area above half of Centerpool, Amaris created an ice path to get a better view of the world around him. The first thing he noticed was the insane amount of beasts on the northwest side of the kingdom, with the odd fact being that none of them were fighting each other. The tall and dense forest to the east and west seemed to be normal, but the bone structure that was originally to the southwest, had moved much closer to the southwest side of the wall. Was it Alive?
-{3rd Band, Weltor Estate}-
What seemed like an infinite beach filled with palm trees and abandoned wooden shacks was illuminated by a sunset that Elijah was staring into. What seemed like real life was a dream, a lucid dream. Thoughts of his past were washing over his mind like the undulating waves of the ocean. The people in his past were coming back to haunt him.
Not the bad memories, but the good ones that left him with a sense of sadness and nostalgia.
Being unable to control his thoughts, Elijah voiced his opinion. "IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE SOME TYPE OF TORTURE!" Elijah assumed this was the work of whoever brought him here. Because based on the memories of the different phrases in his head, what seemed like bits and pieces of a conversation, made him think this was not meant to be. And more so, that it was a conversation that happened between death and life.
Up until now, Elijah has many important affairs of the world. Starting with the idea of embodying the concept of your element into the magic you cast. The idea of him being the "Opposite of corrupted" intrigues him, especially with his confrontations with Abel, and how he described himself as being corrupted.
"Elijah! Elijah!"
The sound of knocks and his name being called woke him up. But the moment he got out of bed, he noticed the slight glow that came from behind the blackout curtain. Light!
Elijah quickly opened the door, completely ignored Novius, and ran down the stairs and out the front door. The bright light that was not directly from the sun as it was not visible from the large hole in the ceiling, forced Elijah to harshly squint his eyes in anguish. Beneath the slight burning sensation was an open smile that collected the tears running down his face.