The Melting

When the night arrived, we all gathered around the table inside the chariot to eat. The feelings were all over the spectrum, but I was happy for Helia Vivarium.

“So, did any of you kiss during the trial?” asked Markus Terracota with a dumb smile on his face.

We were all shocked by that question.

“What?” Hiyoku couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“When we took the Oasis Trial long ago, we had our first kiss. I was so romantic!” Ember Lascander told us.

“Nobody kissed!” Reikokuna Takai hit the table angerly.

We stared at him, but he kept eating.

“…and what about you, did you find any information on Elvira?” asked Rita Fiori trying to change the subject.

“We did! Nobody knows where she and her group went, but calculating their trajectory so far, we think they went to the Altar of The Poet,” Ember Lascander told us.

“What is this?” I asked.

“Don’t you know anything? The Altar is where The Poet wrote the Original Poems, our whole world revolves around that act,” once again Hiyoku was rude towards me.

“And why would she would be going there?” asked Helia Vivarium.

“We are not sure,” my mom continued “but if they have some of the Original Poems they might be going there.”

“Mom, don’t you think it’s possible they are trying to summon the Elemental Demons again? Because now they can control those Demons.”

“Wow, I was not ready to be called mom… but about the subject in question, that is a possibility, but we are more worried about another thing…”

“More than all of the Elemental Demons coming back in the hands of enemies of the kingdom?” asked Prince Nikolay surprised.

It was Markus Terracota that answered.

“Well, yes. According to what happened to the Yellow Demon… if they try to fuse with them, they will become way more powerful. Elvira was already the strongest Hero, with her get and upgrade with the Purple Demon maybe even the Void Bubbles will not work.”

“But the Purple Demons was defeated years ago!” protested Hiyoku.

“So did the Yellow Demon…” stated Agnes Stein.

“And also, the Red Demon had not been seen for a long time, and they just appeared on Hilston that day. Whatever is happening, we can’t underestimate the capabilities of Elvira and her group.” After those words, Markus Terracota smiled, trying to calm us down. “And more than half of you passed the Oasis Trial, that’s wonderful.”

“And even if I hadn’t passed, I can use the Lightning Strike of my brother, our entire group is getting stronger!”

After hearing that, Reikokuna Takai got up from the table, making a lot of noise in the way.

“Not all of us have a special signature or the merit of passing the Oasis Trial!” without saying anything more he turned his back to us and went to his room.

“He didn’t take failing the trial well…” commented his partner during the trial.

“Who cares? It’s not like we gained anything special by completing it.” Hiyoku was also in a bad mood.

“Okay everyone, tomorrow we will rest and prepare to return to our journey. Enjoy a calm day before our most important mission. And it’s going to be a long journey, because with all these trees in the way the chariot can’t go very fast.”

We finished eating and went to our room, with two more now that there were two Heroes and seven apprentices.

The next day I woke up earlier and decided to enjoy my free time painting. I went outside with a canvas and started my process. This time things were a bit different and I felt… I was not sure, but I grabbed the new colorful inks that new dad bought me and started using them. I think that was the first time I painted something less abstract.

I made a blue river, with green trees and yellow lightning behind. The scenery was still dark blobs, but with these details showing up.

While I was painting, I saw Worth doing push-ups with heavy rocks on his back. Helia Vivarium also saw that and approached the boy.

“Hey…” she said.

“Wait just a second.”

After he finished his repetitions, he got up, his muscular body covered in sweat and the girl tried to avoid looking at him for some reason.

“Thank you. I think I was lost and you showed me the path.”

“I didn’t do anything. I mean, if you changed your view on something that is all you.”

“Well, thank you anyway. We are going to find Elvira and she is probably with the Green Demon. I decided I will still destroy them, but because it’s the right thing to do. I know you also hate that Demon, would you like to come with us?”

He looked around at the town where he was born with a frown on his face.

“I do hate that monster, but I also don’t seek revenge. These people are the ones who need me. I will stay here. But hey, good luck against the Demon, since you passed the Oasis Trial I think you can do it.”

I was not trying to eavesdrop, but they were so close that it was hard not to. They said goodbye and went their separate ways.

“Isn’t love beautiful?” asked Ember Lascander who appeared by my side.

“Is that love, mom?”

“For sure. Maybe after all this is solved, she will return here to stay with him. Have you ever been in love with someone?

Before the fateful day with the Red Demon I had never loved anyone. Of course, I do love my whole family family, but being in love was something I had no idea how it would feel.

“Don’t worry. Do you know that there are people in this world who never have romantic feelings for others? That is totally fine. Each person should live as it makes sense for themselves.”

After hearing that, for some reason I started crying. I hugged her.

“Thank you, mom!”

“No problem, dear. But why do you call Markus ‘new dad’ and me just ‘mom’?”

When I stopped crying, I answered her.

“That’s because I had an old dad, but I never had a mother, so you are my first one.”

I tried to smile at her even if I was still affected by our conversation. That is when we heard Agnes Stein screaming.

“Guys! Everyone, come here!”

Her eyes showed fear almost like when she faced the Yellow Demon and she was holding a piece of paper. She gathered everybody from our group, with just Reikokuna Takai missing.

“What is happening?” I asked, worried.

“It’s Takai! He is gone!”

“What do you mean, gone?” Markus Terracota also started to feel tense.

“He left this letter. It says that he is useless as a hero and he returned to his family.”

Useless? He cut the armor of the Orange Demon halfway. How could someone so skillful think they are useless?

“Just before the big mission…” Hiyoku criticized him.

“That’s not good… he is returning to the Flame Swordsfolk,” said Markus Terracota.

“Who is the Flame Swordsfolk?” I asked.

“A group of people who supposedly go around the land saving people. But they are not Heros, they only accept members with the Fire Stanza and they all train in the art of sword fighting. They are not good people,” answered Ember Lascander.

“And Takai’s father is their leader,” Agnes Stein told us.

“Why would he return? He even has the wrong Stanza for that,” I concluded.

“Takai took a long time to use the Ice Stanza, before he had the Fire Stanza.”

I couldn’t believe Markus. Changing a Stanza was not impossible, after all it was what I was trying to do, but it is something extremely difficult to do on purpose even more so when changing between tow almost opposite Stanzas.

“Who cares? He is a coward, we still have a villain to stop,” said Hiyoku and the rest could not believe her words.

“We can’t allow him to return! He hated it there!” Agnes Stein was the most worried of us.

Of course, the mission was important, but Reikokuna Takai was part of the family.

“The time is short, we have to find Elvira before she has all the Elemental Demons under her thumb,” continued Prince Nikolay.

“The answer is simple!” I said, “We separate again. You go find Elvira and I go after Reikokuna Takai, after all he mustn’t be far.”

“I don’t like when we go separate ways, and the Flame Swordsfolk are not nice people, their base is nearby so Takai might have already gotten there. You will not get him back easily,” new dad was so cute when he was worried.

It was then that Ember Lascander put her hand on her boyfriend’s shoulder.

“I’ll go with Nina, you go to the Altar. Do some reconnaissance and, if possible, wait for us to arrive.”

“We just reunited after all that…”

“I know my love, but when I return, I will fill you with kisses.”

In the end that was what we decided, mom and me would go and bring Reikokuna Takai to stop Elvira once and for all.

“Please, Nina Nune, bring him back,” asked Agnes Stein and I showed a thumbs up to her.

We said our goodbyes and my group left Deep Green.

(…)

The place was hot. Too hot for my liking, but it was the only way to get stronger. He hit me again with his sheathed sword, knocking me to the ground.

“We have got soft. We need to reawaken your flame,” he said kick me in the ground.

I used all my strength to get up.

“Yes, father.”