"The waters whisper, secrets they hold, I listen, may truth unfolds." In just a few minutes, I arrived in the sacred garden of the Alpha.
My eyes roamed around to find where the Majesty was, but to my surprise, it was Valen that I saw. He's standing behind the Alpha, I cannot see their face but the wind tells that it must be a serious one.
Alpha turned around at him, and took a gaze at my position, sensing my energy.
"This cannot be happening! I am the Fire Bearer and the only Fire Bearer!" Valen screamed. His shoulders were tense, his knuckles were tightly gripped as if at any moment he would crash anything with those knuckles.
Knowing what he was talking about, my heart ached for him. I felt guilty that I am the one who found that the stone he deeply worked for would not be his.
Alpha looked at him with those softened eyes and half smiled. In a calm tone, she gently commanded me, "Aella, come out. I know you are here."
"Alpha…" I rose up from the water and showed my water form to them. I shifted my gaze at him, "...Valen."
His tense body calmed down, he darted those eyes filled with longing and hope. But, after he blinked those eyes, it turned to rage and fiercely looked at me. I felt like hundreds of knives struck my heart.
I tried to move forward toward him. Every step I took to go to him is another backward step he took to get away from me.
Our eyes are still locked to each other. The difference is I looked at him filled with longing while he looked at me filled with disappointment and rage.
That action from him, broke something in my heart. It wasn't just a step, it wasn't just physical proximity. I felt like Valen was moving away as if he was trying to cut me off. He was drifting away from me.
I stopped, knowing that I would not be able to get near him. "Are you okay now?" I tried to steady my voice, and asked in a soft and gentle voice, roaming my eyes around his body to assess and check whether he was okay.
I wanted to hold him, I wanted to hug him. I want to tell him that nothing would change… But, would nothing really change?
He turned his gaze away. "Aella, is it true?" he whispered. His facial expression changed from rage to having hope again.
It is like he was asking me to say that it is not true. How I wish I could say that. How I wish that would be the scenario.
"Aella!" he shouted, that made me flinch a little. This is not Valen that I know, he would not shout at me like this but I understand… I tried to understand. He is hurting, he is betrayed.
"It's… true," I said in a low voice, lowering my head. "I found him… and the fire stone he was—"
"No… no…" He walked backward while shaking his head. "No… no… no… no…"
The Valen that I knew, the composed and always calm man, suddenly breaks down. His body is trembling, his eyes filled with many emotions that he looks so overwhelmed with the truth.
My composure collapsed, this look from him breaks my heart. My eyes got teary and something blocked my throat. I want to comfort and hug him. "Valen…" I tried to get closer to him but he raised his hand to stop me. It made my tears fall down, that made me completely break down.
Valen did not deserve any of this.
My eyes widened and immediately went to him when he fell down. This is the first time I saw Valen breakdown like this. This is so heartbreaking.
He keeps on crying. He looks at me with his pleading eyes while holding me in my arms. He stared directly at my eyes. "Aella, please tell me this is not true… please, Aella."
My tears keep on falling like a waterfall. My mind keeps on wishing that I could say that, how I wanted to wake up from this dream… but this isn't a dream. This is the truth.
I hugged him without answering his questions. A comfort and a friend is what he needs, not another word that can pierce through his heart, not the truth that would shatter him more.
"Aella… please. I am the fire bearer, I am destined to be a fire bearer," he begged between sobs.
I wanted to lie. I wanted to comfort him with lies. But, would it work if another situation, another time he would again face the truth he keeps on running from?
We remained like this for more than an hour, hugging and patting him on his back while he was crying restlessly and repeatedly saying that he was the fire bearer.
Alpha was not looking at us, I know she was hurting also. We are so close to her, she was the one who trained us since we were young. Valen really worked hard to be a dependable Beta.
Valen stood up and wiped his tears, his eyes were so swollen. "Valen…" I tried reaching his hand but he pushed it away, emotionless.
Without any words, he started walking out. I tried to run after him, trying to reach his hands. He stopped midway when I reached his hands and held it tightly.
"Let go, Aella," he coldly stated as if those words contained threats. It made my skin crawl, but it wasn't enough for me to let go. I strengthened my will.
"Valen… please, listen to me," I pleaded while still holding his hand, not giving any thought of letting go of him.
I heard him sighed heavily. "Aella, I want to be alone."
"Let him go, Aella," Alpha commanded. I furrowed my brows and turned my gaze to her. She seriously nods, as if that was a strict command that I must immediately obey.
I let his hand go and he started walking. I watched him fade through the sparkling fog near the door.
My tears started to fall again. I felt like I would not see Valen anymore, I felt like that was the last time my eyes would see him.
"Aella,"Alpha called me. I wipe out my tears and look back at her. "Did you find him?"
I tried to wipe off any thoughts and emotions towards Valen. I need to report about my mission. "Yes, Your Majesty," I answered with my strained voice. I closed my eyes, and sighed. "I found him. He is a mortal human being… The fire stone is in his hand."
Just like what I did, Alpha also closed her eyes because of disbelief. Who would have thought that the fire stone is in the hand of a mortal?
We both got silenced and the only thing I can hear are the birds humming, the sound of the trees, and the wind.
Alpha touched her forehead and she turned his body away. She started to walk back and forth as if she was restless. "How did this happen?"
I do not even know what happened. This is kinda a puzzle for us, nothing in the history of Aetheria happened like this. This would be the first time that a mortal human can hold one of the most powerful stones that even an average Aetherian could not.
I glanced over the entrance of the sacred garden when it opened, wishing that Valen would come back. But, I saw Aerona and Tellus. They were stunned when they saw me and they started running towards the pavilion. They hugged me tightly like they had never seen me for hundreds of years.
"I missed you!" Aerona said, hugging me tightly. Even though she was mean, we both treasure each other. She was my protector even though I can protect myself.
"Good to see you! How's the mortal world? Is it beautiful?" How I missed these questions from Tellus.
"Your mission is not yet over?" Aerona removed her arms circling my body but she caressed my hands.
"Not yet, I am here to give a report."
They nodded. They do not know my mission but they do know that my mission is in the mortal world.
"Are you guys okay?" I asked them. They should be pampered with a lot of missions given that there are only two stations in the Beta's missions, specifically connected to the Abyssal Orders.
Aerona rolled her eyes. "Tsk! I can barely sleep and rest because of those missions. Finish your mission quickly, so I have someone to depend on." She gazed at Tellus with a disgusted look, and rolled her eyes again.
"You had me. Those are the basics. I can finish them all," Tellus proudly said. "Anyway, we saw Valen running away from here but he ignored us. So, we came here to ask Alpha but then, we saw you!"
"So, what happened?"
I look at Alpha sitting in the corner and watching us. She nodded, so I guess I can tell them. I explained my mission to them and the discovery that I got.
While I am telling them, their facial expressions are unreadable. They are just completely staring at me directly, waiting for the next words I will say. Too focused but too overwhelmed by my story.
When I was done explaining, I waited for at least 5 minutes before they digested the information I said. Aerona is the first one who asked a question. "So, you were saying that we have another fire bearer?"
Alpha answered her question. "There is only one fire bearer and it is the one who Aella found in the mortal world. Valen would remain as a magna bearer and a Gamma."
No one bothered to say a thing. I knew that all of us felt the same way, we were all saddened for Valen. He trained hard and spent sleepless nights to train and become a stronger bearer of the fire stone.
"He is still the fire bearer, Alpha," Tellus exphasized, probably still cannot accept the fact. "Is there any chance that we can get the stone in that hand of a mortal human?"
Alpha smiled sadly. "We cannot unless that human dies… but we cannot kill an innocent."
"I can kill him," Aerona murmured.
It was heard by the Alpha, and gazed at her with serious and threatening eyes. Aerona looked away.
"So, will the magma stone remain in Valen's hand? How about the true magma bearer?"
"It's okay. Nothing will happen to that person. Valen needed it." Alpha assured us, I can still see the stress in her eyes and she keeps on massaging her forehead.
Silence filled the pavilion. No one bothered to say anything until Alpha asked me, "What's the status of that human? Does he know already?"
I sighed heavily. "He knew but couldn't believe it. I wanted to give him time to process what he learned."
"What can he do? He doesn't know anything about us. He would only be a burden to Elysium," Aerona said with her sharp mouth.
"Let's give him a chance. He can train like we did."
"Do you think he will acknowledge his power?" Tellus asked.
"I will do my best. Give me time to convince him. I do not want to force him," I said while smiling at them and observing if they would agree.
Alpha reached my hand. "Do what you think is better, Aella. I trust you." Her voice is soothing as if she was trying to cheer me up.
"Alpha… I have a problem," I look at her with worried eyes. She just smiled and waited for my next thing to say.
"He cannot control his power. I am worried he might manifest it in front of mortal humans."
That really worries me, him trying to unleash his power that can cause damage to innocent people. They should not know or witness those kinds of power manifestations. I cannot let it happen, I also need to protect the Aetheria.
I saw a bright light in Alpha's hand. That made us forcefully close our eyes because of the brightness of it.
"Here, you can use this if that happens. This is called Arcane Lost."
A crystal ball was sitting in the Alpha's hands. It is silver with grains of gold. "Wait… this is one of the Alpha's arcane?"
"Yes. It will automatically light up if a mortal human sees a manifestation of powers that came from Elysium but mortals cannot see the light, so don't worry. If that human accidentally uses his power in front of a mortal human, just take that out and it will do its work."
My lips are slightly open. We knew all arcane technology here, but the Alpha's arcanes are rare to see as it was either forbidden or can do so much.
All of us stared at the crystal ball for minutes until Tellus asked, "Anyway, how about the council? Shall we tell them?"
"We will hold a council meeting when that human is here. For now, keep this to ourselves until Aella brings him here. Also, look after Valen. He needed you."
"We will, Alpha. We are always here for each other." Aerona gives an assuring smile to Alpha.
"Tell Valen that he's always the fire bearer in my heart. Comfort him for me," I smiled sadly. I cannot go to him, I still have a mission to complete.
Aerona held my hand and massaged it slightly. "I know you are worried about him. Let us handle him, I know he will understand."
Tellus wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry, Aella. We got you! Do you think I can defeat him now?"
I giggled. Never in our training and friendly duel does Tellus defeat Valen. Some are close fights but few of them Tellus cannot stand a chance against him.
"I beg that even if he had a magma stone, he can easily defeat you," Aerona sarcastically stated. She smirked, and added more painful words, "That would be embarrassing."
Tellus gave her a death stare but laughed so loud. "We will see."
I smiled at both of them. "Thank you. I need to leave now." I briefly hugged them and went back to the water. They bid their goodbyes while waving their hands.
"I will bring him here, I promise."