Calytrix's Journey

Chapter XIII: Ocean

The morning sun's warmth welcomed me awake. I saw the sun peeking through, a beautiful day ahead, but then I recalled... Akios was in the room next to me, and my sunny outlook instantly darkened. The moment I turned away from the window, the bright sunshine vanished, replaced by darkness. The sky turned gray as the rain fell. As if the weather mirrored my emotions, I fought off negative morning thoughts by focusing on my daily beauty routine.

I carefully combed my hair and applied some face cream because my skin got dry quickly. My face creams contained common herbal ingredients, easily sourced during my travels.

Upon completing my morning rituals, I met Leo in the inn's hallway. He sat on the floor, engrossed in the book of myths I purchased yesterday. I was completely unaware that he'd taken it. Leo was so absorbed in his reading that he didn't even see me standing there.

"Did you find an interesting tale?" I asked him.

"No. I already know all the contents," he answered.

"You must have read in the past, but if you're reading it again you must like it," I said with a smile, thinking I found someone with similar interests to mine.

"Past? Like... I don't need it. My life began anew just to serve you," Leo answered, looking at me straight in the eyes.

His words caused me to shiver slightly. That's something I never desired.

"Leo, I..." I took a breath before I could explain myself.

"Well said, zombie. At least the slave knows his place and how the world works," Akios interrupted us from the behind. He clapped.

"Akios!" I said as I turned around to face him.

His dark, curly hair was in a mess. Despite never seeing it neatly combed, his hair was exceptionally messy today. Dark circles were under Akios's eyes. It seems like he didn't get any sleep at all. The question was, what was he doing? Something shady was probably going on with him.

"Akios, you didn't sleep last night?" I asked him directly.

"I am a busy man. Sometimes I have no time for sleep," he answered.

Since I got to know him, I knew from the start that his explanation would end with those words.

"Of course you are always busy," I said, slightly annoyed.

Akios quickly moved on from the subject, positioning himself before Leo and me.

"We'll seek the water spirit's aid today," Akios declared proudly.

"Water spirit? Help? What's going on?" 

I had many questions, but I attempted to not seem bothersome.

"To fully seal the black holes, Master Andrezey requires the aid of elemental spirits. The wind and the earth spirit already agreed to help us, but we still need to convince the water spirit," Akios explained.

His explanation made the problem's solution seem easy. The most powerful beings in my world were the elemental spirits, the true source of all magic. The answer to black hole closure was right under our noses the whole time. Why didn't I think of asking an elemental spirit for help? I guess it was because I've never met any of them. This world's life was largely due to them, so why didn't the other witches think of the same thing? Possibly, but issues arose when attempting to use the elemental spirits' power.

"Do you wish you'd considered the elemental spirits solution earlier?" Akios asked with his eyebrows raised.

"I-Wait- Did you just read my thoughts?" I said in a high pitched, panicked voice.