Centum studies Ayla as she walks towards him. He frowns as he starts to notice some of her oddities, “Her skin has a blue tint to it, which isn’t inherently strange, but why does it seem to be moving? Its hue constantly shifts to different shades of blue as if the colour is flowing around her body. I can’t help but think of an ocean’s surface when I look at her. I can feel a frightening amount of power radiating from her. I don’t have any confidence in winning a fight against her.”

“Is everything alright?” she asks as she stops on front of him, “You’re staring at me rather intensely.” Her words break his concentration, momentarily startling him. Without thinking, he asks, “What are you? At first, I thought you were a variant elf species, but now I’m not so sure.” Ayla laughs in response as Centum regains his composure.

“I was wondering the same thing,” Ayla says in response. Standing a meter away from him, she continues, “I’ll introduce myself first. My name’s Ayla. I’m a water spirit. This old thing that’s carrying us is called Turrix; he’s an earth spirit.” She looks towards him, expectantly. A bit hesitant, Centum replies, “My name’s Sage, I’m a human.”

Ayla’s eyes narrow in response as she studies his face, “I’ve met humans before, albeit long ago, and none of them had the same scent as you. You’re similar to us, I can sense it. What are you really, Sage?” A minute of silence passes between them as he reluctantly answers, “I’m a spirit human.”

Her eyes widen in response as she says, “So you really are one of us. I’ve never heard of a human spirit, can that even be classified as an element? Regardless, we’re still of the same kind.” Still a bit tense, he asks hesitantly, “I’m confused; I’ve seen the elemental spirits that aid mages in their magic, but you’re completely different.”

“How so?” Ayla asks with interest. Centum expression is filled with apprehension as he continues, “Normally, elemental spirits are summoned as small, translucent animals composed of their respective element. They don’t have any power of their own and can only enable the mages through channelling their elemental power.”

Ayla laughs in amusement. She studies Centum’s expression and comments, “There’s no reason to be so tense, I’m not going to hurt you. We’re both of the same race, right.” Her words help to ease his worries as the atmosphere between them lightens. “Come and sit, I’m sure there’s a lot of questions we want to ask each other,” she suggests as she beckons him to sit on the grass next to her.

Having calmed down a bit, he sits down as she continues, “To answer your question, there are a few misconceptions about spirits. As spirits get older, we grow stronger in power and we gain increased wisdom and intelligence. Although you’re a unique spirit, I can sense that you’re fairly young, right?”

Centum quietly nods in response as she continues, “I expected as much, don’t worry, I’ll explain properly. The strength of the spirits that mages summon are directly correlated to their strength. Even then, very few individuals are strong enough to summon even the weakest, youngest spirit completely. Thus, they can only summon a part of our power, akin to a shadow of our true selves. This has led people to believe that spirits are simple creatures.”

A look of understanding dawns on Centum as she continues, “The knowledge that mages possess on spirits are limited as our characteristics aren’t inherently obvious. An earth spirits size is directly correlated to their age and strength. A fire elemental’s colour indicates their power and age. For air spirits, it’s less obvious.”

“How so?” Centum asks, excited by this new knowledge. Seeing his enthusiasm, she happily continues, “The air is naturally unrestrained, refusing to stop and be restrained. As an air spirit increases in power and age, it divides itself up. The air spirits that rescued you are only one being that divided itself up. Air spirits don’t tend to travel together, so the amount of air spirits in a group is the best indication of strength and age.”

“And what about water spirits?” Centum asks curiously. “I’m getting to it,” she says, “Fire elementals are the strongest type, in terms of power, but their range is limited to sources of extreme heat, making them also the rarest variant. Similarly, water elementals are limited to their personal source of water. The age and strength of water elementals are directly correlated to this water source and its volume.”

“Now it’s my turn to ask a question,” Ayla says, “How did you come to this horrid place? This planet has been isolated for so many years, and except for the constant flood of new demons, no one else has come here. Did someone send you?” Her expression turns serious as she waits for his answer. Having expected this question, Centum clears his throat and recounts the heroes’ final battle and the portal that brought him here. With a pained expression, he also mentions Mia’s death.

Her expression deepens as she asks, “Can I see the pearl?” With no reason to refuse, he hands it over to her as she studies it intently. “Do you know what this is?” she asks as Turrix’s deep voice responds, “I’m not sure. I can sense an ancient power within it, but I’ve never seen anything like it before. From his story, I believe this pearl can create and control portals, but its power seems exhausted, and I’m afraid there isn’t enough essence on this planet to recharge it.”

“So, it’s a coincidence that the pearl sent him here?” she asks. “That might be the case, but coincidence is just an illusion of fate,” Turrix says mysteriously. Next to her, Centum frowns in confusion, but he decides to remain quiet rather than risk angering them. Despite her reassurance, a small part of Centum can’t help but fear the extreme power that they possess.

Noticing his discomfort, she says while handing back the pearl, “Alright, it’s your turn. What do you want to ask?” Centum places the pearl back into his pocket as he takes a moment to think. Having decided, he asks, “What wrong with this world, what happened here?” Ayla’s expression turns strange in response as she says, “You know that’s not an easy question, right?”