Adam prepared a few provisions for the trip back before turning to the lean-to shelter made of branches that he had been using for the past few years. With a hum and a wave of his hand, a gentle breeze picked up the shelter and separated the branches from one another. The breeze then gently placed the branches back where Adam believed he had first taken them from. This action encompassed all that Adam had learned in this valley. Being able to move air and compress it into a dense mass to lift or move objects. Adam then sought out the spirit to bid him farewell and thank him for the use of the valley.

It didn't take Adam long to find the spirit. When Adam approached, the spirit was curious. Adam rarely sought the spirit out on his own. Adam said: “I am about to return to my home. I wished to thank you for letting me stay all this time.”

“Returning already? Ah, what sweet sorrow. You amused me so well! Well, if you have to leave, then toot-a-loo!”

With that, the spirit turned around and continued to sail along, without a worry in the word. Adam could only wryly smile at the spirit's loose attitude. Sometime it had been aggravating, others it had been humorous. Either way, it would be a friend Adam would part with. He turned around and started walking out of the valley. The spirit then suddenly stopped, as if it had just realized something.

“Wait.... Shit, that's right! You are human! Wait, wait, stop!”

The spirit suddenly sped its way to Adam to keep him from leaving the valley. Adam could hear it shouting 'stop' from afar and as it got closer. Adam stopped and turned back, confused as to why the spirit wanted him to stop. It didn't quite seem to fit with its personality, considering it had already bid him farewell.

The spirit came to a rest in front of Adam. “Thank goodness you stopped! Um, how to say this.... uh-uh-uh.”

The spirit repeatedly stuttered 'uh' as it tried to form its words. After the tenth 'uh' Adam started to get impatient and said: “Out with it!”

The spirit slightly shrunk back from this shout and then timidly started to say: “Ummm, you know the stuff I had told you about your so called 'spirit essence' really being little spirits?... Could you please not tell anyone else about this?”

Adam was slightly taken aback. This was all about that? He asked: “Why?”

“Ah, well, you see, hehe... I completely forgot you were human. No matter what, I can only see an abomination when I look at you, but you have professed yourself to be human. Thinking you were just an abomination, I told you all those things. Look, what do you think would happen if all those spiritualists learned they were not enslaving mere spirit essence with their symbols, but actual spirits? They would surely do their best to come up with even more elaborate symbols to enslave all the spirits! One of the biggest taboos we have is to talk to any of you about the little ones! You absolutely cannot tell another human about the little ones or, or, or... I will haunt you to your grave!”

“...Haunt me to my grave?”

“Yes, I abhor killing. Instead, I will cause howling winds to constantly assault you until your ears bleed! Then, I will buffet you with storms until you are pressed to the ground and can't get up! I will continue doing this until you die!”

Adam was shocked. He thought: “Pressing me down until I die, isn't that still the equivalent of killing me, though?”

Adam decided not to bring that up and thought about the problem himself. The knowledge of the tiny spirits would surely change the way spiritualists viewed the world. It was also conceivable that a few spiritualists would try to control higher spirits, as the wind spirit had said. That being said, would telling the world about the tiny spirits help it any way? Sure their view on the world would change, but was that it? “If that is all that would change... I might as well keep this secret to myself. At least until I have found a sufficient enough good reason to tell someone about it. It will also keep this crazy spirit from haunting me!”

Having come to his decision, Adam promised the spirit he wouldn't tell anyone about it. The spirit seemed happy when he heard this. “Wonderful! All is fine then. My life would have been a bore if I had to haunt you until you die! I'll be off then!”

The spirit once again flew off on its own. Adam couldn't believe the spirit was so willing to trust his word without a second thought. Adam wouldn't press this thought with the spirit, though, and decided to quickly leave before the spirit came back

The journey back to Hessler was shorter than his journey to the valley. Even though he had not managed to purify a lot of the death essence from his body, it was still enough for Adam to notice the effects. His body could hold more strength so he wasn't as easily tired and didn't have to rely too much on help from the walking stick and supporting himself with spirit essence to get about. He still did use them, he just didn't have to use them quite as much as he used to.

By going south, Adam eventually came to a road which he followed the rest of the way to Hessler. Before, it had taken him nearly two months to find the valley after leaving Hessler. To get back, it had only taken him a little over a month! All along the way, Adam constantly listened to the spirit essence around him. He listened to them to learn how they acted and reacted to one another. If he could break it all down to their basic sounds, Adam might be able to control all the different types of spirit essence! Unfortunately, it was incredibly hard to actually pull the sounds apart. In the valley, wind essence was everywhere and completely dominated over everything else. This made it rather easy to pick apart the various sounds wind essence made and to form them into songs with which he could control them. In a normal area, the spirit essence was much lower and there were pretty much equal levels of almost all the types. Everything would mix together and while it would occasionally make for some nice sounds, it was near impossible to tell which sounds belonged to which type of spirit and to form them into a cohesive song that could control the spirit essence.

As Adam approached the gates of Hessler, guilt weighed heavily in his heart. He had stayed in the valley for so long as he had hoped to completely expel the death essence from his bones. Unfortunately, that was impossible. Now that he had finally returned, he knew that with the time he had spent there that he would not find Helen or Alfred when he got to the house.

Sure enough, as Adam got close, he could not see Alfred or Helen anywhere in the house. Adam knocked on the front door as he entered. “Emilia, I have returned.”

Emilia was in a room close to the front. She had been sitting in a rather depressed mood. When she heard Adam's voice, she quickly got up and went to the door. It pained Adam to see Emilia. She had visibly aged, as it appeared the loss of Helen and Alfred had taken a toll on her. Adam walked up and gave her a gentle hug. “I am sorry Emilia. I have never been here for you when you needed me, have I?”

Emilia just silently clung to Adam. Around a year back, Helen had passed away. Alfred's body was stronger, but the loss of Helen had weakened his spirit. A little over a week before Adam had returned, Alfred had also passed on.

Adam was welcomed back by everyone, but there was no celebration for his return. The next day, Adam went with Emilia and a few others to visit the grave obelisk. On it, two more names were engraved and Adam could see some recent ashes. Adam felt rather numb to the whole situation. When he had first come home over two years ago, he came to find Helen and Alfred already so old. Even though he knew it was all real, the whole world already seemed very much like a dream to Adam. In addition, during his stay in the valley, he always knew this was what he was going to come home to. Over the more than two years he had spent there, he had long ago come to accept what had happened. After lighting some candles and paying their respects, they left.

Adam spent a week at home, before telling Emilia his plans. He had to visit at least five more places like the valley in order to fully purify his body. Considering how long it took him in the valley, just purifying his body would surely take at least ten years! Then there was the process of actually trying to find places like the valley that would most likely take even longer! It seemed that it was unlikely that Adam would return home after he left again.

“Emilia, I have been a terrible father to you. I have only actually been with your for a few weeks out of your whole life! And even still, I am going away... regardless of the reason it is terrible for me to do this to you.”

Emilia gently shook her head. While she dearly wished to get to know her father better, she was not a little girl who could not live without him. “It is fine, father. I know you are not doing this because you hate me or Helen or anyone else. In fact, you are doing it to protect us! Your life is simply that different from ours... I think no matter what I say, you will blame yourself, but let me say this; both mother and I forgive you! You have never done anything wrong! Do not go through the rest of your life blaming yourself for what has happened. Just live your life as full as you can! I think you deserve that much for all that you have been through.”

A few days later, Adam once again left Hessler. This time, he felt that he was surely leaving everything behind. His family, his home, it would be a long time before he returned, if ever. All of this just to purify his body! Adam was caught thinking: “After it is done... then what? If I just leave everything behind, just what am I doing this for in the first place!?”

Adam's heart shuddered as this thought came to him. He looked back from the gates of Hessler to the direction of his home. If he were to stay though, the death essence in his body would slowly seep out and drive everyone around him slowly to their grave! Adam leaned his head back and heaved a sigh to clear his head. He had to do this! If he were just to hole himself up in a cave and wait to die, that would be letting everyone down! He had missed the last years of Helen and Alfred in order to just get this far in purifying his body. If he stopped half-way through, what was the point of all of that! He also couldn't be any less than what his daughter thought of him. The image she had of him was one where he held his head high and did the right thing, even though it was excruciatingly hard! He would never give up and act unyielding in his beliefs! Adam walked away from Hessler with firm and steady steps. He had to purify his body and he would definitely succeed!

End of Book One

ONE MAN'S JOURNEY

THE START TO HIS PATH

[AN: Woo, done with book one! I am going to take a brake for a few weeks, three at most, and then I am going to come back and start up book two! Book two should also be the last 'half' of the story and I will work on the second drafts after I am done with book two and then release them for sale. Chapter numbers will continue as is, since I think that is a little easier?]