Adam stood a few hundred meters from a large lake. He was walking away from it, but cast his elemental sight towards it to give one last look as he left. He had spent the last five years at this lake. The lake was bursting full with water essence and was perfect for him to use in purifying his bones with death essence. A spirit even inhabited the lake! The spirit was rather lax and spoke with a slur. On parting with the spirit, it had only said: “Later, then. Remember, just go with the flow, dude.”

Adam had surprisingly taken five years to purify his bones at the lake, compared to the two years he had spent in the valley full of wind essence he had been in before. It wasn't because the lake had any less spirit essence than the valley did, but it was a combination of Adam being unfamiliar with how to utilize water essence and the death essence in his bones were putting up far more resistance than before. It was as though for each bit of death essence that Adam tried to purify from his body, the remainder became more compacted and more pure. This would undoubtedly made it harder and harder to purify the death essence. On top of that, he had to use a balanced amount of each type of spirit essence to purify the death essence from his body! For all Adam knew, it could take another hundred years before he could fully purify his body!

Over six years ago, Adam had departed from his home in Heider in search of places with enough pure spirit essence to help him purify the death essence that existed deep in his bones. Adam had not been sure how long it was going to take him to find a place like the lake, but it had surprisingly only taken a year! Adam thought it was going to take him a longer time to actually find such a place that was not already in use by someone else.

When Adam had departed from Heider, he traveled to the north east to a kingdom that bordered Luxom. Adam had some sour memories about the last time he had been in Luxom and decided to avoid the place entirely. Adam had been going at a steady pace, neither fast nor slow, as he traveled. He tried to enjoy the journey, as he did not know how long it was going to last. He also did not know how many years he had left to live as well. Adam didn't care to figure out the exact count, but he was somewhere around eighty years old. Normal people would have already died by this point. However, Adam was a spiritualist and had an extended life span because of it. Though, his original body had already died and he was miraculously able to take over the body of his killer with his soul and inhabit it! So even though he was a spiritualist, the body he had was not his own and its bones were filled with death essence. For all he knew, he could die tomorrow! Still, he would continually move forward in hopes of finding a places full of different kinds of spirit essence, in order to purify the death essence from his body. To simply stop and give up would mean that everything he had done in his whole life before this, would have been in vain. That he should have just accepted his blindness and lived a relatively normal life.

For a week, Adam continued his travels. He would listen to the spirit essence around him, while trying to discern their specific sounds. If he could fully understand the sounds they made, he could mimic them to control the spirit essence and make them bend to his will!

Adam had eventually made his way onto a road as he traveled. If anyone was to pass him by, they would see what looked like a blind old man in worn clothes using a walking staff to move along. He had a blindfold to cover his eyes, a habit formed from when he first became blind. His stature appeared to be on the frailer side. The death essence in his body weakened his physical strength and for a long time his body had been emaciated from it. In some ways, his body was still sickly and gave off the feeling of a feeble old man. He still had some hair on his head that was white. Adam's clothes were well worn, since he only had two or three sets of clothes to use for the past five years. While they weren't dirty since he could use the lake to wash them, they still gave him a vagabond type feel.

As traveled along the road, he noticed that there was a dilapidated wagon around a hundred meters in front of him. The odd thing was, the wagon was not old at all. Rather, it seemed that the wagon was recently broken apart in a violent manner! Adam quickly stopped enjoying the sounds of the spirit essence around him and fully concentrated his elemental sight over the wagon. He could now easily tell that the wagon was ransacked, probably by some bandits, and torn apart for some parts. There were the bodies of a man and a woman lying dead nearby. However there was still someone alive! Adam was shocked to find that the only survivor was just a small shivering child!

Adam had always used a walking staff to assist him, but even still he broke out into a run to get to the child as fast as he could. The child was a young girl that was probably five years old. She was unconscious under the body of the woman. Presumably, the woman was the girl's mother who had tried to protect her during the bandit raid. Adam cursed the bandits under his breath as he gently rolled the woman off of the child.

Adam first checked the child for any injuries before he moved her. She appeared to have a cut on her arm that had already scabbed over, but it was in no way clean. Adam quickly tore apart what was left of the wagon to make fire wood. He then hummed an odd tune. One could almost hear something stirring within the sound of the hum. It was as though the hum could stir life itself! Caused by his hum, the air over the fire wood quickly rubbed against itself. This caused a large amount of friction that resulted in a flame being born! Adam couldn't control this flame, but it quickly fell upon the wood from the wagon and a stable fire was made. There was a dented crud pot in the remains of the wagon that Adam retrieved next. Adam began humming again. At first, nothing seemed to be happening. Around ten seconds later, though, a mist of water started to condense from the air into the pot! Adam was unsure if there was any clean source of water nearby, so he had decided to condense the water essence that was natural floating in the air into pure water! This process took some time and started to exhaust Adam. Eventually, though, the pot was mostly filled with clean water. Adam held the pot over the fire to warm the water up before he started to clean the girl's wound with it.

After briefly cleaning the girl's wound, he placed her near the fire. It was close enough that she could be warmed by it, but not close enough to scald her. Next, Adam entered the sparsely wooded area by the road. Other than the few trees dotted around, there were plenty of bushes that could be found. With Adam's elemental sight, it wasn't too hard for him to track down a berry bush. He picked a bunch of berries and mashed them into a paste that he watered down in the pot. Adam carefully trickled this watery berry syrup down the girl's throat. Adam had no idea how long the girl had been lying unconscious, but she definitely needed both food and water. This water syrup would help provide both to the girl.

After having done everything he could, Adam sighed as he looked at the girl: “I hope this is enough.”

Adam traveled without a map, so he had no idea how close the nearest town was. He was ill equipped to deal with the girl's current needs, but he did what he could with what was on hand.

After doing what he could for the girl, Adam stood up and walked a small distance from the fire he had set up. Brandishing his walking staff, Adam swung it with a hum. A blade of air condensed at the tip of the staff as Adam swung it! This blade of air dug itself deep into the ground. Adam repeated the process over and over, while occasionally pulling large clumps of dirt that he had cut apart out of the holes he was making. After they were long and deep enough, Adam carefully picked up the bodies of the man and woman and placed them into the two graves he had just dug out. After he finished burying them, Adam could only offer up a few words: “Wherever you souls find themselves, may they rest in peace. I promise you, I will find a good home for your daughter...”

After eating some tough, dried jerky from his pack and sucking down the remainder of the berry syrup, Adam lied down close to the girl with exhaustion. Even though the ground was very uncomfortable, he closed his eyes to rest. The sun was already setting and, after all, that was a lot of work for an eighty year old man to do!

Adam was woken by a soft moan of pain. He then heard a young confused voice: “Mama? Papa?”

Adam quickly got up, without making too much noise. The girl looked towards Adam and fright entered her eyes. Adam was a total stranger to her and she wasn't sure where her parents were! A sudden realization came across the girl's eyes and she started to back up on the ground with panic in her eyes. With haggard breathing, she was whipping her head around, hoping to find some trace of her parents.

Adam didn't try to approach her, but tried to plead to her: “Please calm down, I am not a bandit! I don't know what happened to you and your parents, but I found you along the road. I helped you! My name is Adam... can you tell me yours?”

Adam's words were registered by the girl. As she was looking around, she didn't see anyone else. She couldn't see her parents, but she also didn't see any bandits. Adam was also wearing a blindfold and appeared old. She doubted that he could be a vicious man. She ignored Adam's question, instead she asked in a quavering voice: “W-where are my parents?”

Adam's posture slightly slumped. There was no easy way around this question. He pointed to two freshly dug spots and said: “I am sorry, but they are dead. I buried them there.”

The girl shook her head in disbelief. She then shouted: “NO! YOU”RE LYING!”

The girl then quickly got up and took off into the night! Adam gave a depressed sigh and picked up his walking staff. He then took off to follow the girl. He decided he wasn't going to immediately catch up to her and drag her back to camp. That would likely make things worse! Instead, he would just follow her and only intervene if she got into any trouble. Hopefully, she could run some of her emotions out and accept his words.

To be watchful of everything surrounding them, Adam spread his elemental sight out as far as he could all around him. Due to spreading in every direction, he could only push it to a two hundred meter radius.

It didn't take long for the girl to begin to tire. Running along, she would occasionally trip and even fell down once. Adam wanted to run over and help her up, but she quickly got up on her own and continued running away. Eventually, the girl could run no more and coward by a bush, crying to herself. Adam stopped around ten meters from the girl, unsure of if now was the right time to pick her up and bring her back to the camp.

At this point, something entered into the range of his elemental sight! Adam quickly discerned that it was a group of coyotes that had entered the area! Disregarding what the girl might feel, Adam quickly walked up to the girl and picked her up with one arm and placed her against his chest. The girl was surprised by Adam's sudden appearance and actions. Just as she was going to start to resist, she herd the yelps of the coyotes and saw the small forms quickly approaching. When she saw them, she pushed herself more deeply into Adam's hold as the coyotes frightened her.

Adam had thought of just running away from the coyotes since he could use wind essence would probably be able to run faster than they could. However, he was worried about how such speeds might effect the girl. Adam decided to try something else. He started to hum a strange tune. In the girls fright, the sound of the strange hum pierced through her fear. From Adam's chest, she could also feel the reverberation of Adam's hum. It was odd and mystical. It quickly enchanted the girl.

Adam continued his hum as the coyotes approached. When they got close, they slowed down. They were weary of Adam, but it had been a long time since they had had some meat. They had greater numbers than Adam and if they could wrest away the girl, that would be enough for them to fill their stomachs. The coyotes were willing to probe Adam out to see if they could possibly claim either him or the girl as their prey!

The coyotes started to encircle Adam when he suddenly raised his staff and then quickly brought it down to strike the ground! When he did this, a giant thunderous BOOM issued out! Two things had happened when Adam brought the staff down. First, a small distortion of air surrounded Adam and the girl, which he was using to insulate them from the sound of the boom. Secondly, two more distortions appeared above Adam that scrapped against one another. These two highly compressed masses of air were pressed firmly together before being made to scrape against one another. This scrapping created the giant thunderous boom!

As soon as the thunderous boom was issued, the normally timid coyotes were instantly frightened and ran away as fast as their legs could carry them! With the coyotes running away, all the air distortion around Adam dissipated away. Adam looked down at the girl he held against his chest and was surprised! Somehow, his humming and the vibrations from his chest had calmed the girl into sleeping! He hadn't even hummed for long! Adam gave a saddened smile to the girl, as he thought: “She must be really exhausted from everything.”

Adam walked back to the dilapidated wagon, careful to step gently so as to not disturb the girl's sleep.

The girl ended up sleeping all the way into the afternoon. When the girl stirred, she didn't run away or back up in fright when she saw Adam. Adam had long ago prepared another pot of berry syrup and offered it to the girl, in addition to a few pieces of jerky from his pack. As she ate, the girl didn't say anything for a long time until she suddenly muttered a quiet “Thank you.”

Adam politely replied: “Your welcome.”

The girl slowly peered over at the two graves Adam had pointed out earlier. Sadness was deeply entrenched in the girl's eyes and tears started to flow out. With a chocked voice, she asked: “Are mama and papa really buried there?”

Adam gave the girl an apologetic look. “When I arrived, there was nothing I could do for them. You were the only one still alive...”

The girl started sobbing loudly. Adam sat by the girl's side and she quickly buried her face into his arm as she cried. All Adam could really do was to let her cry her heart out until she was done. The girl ended up crying for a long time, until she finally fell asleep once again from exhaustion and stress.

The girl woke up in the evening to another pot of berry syrup and some jerky. Adam apologized to the girl: “Sorry that it is the same meal over and over. If I knew where some rabbits were, I could set some traps and we could have a fine stew. Unfortunately, this is all that I could find.”

The girl meekly nodded to Adam and eat once more. As she was eating, she gave a rather embarrassed look. “I... I don't remember what you said your name was.”

“That's alright, it is understandable. My name is Adam, what is yours?”

“Alyssa. My name is Alyssa.”

“Alyssa, that is a nice name. Do you know if you have any relatives and where they might live, Alyssa?”

Alyssa shook her head: “Papa said we were going to move in with his brother, but I don't remember his name or the place we were moving to. I was too sad to leave my friends that I did not pay much attention to where we were going...”

Adam nodded. “I promised your parents that I would find you a good home, since I do not have one to take you to. If you can remember anything about the route your father was taking, it might help me to take you to your uncle's place. I think that would be the best home for you. Just think about it every now and then to see if you can remember anything. What about the town you came from? Do remember its name? Would the parents of your friends know anything?”

“I... I don't remember.”

Alyssa quickly buried her face into Adam's arm as tears came to her eyes again. Adam could tell that when she couldn't remember her uncle's name or where he lived, she was telling the truth. This last time, though, she was actually lying! Adam could tell what the root of the problem was. Alyssa was simply scared. Scared that Adam would leave her all alone, so she feigned ignorance. She was also burying her face in Adam's arm to hide this, as much as to seek comfort from her fears. Adam knew he couldn't force the truth out of the little girl, so he just put his arm around her to comfort her. “Don't worry, we will sort everything out. I won't leave you alone.”

After a little while, Adam pulled out his flute and started to play. Alyssa immediately began to loosen up, as the song Adam played was pleasant and comforting. Before too long, Alyssa once again fell asleep. This time, peacefully lulled into a slumber by Adam's song.

After Alyssa had fallen asleep, Adam walked a small distance away before sitting down and began humming that strange hum. If Alyssa would be traveling with him for some time, he had to ensure her safety. While it was unlikely that any of the death essence that had been so tightly compacted in his bones would easily leak out, if it did it would be deadly! Even a small amount would be incredibly dense and pure. Ever since Adam had first entered the plane of death long ago, he had been unsure as to why he had not died while being surrounded by death. Even know, he was unsure of how he could live with so much death in his bones. It certainly weakened his body, but this much death essence was probably enough to kill hundreds of people, let alone him! As such, Adam was directing wind and water essence to hover above his bones, creating a film that would catch any death essence leaking out and hopefully contain it.

Adam and Alyssa stayed at the wagon for another day. This was Adam attempting to let Alyssa grieve. During this time, someone did pass by as they went down the road. They inquired as to what had happened and asked if they needed any help. Adam politely declined and thanked them for checking up on them. He did ask for knowledge on what towns and cities were around, though.

The next morning, it was finally time to leave. Alyssa gave a longing look at the graves of her parents. She wished to stay, but knew they couldn't. The heavens also knew, she couldn't stand another day of that berry syrup!

[AN: I'm back! As I wrote this chapter, I thought to myself: I really can't find a way to progress the story without ruining someone's life can I? Nonetheless, there should only be a few more sad like moments before we should see them again! They will be spaced out across the first half of this book, and then I believe we will leave them in the dust once and for all!]