Terra (1)
Terra, the successor to the Earth Spirit King and the Earth Spirit Princess, greeted Aqua warmly.
[It's been a while.]
[It's been a while!]
Terra gave a light nod to Niagara and Uluru behind her before turning her gaze to us.
[That's a human?]
[That's my spirit master!]
[He looks like us, just like they said.]
[Yep! Exactly!]
Sia watched their exchange with a peculiar expression, then glanced at me. I could read the odd look on her face all too well.
'We spirits are usually taught that we resemble humans.'
It was a matter of perspective, in the end.
Terra approached me and slowly extended her hand. Unlike Aqua, who always reached up with both arms demanding to be picked up, this straightforward gesture brought a smile to my lips.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Hyunwoo, Aqua's spirit master."
I took her hand. I'd assumed it was a handshake, but I felt her spirit power flow through, scanning my body.
It was Scan, the spirit magic earth spirit users employed to discern a monster's attributes or traits.
[Terra.]
Before I could react, Uluru stepped forward and gently separated our hands.
[It's rude to scan someone's attributes without permission.]
[Is it?]
[Humans are sensitive about that sort of thing, so you mustn't.]
[Got it. Sorry, human.]
Terra apologized with a calm expression. It was impassive, but that didn't mean it lacked sincerity. Earth spirits were clumsy with emotions due to their inherent stoicism and detachment.
I chuckled softly.
"It's fine. Were you curious about my body, Terra?"
[First human I've seen.]
For a fleeting moment, a spark of curiosity flickered in her subdued eyes.
[Terra's always had tons of questions!]
Aqua grabbed Terra's hand tightly as she spoke.
[That's why she's smart but gets into so much trouble! You haven't changed a bit, Terra!]
[It's only been a little while.]
Terra was unflappable yet composed and gentle. Unlike Aqua, who took after Uluru on the outside but Niagara inside, Terra seemed to mirror Uluru perfectly—inside and out. Except she was far more taciturn.
[Ooo...!]
[Oooo...]
The gnomes inside the cave began emerging one by one. They had come to see their Spirit King, Uluru.
Uluru smiled at Niagara.
[Take care of them for a bit.]
She approached the gnomes. Unlike the undines who flung themselves at Aqua and Niagara, the gnomes simply gazed at Uluru with reverence, almost like devotees before a holy icon.
'Spirits treat their Spirit Kings differently.'
This was a lesson you couldn't learn in the academy—real-world insight.
[How have you all been?]
[Ooo...]
[I'm glad to see you're all doing well.]
I captured Uluru peacefully conversing with the gnomes as they entered the cave on my phone camera.
[What's that?]
Terra showed curiosity. Aqua explained excitedly.
[This captures photos! It turns moments into eternity!]
Terra let out an impressed [Oh.] at the sudden sophisticated phrasing. Aqua puffed out her chest proudly.
[I learned it on the internet!]
Millennials learned fast, as expected.
[Moments into eternity...?]
[I'll show you! Take a picture of us!]
With that, Aqua pulled Terra into a tight hug. I quickly snapped a photo of the sisters-like pair.
When I showed it to her, Terra's eyes gradually widened.
[Ooo...!]
She made a sound like the gnomes, her eyes growing even larger.
[Oooo!]
Just when I wondered if they could get any bigger, they stopped. The stoic earth spirit eyes now sparkled.
[Amazing, right?]
[Amazing... Yeah. This is amazing.]
Terra peered into the camera for a long while before looking up.
[Is the human world full of amazing things?]
[Tons!]
Aqua spread her arms as wide as possible, drawing a big circle.
[There are countless things that don't even exist in the Spirit Realm! I've lived there for months, but there's still so much I haven't seen!]
It was like a big sister fresh from her first day of elementary school excitedly telling her little sibling all about it.
Thud. Terra plopped down in front of Aqua, ready to listen intently.
[The human world has machines! TVs, phones, computers, elevators—all machines!]
Aqua gushed about the human world with glee.
"They're having a blast."
Sia Clearwater commented.
"They said they'd be BFFs."
"BFFs?"
"Best friends forever."
We sat beside Terra, listening to Aqua's tales together.
* * *
Nearly an hour later, Aqua's human world lecture wrapped up. Terra nodded slowly.
Then she said,
[Aqua. You've gotten stronger.]
[Yep! Of course!]
[Thanks to the human world?]
[Thanks to my spirit master!]
At Aqua's words, Terra turned to me.
[Spirit master...]
This time, her eyes clearly held me.
[Besides, I'm the Water Spirit King now! Of course I have to be strong!]
[...Spirit King?]
Terra's eyes rounded again. She was the type whose emotions showed most in her eyes.
[I became a Spirit King! Didn't you know?]
[Then Niagara?]
Niagara, nestled in Sia Clearwater's arms, coughed awkwardly and looked away.
[Just an old undine?]
[Well... something like that.]
Terra nodded indifferently and slowly touched the ground, rising to her feet.
Then she said,
[Let's fight.]
[It's been ages!]
Aqua grinned and jumped up too.
The sudden talk of a fight tensed me up. But it wasn't the violent brawl I'd feared.
[Hya!]
[Hup!]
Aqua and Terra hugged each other, then grunted as they tried to topple one another.
"...Wrestling?"
It really was wrestling. No rules or techniques—just raw, animalistic territory tussling, more primal than sport.
After some grunting and straining, Terra toppled backward.
[Ack.]
[Eek!]
Aqua naturally tumbled on top. They stacked like a sandwich.
"Heh heh heh..."
I couldn't help but laugh. But they were dead serious.
[I win!]
Aqua sprang up, smiling triumphantly, and helped Terra sit.
Terra, panting and slumped, caught her breath before saying,
[You really have gotten stronger.]
[You've gotten pretty strong yourself!]
[I need more training. Maybe I should go to the human world too?]
[Not a bad idea! If you want, I'll help!]
At Aqua's runaway broker declaration, Niagara cleared his throat.
[Ahem, Aqua. That's for Terra and Uluru to decide.]
[...]
Unlike my expectation that she'd say "Terra has her own freedom," Aqua surprisingly nodded without argument. She respected Uluru's wishes as much as she adored her.
Aqua plopped down beside Terra, just wanting to be next to her friend.
'Seeing them together highlights their differences.'
Aqua and Terra resembled each other, yet were distinctly different. Beyond the transparent blue and brown skin, their personalities shone through their faces—like with humans or spirits.
'Aqua looks like a lively rascal.'
Terra, true to her earth spirit nature, had an old-soul vibe impossible for a three- or four-year-old face. Her worldly expression sealed it.
As I compared their faces, Terra brought up another topic.
[Why'd you come back to the Spirit Realm?]
[To purify Pompeii!]
[Purify?]
Aqua told Terra everything about Pompeii.
[I see.]
Terra glanced at Mandu, then nodded slowly.
[That explains it.]
[You knew?]
[Something felt off.]
Terra fell silent, then blurted,
[I'll come too.]
[To where Pompeii is?]
[Yeah.]
[...But will Uluru allow it?]
[Uluru can't stop me.]
Terra's eyes were resolute as stone.
[If Uluru is life, I'm death. If Pompeii's gone too far to return, he must be buried in the Spirit Realm's earth.]
Terra's matter-of-fact words carried a chill. It was one facet of earth.
* * *
We began exploring the massive cave—a Spirit Realm sightseeing tour.
Sia marveled at the entrance, as tall as a large tree.
"Everything in the Spirit Realm is huge."
"Yet the locals are these tiny ones."
I laughed, hugging the baby spirits who'd taken a shine to us humans.
[Hee hee!]
[The Spirit Realm is beautiful!]
We followed the striding Aqua into the cave, will-o'-the-wisps lighting the way.
◈ Imbued with salamander will, so it won't burn objects or people.
Its soft, subtle glow was perfect for a lantern.
The cave's vastness matched its ant-hill complexity of paths. Sia and I pressed on using our phone lights.
"Whoa... A lake at the bottom of the cave."
[Fish live there too!]
True to the Spirit Realm, it remained pristine and untouched. Countless stalactites reflected in the lake, making it feel like we'd entered a massive beast's maw.
"Everything in the human world exists here too."
I pointed to a corner at Sia's words.
"But there's stuff here that doesn't."
Spirit stones embedded the cave walls.
[Of course!]
Aqua boasted proudly at Sia's remark.
[The Spirit Realm has jewels and spirit stones! And that too! The, uh, rock...?]
Aqua tilted her head at me.
"Pomegranate? Sunset? Coal?"
[Coal! Coal too! I heard Uluru teaching Terra!]
Aqua, not even knowing what coal was, crossed her arms smugly with her chin high.
I laughed and booped her nose.
[Hee hee hee! Let's go that way next!]
The wide, cool cave split into two paths.
[That way!]
As we turned right per Aqua's direction,
[......Aaaaah......!]
An eerie wail echoed from the deep left passage.
"Wh-what is that?"
Sia Clearwater startled, clutching her spirits tight. I was just as shocked.
"Aqua. What's down there?"
[...]
Aqua wore a strange expression—pity and sympathy mixed, on the verge of tears. Niagara gazed at the left path with a similar look.
[That's... like a graveyard.]
"Graveyard?"
[Wanna go see?]
A spirits' graveyard? First I'd heard of it.
[Brace yourself.]
I swallowed hard without thinking.