The Third Spirit (3)
As night deepened, we lay down to sleep. In the room Uluru had built in front of the cave, with the leaf blanket Niagara had woven spread out.
[I'm sleeping next to the human!]
[Ah, me too!]
The spirits gathered around me and Niagara. The small room filled up with them in an instant.
Turning over is going to be tough.
But it wasn't uncomfortable. Where else could I have an experience like this? My only worry was accidentally squishing them if I tossed and turned.
I glanced over, and the spirits were piling up on each other, hugging as they prepared to sleep.
[Warm!]
[Come here! Over here!]
[Shaaa!]
The undines hugged the salamanders and lay down. They were the best of friends in the Spirit Realm, sharing each other's body heat.
[Ooo…….]
[Ooo…….]
The gnomes clustered together as if building a stone wall. The sylphs scattered freely here and there.
[Heeheehee!]
Aqua, pillowed on my right arm, giggled over at Terra beyond my chest. Terra, lying on my left arm, turned her head at the sound and looked at Aqua.
Mandu had coiled up right by my head.
[It's been so long since we've all slept together like this!]
[Yeah. It's been a while.]
Aqua giggled as if just lying here together made her happy. Every time she laughed, the head touching my forearm jiggled.
Jelly on my arm…….
Feeling the textures of Aqua and Terra on my forearms, I bent my arms to stroke their cheeks. Terra, still a bit awkward with me, silently followed my fingers with her eyes. Aqua grabbed my finger and fiddled with it playfully.
Jelly-like Aqua and silk-like Terra. Neither was inferior—both had wonderful textures.
[I think I get a little why Aqua wanted to contract so badly.]
Terra said cautiously. When I looked at her, she gripped my finger tightly.
[Just being touched like this makes my whole body feel warm.]
That was exactly what I wanted to say. I smiled and stroked Terra's head.
[Mm…….]
Seemingly liking my touch, Terra closed her eyes. A gentle warmth and peace flowed from Terra into me, soothing even the sharp edge of tension for tomorrow's decisive battle.
Tomorrow's the showdown with Pompeii.
I let out a long breath. Even to my own ears, it sounded calm.
I don't think I'll lose.
Maybe because I'd already defeated a Spirit King once, or thanks to the contract with Terra. Or perhaps because both Aqua and I had grown stronger—I couldn't say for sure.
I've got confidence.
That was why my worries weren't about winning or losing against Pompeii, but what came after. Could I restore the changed Pompeii? Could I purify the corruption? That was my biggest concern.
[Oh, look at that!]
Aqua pointed at the ceiling.
[Hmmmnya…….]
[Uuuung…….]
The sleeping sylphs began drifting through the air one by one. It was their sleeping habit. The floating sylphs bumped into each other like popcorn, tangling into a single mass as they slept.
[Chit!]
Mandu let out a small laugh at the sight. Smiles rose on my lips and Aqua's too, at Mandu's grin.
If—if there was outside interference.
If someone had intentionally corrupted Pompeii and harmed the baby salamanders. If malice was spreading across this world, beautiful from every tree to every sleep-talk.
I won't forgive them.
They'd learn just how terrifying an angry spirit contractor could be.
* * *
The next morning, I stood before Uluru with Aqua, Terra, and Mandu. Countless spirits surrounded us. Even the rowdy sylphs stood silently, seeing us off without a word.
Thud-.
Thud-.
The gnomes began stomping the ground. All the spirits joined in one by one, matching the earth-shaking rhythm. From massive salamanders to baby undines, everyone stomped.
Thud-.
Thud-.
With that heart-stirring chant like drumbeats, we stood before Uluru. She raised a stone pillar beneath her feet to meet my eyes.
[Come back safely. All of you.]
Uluru kissed my forehead. She did the same to Terra, Aqua, and Mandu. It was the Earth Spirit King's blessing.
[Seize with your own hands the honorable fate of the Spirit King's Savior—and the glorious infamy of the Spirit King's Slayer—and return.]
Uluru smiled at us and Terra, her face worried yet proud. We replied with confident smiles of our own.
"Let's go now."
[Let's go!]
[Let's go.]
[Chit!]
Sia Clearwater stepped up beside us, holding Niagara like a teddy bear in her arms. The two would watch the duel and purify Pompeii if we won.
[Hoo…….]
Niagara's eyes were hollow and bloodshot, as if he'd pulled an all-nighter.
"You've had it rough."
I said with a small smile. Niagara looked up at me and nodded.
[Do your best.]
"Of course. No plans to lose."
We set off. Sia and Niagara came with us. Our destination: Pompeii's domain.
Thud-!
Thud-!
The spirits' stomping pushed at our backs with all their might. It didn't stop until we were far enough that the sound faded to nothing.
* * *
We advanced toward Pompeii's domain, guided by Terra.
Rumble-.
Terra manipulated the rocks and earth beneath us with her spirit power. We moved as comfortably as if riding a moving walkway.
Pompeii's domain was a basin near the Sacred Mountain.
The Sacred Mountain.
I looked up at the distant peak. It stood like a massive wall to the north of the Spirit Tree.
Taller than Everest, maybe.
Its summit was shrouded in clouds, always visible in the corner of one's view no matter where you went in the Spirit Realm—a towering presence.
"Aqua. What's on the Sacred Mountain?"
Aqua, arms crossed and gazing at the same spot, shook her head.
[I know not. 'Tis a place none may enter.]
"None?"
[Not even Spirit Kings.]
But clearly, someone—or something—was there. The Spirit Realm's Blessing had come from that place.
[Come to think of it, one of Uluru's plays showed something related to it!]
Aqua nodded proudly.
[Two incredibly powerful spirits live there!]
"……Incredibly powerful?"
[The spirits who made this Spirit Realm!]
As I tilted my head, Niagara added,
[The Time Spirit and the Space Spirit.]
Names I'd never heard before.
[Were they called that?]
Aqua seemed new to it too.
[Normally, you'd learn from Uluru after becoming a Spirit King.]
Aqua, always in the human world, had never had the chance.
The Time and Space Spirits made the Spirit Realm…….
The meaning was clear.
The Spirit Realm has its own myths.
Even after nearly four years of Spirit Studies classes, I'd never heard this.
Niagara looked up at the Sacred Mountain.
[It's also where spirits go when they die.]
Another unimaginable story.
Spirits have an afterlife too.
That explained Terra's deep thoughts on death. I looked up at the Sacred Mountain. I recalled the scene from days ago—spirits singing and dancing toward it.
Just from Uluru's play education? Or…….
Maybe bowing to the massive mountain was instinct for living beings.
Or…… is the Spirit Realm truly a world where myths live and breathe?
It wouldn't be strange if it was. After all, it was a world where impossible beings like spirits were born and lived.
I tore my eyes from the Sacred Mountain.
That's not what's important now.
Studying and investigating Spirit Realm myths could wait. The immediate problem was Pompeii.
Bit by bit, Pompeii's domain drew near.
* * *
Swoosh-.
A gentle breeze caressed the field. Flowers blooming across the basin swayed in its wake.
Pompeii's domain, which I'd imagined as a lava zone, was a beautiful flower field. White blossoms carpeted the basin so thickly it seemed like we stood atop clouds.
We paused, taking in the flower field's scenery. Against the towering mountain backdrop, the flowers waved and beckoned in the wind—a truly spectacular sight.
I deeply inhaled the rich fragrance.
A cool, refreshing scent.
Familiar, too. As I tried to recall where I'd smelled it, Sia murmured softly.
"Salamanders."
Sure enough, salamanders dotted the basin. From babies to full-grown ones, they lounged on massive rocks amid the flowers.
[Ahahaha!]
[Whoosh! Whoosh!]
[Take this! Petal whirlwind!]
Sylphs flew about the basin, playing with flower petals.
[Chit!]
Mandu approached a salamander lounging on a nearby rock. The large one slowly raised its head, looking very old.
[It's been a while.]
Terra nodded at the salamander. It nodded back slowly with cloudy eyes.
[It's been guarding this place since the previous Fire Spirit King's time.]
[Mm. I remember seeing it too.]
Terra and Aqua crouched by the salamander. Mandu scampered up the rock and licked its eye.
The old salamander whistled softly a few times in a tiny voice, then closed its eyes comfortably. Aqua turned to me and relayed,
[It says thank you.]
"For what?"
[For coming all this way for Pompeii.]
I looked around the flower field. Before I knew it, every salamander had lifted their heads from the rocks, gazing at us.
Their eyes said one thing.
I smiled faintly.
"Pompeii's loved."
[Of course it is! Just as undines like me, and gnomes like Terra, all salamanders like, cherish, and love Pompeii!]
The salamanders had been waiting for us. Waiting for someone to save Pompeii. So their young Spirit King could shine again.
In the white flower field swept by the wind, we exchanged more than words.
One by one, the salamanders lowered their heads. We nodded to each other.
[We've received the salamanders' feelings for sure!]
It wasn't just the salamanders. Uluru, Aqua—all of the Spirit Realm hoped for this.
"Alright. Let's go."
I pushed through the flower field without hesitation.
