5 Heavenly Water Elemental II

Saint Quinn was expected to arrive at around three in the afternoon. It was still around 1:30, but Eshijan couldn't stay in his room for too long without feeling like the walls were closing in on him, so he decided to head down a bit early to the manor's front foyer.

It seemed that he wasn't the only one feeling a little antsy.

Except for the downturn of their eyes and maybe the shape of their noses, nothing else indicated the relation between Eshijan and Adilah Forester.

Adilah Forester had inherited most of her features from her father. She was practically his female version. It was one of the very few reasons that Eshijan didn't feel like running away, screaming every time he saw her.

Eshijan's mother had conditioned him from a very young age to fear anything and everything to do with his father's wife. He slightly flinched when Adilah's voice and behaviour took a Lady Forester-like tone, but Eshijan was still able to carry a civil conversation with her for the most part.

Adilah had narrow grey eyes, a small snub nose and a pair of thin, rouged lips. She was a little on the overweight side, but it didn't detract from her appearance. The additional weight only softened her prominent sharp features and made her look more approachable.

Unfortunately, being a 16-year-old in the middle of puberty had taken its toll on her since her skin was spotted with fresh acne and had an oiliness to it that not even the facial cleansers she had started using could get rid of.

She did look good today, though, dressed in a brand new Yuki-O dress. A dark green long-sleeved dress that reaches lower than her knees, with a black silk sash around the waist tied off to the side in a simple bow. She had tastefully accessorized with a small silver pendant and matching silver earrings.

"You look like a goddamn plum," she said in lieu of a greeting, crossing her arms over her developing chest.

Real charmer, this one.

Eshijan grinned and moved to stand beside her, "A plum I may be, but at least an attractive plum am I not?"

Adilah gave him a look of disgust, "What the hell? Did someone give you something weird to drink again, Eshijan?"

Eshijan shook his head. "Nope." He clasped his hands behind his back and peered at the large ornate doors of the manor entrance.

Time to change the subject. "What do you think she's like?"

"Who? Saint Quinn?"

"Mhm," Eshijan nodded while rocking back onto his heels. "Do you think she's friendly?"

Adilah scoffed, "How would I know that. This is the first time I'm meeting her too, moron."

Eshijan's relationship with his half-sister was a convoluted and confusing thing.

While Adilah didn't actively go out of her way to antagonize him, she didn't exactly do anything to make his life easier either. For example, Adilah used to push Eshijan down the grand staircase, the ones right behind them, when they were younger.

She had seen the servants tripping and shoving Eshijan whenever they passed him and had thought it was a game. A game to see who could make Eshijan fall down the hardest.

Eshijan had just left Lord's Forester's study after his latest session with the barbed whip. For skipping his lessons this time, but who could blame him? His last tutor tried to strangle him with his tie and gouge his eyes out with a pen.

A pen of all things!

Who even used pens anymore?

He had been training with Hunter for only about a year at this point, so his perception level wasn't very high at this point. Also, an attack from behind was the last thing he expected because while the servants were cruel, they had this weird honour thing going on, where they held off their attacks on the days Eshijan got punished by his father.

The injured and unprepared Eshijan was an easy target for 11-year-old Adilah. All it took was a kick to the back of the knees, and down he went.

Eshijan was the most fortunate unfortunate soul ever to exist.

No one was quite sure how he had survived that fall, and his recovery was nothing short of a miracle.

Well, some say miracle, but I say evolution!

The human body has the potential for three types of Energy.

Spiritual Energy, Natural Energy and Divine Energy.

Spiritual Energy is considered the 'energy of power'. It's the only type of energy that can be drawn out of the body and manipulated in various ways. Like, elemental formation, Healing and Strengthening. All humans have Spiritual Energy, but the amount you are born with is dependent on genetics and luck.

Natural Energy is the 'energy of health'. This is an intangible and immeasurable energy that builds up over a human's lifetime. It functions kind of like the body's immune system. The more damage the body sustains and recovers from, the faster the body will recover from the damage of a similar extent in the future. The passive increase of Natural Energy is also linked to the build-up of Spiritual Energy. This is how Spiritually talented, non-combatant humans like Lord and Lady Forester can slow their ageing.

Divine Energy is the 'energy of life'. The normal human soul occupies the body, but it is not tethered to it. It is the lack of a tether that makes humans mortal. Like Natural Energy, Divine Energy is intangible and immeasurable, but it functions kind of like a string tied to a helium balloon that prevents it from flying away. The higher the level of Divine Energy, the stronger the tether of the soul. The stronger the tether, the lower the likelihood of death. Unlike Spiritual Energy and Natural Energy, Divine Energy is either something you have or you don't. There is no in-between. The only humans confirmed to have Divine Energy are the Saints.

Now, I think it should be obvious by now that Eshijan has been through some shit.

Both at home and during his training with Hunter.

So, Eshijan's Natural Energy levels are probably way higher than the average human's should be at this age.

This is why he survives and completely recovers even after taking such a massive tumble.

Multiple times.

No one would dare tell the heiress to stop, and no one was going to report her either, so Adilah just continued her game until she outgrew it.

The thing is, there's nothing in the Forester estate that happens without Lady Forester's knowledge. She knew exactly what her daughter had been up to and turned a blind eye to it.

Kids will be kids, after all.

Who was she to get in the way of their fun?

Okay, that got way out of hand; let's get back to the present, where Eshijan and Adilah are waiting in front of the stairs that she used to push him down.

It's okay; Eshijan doesn't hold her past actions against her.

Out of all the attempts to kill him, Adilah's were probably the least malicious.

"She's the fifth Saint to Ascend, right?"

Adilah nods, "Yeah. She's also the Saint that recruits the most apprentices. She probably isn't very picky, as long as you have some level of Spiritual Talent."

Eshijan laughs, "Looks like I have some hope of getting picked, then."

His half-sister gave him a critical once over. "Not looking like that, you won't."

Eshijan might be smiling on the outside, but he was crying on the inside.

Was he really that ugly?