5 Catalyst For Awakening

Even though the visible stars were green and purple, the two didn't feel anything strange with this world.

Xia suddenly spoke: "Maybe... maybe we feel nothing because we don't feel Spirit Energy yet."

Asura's brows furrowed as his smooth facial contours stretched.

Asura: "Hm? What do you mean?"

Xia looked at the green star in the sky and then at his green eyes. She smiled because Asura's eyes were of that exact color. In his green eyes, there was a faint purple reflection which reminded her of her own eyes.

Xia thought to herself: 'This is like fate, Green and Purple stars welcoming the two of us. It's like we're gods!"

After her thoughts quickly flashed by, she responded to Asura's question: "As far as I'm aware, this world has something called Soul Spirits that everyone awakens when they are six years of age. Until then, they can't feel the Spirit Energy lingering in the air. If we had awakened our Soul Spirits, then maybe we would notice something related to those stars but right now, we're no different than humans from Earth who came to this world. In a certain sense, we're still not accepted by this world until we awaken our Soul Spirits."

Asura's eyes showed surprise: "Oh! There's such a thing? What do these Soul Spirits do?"

Xia: "I don't know that. I only know that this world is made from Spirit Energy, either in its purest form or evolved forms, but that's it. That big planet should be called Spirit Star and right now we are on one of its surrounding hundred smaller planets, though I don't know which one. Soul Spirit should be an existence similar to our souls, in a sense that it becomes a part of our own soul gradually, but as for what kind of Soul Spirits we will get, that I don't know."

Asura: "Hmm... if we get some random trashy spirits, it'd be a shame. Is there any pattern to what kind of Soul Spirits you can awaken?"

Xia: "Actually, there is a certain pattern. Depending on the strength and uniqueness of your Soul, the Soul Spirit chooses you. You don't need to be afraid about the two of us. Since you had control over your Soul even back on Earth, you are sure to awaken with a good Soul Spirit. The same goes for me, because of my special existence. Only, I don't know which ones they'll be."

Asura: "Ah, I just thought of something. Are there dragons here?"

Xia: "Hm? Of course there are. Dragons are divine beings. When a being surpasses its own limits and breaks through the shackles of the world, it gets a shape of a dragon. You could say all strong beings, be it Spirits, Demons or Humans that reached high level have something related to Dragons. Phoenix and Dragon are Yin and Yang deities of this little planet."

Asura glanced at a massive planet visible in the sky. It was taking up almost a tenth of the sky with its sheer size.

He couldn't help himself but murmur: "Little planet... What's a big planet then?"

Xia chuckled sweetly and coiled her arms around his right arm, leaning her head on his shoulder as she looked at the sky.

Asura: "What are you, a cat? Why do you love cuddling so much?"

Xia smiled and softly replied: "Why shouldn't I love it? I missed you so much for all that time that I couldn't see you. Looking at your life every day and not even being able to say hi, it's a painful feeling. Not to mention, aren't we little lovers now?"

Asura: *cough* "Siblings."

Xia's face showed a smile that was not a smile and she nodded: "Pardon me, siblings."

Asura: "Don't think that I don't like it the other way around, but if we get used to calling each other lovers, it's bound to accidentally slip out one day. It's better to be seen as overly-close brother and sister if you ask me, at least that's easier to explain considering we don't have parents in this life. It'd be more or less acceptable to be overly dependent on each other since we had only each other from the time we were born. And it's not a lie either, although it isn't exactly the best explanation."

Xia showed an evil smile and said in a flirtatious tone: "Heeeh, you thought it all through, didn't you? Such a good future husband material, aren't I a lucky girl?"

Asura was caught unprepared. No matter how you look at it, they were still only kids and she already had plans on him. Hearing something like that made his heart beat faster. The fact that he spent almost thirty years of his life without female partner didn't help either. He was just a step away from becoming a wizard, but heavens were jealous and lightning kidnapped him. Not that he was complaining about it though.

Needless to say, his face turned bright red. He was in an awkward situation, not knowing what to answer, so naturally he became embarrassed. He heard a charming 'fufu' come from his right side and then a feeling of being truly alive spread through him rapidly. It was hard to explain that feeling, but if it had to put in words, then it could be described as being content, relaxed, satisfied and not worried about the future, regardless of what it brought.

Asura thought: 'So this is how it feels, huh? I have to admit, it's a nice feeling.'

Xia: "Hey, say something. It's awkward when you remain silent like that!"

Asura scratched his head in embarrassment and said: "S-sorry, I didn't know what to say. I was taken aback when you said that..."

Xia: "Ahh... you're making this far more awkward than it should be."

Asura: "..."

Xia seemed to notice something in the distance as they were walking and pointed with her little finger in that direction: "Hm? What's that?"

Asura quickly grasped the chance to change the subject and looked over there. What Xia noticed seemed to be a medium-sized lake. They hurried a bit and reached the lake after a few moments. The entire shore around lake was full of purple flowers from before. There were so many that the area around the lake seemed like the land of purple stars. The lake itself had a rainbow-like sheen and the bottom was fully visible. There were rows of sharp purple stones on the bottom of the lake coiled in a spiral, but they gave Asura an uneasy feeling for some reason.

Asura: "I don't like this, those stones are very strange. I feel an ominous feeling coming from them..."

Xia looked down at the stones submerged in the water and focused all her attention on them. Besides the shine they exuded, coloring the bottom of the lake slightly purple, and strange starry radiance around them, there was nothing else that caught her attention.

Nevertheless, she didn't doubt Asura the least. She caught his hand and said: "If you feel uneasy, maybe it's better to go back while we still can."

Asura: "Right- *KA*"

The sharp fracturing sound made the hearts of both of them stop beating. This was the last thing they needed. Shortly after that sharp sound, the ground began shaking as the stones at the bottom started moving, causing the surface of the water to splash around. A few drops of water flew out and fell on Asura's arm. When the water fell on his hand, it started sizzling like acid and a very strong burning and intensely painful sensation spread from that place.

Asura: "Kgh! Quick, run!"

Just as they were about to run, something shot out of the ground and wrapped around both of them like a snake. It was a tail full of sharp scales. The sharp edges of the scales pressed against their skin and opened a few cuts, as if someone cut them with a very sharp knife."

The two bore the pain and watched as the ground started cracking open and the tail extended towards the lake. What looked like the stones at the bottom were actually massive scales of a snake-like beast. However, it was far too late to do anything.

Asura subconsciously activated the mental link between the two as green and purple seeds lit up in each other's minds.

Asura: 'It seems we aren't lucky..."

Xia: '...'

Asura: 'I remember I read somewhere, the only sin in this world is being powerless. Anything else is merely joke in comparison. Now I truly understand its meaning, and I don't like it.'

Xia: '*sigh*, I didn't think such a perfect chance would slip by not even an hour after we came here. It'd be better if we were born babies and eaten that way, at least we wouldn't regret it as much...'

Asura: '... Say, do you know how to awaken Soul Spirits?'

Xia's eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp glint and she said: 'Usually, the only way is if someone assists you by injecting lots of Spirit Energy inside your body until it overflowed, but sometimes there were cases where Soul Spirits awoke in the midst of danger. Are you...'

Asura nodded, obviously understanding her words even if she didn't finish: 'We have nothing to lose either way. That lake earlier burned my skin, I guess it's because its rich with Spirit Energy, otherwise there wouldn't be this much plants around the lake, not to mention this thing that was sleeping at the bottom. Look at its scales.'

By the time two reached this point with their conversation, the creature from the bottom of the lake was fully out in the open. It was a massive purple-eyed, purple-scaled serpent that seemed to want to evolve into a coiling dragon. At least that's what it resembled in Asura's eyes.

The serpent looked at the two with its sharp eyes and the area around its eyes slightly narrowed when it saw the unafraid firm gazes from the two. It felt its dignity as a beast challenged that two mere children that didn't even start cultivating were able to stay calm in front of it unafraid. It was aspiring to become a legendary dragon, how could it allow such blunder?!