73 Chapter 73

"Welcome Aura." I said to the light elemental fairy. I was a bit confused by the fact that her clothes didn't match her hair color like all the others.

As I contemplated that for a few moments Aura was looking around the room at all those present. Her gaze stopped on Delilah for a while but she didn't say anything. As I realized that her choice of clothing color didn't really mean much to me Aura closed her eyes and tilted her head back.

For some reason no one was saying anything they were just watching Aura like they were waiting for something.

Finally Aura opened her eyes again then looked at me. "This world is a rather large convergence. I have never heard of one as large as this one." she stated.

I simply nodded. "Yeah, that is what I have been hearing." I told her.

Aura seemed to consider me for several more moments then looked to Delilah. "Did your master request that of you, or was it of your own initiative?" she asked.

"It was my own choice, he is still unaware of what it means." Delilah replied.

"He is new to elementals?" Aura asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes, he had only awakened a couple of days ago." Delilah replied.

I wasn't a fan of listening to others talk about me, especially when I was standing there with them, but I decided not to interrupt them.

"How is that possible? I can sense a great deal of power coming from him." Aura retorted.

"He is a cross breed of different forward scout groups." Delilah replied.

Aura frowned then nodded. "Opposing elements mixed in a null then exposed to mana, that could do it. Rare but it has been noted before. What of you?" she asked Delilah.

"Fallen." Delilah replied.

"Is his potential that great?" Aura said then looked back to me then to the girls behind me.

"Are you a Fallen as well?" Elmera suddenly asked from beside Delilah.

Aura shook her head without looking away from me. "No, I stalled, my time to advance has come and gone already. Several times in fact, but I miss the chance every time." she admitted sounding sad.

I started to get a bit anxious about how long this conversation was taking. While I wasn't too worried about old Walters house, not with Bill heading over there. I was still expecting Sil to return and update us on the movement of those monsters. Looking around again to see how the others were reacting I finally realized that something was off about the others. Rather than just staring at Aura waiting to hear what she was going to say. They appeared to have not moved at all, as if they were frozen in place.

"Do not worry master, there is nothing wrong with them. Once she has made her decision they will begin to act like normal." Delilah told me.

"She can freeze everyone?" I asked, surprised.

"No." Delilah replied.

"I wrapped all of us in my power and accelerated us so we could have a moment to speak calmly without the interruption of third parties." Aura explained. "And before you ask, I can't do this in battle. It is mostly your thought processes that has been accelerated. You can move to a small degree, that way we can speak and look around, but any large movements would break my control over the area." Aura explained.

"Still seems pretty useful to me." I told her having understood why everyone was so calm.

Aura smiled at me then looked at each of the other elementals. "Are we missing one?" she asked.

"There is an air elemental who followed the same path as I. She is currently watching a group of monstrous satyrs that might become a threat to master." Delilah replied.

"She stole it from me!" Enya said angrily, speaking for the first time.

The others all looked at her. "Was that what you really wanted, little one?" Elmera asked her. "You can not revert back after you take that step."

Enya hesitated for a few moments.

Seeing her hesitate Elmera moved to her side and rubbed her shoulder. "It is not a decision to make lightly." she told her.

Enya nodded. "I know that." she retorted but didn't seem to know what else to say.

Ariel chuckled. "Fire's bad habit flares up once again." Ariel said, earning a glare from Enya.

"Ariel." Delilah said sternly.

Ariel just held up her hands in surrender but she was smiling. "Fine, fine. Please continue with your discussion." she said.

"Would you prefer to be sent back?" Delilah asked. It didn't sound like a threat, just a question asked out of curiosity.

Ariel seemed to consider that for a moment. "No, I think I would prefer to stay here. I am not a fallen or stalled, so the choice you have made does not hold much interest for me. Despite that I can feel the opportunity to advance in him."

The others all nodded understandingly then looked back to me making me squirm a bit.

"That is true." Elmera admitted. "Though even with our help there is no guarantee he will live long enough for that. Not on this world."

I was still more confused than not. "So what exactly is it that you are talking about?" I asked. I was a bit more relaxed now that I knew we weren't wasting time that might be better spent preparing for those monstrous satyrs. I didn't understand the how of it yet, but I was sure I would eventually. Especially since I wanted to learn how to do it at some point.

Delilah seemed uncomfortable for a moment then sighed. "For the most part this is a time for Aura, Ariel, and Elmera to decide if they want to remain here and serve you." Delilah said while obviously evading her own situation.

"You do not wish for him to know?" Aura asked Delilah seriously while giving her a stern glare. "That is not a good idea. While there is no threat to him, he can be of great assistance to you in your transition."

Delilah lowered her head, her tail tucked down between her legs. "I never really wanted him to get involved. It was a decision I had come to after… well I couldn't pass up the opportunity when it presented itself to me."

"But the air elemental has followed in your footsteps." Aura replied.

Delilah simply nodded. "Yes." she said but then was silent again.

"Is there any other reason?" Aura asked.

Delilah remained silent.

Aura sighed then looked at me with a thoughtful look on her face. Then she looked back to Delilah. "I can not leave him in the dark. Not when I myself am considering doing it myself."

Delilah sighed then nodded. "I understand. With Sil having made the same choice I knew I couldn't keep it hidden from him for much longer.

"Good. I prefer we do not have any conflict between us. Not now that we are likely to be together for a long time." Aura said while smiling.

"Wait, wait, wait." Ariel interrupted. "Why? I don't care if you are stalled, being stalled doesn't mean you can't advance, all he has to do is move on to the next stage and you can grow again. There is no reason for you to do that!"

Aura nodded, "That is true, but I have long since grown tired of this life. I am stalled because I no longer have the desire to grow as I am, not because I am incapable of it. I wish for the new life that I can receive by transitioning."

"You are crazy." Ariel told her.

Aura just shook her head. "To you I might seem that way." she said then looked at me. "But I think it is now time he learns what it is Delilah and Sil have done, and what it means. Then if he has no issues with me doing the same I will agree to serve him." she announced.

"I will serve as well. I am not so sure about taking that step myself, but I am curious to watch the rest of you." Elmera stated.

Ariel frowned, shaking her head. "I have seen it already, you are making a mistake."

"Did it end badly for them?" Elmera asked.

Ariel nodded but didn't elaborate.

"That happens sometimes." Aura told her. "It is the risk we take when we make that decision."

I rubbed at my temples. "If you are going to tell me, just tell me. I am getting really sick of all this vague circling." I told them, getting frustrated.

The five gazed at me for several moments.

"Very well." Aura told me. "Firstly though a bit of information you probably didn't know. Elementals, no matter which type, are immortal. While we can come into being just like any other living being, we can not die. Once our consciousness is formed we will remain alive for as long as we remain as we are. Even when it seems like we have died, we do not actually die, our consciousness just returns to the elemental plane to reform." Aura explained.

I nodded as I felt I had more of an understanding of what was going on. I looked over at Delilah. "So you gave up your immortality by fusing with the wolf?" I asked.

"Yes." Aura answered for her sounding happy that I caught on so quickly.

"So why all the mystery?" I asked.

"Several reasons." Aura told me. "Few masters will allow it as it decreases our usefulness."

I nodded as I realized what she meant. "I can resummon you, which makes you perfect for all the dangerous jobs." I said.

"Yes, amongst other things." Aura agreed. "But now she is mortal. If she dies, you can not summon her back."

I nodded then a thought came to me. "You asked if I had asked her to do that. Meaning some masters allow it, or even want it to happen." I stated.

"Correct. When we transition away from being an elemental being, we gain a great deal of power as well as an easier way to grow. There are several ways we can do that, but this one requires us to use our master's energy as a bridge in fusing with the living matter. The greatest reason that a master would desire us to do this is because until we have completed the transition and become a living creature, we will be bound to you even more so than those girls behind you. Of course it isn't the same type of bond as them. We need your energy to continue the transition, if you die, we will lose access to that energy, fail in our transition, and die shortly after you."