64 Will

Luckas had the impression that Maven was playing a joke on him, which could explain why he had a reputation for being a little "crazy." - "What do you mean exactly? Half-Human? So I'm part Elemental now?"

Maven merely nodded silently as he approached Luckas and gently tapped him on the forehead. As Maven touched Luckas's forehead, he felt a rising heat. The incessant noises soon returned, causing Lucka's head to ache once more.

Luckas instinctively tapped his ears to drown out the loud noises, but it was useless. -" Fuck! What is this noise? Why it came back?"

-"Blocking your ears will not stop the elemental voices; they do not speak like humans; they speak directly to your soul." Maven remained cool as he rested his finger on Lucka's brow. "All you have to do is desire the sounds to cease."

"Will it? What the hell am I supposed to do?" Luckas was becoming irritated by the noises, and Maven's advice only made him angrier.

"Those noises, of course, are caused by the Elemental Qi around you, particularly the Fire Qi. They have no consciousness, but they cling to you because of your Fire Affinity." Maven removed his fingers from Lucka's brow, but the noises didn't stop; in fact, they worsened. " They will react to your emotions since you have a stronger Elemental Fusion than they do, but, they will too be subordinated to your will."

Luckas ignored almost all of Maven's comments, focusing only on the first part; silencing the noises was his first goal. Luckas tried to do what Maven said, but the noises didn't stop no matter how hard he tried.

"How can I put my mind to use? My skull feels like it's splitting apart."

-"Do you want me to take care of it? I can easily shut them up." Saline was still orbiting Luckas.

-" Don't interfere, Saline; he needs to learn how to accomplish those things." Maven chastised his Elemental companion with a solemn expression.

- "Hey, I simply wanted to help, he just woke up, isn't this moving too quickly?"

While pouting, Saline said.

Luckas was relieved when Saline offered to assist, but Maven's insistence on Luckas learning it caused her to quickly back down. Luckas had a horrifying look on his face as he looked at Maven. It was his first meeting with him, and he was already causing issues.

-"Perhaps you don't understand why I'm doing this, but you're in a race against time; if you don't learn to control your Elemental half, it will soon eat your material body and even your human soul."

Luckas froze in terror, not expecting to be in such a perilous circumstance. -" M-M-M-My body will get consumed?"

Yes, most people who go through Elementaryization do not have to be concerned, but your situation is unique. You've only recently woken and are practically a Greater Elemental, there is an imbalance in the powers inside you."

"What should I do? How can I find a balance?" Lucka's head still throbbed, but he didn't mind because Maven's news made Luckas understand that the headache was the least of his troubles.

-"First and foremost, learn how to control your elemental side; then, enhance your human soul strength to counterbalance your Elemental Soul."

Luckas nodded and began to relax. His first step was to learn how to control the Elemental QI surrounding him with his will. Luckas' concentration grew stronger with each deep breath he took.

The noises subsided as Luckas began to settle down, but they did not stop. Luckas was examining the Qi around him, and he attempted to connect with it, at first as he normally did as he cultivated and cast spells, but while the QI reacted to him, Luckas realized that this was not the manner that Maven had mentioned.

After a few more futile tries, Luckas closed his eyes and focused on the fire Qi around him, not attempting to absorb or manipulate it, but rather communing with it. As Luckas was engrossed in the interaction with the QI, the chaotic cacophony of noises began to turn into an ordered chant.

Luckas clenched his fist and sat down, finally knowing how to use his will to manipulate the elemental Qi around him, he willed them to move around a little and the Fire QI moved around as if it were part of Luckas body.

-"Great job, you now have a rudimentary understanding of the natural QI around you." Maven nodded in agreement as Luckas finally took control of the Qi around him.

Luckas stood up and, with his eyes still closed, gathered a massive amount of Fire Qi about him. He grimaced as he opened his eyes and glanced at the orb of Fire Qi in his grasp. He thought his control over natural Qi had improved to the point where he could effectively manipulate Qi.

- "Can I cast spells with this natural Qi?" Luckas was intrigued by his newfound talents.

-"No, but you may use it to attack, and you'll eventually learn some helpful tricks. After your companion is finished, we will proceed towards the explosion to see how things are."

Luckas sat down and continued to examine the changes that had occurred to him. After a few minutes, Byrth awoke with flames flaring up inside his eyes and a slight scorching heat surrounding him. Maven nodded, pleased that the two young people had accomplished something positive in this predicament.

-"Hey, sorry for the trouble earlier; I must have caused quite a stir." Luckas opened his eyes and smiled awkwardly at Byrth.

- "Don't worry, I'm used to you being in danger." Byrth examined Luckas with keen attention. " Looks like you got out of it without too many problems this time."

-" Yeah, I was fairly lucky this time, I may have gained some excellent stuff." Luckas stood up and began to demonstrate to Byrth his command of the natural QI surrounding him.

Byrth smiled as he watched Luckas show off. "Let's hope this helps you stay safe; I'm sick of seeing you in the hospital. Oh, I should thank you as well; due to your Elementaryization process, I received something as well." As Byrth raised his hands, strands of golden flames began to emerge on his gauntlets.

-"Are you prepared, both of you? We must depart." Maven inquired, and the two teenagers nodded. Luckas, in particular, was worried because he had been hiding away inside his tent for the duration of the confrontation. Luckes took a long breath and gazed over to the horizon, almost reflexively opening his system interface.