Chapter 84

Although he wasn't surprised, he was certainly confused. Though he didn't show it. He juggled up his memories about anything that he had read about a spirit or anything, but the only thing that he could remember were the Nature Spirits. Those are said to be the guardians of nature and would protect them from humans or other creatures if deemed necessary.

He looks at Ariel which she saw and simply smiles. From her point of view, she knew that Hisashi was deep in thought and was hesitating to ask without thinking a bit of certainty. So, she took the initiative.

"We're not entirely different, but we're also not the same. They're the barest example of our race and they themselves used to be part of us. But… that's history. And what they did, almost endangered our race and our world." Hisashi sees a bit of change in her merry expression.

"Endanger? How?" "The act of leaving our world is a taboo as by doing so… that's it. It's a taboo." Listening attentively, his eyebrows raised at what she said.

"And? How did that endanger your race?" Ariel simply sipped on her tea and put it down the table calmly.

"All that you can know for now, is that we're not supposed to be in a world that is not ours." "For now?"

"Yes. For there are many creatures and existence that you are yet ready to know. The same can be said about them knowing you. Our existence… and that of our world is something no normal human is allowed to know." Ariel calmly said. This baffled Hisashi so much and he can only put down his tea so he doesn't spill it unknowingly.

"Then… why? Why did you bring me here? You said that earlier, right? Did you control the waves too and the lightning to strike me? If yes, then why?" Hisashi remembered the abnormality of what happened.

"Only the lightning, and that's my subordinate's. I apologize for that. Your endurance is inhumane. As for why, it's to protect you- to hide you from the world."

Hisashi has once again read between the lines. He asks her but she only answers in mystery. Something that he didn't like.

"Hide? From who?" "That is not for you to know now. Live your life and pursue the things that will make you and your identity whole. Only then, will you become the master of your fate… and the captain of your soul."

"What the hell? You bring me here and give me that bullshit 'you're not ready yet'. Who are you to tell me when I'm ready or not ready? Why do you even act like you know my life? Like you know me?" Hisashi said as he starts to get agitated. His anger was seeping into his voice as Ariel continued to look at him as if she was looking inside him.

"Then tell me. Who are you?" "Who am I? Who are you!? You smug self-proclaimed queen! Give me back my mana and I'll strike you with a million lightning bolts. I know you have a hand in that!" He stood up and points at her.

"Who are you?" Ariel simply repeated her question. This time, Hisashi's furrowed brow showed his displeasure. His voice got louder, as he angrily answered her question.

"Who am I? I'm Yami Hisashi, you annoying bitch. Now tell me! Who do I need to hide from!?" Ariel didn't have a change in reaction.

"I'm not talking about your name given to you by your adoptive-" "They're my real parents!" "By your adoptive parents. Who are you? I know that you have an idea of what I'm pertaining." Her, opposing his idea of his parents' role to him made him absolutely furious. Without even using his ki or mana, he launched from where he was to Ariel's position.

His extreme adrenaline from anger and strong, explosive muscles allowed him to arrive by her face in less than a millisecond. His punch was about to reach her face when in an instant, Hisashi felt his body stop. Ariel's smooth and beautiful hand has stopped his fist from hitting.

Frozen by a mysterious power, she raises her hands as she uses two of her fingers to tap Hisashi's forehead. But before she did, Hisashi heard her say something in his head.

'You have no idea of who you really are, Michael. You are more than a frog in the well.' As her fingers touch his forehead, a surge of energy enters his mind and his body. But what he is seeing is different from the usual. He saw a large explosion from first-person point-of-view and third-person point-of-view… at the same time. From there, the explosion resulted in the creation of stars, planets, the void of space, destructive black holes, and different layers of dimension overlapping with one another. He saw the evolution of many creatures like monsters, animals, and humans. But the last that he saw, was that he was surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of eyes, all looking at him… but that was only for a brief moment.

It was just a second later in real time that he snaps back to reality and saw that he was now lying on the floor. His anger was now gone and was replaced by shock, confusion, anxiety, and many more extreme emotions. He slowly recovers as he sees Ariel still looking at him, but now more serious.

"It seems that I almost showed you too much. 'They' almost saw you."

"What happene-" He almost asked but managed to hold himself back. He doesn't know what happened. That single moment has shown him that he is still weak, especially in the eyes of those who are truly powerful.

"I'm already done with my mission. Your mana is back now too. Tell me when you want to leave." Ariel stands up and leaves. Meanwhile, Hisashi sat down as he crosses his legs and clasps his hands in a meditating position. Mana starts to cover his body as his ki swells up. It just stops as he takes in all the information one by one. But his mana… it continues to flow like a river. It didn't rush out like a raging waterfall, but like a calm, serene river with few rocks on it slightly disrupting the flow.

Hours later, as Ariel was sitting on her throne up above the top of a monument, she smiled and looked back. There she sees Klein who was running up the stairs.

"I'm done controlling my power. I want to leave now." Hisashi firmly said.

"That's good. You can't hide in here forever. Let's go back to the gates, and we'll guide the waves to aid you in traveling to your next destination." They quickly reach a big hall with a translucent gate in the middle where many armored guards are waiting. There were also long-robed priest-looking people behind them.

"Where do you desire to go? We can send you near the shore of nearby islands." One of the guards asks. "Do you know a place called Clover Kingdom? Is that place near here?"

"You mean the Continent of Suites? That's pretty much the closest continent from the gate aside from your home continent."

"Then I'll go there," Hisashi said as he turns around and bowed to Ariel.

"Queen Ariel. I'm sorry for my outrage. I hope you forgive me." "I understand. I have a fault in that too." He was about to grab some stuff from his dark storage when the guards told him that he would appear on the water, and so, it would just get wet. This made him somewhat disappointed but not more as he predicts that there wouldn't be any more crazy weather later and he'll just swim to the shore. 

"Before you go. Let me give you a little help." Ariel then walks up to him and touches his forehead. In that moment, a surge of knowledge went to Hisashi's brain but he can't understand it. However, he knew how mysterious the Queen likes to be and didn't ask more. He turns around and face the gate that was starting to glow. 

Just as he was about to go through the door, Ariel taps him in the back making him turn around once again. He sees the translucent gate from his back starting to light up but his focus is on Ariel.

"What is it, Queen Ariel?" Hisashi asks.

"Your spirit is reeking an essence of a broken soul and fragments of time. And it's been around you for years. You might hate me again for this… but you must let them go. Even if you can mend their soul once again like it was never broken… the essence inside their soul has already gone to Limbo. Let them have their rest, in that way, her soul would go back to the cycle and result in a new life. Your feelings and desires… are simply hurting them even more than they're supposed to be." She has a look of worry on her face. On contrary, Hisashi was shocked to the core. His face reveals a number of emotions at the same time.

"How- How do you know that?" He raises his voice. "A Spirit Queen's Magic is always that of the soul." Hearing that, his emotions changed to that of a sudden delight.

"Can you explain more? Also, can you teach me your spell? I can learn different types of magic!" Ariel just showed a face of pity as the light from the gate reached the maximum intensity. Hisashi also saw this and knew that it wasn't a good sign. As he turned around to look at it, a force pushed him into it.

"NO!" That's all he can say before the light starts to consume him and the Gates of Adamah disappear like nothing happened.