Chapter 71: Baby steps

It had been about two days since Ynos had left in search of the fairy that plagued him. I did not move away from my initial spot at the edge of the mountain overlooking the great forest below. I had to admit, I was worried, was he going to make it? Was going to fail? I truly wanted to help, yet this was his fight, and I had no right to intervene.

Sidus and Immy had long since left for somewhere else, while little Essie was the only one that stayed behind with me waiting. She happily played in the air, as I could see the wind mana merrily surround her almost as If It were her old friend. It tickled her scales and playfully lifted her in the air.

'I guess I can see why she seldom spends any time on land,' I inwardly noted. I was the same way when In water, everything just feels right as If I was always meant to be there. I didn't spend a lot of time in the giant lake the past few days, but I had a reason for that.

First of all, whenever I go there, I never want to leave. Were it not for my mother's disagreement, then I would have already settled in the deep side of the lake. Though according to my mother, I can not leave home until I pass my Rite of passage, which gives rise to another problem.

"Soul space," I muttered out loud as I recalled the first time I came in contact with one back when I visited Amanita, and then the second time was when faced with my grandfather's attack. Why this was a problem, was due to the fact that I was not considered eligible to apply for my Rite of passage until I mastered control over my Soul space.

Now I wouldn't have particularly minded this rule had I been taught how to summon my soul space, or at least given some sort of guidance. Instead, Mother simply told me that I had to figure it out by myself and that If I didn't could only mean I was still lacking and could not go for my Rite of passage just yet.

As I sat there overlooking the great forest below, my mind wandered back to how my grandfather activated his Soul space, I found myself trying to think of ways to replicate what he did and hopefully be able to use my own in the process. 'Mana seemed to gather around him like a whirlwind and then a sea of flames extended outwards and encompassed me within before I knew It I was already inside his soul space,' I carefully tried to recall every detail, but to no avail.

'That's different though is it not? I mean what I saw was the process of him pulling me into his soul space, I still have no idea how he created it in the first place,' I inwardly noted, a frown made its way onto my face as I summoned a small water ball above my palm, the ball quickly changed chape under my careful gaze from its formless one to that of a dragon, then a human, then a wolf, a fish, before It finally reverted to its shapeless form.

'Is it Mana?' I wondered and quickly closed my eyes. I took a deep breath, taking in the water mana inside my body, and followed It with my senses. I felt It move in a cycle of sorts filling my body with a pleasant feeling as I could sense it slowly but surely strengthening It in the process.

It was a slow but meticulous way of growing stronger, one I never paid too much heed to. 'But this Is not It, I don't think this is the answer,' I shook my head as my frown deepened. 'Just what is it?' As I was trying to think of another way, I suddenly recalled the strange heart power.

'Could it be that?' I wondered, but even so, I was not sure how I could use It. To my knowledge, the only attacks I saw or was aware of using heart energy were Dragon breath, or when father had used It to guide his mana attack before. 'Still, It's the only thing that would make sense,' I mumbled, confused at the whole ordeal, just how was I supposed to figure it out by myself?

Essie had came down and landed on my head at this time, she excitedly grabbed my horns and nudged me forward. "Look! Big brother Ynos is back!" She said, surprised I turned my gaze towards the direction she was motioning to, and sure enough a weary Ynos was making his way back to the mountain, he flying unsteadily and seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

I frowned anticipating the worst, yet as soon as he got closer, I was able to catch a better glimpse at him. Although signs of tiredness were evident on his body, his eyes were proud carrying a hint of excitement and satisfaction. As soon as he landed next to us, my gaze was unconsciously drawn to his palm where a squealing little fairy was struggling against his firm grip.

I was momentarily surprised by her figure, the little fairy's hair was a soft green, the color of grass, while her eyes were without a doubt her most distinctive feature, they lacked an iris and were both obsidian black giving her a sinister and ominous feel.

'Not quite what I was expecting,' I inwardly mumbled, the little thing looked more like a demon if anything than a fairy. Her screams were high pitched, and as she opened her mouth trying to bite Ynos's clawed arm, a row of small yet sharp teeth were revealed.

Ynos seemed to have her in control as he tightened his grip on her body causing her eyes to bulge a little as she quickly stopped struggling. He then turned towards me and lowered his head in respect and gratitude before speaking. "Thank you brother, for your help," He said to which I simply smiled and nodded.

Essie appeared to be interested in the little fairy as she hopped off my head and carefully circled Ynos while scanning the little creature with interest. "She's so small," She muttered, to which Ynos replied. "And annoying!" He growled in irritation.

"What are you going to do with her now?" I asked in curiosity, I had honestly thought that the first thing he would do If he caught the little thing would be to kill It, yet seeing at how he managed to restrain himself and even brought It back, I was impressed he really did mature I nodded in approval.

"Huh? Oh, I just wanted to show you that I was not lying!" He said while puffing his chest back proudly, 'Well It's true that we might have doubted him at first when he kept talking about a fairy this fairy that, but surely, he must have some other plans for it, he didn't bring it all the way back here just to—' my thought process was interrupted as Ynos suddenly crushed the little fairy in his palm causing her head to pop of like a toy.

"..." I was speechless at the scene, while he looked satisfied. Little Essie on the other hand was disappointed as she seemed to have wanted to see more of the fairy.

'I mean, at least he stopped himself from killing it the very second he caught it? Baby steps, right?'