Chapter 72: Spirits.

Rigel landed on the island and looked at the Monolith from up close where the stone was at least 10 meters tall and 5 meters wide. He started to hear faint whispers under the breeze of the wind, but he couldn't tell what they were saying. He then heard Kiko's giggles again, and saw she was being carried to the island, floating in the air.

"Thank you!" Kiko smiled widely and then ran toward Rigel. "They want you to sit down and close your eyes. They want you to feel their presence, and I think this is where you have to train your Sixth Sense," she explained as she stood beside Rigel and admired the Monolith.

Rigel nodded and sat down in front of the Monolith with his eyes closed. He focused on the whispers under the wind, and he started to understand what they were saying.

"He's the one?" A faint whisper could be heard in Rigel's left ear.

"The power within him is similar to her..." A different voice could be heard in Rigel's right ear.

"He has Nyctri's scent on him..." Another voice could be heard.

Rigel listened to the spirits and their conversation where he became the main topic. He could hear Kiko whisper to the spirits since she didn't want to bother his concentration.

"Open your eyes..." A voice moved right in front of Rigel's face.

Rigel slowly opened his eyes and he noticed a difference where he could see orbs floating around Kiko. He noticed a few orbs were lingering around him but weren't as many as Kiko's surroundings. He saw some orbs that were big and bright, some were dim and small. He could tell the big and bright ones were the stronger ones compared to the dim ones.

"Have you met that child?" A soothing man's voice asked Rigel.

"Which child?" Rigel asked.

"Nyctri and descendant of Artivara," The spirit asked.

"I did, not too long ago," Rigel nodded and looked at the orbs covering the peak of the mountain and the lake. "When you said that I'm the one and the prophesied one, are you talking about the person who has the power to destroy the tower?" He asked.

"Yes," The spirit answered simply.

"Who made that prophecy? Was it her? The Equinox between the light and darkness," Rigel asked again.

"The answer to your question lies on the higher floor. Your path is still long, and the challenges that you have encountered were merely a stumble. You're not the only one who has become a prophesied one, there's someone else way beyond this floor," The spirit answered and his voice was monotone and it was hard to guess what kind of emotion he felt. "Use your time to learn everything you can, and you shall not worry about the uncertainty," he added.

Rigel furrowed his eyebrows and wanted to ask what the spirit meant by that. Before he could speak, the spirit that spoke to him entered the Monolith and disappeared. The spirits that were around him went to play with Kiko since he heard the spirits talking about a Tinykin that they had never seen before.

Rigel continued his training to master his Sixth Sense by enhancing his sensitivity toward the world beyond the naked eye. He started to feel touches of fingers on his skin, a nice and calming scent or odor, and lastly the presence of the invisible.

No matter how long he tried to look at the spirits with his eyes, he couldn't see them unlike when his eyes were closed. He was bothered by it and decided to keep concentrating no matter how long it would take. He remembered what the spirit said that he was going to face problems that were beyond what he had experienced.

He didn't know how long he had been meditating until he realized Kiko was no longer talking. He opened his eyes and saw Kiko sleeping on the grass with nothing to provide her with warmth. He approached her and grabbed a blanket from the bag to keep her warm.

"Life is a suffer. They live to die, leaving everything behind or be left behind," A familiar soothing voice was heard behind Rigel. "A Tinykin is the most innocent, harmless, lovely, and adorable being that I have ever seen," he added

Rigel turned around and saw a man in his white robe, showing off his chest and a bit of his abs. The man had long golden straight hair and golden eyes. He wore nothing else, not even a shoe.

"You know what happened to her?" Rigel looked at the man standing next to him.

"Would you wish to go back in time to save her?" The spirit asked.

"No, saving her wouldn't change anything because I would only solve a problem but wouldn't change the fact she couldn't protect herself. I would wish for her to go back in time so she could prevent it on her own, but that's too much to ask. So I would give her a second chance and help her survive on her own," Rigel answered as he looked at Kiko who felt comfortable after he put the blanket on her.

"A wise answer," The spirit chuckled. "But hope is a double-edged blade because she's a Tinykin, a race where they would see things in a positive way, making them blind from harsh reality," he added.

"Indeed, but I never gave her hope. I gave her responsibility for the power she possesses. Responsibility stands higher than hope, and as long as she can handle the blade, she won't get herself cut by it," Rigel responded. "Hope is something she should believe in herself, not given. Responsibility play the higher role in survival," he added.

"A hope that she believed in. A hope that appears when you understand your own abilities and what you're capable of that you believe you can overcome it? A realistic hope?" The spirit looked at Rigel, and he was intrigued by Rigel's words. "I have nothing else to argue," he admitted defeat.

Hope was nonexistent back in his previous life, and he died exactly like what he expected it would be, a death where he couldn't do anything to prevent it. He had hopes long before the invasion happened, but they always choked him and pushed him lower into the darkness. He understood that hope meant nothing without action, and the strength to support those.

"I'll take care of her. You may continue your training because you still need a lot more than that to master it," The spirit said as he sat beside Kiko.

Rigel meditated again and lost his sense of time. He felt as if his body was floating and no longer grounded. He was curious and decided to open his eyes which made him look confused.

"Why am I here?" Rigel looked at Lysara'elmaris checking the tombs of the abandoned souls.

"Your soul is wandering and flying away from your body. Since we both are connected, the first place your soul went to is here," Lysara'elmaris explained as she made sure each tomb was in a good condition. "It has been a while. You must have so many questions in mind," she looked at Rigel.

"No, I don't need anything," Rigel answered without hesitation as he touched the tomb on his left. "I'll find the answers myself from now on because I have been relying on you too much," he explained.

"Is that so?" Lysara'elmaris raised her eyebrows slightly. "It's good to see you doing well, but a storm always comes after the calmness of the sea," she warned.

"I'll keep that in mind," Rigel nodded with understanding.

Rigel could feel the connection between his soul and his body. He tried to retrace it and when he woke up, he came back and the sun was already up. He looked at Kiko playing with Mana thanks to the spirits around her who taught her to learn it.

At that time, Rigel could see spirits and their bodies that looked like normal humans. They all had different skin colors from dark, bright, and even light blue, gray, and light red. There were hundreds of them floating and watching Kiko play with Mana with huge smiles on their faces.

"You can see us now," The man from last night said and looked at Rigel.

"Were you showing yourself last night?" Rigel asked.

"Yes, it drained my energy quite a lot to have a physical body. I'm not like that child, Nyctri. She's a special case and there's a reason why she can have a physical body that goes beyond normalcy," The man answered.

"So, have I mastered the Sixth Sense now that I can see you and others?" Rigel asked again.

"You're still far from mastering it," The man answered with a smile. "The only way for you to master it is to understand it your way just like magic and Mana. Time is the answer, and once you have mastered it, come back here and enter our world through this Monolith," he continued and pointed at the Monolith.

"You haven't told me your name," Rigel looked at the man.

"Quaz, the water guardian spirit," The man answered. "With that being said, I have decided to become Kiko's guardian spirit. I have found a soul that I want to protect," he added.

"That's good to hear," Rigel looked at Kiko.