Liberation

Orion knelt on the hard forest ground. The last time he felt something solid beneath him was so long ago, he could barely remember the feeling. But now, it laid right beneath his feet.

Tiny pebbles pushed their sharp tips against his skin and halms of young grass tickled him with their swaying motion. It hurt a bit, to push his whole weight on the floor. But the pain felt like home. Its presence was like proof. A sign that he escaped and was no longer trapped in the abyss's clutches.

The soothing hymn of singing birds replaced the taunting voices. The silence, though comforting, spooked him. 'They're gone,' Orion's loud voice rang in his head. He was so used to screaming his thoughts that he forgot to turn down the dial.

"Phew, glad that wasn't close," Lux said, using the usual telepathy. But when Orion turned, he couldn't see its grand figure. Instead, a small handheld book floated in front of him.

"Am I really back?" Orion rushed to grab a surprised Lux. But he didn't make it far, falling over before his first step. The time he hadn't needed his legs for came to bite him now.

If this was a dream once again, he wouldn't want it to end. With shaking hands, he looked at the book in front of him. If anyone saw him like this, they would write him off as a maniac.

"You are." Lux's voice, as soft as fresh snow, lifted the weight on his heart. It didn't matter if it was real, he believed it. The moment was too dazzling for him to waste it on negative thoughts.

Orion took a look at the surrounding woods. Even though he spent every day in the forest when he was little, it felt so new to him.

Ants, building mounds of dirt with their large colonies. Traversing incredible heights for their small body, in pursuit of food.

Crystal-like flowers with sparkling petals, illuminated by the light piercing the tree crowns, covered the ground. Their glow made a warmth rise up in Orion's chest, thinking about the times he gave them to his mother. Her smile when she held them light the room.

But there was one thing which made his face turn grim. The lifeless body. It laid there in deathly peace, just like the assassins left it. "What do we do about it?" Orion asked Lux, knowing they couldn't just leave it like that. Not just because it was disrespectful, but also because of the implications if someone found it.

"If you're okay with it, I'd say we burn it."

After thinking for a moment, Orion agreed. Burning his own body didn't sound like a nice activity, but it was the safest option.

"You can try it first," Lux said, surprising Orion. He didn't know if he was ready to test his unknown element yet. No one knew what would happen if something went wrong.

"Fine." Orion thought about it and decided. The enemy would not give him time to relax, so he needed to use it as long as he had some.

Like always when using magic, he first sensed his root. A bit scary, considering the violent energies around it, but he did it. Next, he would manipulate the energy within, in order to control parts of the world around him. However, no matter what he tried, his root didn't listen.

"I can't control it. I feel like it's resisting me," Orion said, a frown on his face. What use was a magic root if it couldn't be used?

"It might need a bit since you just got your new body." Lux comforted Orion, who had his head hung low. "Remember, most only get their root once they are twelve."

"Are you saying I'll have to wait twelve years to use it?" He wouldn't know what to do if that was the case. Like a bee without wings or a tree without roots, one of his most vital assets would be gone.

"We won't know until we do. For now, let me handle the magic," Lux said, using the element of Pyrea to create a floating flame. White and black, it didn't resemble the orange-red one he know. With a light touch of its might, his remains disintegrated, leaving no trace behind.

"What was that?" Orion's jaw hung to the floor.

"An origin-flame, capable of burning any dead matter."

"The Pyrea element can do that? How does one face something like that?"

"My loose usage of the word 'any' refers to the things I think you know. There are plenty of ways to overpower it." Orion didn't know if Lux meant it as an insult to his intelligence, but it felt strangely close.

"That reminds me, how did you stop time? You said my element does that, but no one else has it." The question bothered him ever since learning about his new element. But he didn't like the answer he received.

"I told you I only slowed it down. Grand scale energy deceleration would be the better term."

"So Pyrea, again?"

"Yes." Of course, it was. Orion previously thought of every element to be pretty much equal in raw strength, but it seems he was mistaken. Although, there had to be uses like this for the other ones too. He just didn't know them yet.

In order to ignore the growing envy in him, Orion tried to get up again. Nothing changed, though. Whenever he put any weight on his feet, they would turn into limp noodles. A funny sight for Lux, not him.

And although Lux enjoyed his struggle, it couldn't bear to watch him fumble over so many times without lending a helping hand. By manipulating the kinetic energy of the wind surrounding Orion's feet, it created a light gust upward.

"Can I assume you are capable of Locus and Pyrea type magic?" Orion asked, balancing himself on buckled knees. His movements resembled the swaying grass at his feet.

"You can," Lux replied, holding back a burst of laughter. The added sight of Orion's messy hair was a cherry on top of his already humorous motions.

To Lux's dismay, Orion soon stood up without falling over. The thought of pushing him over flashed in its mind, but it dismissed it. Instead, congratulating him, "I knew you could do it." Which didn't sound very exciting, considering what action it praised. Orion felt like a toddler making his first steps.

"Quick, put this on." A brown cloak, similar to the one he wore that day, fell into his arms. "You can even do that?" Orion exclaimed, doing as told. Since Lux didn't carry it around, it had to have a sub-pocket.

Sub-pockets were artifacts sought after by merchants because of their unmatched transportation utilities. Their demand, in combination with the little supply, however, made their price shoot through the roof.

"Why so abru-ph" A piece of paper wrapped Orion's mouth shut. Before he could make a complaint, loud footsteps approached him, and a woman roughly his age came into view. Her dark-brown hooded cape made her almost seamlessly blend into the surrounding foliage.

"Did you see a boar run past here?" With no introduction, she questioned Orion in a hushed tone, her squinted sea-blue eyes looking around the woods.

"No," he replied in kind, staring at the bow and quiver strapped to her forest-green tunic. "Were you hunting one?"

"Well, 'was' hits the spot." With a heavy sigh, she dropped onto the ground across from Orion. "It ran away after some guy made a lot of noise," she said, taking off her hood. Frustration was written all over her fair sweat-covered face.

'Sorry.' Orion didn't even need to ponder to know who that person was. But he couldn't say that out loud, worried he might have a knife at his throat afterward. Looking at the belt hugging her waist, she had a plethora of them.

"And what are you doing here?" She asked whilst tying her chest-length golden hair into a ponytail. Her eyes, sharp as a tigress, were focused on him.

"Gathering herbs for my father."

"Very responsible." She didn't know many their age doing the same. "But where are your findings?" The huntress couldn't help but wonder.

"Oh, they're in the basket right…-" Orion looked around, remembering he left it behind to run away. "-over there. The sound scared me, so I ran away."

"Really?" Her eyes narrowed. It didn't sound too farfetched, but Orion didn't look like one to get frightened like that. Experience from hunting told her he would most likely face even god if need be. Although, something like that would never happen, she though.

"Something wrong with that?"

"No, just making sure. The forest gets dangerous this late." His lie didn't seem to carry evil, so she let it slip. "I'm Valeria Galestorm," She said, stretching out her hand.

Taking Valeria's hand, Orion introduced himself, too. "I'm Orion, and I am so happy to meet you." Inside, Orion screamed from happiness. It had been so long since he talked to another human that he could barely hide his excitement