"Elemental jewels are not natural formations. It is accepted that they were created centuries ago for the purpose of maintaining the world's balance. Records regarding their origins are inconsistent; however, there is a consensus that they are no ordinary magical objects.
Sources contain references to these jewels hosting spirits referred to as "Goddesses." All records concerning these beings are contradictory, yet the existence of the Goddesses is considered indisputable.
It is specifically emphasized that the Goddesses do not intervene directly in power. Power is bestowed upon the bearer under all circumstances; however, the jewels read intent. When the purpose deviates, the price is inevitable, and these prices leave permanent scars.
Repairing the damage dealt is possible. However, it is stated that this can only be performed by the jewel's own Goddess."
The woman closed the book in her hand with a heavy movement. Her eyes had been wandering over the same lines for days. She was trying to understand. She was searching for a solution.
...Only the Goddesses could repair the damage caused by the Goddesses.
She raised her head thoughtfully. Her silvery eyes first drifted to the weary man sitting on the floor, then to the red-stoned ring being turned incessantly between his fingers.
The man turned his misty eyes toward the woman. He knit his brows slightly and snapped.
Raizen:
"Are you still reading the same things? The answer is obvious."
He took a deep breath.
"We will contact the Goddesses."
The woman stiffened her posture, narrowing her eyes as she looked down at the man sternly.
Aella:
"Is that what you think, the Great Raizen?"
Her voice was sarcastic but sharp.
"Then tell me. How are we going to interact with them?"
Raizen:
"A thick book!"
He ran his fingers over the ring.
"If you read it well enough, it will give you the answer."
The woman slammed the book onto the floor in a fury. Her pupils constricted with anger.
Aella:
"I haven't been reading this book for months, but for years. I have been researching."
She paused for a moment.
"But without the others, none of this has any meaning."
The man remained silent. After a brief glance at the woman, he lowered his head again. Their arguments had increased significantly lately compared to before.
Raizen:
"We have no time left, Aella…"
His voice grew faint.
"I cannot foresee what awaits me... perhaps I..."
The woman slowly approached him, gathered the hem of her white cloak, and sat down. She placed her hand over his.
Aella:
"I won't let that happen."
She thought for a moment.
"That old man who came to rescue the girls you took hostage that day... he might have our answers."
The man raised his eyebrows. He gave a sideways glance as if trying to understand.
Raizen:
"Do you think... he is the one we're looking for?"
The woman gave a slight shrug.
Aella:
"I suppose we won't find out until we bring him here..."
---
The sun had just begun to rise, and the long shadows of the trees fell upon the dewy grass in sharp, cold lines. In the air was the crisp chill of morning mixed with the scent of fresh earth, keeping one alert.
Under the first light of day, Sakura and Daichi were the shining stars of the training grounds. The Master stood a few paces away, as still as a statue with his hands behind his back, observing them with piercing eyes. Both were balanced and agile; the punch thrown by one was skillfully parried in mid-air by the other. However, in Sakura's eyes, there was that uncanny sharpness born of sleeplessness.
She caught the split-second opening when Daichi dropped his guard. Dropping low with unexpected speed, she executed a hard sweep. The moment Daichi lost his balance and stumbled, Sakura sent him crashing into the dust with a second strike.
Sakura straightened up with a haughty expression of victory. As she brushed the dust off herself, her voice was a bit louder than usual, as if trying to suppress her own internal restlessness:
Sakura:
"It seems you've developed enough in mental activities, Daichi... But if you want a real victory, you'd better learn how to fight a little."
She smiled with a self-assured, slightly defiant manner. After exhaling the dust from his lungs in weariness, Daichi slowly stood up. While fixing his clothes, a calm, wise smile appeared on his face, matching Sakura's ambition.
Daichi:
"Physical strength only carries us so far, Sakura..."
As he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, he fixed his gaze for a moment on Sakura's trembling fingers, then gave a gentle wink.
Daichi:
"When a real war is at the door, it's not your body, but your intelligence and the knowledge you possess that will determine everything."
As he turned his back and began walking away with heavy steps, Sakura's smile froze on her face. Daichi's emphasis on "the knowledge you possess" reminded her once again of the weight of the stolen book echoing in her mind. What stopped Daichi were the words of the Master.
The Master, with his arms crossed behind him, began walking toward them with heavy and rhythmic strides. His voice was a deep, resonant tone that didn't break the morning's calm but ensured every word found its mark.
Master:
"That is exactly why balance is essential, my dear students. At the limit where physical strength is exhausted, intelligence takes the lead; where intelligence hits a dead end, the unshakable integrity of the soul and body comes into play."
He stopped right in front of them. His gaze focused on Sakura, who had just won but was trembling deep down.
Master:
"Sakura, today I want you to work extensively on meditation and calligraphy. Put down the sword, pick up the brush. First, we must calm that fluctuating mind of yours."
Sakura raised a single eyebrow in curiosity at what she heard. The momentary panic of being caught had been replaced by defensive astonishment. Trying to keep her voice steady, she protested:
Sakura:
"I don't understand, Master? I am... perfectly calm. You just saw how balanced I was in training."
The Master smiled slightly, as if expecting this answer. With almost fatherly affection, he pressed his hand gently onto Sakura's shoulder, on the upper part of her arm. This touch was gentle, yet Sakura felt as if her soul was being X-rayed.
Master:
"Your eyes betray you... The calmness I speak of is not an emotional stillness, but a mental clarity. There is too much noise in your eyes, and thoughts that are far too heavy in your mind."
Sakura froze at the Master's profound observation. Her surprise slowly turned into an invisible weight settling on her shoulders. That stone she had been carrying over her heart since the moment she stole the book had now doubled in weight. Avoiding his gaze, she slowly bowed her head. She knew the Master was right—she carried a stain on the mirror of her soul.
Sakura:(In a low, resigned voice)
"Fine... so be it."
As Sakura was about to leave the Master's side, she turned her back with her shoulders still slumped. Daichi and the others were also slowly heading toward the resting area.
The Master watched Sakura's departure for a while. Then, in the morning chill, he reached for his usual reflex to gather his thoughts and perhaps make a note regarding the "balance" he had mentioned in training.
While his gaze was still hung over the distant mountains, his right hand habitually reached for the leather pouch at his belt.
His fingers found the flap of the bag.
However, that heavy and hard book binding that his fingertips were familiar with every morning was not there. The Master's fingers only grasped the emptiness of the soft leather.
His gaze suddenly snapped away from the mountains. He plunged his hand into the bag faster and more forcefully. A few pieces of paper... just a few pages.
At that moment, all the birdsong in the training area seemed to cease. The wise smile on the Master's face was replaced by an ice-cold seriousness. His eyes found Sakura, who was walking away with hurried steps. His lips parted to say something, but a voice coming from behind quickly interrupted him.
Ryuji:
"Master, you need to see this..."
The Master slowly turned to look at Ryuji, then glanced briefly at the increasingly distant Sakura once more before turning back to Ryuji.
Master:
"What's wrong, Ryuji?"
Ryuji held his hands out to the Master, slowly opening them as if he were holding something impossible in his palms. In the center of his palm lay three embers the size of walnuts. They glowed like coals, emitting an orange light as if they carried small, unquenchable volcanoes inside them.
Ryuji:
"Look at these... I touched them by accident, but they didn't burn. They still aren't burning, isn't it strange?"
The Master approached with hesitation. He took one of the glowing embers, which normally should have scorched his skin the moment he touched it, between his fingers. Indeed, the embers that looked alive curiously never burned.
Master:
"This..."
The lines on the Master's forehead deepened, his eyes narrowing as if searching for an answer within those false coals. He remained that way for a while, with that strange, unextinguished ember between his fingers.
Master:
"These aren't natural..."
Ryuji raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Ryuji:
"What do you mean, Master...?"
The Master closed his palm quickly, squeezing as if to snuff out the light between his fingers, and took a few thoughtful steps.
Master:
"The bearer of the Fire Jewel must have created them and... it is not a good sign that you found them here."
Ryuji looked around, scanning the surroundings with his eyes as if there might be danger.
Ryuji:
"Could you be a bit more clear?"
The Master took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Master:
"They may have found our location, or they are trying to reach us. In short, these embers are likely a sign."
Ryuji narrowed his eyes. Time seemed to stop flowing for a while. Seconds felt like hours. A storm was coming, and neither of them liked the prospect.
---
After leaving the training area, Sakura detoured to the resting room instead of meditating. Her heart was fluttering like a wild bird that couldn't fit in its cage. The Master's touch was still there; it was as if his fingerprints were sealed into her skin, turning into a mark everyone could see.
She quickly pulled out the book she had hidden in the innermost part of her clothing bag, put on her cloak, and hid the book inside it. The sharp corners of the book were digging into her ribs. Just as she turned to leave the room, she noticed a shadow and stopped dead.
Ayoi stood before her under the dusty light filtering through the room's window, her hands clasped in front of her. She was looking at Sakura with a surprised but curious expression.
Ayoi:
"Didn't the Master want you to... meditate, Sakura?"
Her voice was calm as always, and just as elegant. Sakura immediately recognized the questioning tone beneath this calmness. Acting as if she were brushing dust off herself, she pulled her cloak tighter.
Sakura:
"Yes, I was just going. I stopped by to get a brush and ink... he wanted me to work on calligraphy too, did you forget?"
Ayoi looked at Sakura as if analyzing her. Her eyes weren't on Sakura's face, but involuntarily drifted to that slight bulge under her stiffly held right arm. She took a few steps closer. As the distance between them narrowed, the cold sweat beads gathering on Sakura's forehead sparkled in the daylight.
Ayoi:
"The brushes are in the other room, in the Master's equipment cupboard."
Sakura swallowed; her throat was dry. Ayoi's relentless attentiveness was getting on her nerves. Everything had piled up, and it made her restless.
Sakura:
"I know. I am aware of what I'm doing, Ayoi. Stop questioning me; unlike you, I am always focused on our mission anyway."
Ayoi raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn't expected this outburst. She lowered her head and remained silent for a short while. Just as Sakura was about to step out the door, she faltered at Ayoi's words.
Ayoi:
"I didn't quite understand what you meant, but I would like to state that going against the Master does not make you focused on your mission. On the contrary, it makes you disloyal."
Sakura frowned, looked at Ayoi over her shoulder, and opened her mouth to reply. However, Ayoi stopped her once again.
Ayoi:
"I feel like you are up to something, but I won't question it. Just... we are friends, Sakura. I have to warn you; I think whatever you are planning, you should give it up immediately and confess to the Master. Otherwise, the price for what you've done won't just be meditation."
Sakura gripped her cloak so tightly the fabric could have torn under her hand. She threw open the sliding door and left the room with angry strides. As Ayoi watched her go, she realized how fast her heart was beating. The words she had spoken felt foreign to her. Ayoi had never been one to put someone in their place, and even though she thought she was right, she quickly began to feel regret for her outburst at Sakura.
---
The Master left the embers, which were on the verge of fading, on the cold wood of his desk. Only one was between his fingers, as if it held the last throbs of a heart. He lifted the stone to eye level and turned it slowly. When he narrowed his eyes, he noticed that the way the light refracted in the glassy layers of the coal was contrary to nature.
At the very heart of the fire, almost impossible to see with the naked eye, pitch-black veins were tangled around the center like a spiderweb.
He scraped the surface of the ember hard with his knuckle. At that moment, the coal, which had been docile for seconds, showed its teeth for the first time and burned. At the point of contact, a bright, electric blue light exploded; the other dull stones on the table began to tremble as if responding to this cry. Daichi's eyebrows shot up in amazement.
Daichi:
"Are these... some kind of seal, Master? This intensity isn't normal."
Master:
"Beyond a seal," the Master said, disregarding the sting of the burn on his finger. "An invitation woven with rage and grace by the bearer of the Fire Jewel."
Daichi and Ryuji approached the table without waiting for the Master's warning. Curiosity had overridden fear. Both took one of the embers into their palms. When Daichi closed his fingers around the stone, he felt that faint pulse coming from inside the stone directly in his bones. The rhythm suddenly accelerated; the stones evolved from an icy coldness to a searing heat that scorched the flesh.
All three opened their palms at the same time. The fading coals, as if fed by an invisible bellows, had turned blood-red, filling the room with a crimson light. They tried to shake their hands and throw the stones to get rid of them; however, the embers were stuck to their skin like living leeches. The pain was replaced by a blinding whiteness. When the coals exploded like starbursts, the room was illuminated with a massive light.
The team pulled back, shielding their eyes with their arms. When the wave of light subsided, there was the smell of soot hanging in the air and a heat that burned the throat. When they slowly opened their eyes, a scene they had not expected at all was before them.
The bearer of the Fire Jewel stood behind the table as if he had always been there.
Although he still carried weariness, the mocking glint in his eyes had not faded. The corner of his lips curled up in an arrogant expression, fed by the Master's shock.
Raizen:
"How nice to see you again, dearest Guardian."