That night, I sohow managed to fall asleep, despite being surrounded by beautiful girls. Qing Yue and i Gui hugged tightly from left and right, while Amane ended up sleeping right on top of . It was truly a miracle I actually managed to drift off into dreamland.
Well… dreamland? Not exactly.
When I slept, I actually entered the Infinite Realm the other Founders had been talking about earlier today - I wasn't alone, either. Sylvoir was there as well, though the other Founders seed to be nowhere in sight. She stood by the sixteen - now seventeen - pillars, looking at them calmly.
"You're here," she said upon sensing .
"Hm… you were expecting ?"
"Yes. I wanted to talk to you about sothing the other Founders should not know about," she said softly.
"…" I fell silent.
Did she find out that I purposely left out so information when talking to them earlier today…?
I had told the other Founders that I didn't know the power's na, but the reality was, I actually did - Chaos.
But Sylvoir's next words let sigh in relief.
"It is regarding the Elental by your side."
"… What about her? If you want to take her away, I'm telling you right now - it's not happening. Even if I let you, she won't leave unless I ordered her to."
"No, I have no intention of taking her away from you," Sylvoir imdiately replied. "I do not know how you managed to do it, but it seems she has already developed a deep emotional connection with you. Taking her away… that is just cruel. Besides, it is not like I have a specific task for her to do in mind."
"So? Why did you want to talk about her?"
"… The power you hold. She has been affected by it too, has she not?"
She's… sharper than I originally thought.
"Yes. She has."
There was no point denying it here, so I just answered truthfully. Well, half-truthfully, anyway. She wasn't completely correct in saying i Gui has been affected by , but I wasn't about to correct her.
"So that is why I could not determine her elent, despite her being one of my kin…" Sylvoir muttered. She seed frustrated.
Then, finally turning around to face , I saw that she had… tears in her eyes.
"Xuan Kai… you said you could use all 21 elents thanks to this power, correct?"
I nodded. "What of it?"
"Does that an… the Elental with you can also do so?"
"… Yes. Her spells are also amplified just like my own."
Sylvoir clenched her fists. "I thought so… I thought so, but…"
Slowly, a tear streaked down her face. I was utterly bewildered at this scene.
"U-Uh… Sylvoir? Why are you crying?"
She took a deep breath as she quickly wiped her tears away. "You do not know, do you?"
I frowned. "Know what?"
She turned back around to stare at the pillars, possibly because she didn't want to be seen having tears roll down her beautiful face.
"Why is it do you think that Elentals always live in domains rich in their own mana type?"
"Uh… according to textbooks, aren't Elentals born in places dense in the mana of a certain elent?" I asked, scratching my head.
"… I cannot deny that on the surface, that seems like a logical assumption. After all, Elentals have only appeared in places rich with their respective elent type's mana. However… I will tell you this right now - all that is false."
"H-Huh?"
"Elentals are in fact born from a place called Eden. It is located deep underground, at the center of Xenith. There, a massive pool of concentrated mana exists. It… is black and red, just like the magic you displayed today."
My eyes widened.
Chaos energy…?
"That is my other role, other than being the leader of the Founders of the Library of Infinite Beginnings," Sylvoir explained. "I am known as the Overseer. The Overseer of Eden. That is what the other Elentals all see as, anyway… except for yours. I am akin to the mother of all Elentals. No Elental does not know who the Overseer of Eden is… yet yours did not."
"What are you hinting at…?"
"Your Elental was not born inside Eden, Xuan Kai. I do not know where she ca from or how she was even created, but… never mind, that is not the important part."
"Then what is…?"
She sighed. "When an Elental is born, they are neutral in terms of elent. In other words, they can be 'any' elent, depending on their surroundings. Because of this, I send them through various portals that lead to different locations, depending on available space. Once there, they can absorb the mana around them in order to sustain themselves. Think of mana as food for us Elentals. Without a constant supply of it, we will die. And… naturally, an Elental can only take in one elent of mana for their entire life."
"So… you're worried about my Elental not being able to handle it?"
"You… you are saying she can? She has been constantly on the move, with no stable source of mana to consu. Not only that, but she also has all 21 elents in her body, thus making her constitution extrely conflicting and paradoxical. My estimates say… she will die within a year.
I laughed, and she glared at . "What is so funny? Do you not care about whether or not your Elental lives or dies?!"
I placed a hand on her shoulder, much to her surprise.
"Relax, Sylvoir. i Gui - that's my Elental - she'll be fine. I forgot to ntion this earlier today, but you see… the unique power I have in my body also enables to absorb other people's magic and convert it into mana for myself."
Her eyes widened. "And… your Elental also has this skill?"
I nodded. "Naturally. And as for the second part of your concern… I have to correct you a bit. Yes, i Gui and I can both use all 21 elents, but that does not an the mana of all 21 elents are flowing in our bodies."
"… What?"
"It's more like… hm, how do I put it… the mana of all 21 elents fused together to create a brand new form of mana. That's the energy coursing through our veins. So, while it is paradoxical at first glance, it is in fact quite harmonious."
"…"
"So? Convinced now?"
"… Are you certain what you say is true?"
I nodded. "Trust , Sylvoir. I know i Gui better than anyone."
"… In that case, I am relieved."
"Is that all?"
"Yes… you may leave now."
"Well, you say that, but… how do I…"
"Purge all thoughts from your mind. That is the easiest way."
"Purge all thoughts…"
"But before that, how long are you going to keep holding my shoulder for?"
She glared at , and I quickly moved my hand away.
"U-Uh, sorry, my bad."
"Also. What you saw here today… never happened."
"What, you an… you crying?"
Her face began turning red, as she clenched her fists. "I may not be able to kill you out of consideration for the Library, but… torture techniques, I am quite proficient at as well."
I gulped. "Okay, okay, fine… but on one condition."
"What?" she asked impatiently.
"You answer my question - what kind of Elental are you?"
"That… I cannot tell you. Not because I do not want to, but because I do not know myself. It has been a question I tried to comprehend for the millennium I have been alive for now, yet to no avail."
"Hm… in that case… how about this? You let call you by a simpler na."
"Huh?"
"Sylvoir is too hard to say… so how about Sylvie instead?"
"S-Sylvie…" she murmured hesitantly.
"You don't want telling anyone about today, do you…?" I taunted, smirking.
"T-Tch… fine. Call whatever you wish. Now leave, before I change my mind and start launching fireballs."
"Yes yes…"
I closed my eyes and purged all thoughts from my mind, just as she had instructed to.
Instantly, my surroundings went black, and I fell asleep.
*****
The next morning, we woke up early, at around 6 AM. The tournant would be taking place at 8, in two hours. That was more than enough ti to get ready for the day.
Once we all refreshed ourselves, we headed downstairs, where Old Man Leng and his wife were already waiting. I told him where the tournant would be held - the center of the Fortress, where the four Districts t, direcetly underneath the massive tetrahedron in the sky known as Fragnt. Old Man Leng said he knew the place, so we all hopped on, half on his vehicle and the other half on his wife's.
The drive took about half an hour - longer than I had expected, even though we made a stop on the way to grab food. When we arrived at last, it was already 7:30 AM, only another half hour until the tournant began. We got off the cars and covered the rest of the distance by foot, since there was no way for the hovercars to get in. That was how cluttered the traffic was, since everyone wanted to watch.
Flaria had wanted to fight together with us, but since she didn't compete in the preliminaries, she could not fight in the main tournant.
I took a deep breath and looked at the girls.
"You all ready?"
They nodded in response, smiling confidently.
I smirked. "Let's do this, then. Together."
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