A perfect sphere, without any impurities on its surface and on its inside. It was partially transparent, as Orion saw his hands holding it through the glass like sphere.


    ''Wasn''t this supposed to be a crystal? This quality, and the feeling it gives, it''s magic similar to Velridar.''


    Orion began to think.


    ''Maybe it''s not just similar. Maybe it is Velridar''s magic. The realm might have absorbed his magic, and it created this huge formation?''


    This made sense, yet it didn''t at the same time.


    ''How did that happen?''


    With the jewel in hand, and completely immerse in his thinking, he returned next to May instinctively.


    "First, Velridar unleashed that beam... wait, before that."


    May listened to his monologue while staring at the sphere, who reflected her face weirdly distorted.


    "Was this place out of the water in the past? Why was the elemental portal above sea level, so far from the coast?"


    "~~~~~~"


    Orion''s eyes scanned around him after hearing the whispers before falling on May.


    "I still can''t understand you, and May doesn''t seem to be hearing you either."


    Surprised, May tried to hear for something that Orion was hearing, but all she could hear was the sound of the breeze getting through the cave system.


    "Hmm..."


    Staring at his own face on the crystal in his hands, an idea appeared in his head.


    "Come out."


    At first, a very small brilliance, and an almost imperceptible darkness formed above his shoulders.


    "You too."


    With difficulty, he also managed to bring the endless starry void out of his body, which appeared in front of his chest.


    His three elements out of his body, he began to instruct them with a simple order.


    "Translate for me, and I''ll give you food. Easy?"


    ''I-Easy?''


    ''Food?''


    ''Who?''


    The shy voice, who asked first was his void element. The second one who was almost only interested by food (magic) was his light element, and the one who was most down to the point was his dark element.


    These three together would help Orion understand even if the sentence became fragmented. He was sure enough to be able to piece every together.


    "The whispers. Tell me what they are saying."


    ''Even if you can''t, I will still feed you. Just, do your best.''


    He knew that elements had no ego, no self-awareness. They obtained a false personality because of multiple factors, those being their master, the way they are used, their age, the list goes on.


    For exemple, the void element adopted a shy disposition because it was recently created. It is brand new in a world it never saw.


    His light element is into food, because Orion uses it in every occasion, and is almost always being fed, while also representing Orion''s love for Amelia''s cooking. It englobes Orion''s many good points.


    While his dark element is more technical, because Orion uses it only in strategical situations, it also represents Orion''s darkest parts. How cold he becomes when deciding to end a life also affected the element.


    Those were false egos. At no point did they developed the same awareness as the Key inside Amelia''s soul. To begin with, neither Orion nor Amelia understood what really was the Key.


    But, Orion was inclined to trust his elements as if they had an identity. Seeing them as tools made him slightly sick, so he never tried to exploit them without a reward.


    They were, in some strange way, his children he had to constantly care for.


    So, when Orion asked them to translate the voices of the elementals, they complied. The magic was a great reward for them, as they were able to grow further the more they ate.


    "~~~~~"


    ''Elements... strange...''


    ''New, unfamiliar.''


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ''Family, include.''


    Word by word, they relayed the gist of the sentence to him.


    "They''re talking about my elements? Sure, they are unfamiliar to you. Two of them are lost, the last one is a newborn. But what do you mean by family?"


    "..."


    ''I haven''t seen a single pure light, or pure dark crystal. The only one I''ve seen is this one, but it''s neutral. It doesn''t have an element.''


    "By family, does that mean you want to create elementals of those elements? Is that even possible?"


    "~~~~~"


    ''Answer... later...''


    ''Now, yours.''


    ''Gate, find.''


    "So you prefer answering my first question. Fine by me. In fact, I would prefer that."


    This was one strange conversation. Somehow, May managed to understand the elementals through Orion''s ''monologue''.


    In the end, Orion obtained what he wanted through pieces of informations. It took some time, but finally, the full pictures formed in his and May''s mind.


    -


    Two thousands years ago.


    The elementals, called a faction by many, was in fact no more than stones. Pretty stones that many adorned in jewelries, and paraded around without noticing how significant they were.


    They lived along many other factions, never bothering the other, as they traveled the world and observed what they would be unable to otherwise.


    Though, they all had one thing in common. Their birth place.


    An underwater cave in the middle of the Carmel Sea. This cave was where they were created, yet it was also where the sea took them from.


    The little rocks were beached on the coastal parts around the cave, and found by merchants, to end up in the ends of many factions.


    They saw everything. Every single lifeform on the continent, without missing one. Jewels were a target for all types of creatures, so it wasn''t surprising to hear that a few factions were interested in them, to the point of stealing.


    They managed to see the giants before they were felled, and the kobolds before they were hunted down. Even the griffins were seen by some of them.


    But their joy of appreciating the world came to a halt when an individual covered with pure malice appeared, and began to crush the rocks one by one, as if he knew that they had been alive from the beginning.


    The elementals are the source of magic, they are the reason for the abundance of magic users. So when most of the users died in a single day, all elementals felt it. They understood that something horrible was happening, and that they had to find a way home, somehow.


    But they were rocks, they had no way to travel other than being carried by another being. They weren''t like other factions, they had no creator, as they were born from the earth itself. They are as natural as water is in the world.


    No one would save them, as no one even knew that they existed besides a very few observant individuals.


    As the ones on the continent prepared themselves to disappear with the knowledge of the continent they cherished so much, and event happened.


    The wish of the elementals, supported by their affiliation to magic, created a portal that swallowed the cave entirely, and warped most of the elementals that wished to return home.


    All, but one. One that remained around the neck of a woman, until she vanished in a blaze of fire.


    The gate appeared where the cave stood before. To avoid any unworthy intruders, they worked on a distortion that would deter the weakest ones.


    They would judged if that being was worthy of their attention, and would normally improve that person''s affinity with their element(s).


    But they fell asleep with the passing of time, slowly dying from the lack of magic itself that naturally flows in and between worlds. If they hadn''t created the distortion at the beginning, this problem wouldn''t have happened.


    In the end, a massive amount of magic was forced inside the distortion, but it was so dense it managed to break through and enter their realm.


    Not missing a chance like this, they created a vessel to store this magic, for them to survive for eternity.


    This was the giant white crystal.


    -


    "This is crazy."


    May touched the crystal on her nape.


    "That is more than enough. Thank you for entertaining my questions."


    Orion nodded, extremely satisfied.


    "I understand why you gave me this item. I also understand why so many various shapes were scattered around the place."


    He smiled.


    "The elementals also love our world. This is a best thing I have learned today."


    "~~~~~~"


    ''Do... love...''


    ''Please, save.''


    ''Continent, elementals.''


    ''Travel... Explore...''


    ''Discover, observe.''


    ''Enjoy, again.''


    Orion was speechless. A squeezing sensation in his heart made him realize that his quest to find the lost factions wasn''t just for his own satisfaction.


    Those factions were in fact in dire need of help. They had survived so far, but were barely holding up. This wasn''t his original purpose. There was no specific plan to help them.


    Circumstances made it possible. And yet, that request did not change his goal. But he could carry it with him, and maybe, if he manages to rid the world of Elliot and the Miasma, the factions would return to Triazils, and enjoy what they were wrongfully stolen from, that is, their freedom.


    More than anything, they all wanted to enjoy their life. Be it a bug person, a timeless being, a dragon, or a sentient crystal.


    "One day. I hope one day, your wish will be fulfilled."


    His gaze dropped to the crystal he was holding.


    "No... I''ll be sure to make it come true."


    With determination, he spoke words that echoed through the entirety of the room. The whispers stopped completely.


    *Crack*


    A meter away from him, cracks appeared on the ground, catching his and May''s attention.


    "~~~~~~~"


    One very faint whisper, coming from May, entered his ears. This time, even May heard it.


    ''Answer... Question...''


    ''New, elementals.''


    ''Imbue, element.''


    When the ground split open, three crystal clear prisms emerged, held on a rocky pedestal.


    The one on the left was a tetrahedron, and the one on the right was a cylinder.


    The middle one, the most strange of the shapes, was a torus. A kind of donut prism. Very peculiar.


    Somehow, Orion''s elements all moved toward them, and chose the one they liked the most.


    In order from left to right, above the prisms, were the light element, the void element, and the dark element.


    ''I see. I''ll memorize your favorite shape. We''ll built a place for you in Horizon.''


    "May, could you pick up these prisms, please?"


    "Sure."


    Orion''s elements flew past her and plunged inside his chest, returning to their corner of his soul. Now, they would feed on his magic for some time.


    It was the first time May heard her elemental talk out of her mind. That made her slightly shocked.


    She mindlessly picked up the items, and returned to Orion.


    ''The question now is, how do we return.''


    But that question was easily answered.


    His void magic worked this time. A portal appeared in front of him.


    "I''ll go first to look if it leads to the right place. Wait a second."


    The moment he walked through, he walked back.


    "It''s the right place. Ladies first."


    "Thank you kind sir."


    Jokingly, she smiled and bowed slightly. It was pretty ridicule, with both of them having their hands full.


    With that both walked out of the elemental realm. One felt fulfilled from the knowledge he obtained, the other felt slightly guilty of not being more useful.


    What waited for Orion in Horizon, was yet another problem.