I woke up once again and began to seriously wonder if I had a problem with low blood pressure or a drop in blood sugar.
Come to think of it, both seemed entirely possible, since the meals at Eclipse didn't appear very nutritious.
The good thing was that at least the place I had woken up in this time wasn't a monochrome black void.
I found myself in a grassy field stretching to the horizon with no obstacles, under a clear blue sky.
There were no animals, no flowers, no other types of vegetation, but it was definitely an improvement.
Looking around, I saw at a certain distance what appeared to be a green sphere floating carefreely in the air.
Seeing nothing else and unsure of what to do, I started walking straight toward the sphere.
Step by step, a light breeze brushed against my face and messed up my hair. It felt surprisingly pleasant… for about a minute.
The closer I got to the sphere, the worse the weather became: what had started as a gentle breeze turned into a light wind, then a stronger gust, and finally a very powerful wind that made me seriously think I might be blown away like an autumn leaf.
I was about halfway there when I stopped checking my progress, lowering my head to avoid being hit in the face by the wind.
My steps became shorter and I leaned my body into the wind to increase stability and keep my center of gravity low.
This way I managed to continue my journey a bit further, and as my progress slowed, a question kept repeating itself in my head.
How the hell could I actually feel the wind in a spiritual world?
No one answered my question.
About an hour after my birth, I completely abandoned my dignity and began crawling.
Yes, that's right—I repeat: I, Kite, started crawling like a newborn… technically, I was one… or maybe not?
It wasn't the time for more existential questions.
I realized something while reflecting on my life, hoping no one was recording me at that moment: the wind wasn't causing me any physical pain, which was strange given its strength.
All it did was push me, trying to drive me away from the green sphere.
"Is this some kind of test?"
No one was there to listen, so once again, I remained unanswered, though I was fairly certain of my hypothesis.
With even greater determination, yet still completely deprived of dignity, I began to crawl with my body fully pressed to the ground toward my goal.
After what seemed like hours—but was probably only ten minutes—the wind suddenly stopped, to my great relief.
I stood up and there it was right in front of me: a bright green sphere that had silently observed my pitiful attempt to fight against the force of nature.
I took a few more steps closer, and when I was near enough, I reached out and placed my hand on its surface.
At that exact moment, a single word appeared in my mind, and I repeated it aloud.
"Win…"
Or at least I tried, because to my surprise—no, to my utter shock—my vision began to darken!
I didn't even have time to think of any swear words before the darkness claimed my consciousness once again.
… I opened my eyes, then closed them again, and sat down without even looking around. I had decided to start my first protest right then.
I was fairly sure that fainting every time wasn't strictly necessary. I mean, there wasn't some kind of teleportation, some soul-transporting device—I would have been fine just moving on foot!
Sighing, and seeing that no one cared about my silent rebellion, I opened my eyes again… and sincerely wished I hadn't.
This time I found myself in a desolate land. There was grass, and even a few flowers, but everything was completely gray, as if someone had stolen all the colors from the world.
There was only one other thing with me… a massive tornado reaching up to the sky, with purple lightning occasionally shooting out from inside and striking the ground.
The good news was that the tornado was still, and for some reason, it didn't seem capable of moving from its current position.
The bad news was that I could clearly see, amid this manifestation of wind's fury, a sphere glowing a deep, intense purple…
The tornado didn't even intend to move toward me, because it knew I would have to do it myself, like a suicidal maniac!
I took a deep breath and looked around for any sign or message that could help me somehow.
There was nothing, so all I could do was stop and reflect on my situation.
I knew I was currently in what I could define as my soul world.
What I was experiencing at that moment was probably some kind of awakening trial, and my previous experience confirmed it.
Perhaps it was necessary to pass this kind of test to discover one's element, but I still didn't get what this trial was about. I couldn't be awakening the same element twice.
The color of the sphere was definitely connected to the element in some way, so I could use that as a clue, but it was still too generic.
Just as green could indicate wind, it could also be associated with life, nature, and healing, to name a few.
I began considering the various possibilities in my mind based on what I knew.
After a while, I looked around again and noticed a change in the environment: behind me, a wooden door had appeared, seemingly leading nowhere.
"Are you suggesting… I give up? …Ahahahahahahaha"
I turned without giving my convenient escape route a second glance.
Even under normal circumstances, I would never have run away.
Now, knowing that I would probably become a lab experiment if I failed my awakening, running was never an option in the first place.
I began walking calmly toward the massive tornado with its threatening lightning, hoping my idea would prove correct.
As I approached, a bolt struck the ground not far from me, but I didn't stop, even though my heart was racing.
I could feel the pressure of the wind intensifying, but I kept going.
Arriving right next to the tornado, I tried to suppress every instinct telling me to flee and jumped into it… and nothing happened.
I wasn't thrown miles away, nor shredded to pieces: I remained completely intact, without a scratch.
I would have wanted to jump for joy, but I was much more curious to actually learn the identity of my second element, so I approached and touched the surface of the purple sphere.
As before, a word appeared in my mind, strong and clear.
"Illusio…"
And once again, the world was ingulfed in darkness.
I didn't even have the energy to comment this time.
I realized this was my destiny, so I wisely decided not to keep fighting it.
I accepted what was probably my third element: the utterly useless power of passing out at regular intervals.