Chapter Five: The Arrival
Part 1: Perception
I was inside the tower, but the lingering feeling from Aeolus remained. Something was coming to a conclusion, they said.
Something is coming.
"Something?" I said, trying to grasp the situation.
I sense multiple Flair users heading toward the tower.
"How many are they?"
I don't know. They are at a distance from the tower, so I can't tell their exact number until they come closer.
"Hmm. Do you have any idea who they might be?"
I don't know. They might be wanderers.
"Wanderers? Like me?"
Yes. Like the people who have come here before.
I wondered what their intentions and actions would be.
They are coming closer to the tower. The tower's defense mechanism is active.
"Do you know their exact number now?"
Yes. There are three of them. A fire user and a water user… the third one is unstable.
"Unstable?"
I can't read their Flair at all. It's like it's assuming multiple Flair effects.
"Is that even possible?" I said, surprised.
I'm not sure. But to do that, someone must be a very experienced and talented Flair user.
Aeolus was troubled now. I tried to comprehend what this person could be. The mysterious guy in the hoodie flashed through my mind, but I didn't know him or what he was capable of.
I thought back to the first time I came here. How exciting it had been. Curiosity had kept me going—training, learning. What was my goal? I questioned myself.
"Can you speak with them, like you did with me?" I asked.
I don't know. Your Flair reached out to the prison during the fight with the elementals. The prison was in a neutral state, so I reached out. It never happened before.
"Hmm. But you can try."
I'll try.
"Yeah. Let's hope for a positive outcome. I'm here if things don't go as expected." I tried to reassure him.
Aeolus's troubling feelings settled with relief.
Thank you.
Part 2: The Wanderers
"Those things were a piece of work," a voice said, approaching.
"Hey, where do you think you're going? Wait up!" another voice called.
Two figures emerged from the corridor's shadows. A boy and a girl, about my age. The boy had sharp eyes and a restless energy, his dark hair messy like he'd just finished a fight. The girl was shorter, with a calm face and steady hands, her gaze moving slowly across the chamber.
They stopped when they saw me.
"Huh!" the boy said, tensing.
A third figure stepped out behind them. A boy my age, moving with an easy confidence that made the others seem like afterthoughts. His features were ordinary—dark hair, a half‑smile—but his eyes were too calm, too aware. He looked at me, then past me.
"Interesting. I didn't expect seeing a human here." His gaze fixed on the core. "And that figure behind you… I'm curious what it might be."
I tried to keep my composure. The air around them felt wrong—their Flair pressing against my senses, heavy and sharp. The boy with sharp eyes radiated heat; the girl carried a damp coolness. But the third one… I couldn't read him at all.
"Calm down," he said, and the tension in the sharp‑eyed boy subsided.
"Always wants to fight," the girl murmured.
He smiled at me. "I'm Sol. These are my friends Kyoka and Ren."
"I'm Kyan," I said, still trying to make sense of the situation.
Then the tower stirred.
Elementals began forming from the walls—two already solid, their shapes sharpening into attack.
I reached for Aeolus. How do we go about this?
This situation has never happened before, Aeolus answered, their voice tight. The prison's defense mechanism was not designed to handle multiple visitors simultaneously. You inside… them arriving…
"Who are you talking to?" Sol asked.
"Aeolus."
"You mean that mysterious thing behind you?"
"Yeah."
"I'm curious how that works. But now is not the time for that."
An attack shot toward Aeolus. I threw my hand up—wind catching it, deflecting it away.
"Hmph," Kyoka said, lowering his hand.
Sol's smile widened. "You're protecting it. An air user. Interesting."
"We're not your enemy," I said quickly. "The prison's defense mechanism is responding to your Flair."
"Oh, really? That confirms my hypothesis." Sol tilted his head. "There's something trapped inside there. Aeolus, right?"
"Yes. I'd advise you leave now. The elementals are forming faster."
Aeolus, can you talk to me? Sol asked, looking past me.
No answer. His expression didn't change—half smile, unreadable.
His intentions are unknown, Aeolus said in my mind.
You should leave now before the elementals engage. There won't be a way out.
I felt Aeolus strain to hold the elementals back. The walls pulsed, corridors shifting, the entrance beginning to close.
Sol glanced around, reading the situation. He gave a small nod.
"It seems you're right." He turned to the others. "We'll leave. For now." His eyes met mine. "This place is intriguing. And so are you."
Part 3: Unsolved Mysteries
They began to leave.
Kyoka went first, his footsteps echoing off the stone. Sol followed without looking back. Then Ren.
My eyes met with Ren's.
There was something in her gaze—not curiosity, not hostility. A flicker of recognition, maybe. Or warning. It was there for an instant, then gone.
She was disturbed… not at the situation, but at me.
I didn't understand it then. I wouldn't for a long time.
They left… and the elementals began to dissolve, leaving mysterious, unsolved questions unanswered.
Dust scattered into the dim light. The walls stopped pulsing. The silence that followed was heavier than any sound.
Who was that person? What was his intention? Is he an enemy or ally
Me and Aeolus talked about the situation that had just taken place.
"That person, Sol, is mysterious. I couldn't sense his Flair or his intentions."
"Hmm, you are right. He could be dangerous. With those attributes, we should be cautious at his return."
"Yes. The others, Ren and Kyoka, were unfazed by the situation…"
"Ren… she was different from the other hot‑headed one and she—"
"Yes, that's because of her Flair. Water contributes to her personality."
I thought about the way she'd looked at me. Not cold. Not afraid. Just… aware.
"Oh, really," I said.
Maybe it was my imagination, I thought.
"Do you have any memories of those that had come here before?" I asked.
"Yes, but barely. Why?"
"Hmm, just curious."
"Well, I only have memories of their abilities, techniques… but not their faces or detailed personality or behavior."
Fragments. Echoes. The tower remembered what people could do, not who they were.
"Hmm, okay," I said, while thinking about the wanderers.
Sol's unreadable smile. Kyoka's restless heat. Ren's quiet stillness. Three people, three Flairs, three questions I couldn't answer.
I need to know more about Flair, air, other Flairs, this world, so I can get stronger to fight for what's important. I resolved to myself.
"I've made a decision."
"Hmm, what is it?"
"I want to train, to learn to know… and protect what matters."
The words came out quieter than I expected. But they felt solid. Real.
Aeolus was happy at my resolve. Visibly happy.
"That's good. I hope you get stronger."
I could feel their warmth, steady and sure, like sunlight through a window.
I was exhausted from all the events that had happened. Like I was expecting it, everywhere became blur… I was now on the bed, in the normal world, still pondering about what had just happened.
Morning light pressed against my eyelids. My room was quiet, familiar, unchanged. But my mind was still in the tower, still turning over the same questions.
END OF CHAPTER FIVE