[5] COUNCIL MEETING

Dragging his steps back to the room, all Sliff had on his mind was the news he received this morning. It was almost as if the news was the reason for his stomach turning.

A nurse approached him. "Do you need any help?"

"I'm fine," Sliff said, shaking his head. Nobody could help him, after all. Not in the thing in which he actually needed help.

What was he going to tell the Kyubu Council at tomorrow's meeting?

He closed the door behind him, trying to find the answer, stepping toward the windows of his room. He leaned over, gazing at the stars above.

"Will they believe me if I tell them about Zomir?" Sliff thought. "Will they believe that he killed everyone, including Master Dubius, but did not return his body? What will they do to Iyana after the meeting? What about…"

He sighed, shaking his head, as he looked up at the full-moon.

"It was somewhat like this moonlight," Sliff thought. "Calm. Serene. It wasn't a violent flare, but just…a beautiful glow—"

"Maybe it's still within me!"

Sliff closed his eyes, facing the moon, trying to find the light within…

It was a wasted effort.

He walked over to his bed, laying on it, staring at the ceiling.

"It doesn't matter… I was able to dream… I lived a good life," Sliff thought, tears leaking out from his eyes. "But…if could just…once more…"

Sliff looked within himself, focusing as hard as he could, trying to find the familiar light that he was sure was his Alchos. He searched through the misty darkness, faint fires within it. The light he was searching had to be brighter that these. He looked deeper.

As if the darkness was pierced, the light showed itself shortly, just as bright as before. Maybe even brighter.

Sliff reached for the light that floated within him, within the darkness.

A familiar feeling arose. That warm, euphoric feeling.

Nothing was dark all of a sudden. Nothing…was.

***

Sliff felt his senses returning after the serene feeling faded away. He opened his eyes. He realized he had been here before. He was in…Valhalla.

"She was right!" a familier voice yelled from behind him. "You really returned, shorty!"

Turning, Sliff found a bulky man charging away from the only fruit-tree atop a gentle hill, straight at him. Sliff's eyes widened.

"Galarax!"

"Kid!" Galarax said loudly, embracing Sliff tightly. "You, okay?"

Sliff chuckled, pushing against Galarax to not get crushed by his hug. "Yeah! I'm okay now."

Galarax stood upright, clearing his throat. "Just so you know, kid, I wasn't worried or anything, alright? I was just surprised. Confused."

"Me too," Sliff said. "Still am…"

Galarax wrapped an arm around Sliff's shoulders, turning him toward the fruit-tree. "Don't worry, shorty. By you just returning, I now fully know what happened back then."

"Really?" Sliff asked. "Tell me, then…"

"Umm…" Galarax said. "It's not that simple, even for me. That's why we're going to my shack. There I have someone who'll tell you what's going on." The two of them walked down the other side of the hill, a big wooden house visible at a distance.

"You have a house?" Sliff asked. "And…there are more people here?"

"Warriors, kid," Galarax said. "But people…not a single one."

Sliff gazed at the big man, who walked with his head held high. "Nobody would think that he's a warrior… But maybe, that's the point."

Looking back, Galarax raised a brow. "Walk faster, shorty."

"R-Right," Sliff said. "Should I tell him about the meeting…?" he thought. "It doesn't matter… I should just forget about it, for now." With that, he rushed to Galarax's side.

***

The wooden shack was a big building with three floors, a stone path trailing to its entrance. Two giant trees by its either side, almost merging into the sloping roof, the shack was a lonely building.

Galarax opened the door, letting Sliff in, following right after.

Sliff stepped in, his nose catching a distinct flavor flowing throughout the room. He was pulled by the smell, the large cauldron to his right brewing something delicious.

"Bringing a stranger to a meeting?" a feminine voice spoke. "Are you out of your mind?"

Sliff glanced the other way; a big table was fully set up with eight chairs, one of them occupied by a hooded figure. It was the woman that spoke just now.

"Who're you, twig?" she asked.

Sliff pointed toward himself, looking around.

"Yes 'you', idiot!" She pointed. "Who else is there?"

Galarax walked over to the table, sitting on a chair the wrong way then gesturing toward Sliff to sit beside him. "Why scare a little kid, Lisha? It's not very warrior-like."

Sliff hesitantly pulled a chair, sitting down—

"Who told you to sit down?" the woman that Galarax called Lisha, said.

Sliff jolted onto his feet, only to be pulled down to the chair by Galarax.

"Kid," Galarax said. "I want you to meet Lisha. She's a warrior who fought the Assault of Kratoz."

"Wait…" Lisha said, removing her hood. "This is the 'kid' you were talking about?"

"W-What…?" Sliff thought, looking at the young lady's face. "Her face is just like…just like…Mistress Valisha…?"

"Of course," Galarax said, wrapping an arm around Sliff's chair. "His name is Sliff. He died by a fruit."

Lisha shook her head, her silver hair ruffling. "I have so many questions right now…"

"Me too…" Sliff thought, sighing. "Why does she look like that?"

"I really expected someone more…" Lisha said. "You know…warrior-like."

"Don't disrespect the kid, Lisha," Galarax said. "Him just being here proves that he's a warrior."

Lisha exhaled softly. "Guess you're right. He returned, after all."

Sliff glanced at them with confusion. "You told her about me, Galarax?"

"Well, yeah…" Galarax said. "She's the one who explained to me what happened back then. Why you turned to dust, and all."

Sliff turned his head toward the lady with silver eyes, same as Valisha's. "She knows?"

Lisha got up, leaning toward him, poking his forehead. "You, twiggy, are a very strong Lumus."

"Heh?" Sliff was simply confused.

Galarax chuckled. "He doesn't even know about that style, Lisha. He thought Alchos only had five styles until recently."

Sliff turned. "Oh, yeah…" His chin rose sideways. "I never really asked you what the other three were…"

Galarax counted with his fingers. "I think you probably already know about Igna, Floma, Hurica, Grana, and Volta style," Then he raised his other hand, counting. "But you have no idea about Luma, Nexa and Chrona style."

Sliff nodded. "Luma, Nexa and Chrona."

"That's right," Galarax said. "And you, shorty, are a very strong Lumus."

Sliff pointed toward himself. "Me? But I don't have any talent in Alchos. Why would I lie?"

Lisha settled down. "You have no talent in Harnessing Alchos," she explained. "But storing Luma—the Alchos or energy of a Lumus—was your hidden talent all along."

Sliff shook his head. "I don't understand…"

"Remember what I told you about Alchos chambers, kid?" Galarax asked.

"Uh-yeah…"

"Well," Galarax explained. "Your Luma Chamber was one-way, and had been Storing Alchos for…I don't know…since you were born, maybe! So when I tried to open a latent chamber of yours, I actually did not know that one of them had already been overloaded."

"Overloaded…?"

"Chambers Store Alchos in them, twiggy," Lisha explained. "But there's a limit to how much a chamber can hold. People train in a particular style because Storing Alchos in a single chamber shatters its walls after a time, allowing mastery over that particular Alchos Style."

"Now that you mention it," Sliff said softly. "Two of my chambers did break—"

"Impossible!" Lisha said, slamming her hand on the table. "Without Galarax, you weren't able to Harness even a single drop of your overloaded Luma. But, because he shattered it, now it's physically impossible for you to shatter another chamber!"

"Umm…" Sliff said, lowering his head. "But there were two lights that broke free. One was the brightest within me. The other was dim…like others."

"But she's right, kid," Galarax said. "It takes a lifetime to shatter even a single chamber. Shattering two while awakening Alchos for the very first time? It's more than impossible."

"But…" Sliff said then told himself. "They are the Alcosers—"

"Wait…" he said, looking up at Galarax. "You said you could use all the styles of Alchos."

"Yeah…" Galarax said, shrugging. "Because I can."

"All of us can," Lisha said.

"But you said…" Sliff said, but trailed off as he saw Galarax collecting eight glasses and a jug of water from atop the table then placing it before him.

Filling half of each glass, Galarax turned. "Let's say each of these glasses is a chamber, alright? How do I shatter them?"

Sliff scratched his head. "By overflowing them with water, I guess?"

"Correct," Galarax said. "But what happens if I only have half-a-glass worth of water. How many glasses can I overflow?"

"Just…one."

"Right," Galarax said, pouring a little bit of water in all of the glasses. "But what if I do this?"

Sliff's eyes widened. "You distributed water in all of them without overflowing even a single one. You did not shatter even a single chamber. But that just means you can't master even a single style—"

"Wrong," Galarax said with a downward thumb.

Lisha smiled, gesturing at the glasses. "The true mastery of Alchos is achieved by never breaking a chamber."

Galarax nodded, smiling. "The people who figure this out are the true Alchosers."

Sliff's jaw fell slightly. "So you two," he realized. "Are true Alchosers…"

"Yep," Lisha said, smirking.

"But I still don't know why I turned to golden dust."

Lisha's smirk vanished. "Right…"

Galarax's head fell to a tilt. "We got a bit excited…"

Clearing her throat, Lisha rose. "Each style manifests into a unique technique, kiddo. Do you think Galarax and I use the sword similarly?"

"I haven't seen either of you use a sword…" Sliff said.

A vein popped up in Lisha's forehead.

Galarax leaned closer to Sliff, whispering. "Just say no, kid."

"NO! No…" Sliff said, watching Lisha's face get redder.

"Correct," Lisha said. "Similarly, no two Ignius will Harness Igna the same way. Which means…"

Sliff looked around… "Why did she stop?" he thought, as Lisha's face got redder.

"You're supposed to answer her, kid," Galarax whispered.

"ME?" Sliff said, flailing in panic. "Umm… Umm…"

Lisha slammed a fist into the table. "What does it mean, twiggy?" she said through gritted teeth.

"It means…" Sliff said, thinking of what to say. Then it clicked. "It means that no two Alchosers will Harness Alchos the same way."

"Correct!" Lisha said, her face coloring paler.

Sliff scratched his head. "That means that my technique…"

Galarax took a sigh of relief as Lisha sipped water from one of the glasses.

"Finally, twig," Valisha said. "We're on the same page."

"…is to turn into dust—?"

Lisha spat a stream of water directly at his face. She lunged toward him, yelling. "I'll kill you, you dumb brat!"

Galarax intercepted, holding her down from his side of the table. "Calm down, Lisha. He's just a kid."

Sliff leaned toward the table again, as Lisha calmed down. "What did I even do?"

Lisha sighed, sitting on her chair. "You're hopeless, kid. I don't know what I was expecting from someone as dumb as you."

"Now, now, Lisha," Galarax said, settling down. "He's just young." Sliff poked him.

"What is my technique then?" Sliff whispered as soft as he could.

Lisha exhaled softly. "Your Lumus technique is spirit summoning."

"Spirit…summoning…?"

"You can freely summon your spirit back into your original body," Galarax explained. "But because you were overflowing with Luma, as soon as your chamber became two-way, your technique activated by itself."

"So…" Sliff asked. "I'm a summoner then, right?"

"What's a summoner," Lisha asked.

"A type of Alcoser," Sliff said. "But without a style."

Galarax raised an eyebrow. "Summoning is a Lumus technique, not the other way around."

"Oh… Okay."

Lisha sighed, shaking her head.

"Now, what did I do?"

Galarax chuckled. "Your technique, kid, it's special. No one can use it like you. Not even one of us."

Sliff whipped his head toward Galarax. "REALLY?"

"No one can just go in and out of a spirit plane," Lisha said. "Even the best 'summoners' can't."

Sliff raised his hands in front of him. "Only…I can do it…?"

Galarax patted his shoulder. "That's right, kid, you're a very strong Alcoser, after all."

"I'm an…Alcoser…"

"A master Lumus to be exact," Lisha said.

Galarax nodded, smiling—

"Who's a master Lumus?" the man beside Sliff asked. "Wanna duel?"

"When did he…" Sliff thought, looking at the green-haired newcomer.

"Bazyn!" Galarax said, rising from his chair. "Long time, friend."

The man with the bow, named Bazyn, clasped hands with Galarax. "Looking forward for a duel with you, Galarax."

"Same, my man," Galarax said, smiling.

Sliff looked at them with confusion. "There are more…" Bazyn pulled out the chair beside him.

"I thought I was late for the council meeting," Bazyn said, sitting on the chair. "But it seems only you three have arrived."

Sliff pulled himself away as Bazyn wrapped an arm around him.

Lisha chuckled. "Zyphon has white hair, bowman."

"Huh?" Bazyn said, looking at Sliff's confused face. "Who're you?"

Sliff pointed toward himself as Bazyn took back his hand. "I'm—"

"So how long are we going to wait for the others?" Bazyn asked, resting his hands on the table.

"He just ignored me!" Sliff thought.

Galarax chuckled. "His memory is not the best, you know."

Sliff glanced at Bazyn then turned to Galarax, nodding.

"We'll start the meeting after at least half of us are here," Lisha said.

Bazyn leaned back. "So one more then…"

"Meeting?" Sliff asked Galarax.

"Uh-huh," Galarax said. "Meeting of the Council of Valhalla. You can be our guest, kid. I won't mind if you stick around, you know."

"There are more people—?"

Galarax lightly pounded Sliff's head. "Warriors."

"Right…" Sliff said. "How many are there?"

"Including us," Galarax said. "A grand total of eight human warriors!"

Sliff's eyes widened. "That means more true Alcosers…"

Galarax shook his head, waving with a hand. "But I'm still the strongest, you know."

Lisha rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"A council meeting, huh…?" Sliff thought—

"Wait…" he said. "Galarax, I want to tell you something."