THE SECRET

*step* *step* *step* "Where are we going, sensei?", Akira asked the elder as they staggered down the corridor, soon reaching the door that led directly to the library. *creak* "Here we are, everyone please take a seat and call Ashrif immediately," the elder said to Darek as the others took their seats, *huff* *huff* "Sensei, what happened, did you call for me?" asked Ashrif who hurriedly walked over to the elder, "Woah, slow down Ashrif. Did you do what I asked you to do?" asked the elder, "Yes, of course! This is my best creation yet, here take it Sensei," Ashrif said as he handed over a delicate sheet of fine paper that had some sort of symbol on it that was elaborate to the smallest detail, "This here is one of the most delicate and fine seals ever made, Akira, I have something to tell you. are you ready to listen to me?" the elder said as he approached Akira, "Yeah sure Sensei, what is it?", Akira asked, "I noticed something strange about Takeshi's technique today, you see, each of us here has a seal that protects us from being corrupted by the elemental forces and if the seal is broken, that's a big problem, you can even lose your life if you can not control the extreme powers of your elements. For the sake of humanity, please put this seal on Takeshi's back, I think the symbol will appear on his back shortly and if we do not seal it, who knows what will happen," the elder replied while holding Akira's hand with a firm grip.

"Master!!!" The elder knew something had gone wrong and quickly ran with the others to the medical room, only to find that what he had thought was true. To the surprise of all the members, a dark symbol appeared on Takeshi's back, but even stranger, the symbol had the same seven orbs which appeared when he demonstrated his new technique, glowed on his back. The symbol looked very different from the ones drawn in the ancient scrolls, "This is bad... Akira, quickly apply the seal on Takeshi's back, Ashrif help her," the elder instructed as he looked at the symbol on Takeshi's back, "What in the name of the Supreme One is this?" the elder thought to himself as he watched Akira and Ashrif carefully apply the seal.

"Arghhh... Aaahhhh!... Leave me alone!" shouted Takeshi, startling all the members present, "Oh no! Lia use your healing spell on Takeshi, Aaron and Darek hold him down and do not let him get up, Meral immediately control the strong winds surrounding him," The Elder ordered while trying to communicate with Takeshi but the communication didn't work on him, "Arghhhh... Aaghhh. I...said...get...away...from...me!!!!", Takeshi screamed with such force that half the house was blown away and all the members except Lia were pushed back with great force, *gah* "Akira! get up and put the damn seal on him, quick, I can not hold him much longer!", Lia screamed as blood slowly ran down her nose, without wasting a second Akira gritted her teeth and stood up, grabbing the seal that was next to Ashrif and running towards Takeshi who was about to go on a rampage, "Hyah! Takeshi, get up! You must overcome your fears now, Takeshi! For God's sake, let this seal be your protector from all evil, Haaaahh!...", Akira raised her voice as she pressed the seal onto Takeshi's back with great force and soon the rampage was over and everything returned to normal.

*huff* *huff* "Takeshi... please stand up... look at me...", Akira whispered while holding Takeshi on her lap, "Ugh... Akira? Wha... What the hell happened here? Why are you bleeding and why is everyone hurt so bad? I don't understand anything and why does my back hurt so much?", Takeshi blurted out questions while holding Akira and looking at the state of the house and the members who were all badly injured. *thud* "Ugh... Damn! Did this have to happen now of all times?" said Lia as she fell to the ground breathing heavily, "Lia! yo. are you okay? Uh. Thank god you are okay," Aaron said as he hugged Lia gently, *giggle* "since when did you take care of me? well anyway, thanks for your concern Aaron....", Lia said in a kind voice before falling asleep on Aaron's arm, "well it looks like she ran out of energy from handling that level of elemental concentration, do not worry my dear housekeeper will take care of Lia while you and Darek help me rebuild the house", the elder instructed as the housekeeper took Lia to the medical room. The elder walked up to Takeshi and slowly rubbed his head gently, as a father would, "Boy... do not practice these techniques without proper meditation, or you will end up getting corrupted by the Elemental powers... Tomorrow you will meditate first and then practice, understand?" the elder said calmly, to which Takeshi agreed with a nod.

A few days later, everything was back to normal, the house was like new again thanks to Darek and Aaron, and Takeshi learned that elemental techniques only do damage without proper meditation, while Lia gradually recovered and Meral began her usual routine of hard training with Takeshi, while Akira learned directly under the elder's tutelage. While Ashrif worked on potions that could protect the team from any possible danger, *creak* "Sorry to interrupt..." said Akira as she entered Ashrif's own lab, "Oh! Akira, what brings you to my special lab?", Ashrif asked, "Nothing special, I wanted you to take a look at this..", Akira replied as she showed her right shoulder, which was covered with some kind of ancient ruin text that even Ashrif could not decipher, "I think we have a problem, Akira, and that too a big one", Ashrif said as he examined Akira's shoulder.

To Be Continued...