Kairi Awakens

"It was about time you have awakened, Kairi." said Oscar after opening his eyes.

He was at the spirit space of the Kairi, once again. Everywhere the eye could see was made out of the ocean. There were no islands or anything else just the ocean. Oscar looked at the place where Kairi's cocoon used to be. But it wasn't there. In its place stood a teenage girl. Looking as fifteen or sixteen years, her short aquamarine hair and deep blue eyes were exactly like Oscar remembered. She was cute and pretty.

"It's nice to see you again, Oscar. You didn't die, I am so happy!"

"When you say it like that, it feels awkward, you know."

"Don't worry about it. It just, if you die I will also die. So I am happy that you are still alive."

"Wait! If I die, you also die with me? I didn't hear it before! You should have told me that!"

"It is just one of the side effects of contract magic. It binds both of our lives to each other."

"I see... I hope there aren't dangerous side effects. Anyway, I want to talk with you about a lot of things but-"

"You are in the middle of a fight. Aren't you?"

"...yes."

She pouted at me. Even though her body is looking like a teenager her face is still childish. She looked cute though. If humans could see her they would be mesmerized by her. She looks like an idol.

"I don't like fights."

"...I am not a fan of it either. After dealing with the emergence of the spirits, I want to just focus on researching magic."

"Umu! That's good! Fighting is bad."

She comes to my side and sits next to me. If you aren't looking closely it is hard to notice that she isn't human. Her pointy ears are usually covered by her hair and there aren't more differences that separate her from humans. Now that I think about it, she looks like an elf. Well, they aren't real.

"I want to be stronger..."

Kairi looked at Oscar. His eyes were glowing with determination. He felt weak because he can't fight against a spirit alone. Kairi is able to understand Oscar's thoughts and emotions because of their connection. The weakness he felt, determination and his ambition to grow stronger. She tapped his shoulders to get his attention.

"Hmm?"

Oscar turned his head looked into Kairi's eyes. She showed him a lovely and kind smile. It was super effective.

"I can help you with it. But I guess you should first deal with the spirit you were fighting before. We will have time after it."

"You are right, I have to deal with him first. He has the power of nullification. Do you have any knowledge about it?"

"Hmm... There was rumored Spirit Of Nullification before I went to cocoon. It might be the one you are fighting against. Unfortunately, I don't really know much about him."

"I have a question. While I am here, how much time passes outside?"

"Human realm moves slower than our realm. When you absorbed spirit mana, it surged towards me from our connection. Thankfully it was enough to wake me up. After it wake me up I used what was left of it to accelerate my own domain. So it is like time stopped at human realm, almost."

Oscar didn't say anything but recalled the fight against Joseph. Now that he has time he used it to understand his opponent. With Kairi awake, he has more war potential. While fighting, Joseph nullified a lot of his spells. But when he used water manipulation without mana he couldn't nullify them.

'So, it's the mana that he can effect...' thought Oscar. Since Aiken's attack was made with mana and they were also nullified by Joseph, this thought seems logical to him. 'Still, Aiken has powers... After this fight, I need to talk with him. For now, he seems like an ally but I can't be sure. Another person has gained magic. If this continues dangerous problems might occur.'

"If I use your power, will you go to cocoon again?"

"I took your mana through our connection. It is enough for now so I won't. But... your body is not in a good condition."

"What do you mean?"

"As far as I can see, your body doesn't have mana paths."

"And?"

"You somehow inject mana to your body. Without the proper paths that it can follow, it forcefully moves and circulates. Soon or later this will cause your death. Your body will be torn apart from the inside. There are few damaged parts of your body because of this."

Oscar couldn't say anything. He subconsciously focuses on the mana he has. It was slowly circulating inside him. But to think it was damaging his body all this time is simply terrifying. The thing that changed his life is causing him great harm. Ironic, he thought.

He had more serious problems now, he could think of his life later. Joseph caused huge chaos. He already slaughtered so many people and if not stopped he will kill many more. The police can't stop him he has the power of a spirit. Aiken and Jason might fight back but not for long. Lydia doesn't have spells yet so she can't do anything against Joseph.

Aiken is a big surprise for him. He had a slight suspicion about him but he couldn't expect this. He has magic, too. Still, Aiken's spells were get nullified too. Even if he has magic it didn't matter to Joseph, he could easily nullify them.

"I need your help. Help me defeat him, Kairi."

"...What are you fighting for?"

"I... don't understand. What do you mean?"

"You want my power to defeat him. You want to get stronger to defeat him. But that's not all, right? What are you fighting for? Why do you want to get stronger?"

Kairi and Oscar share a connection on the soul level. The rune of divine union didn't just complete the contract, it bond them on the spiritual level. So Kairi can feel the emotions and thoughts deep buried in his heart.

What am I fighting for, he thought. From the moment he discovered mana, he wanted to get stronger. To be powerful. He didn't know the spirits or the people who might have the ability to interact with mana back then. And yet, feeling the mana and the power it gave to him was an addictive feeling. Why do I want to be powerful, he asked himself.

A figure of a person appeared on his mind. Smiling gently at him and waving her hand. When he focused on her, he also remember how powerless he was. He was powerless when she needed him. He couldn't save one of the most important people in his life. That sense of weakness was carved into his memory.

Maybe, just maybe if he becomes powerful he can save the ones who he loves. Just imagining the possibility of losing another person was enough to crush him emotionally.

"I want power because I don't want to regret being weak, not again. I want to be able to save my loved ones. I want to have enough power to make it happen."

"I will grant you the power you seek. Let's do our best from now on!!"

"Yes, let's do our best!!"