Two

Ace first met Hibis at the mall as he was pacing around, sensing that he would meet her today.

How had he known? He had heard of her. 12 years ago.

The boy could remember bits of that day. 12 years ago, fitted into his best jumpers for a 3 year old boy, settled onto the picnic mat at Mount Liraz, a secluded island known by little.

He sat in the arms of his adoring parents, cooing at him as they celebrated his birthday with assortments of treats, surrounded by nature- butterflies, flowers, lush green trees and plants. The sound of chirping and the slow rush of the stream nearby- Ace remembered all those tiny details.

So why couldn’t he remember what happened next?

Even as everyday went by, even as he wrecked his brain on every way to get his memory back, all he could remember was the strong scent of poisoned smoke, and the hurried yells of his parents.

That one paragraph from his mother… “When you turn the age of 14, a girl with the power of flight who can help you will appear. Befriend her, find the prophecy, and destroy the Lunar Ranks 2.” then, everything subsided. His memory had ended.

Why? As Ace pondered, until that moment, he couldn’t think of a single thing that needed to be destroyed. His team and him had been able to keep the Capital of Jevin safe, as well as keeping close in contact with the Luna Rankers, the top tiers of the elements.

As the year came and Hibis stood in front of him, he knew the time had come. The intense bad feeling had been etched in his heart since , and he knew it had finally released. It was time for him to set his plan in motion and find out what to destroy before it was just too late.

Ace stopped himself from staring at the beautiful and confused girl and turned away, gesturing to the floor as he slid down. “Come, sit.”

Ace tore his eyes away from the girl as she shuffled in close to listen to his tale, which he began reminiscing and telling information, close to dissolving back into the past.

“You have probably been getting dreams, reoccurring ones that strike you as strange. These dreams you’ve been having are a signal that you have power. Everyone with powers gains the same symptoms. However, there are different types of powers-or shall I say,elements-Your dreams would tell you what type of power you have, and I assume, yours is the power of flight.

This power is unconditionally rare. However, so are a bunch of others. There is one ranking system which keeps track of your elemental progress. The more you use it or train it, the higher your progress becomes.” Ace glanced beside him, raising his eyebrow in a gesture to which Hibis nodded, rather eagerly.

She understood, good.

“There is only three, or mainly one category that we have. One is the normal elements, or people with only one element. Those that have two or more are called Multi-Hoarders. Lastly, the main category-Lunas. Being a Luna is very rare as only 1 kid is born every year as a Luna. Luna’s posses the elements of everything and anything. Sure, they may have weaknesses but it is unlikely.” Ace folded his hands, standing up to tower over Hibis.

“Time to activate your element.”

Ace watched as the girl’s eyes shone bright at that sudden thought and jumped up, eager, obviously believing what he had said. Thank goodness, for he had plotted to show his elements, but now didn’t have to. He couldn’t help but grin at her excitement. She was cute.

Wait-what?

Ace bit his lip, stopping himself from smiling as red rose up his cheeks. He fumbled with his hands before placing them in a lotus position, just to demonstrate . “A flight element…You’ve got to do a figure eight to float. Can you?” He glanced at Hibis, who was keenly staring at her hands.

She exhaled, muttered an encouragement, then started spinning her hands as fast as she could, twisting her wrists back and forth.

Nothing happened.

“Uhm…” Hibis hesitated, the look of belief disappearing at a quick rate. Ace blinked. He must have jinxed it.

“I’ll show you that this is real” he said rather quickly in hopes of continuing to grab her attention, and immediately began to show off his elements one by one. “Invisibility,” he said, disappearing, then appearing. “Strength,” lifting up a waxed couch from the corner. “All you have to do is believe in this and yourself. Try again.”

He watched as Hibis regained motivation, his face tickling with a slight grin as the girl started floating up, her hair gently gliding against the gravity. Hibis locked eyes with Ace, and he could see the awe and wonder in her eyes.

She was beautiful.

“W-woah!” She squealed as she maneuvered her way to the ceiling, then floating about, having the time of her life. It was obvious she was surprised everything existed. Ace had to dodge a couple of times as she picked up speed, breath getting haggard but not stopping.

Ace laughed at her sheer childishness, liking her company immediately. But businesses first, honestly.“Okay-okay!” He chuckled before signaling. “ Try to stop your hands. Let’s see if you keep floating.” Hibis shot a look at him, a sheer look of uneasiness, but seeing that Ace was serious, she reluctantly dropped her hands.

Almost immediately, she fell from the ceiling, and Hibis screamed, instantly horrified. Ace gritted his teeth and in a split second, was already there to catch her.

Yet again, time seemed to slow down until milliseconds became minutes. Hibis’s eyes caught Ace’s and they stared at each other, her in his arms.

Ace didn’t want to blink. He just wanted to stare at the girl in front of him, lightweight, beautiful. New.

New…

Ace reluctantly turned his head away, letting his hands take control and place down Hibis in front of him before moving a few steps away, trying to cease the humorous thumping in his chest.

“S-so…” he had never lost his composure before. Gosh. “You ready to join my team?” Hibis blinked before backing away, as if finally understanding what this meeting was about all along.

“I….I don’t really know.” She looked away, all the fun fading away from her joyous face, obviously trying to find a way to reject his offer, probably because she was unaware of the many things to come. “This is just so new to me and I don’t…”

Ace stared at her, body frigid. He felt as if his hope of finding the mystery of his family diminish. The sudden burst of anger felt like a bomb and Ace clenched his mouth tightly, wishing he wouldn’t spur out words on his guest. “That’s too bad, I really could have used you,” he muttered bitterly. Hibis felt her mouth hang from the selfish remark.

She huffed. “Oh yeah? Well, too bad is to say the least. I’m out of here.” She swiftly turned and stormed out, slamming the door with a shut.