There was a long pause. Yurika's face washed blank with confusion like her brain cogs couldn't turn fast enough to take in the information from what her ears received. Her face scrunched up to a scowl as she stared at Marc's grinning face.

"That's impossible, this is not the place to train the mage skill," she opened her arm wide, "we are stuck here and we don't know for how long. We need to reserve our air and also energy, especially with your condition. You are not really in the condition to teach me."

"On the contrary, this is actually the best place to teach you the real magic," his soft lips still stretched confidently. It was mixed with a strained expression. In the dim light, she couldn't really see his face color but judging by his shallow breathing, Yurika was pretty sure he was enduring a lot of pain.

"No, you need to save your energy," she shook her head, "stay and don't move too much. I am sure you are enduring a lot even just for breathing. I'll try to figure another way out."

She then stood up and was going to make her way again toward the closed opening, when suddenly Marc's left hand grabbed on her hand, stopping her. His sudden move made him groaned in pain.

"Hey, I told you to not mov-"

"Listen to me," Marc's smile had vanished, replaced by a scowl, and his breathing was laboured "I don't really need to move if I want to teach you"

He then had a short cough fit that made Yurika really worried. She quickly bent over to check him, "stop talking, please. You really need to stay still and save your energy. I don't know how bad your condition really is."

'Then I will speak this way,' His dark eyes glanced directly to Yurika, 'I'll stay still and talk through our mind. Would you listen to me now?'

Yurika blinked a couple of times while staring back at the man. She didn't expect him to be the stubborn type. She couldn't help to yield as she sighed and sat back next to him before finally nodding at him.

'Good, now let's get to it. For now, you should sit in the most comfortable way you can,' he then closed his eyes before continued, 'if I could ask you, how did you copy the skill usually?'

Yurika leaned her back to the wall as she pulled her legs, gathering them close to her chest.

'I just drew back the image of the skill I see and ... well, I guess Fetuu did all the rest.'

'I see. Actually, I think the magic affinity classes would be the easiest for you to grasp the essence than the non-magic one,'

Yurika glanced at the man who looked like he was sleeping with his thick brows gathered as if he had some kind of nightmares.

'Explain please?'

'Let's start from the basic,' he opened his eyes and carefully turned his face toward the girl that sat next to her, 'do you know the world elements?'

"Yes, they are fire, earth, water and air. My subclass is a priest, so I learned some basics on the elements," she fixed the loose strand of her blonde hair that fell on her face when she nodded.

'Good, so have you ever thought about how those element created?'

Yurika shook her head as the answer, "well besides the fact we can create fire by burning something like woods and other flammable things or how rain created, but yeah I never really know how those basic elements exist from the start. Besides the fact that they are already there at the same time as this world been created by Eiocha the Divine God."

'You are quite smart, I like that. True that they exist ever since this world had been created. They were created to support another element --'

"Another element?!" Yurika gasped. She didn't expect to hear about it from another person beside Wen and Lucia. She thought that only the Zanj, Goddesess and people from Pononga knew about the existent of Aether element. Those people who chased the Pononga only knew about their ability in conjuring things out of thin air but not really knew the source of it.

"What do you mean?" She pretended to be curious. She started to wonder who is this young man in front of her.

'In reality, this world has five elements. Besides those four elements, there is one more. It is called Aether. Aether is the source of everything in this world and...' He paused for a few seconds, 'only the goddess had the power to manipulate it.'

"Okay, so how should I connect this with the base of magic class? I don't think even as the chosen one I could actually tap in with Aether element."

'Interesting on how you said 'tap in', because that's what I am planning to make you do.'

"Ehh?!"

Marc leaned his head on the wall and stared at the ceiling, 'everything in this world is connected to Aether. The soul of the deads, the soul of newborns, the animals, the plants, and even the four elements. Aether is the source of life, which came to my understanding that even the elements are living beings. They are just in a different form.'

"Wow, that's a major theory you got there. So if you think that the elements are living beings in what form are they?"

'Spirits.' Marc's eyes were gazing back at the girl. Yurika almost could see a gleam of excitement in them.

"Okay, so it is impossible to see them with our bare eyes then?"

'Yes, but doesn't mean we couldn't feel their presence. Look all around us, we are surrounded by their footprints. We just need to open our mind on their existent as living beings, not just some elements, and let them acknowledge us.'

Yurika stared at the young man, half amazed and half doubting his theory, "is that how you learn your mage skill? Could you really see them? Did you get this whole theory on your own?"

'Well, I don't really see them. I sensed them...,' again there's another pause came from him, as if he needed to find the right word to say. Almost like he was being careful with his statement, 'an old friend had taught me about it a long time ago. But I actually understand it just recently. The long periods of waiting for your arrival actually gave me time to think it through and try the theory.'

"An old friend?"

His expression looked gloomy for a short period before it was back to his normal straight face, 'he has long gone, anyway, let's get back to the topic. So the reason I brought this theory up is that I want you to try to sense their presence.'

"Sense their presence?! How in the world I do that?"

'We should start with the elements that surround us the most now, the air and earth,' His eyes glanced around his surrounding, 'close your eyes, just like when you tried to copy my cloud of light skill.'

Yurika looked hesitated but she decided to follow his instruction and closed her eyes.

'I need you to relax, don't think, it is even better if you just let your mind empty.'

'Is he trying to make me fall asleep?' She thought to herself.

'Air is gentle and playful but can be unpredictable, he is the joker of elements. Earth is strict but kind and nurturing, she is the mother figure of the elements,' he shuffled a bit and with his free arm, he reached for Yurika's hand. She startled by the sudden touch and automatically pulled out her hands as she opened her eyes.

"Relax, I just want you to put your hands on the ground," he hissed between his gritted teeth as his shallow breath made his voice hoarse.

"Alright," Yurika placed her palms on the ground surface, "you could just tell me. Try to move as little as you can okay?"

'Okay. Please close your eyes again and feel the hum of the earth and the whisper of the air.'

'This is all so strange, as I recalled in Eireen's memory, Marc's way of teaching is so different compared to what he is doing right now. Well, I guess it is better than not doing anything.'

Yurika shrugged in her mind as she closed her eyes back. Marc didn't say anything anymore, so she tried her best to focus her mind on her surroundings. Five minutes became ten, then fifteen and as the time moved ever so slowly Yurika starting to doubt this whole theory about the elements as spirits, but she obediently continued the process.

The silence caressed her skin like a cool summer breeze, smoothing her soul, taking away her jagged edges. It had been one hell of a rough day. How she started the morning with her incident with Jace. Followed by the part where they were chased by the Rufas, got left behind and almost got killed by a giant boulder. She drew in a lung full of the air as her mind softly drifted away in the calming quietness. She started to forget the ticking time and she found herself frozen in a dark space. She never loved the darkness but it was a different type of blackness. A soft warm tingling feeling started from her fingertips moving steadily touching and enveloping her whole body. She felt like being hugged protectively by a mother. Then that's when she heard it, a soft sound a mix of whistles, bells and children's giggled. Her body reacted, tilted her head towards the sound. The voice was all around her, sometimes it came from her back, sometimes it came from her side, it came and went like soft waves.

She would have freaked out by the situation if the warm sensation that covered her body didn't make her feel like she was in the safest place in the world. Then the soft noises for some reason gave her the urge to open her eyes. It didn't say words any human would understand, it was more of a soft tug in her mind. So she decided to open her eyes carefully.

She gasped at what she saw, the tunnel that was pretty dark before now bright with lines and lines of glittering green colors that moved, almost like dancing in the air. Her eyes were diverted toward the ground and there she also saw the glittery lines in a mahogany color. They tangled, spread all around the ground almost like blood vane while beaming softly like a heart beat.

"Oh, my goddess! Marc!!" she squealed excitedly, "the air and earth elements, I can see them!"