Ocean, the most gorgeous place, the splendor of the world. An enormous amount of crystalline water moved ahead of me and stretched towards the impossible lines in the horizon where waves collide and conspire. The boat proudly moved forward, the white large sails catching the sea breeze. I closed the book and walked closer to the bow of the ship. The breeze caressed my skin. I could hear the chirping and wailing of the nearby seagulls, flying a V formation above. The wind brought me the distant caws of other seagulls, flying in to join their kind.

Since the day I came to be, the wind was my first language, it governed my senses. I could see, I could hear, and I could feel anything that it touched. I lowered my head and looked at the book's cover, then I giggled out of nowhere. I remembered two days ago, the gathering of the Normins in Yseult. The beachfront town in Southgand was the location for one of the classes of a renowned Malak named Grimoirh.

The class was held at an abandoned Palapa, away from the town itself. As I approached the location, I saw the little earth spirits hanging around the area, laughing and following the one I wanted to see. I held my book closely to my chest and walked in the direction of the entrance. Suddenly, I felt a flying normin coming straight to me from my right side. I Indolently turned to him and watched as a purple normin with red wings, wearing a large purple hat, and carrying a large number of books flew on a crash course towards me.

"BIEEEEN! HELP!" he yelled as he lost his control and dropped all of the books he was carrying. At that moment, I managed to grab him by the wing before his face could meet the sand on the beach. As he dangled miserably above the ground, panting in surprise, he looked up and strangely his eyes became widened and shakey, as if he had found his long, lost love.

"…Th-thank you so much! You're very kind madam!"

I immediately dropped him. That gratefulness along with that attitude felt kind of weird.

"Think nothing of it," I responded and crouched to help him recover his books. There were a lot of books, especially for a normin. My eyes fixated on one of the book's titles:

"How to Talk a Human Female into Becoming Your Vessel."

My eyes narrowed in apprehension and were promptly turned to him, he was biting his lips and his eyes were enlarged in fear and concern. He quickly swiped up the book that caught my attention, collecting books at lightning speed, flying left and right fast enough to almost appear like he was using some kind of teleporting arte. The Malak attempted to flee with the obscene amount of weight in his little arms, screaming,

"Thank you again, m-madam!" as he said that, he saw the look in my eyes once more and hastily jumped away in an instant. I shook my head and continued my way towards the hut. The lady Normin noticed my approach right away. It was nothing strange as I was the only Malak stood out between all the little normins that were roaming around.

The lady normin called Grimoirh laid back under a nearby palm tree and on a trunk, her large hat shielding her eyes from the sun.

"So, you finally came." She calmly said and looked at the large book in my arms. I slowly nodded and sat beside her, opening the book on the empty space between us. She looked at the symbols and smirked. "Miss Aria."

"Ready for docking!"

I heard one of the sailors shouting. I woke up from my daydreaming and stood up.

"The sail was easy; wind strength was good. Today the goddess of the seas looked upon us." One of the crew members told his friend. I smiled at the hearing the name "goddess of the seas". The ship docked at the port, the seagulls are all but gone and their cowls were barely just a whisper in the wind. I took a good last look at the ocean and left the ship.

The small town felt empty and miserable. This port was once a remote outpost for the imperial navy, but they abandoned it due to the daemon threats increasing day by day. I could sense the loneliness, the gloomy ambiance that engulfed the area. I quickly strode to the gates. A pair of guards were stood there, talking in a low volume. Concerns and uncertainty were all apparent in their mood, words, and their eyes.

"The last patrol reported that there are some daemons wandering around the road to the mountain. That odd looking guy that went for the temple is probably dead by now. Should we send a party to recover the body?" Said one of the guards.

"Nah, let the daemons have their share. They would bother us less if their stomachs are full."

For three whole years, now, humans could see daemons. Humans could now truly feel the danger and rage that emanated from them. They caused heartbreak, terror, despair. Daemons are why humans and malakhim rely on each other so much more than they used to. These guards know this, yet they decide to leave this unknown man for dead.

How despicable.

I sighed and continued my way out of the town's gate. The serenity and beauty of the ocean are now substituted with the drowning sense of danger and dread. Handling some daemons wouldn't be a problem for me and I came prepared, at least mentally. I passed some deserted guard posts along the way, there were no signs of daemon presence, just some turned over carriages and crates. I paused.

There were a series of black goo splashed around the field. Traces of burns and grazes were etched on the ground and on the base of the guard tower. Those were definitely signs of battle. I felt traces of mana and tempted elements in the area. Someone used magic artes against a group of attacking daemons and none of them survived. I had this question in my head: another Malak perhaps? Or was it that stranger that city guards were talking about?

It was good news for me as there were fewer daemons to worry about and someone capable was now on the scene. I continued my small trip to the mountain temple. As I climbed the foothills, the wind was picking up strength and blew harder. But the wind was no bother to me, the merciless flow circled my body and ignored it completely. My short trip was without an incident up to that point.

In an instant, my senses began to pick up on something: daemons. I looked to my right and saw a large rock formation. I ran and hid behind them in order to assess their numbers and their power in case of confrontation. The sounds of growls began to get closer, I focused on the wind, reading it. There were two bloodwolves walking down the path, sniffing for prey. I manipulated the wind, distracting them was easy and it would spare me the unnecessary fight. Then I felt it.

An aberration in the wind, as someone was twisting it. The wind flowed back towards it as it was obeying a new master. I felt a power surge in the area. Another Malak? No, he was different, and he was alone. The daemons alerted to his presence, howled, splitting my ears.

"Wind Cutter!"

I heard it clearly, the voice echoed through the mountain. It didn't feel loud but it was powerful. It was an arte, one I didn't know about. I felt silly as I knew every other acknowledged wind artes. I sensed that the force was traveling towards the daemons with great speed. The howl turned to shriek, the sound of blood splattering, and the remnant of the arte sliced and crushed the close by rocks.

Then the second daemon pounced, probably at the attacker. I began to slowly move to the side of the rock to get a clearer picture as the wind was already distorted by the arte. All I saw was a hooded figure quickly dashing towards the bloodwolf. He jumped and sliced the daemon in mid-air. The angry bark turned to naught as it's lifeless body came crashing down on the ground, sliding and leaving traces of dust and blood until it came to a halt.

I turned my head away from the scene, hiding again for the stranger to go away.

"It is safe now, you can come out."

He called out to me. I froze in my place and I stopped breathing. He knew I was there, but he waited, patiently. I didn't think nor I wanted to know his intentions. My goal was clear; getting to the temple with minimal outside contact. I locked my attention at the temple above and charge my wind boost, releasing it and sprinting to the top. I ran with the flow, my body was weightless and the wind was at my command. After I stopped, the stamina escaped me, I looked back and saw that I climbed all the way from the foothill.

I waited a minute to collect myself, turning my attention at the temple which at that time, was right in front of me. Slowly walking towards the door, I opened the book and checked the symbols; they matched perfectly. I slide my hand into my satchel and pulled out the "key" for the door. The supposed key was around, pearl looking sphere, shining and smooth. I put it in the middle hole, nothing happened. I tried to nudge the door but it stood firm. I opened the book once more, desperately looking for a missed clue.

I heard the sounds of coming creatures. The deformity in the air flow alarmed me that those were coming from the air. I quickly turned back, two harpies were closing in and began to circle around me.

"Wind Lance," I whispered. The air and mana pressurized into the forms of six small spears, rotating clockwise in a circular fashion around me. I eye-balled the first daemon and released the first three set, the daemon tried to climb. The lances gained speed and darted towards the monster, as each of them found the corrupted flesh, the daemon's strength was also drained. They drilled into its body and soon it fell with a thump.

The second harpy dived right into my face. I instantly crouched and saw little bits of my hair flutter down in front of me as its talons grazed my head. I concentrated on the daemon as it was flying back for another attack. I waited a little more as it descended for the kill once more. Locked in its killing move, I launched the last set at it. It didn't take long for my arte to reach it. They pierced the chest and cut the monster in half. The body parts disappeared in black smokes before reaching the ground.

"Not today," I whispered to myself.

I turned to the door, I felt something was close. I looked up and saw another daemon skimming the temple wall towards me. I quickly put the last remaining mana I had into my arte,

"Air Thrust!"

Blades of wind shot out of my arms at the daemon. The blades sliced one of its wings but it continued the attack as black blood was spewing from its severed limb. I hastily began to charge another shot. I stopped however when I sensed something coming at us, or more precisely, going to hit somewhere between. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed the burning light, a blazing arte formed by fire was closing in fast. Its target wasn't me. The flaming long spear homed on the daemon, it punctured the body and carried it away, nailing the harpy to the temple wall. The disgusting smell that followed didn't aid my confusion.

I could see and feel the heat of the elemental spear-looking arte. It melted the stone blocks and dissolved the monster's body into ash. I gradually began to move as I hear footsteps behind me. It was the same man from before. His right arm radiates red with intense heat. He moved closer to me slowly, putting away his hood.

I bit my tongue as I almost wanted to shout at him to leave me be, but decided against it considering the power he displayed. Glancing at his face, I kept my face neutral while I scanned his features. He was a young man, his face had a rather calm and collected air about it. The composed look that was settled on his face contrasted his bright green eyes, that held a fiery determination in their hues. On top of that, he was much taller than me. Overall, dangerous. Not to mention…

...He's able to see me. That isn't good.

As much as I hated to admit it, I felt intimidated.