Using another Single-Use Portal, Triggs returned to his still-messy room. Tired and overwhelmed with all the information he had received that day, he instantly dropped his body on the side of his bed.

After a few minutes of ceiling-staring, he got up to get something to drink. He left his room, went to the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and filled it with water. Sitting at the dining table, he took a few sips of water before placing the glass down.

Triggs fell into contemplation, as another stare-down happened between him and his reflection in the glass of water. His thoughts churned like a random mixtape, jumping from one thought to the next.

But as he continued staring at the half-filled glass, memories of his earlier Words Discussion with Calla began to resurface. He tried to recall the details he had learned, focusing his thoughts on using his new Words on the water in the glass.

“‘Words are like triggers to activate a specific magic spell’…” he mumbled, recollecting the points he learned.

After that, he lifted his right arm and aimed his palm at the glass. He then chanted, “AQUA PRIMAFORMA…”

…

Nothing happened.

“Hmm…” He murmured, fixing his posture and leaning his face closer to the glass. He tried to analyze what he did wrong. “Maybe there’s a condition to activate it? But what could it be?...” he uttered before succumbing to another contemplation.

Then, he remembered a thing that Calla mentioned, “... A prayer perhaps?” he speculated. “But what the heck should I even say? Hmm…”

Triggs decided to try anyway. He didn’t bother crafting a fancy prayer; instead, he just blurted out whatever words came to mind, “Oh, Panee, you are the Great Goddess of Primordial Waters. Please help me move this water… or, you know, whatever it is that should happen if I say these Words… AQUA PRIMAFORMA…”

…

Still, nothing happened.

“Damn it… This is too damn hard,” he muttered. “Maybe I should sacrifice a bit of my energy too? But… how?”

Taking another shot, he tried to concentrate by aiming his palm and closing his eyes. After a few deep breaths, he opened his eyes in sync with his loud attempt to chant the words, “AQUA PRIMAFORMA!”

…

Nothing!!!

He didn’t stop; he squinted his eyes, and contracted every muscle in his body, focusing his energy and consciousness on his palm. He then chanted the Words again, accompanied by a forceful grunt, “AQUA PRIMAFORMA! Hnng!!!!”

Again, nothing…

He tried again. This time, the grunts were stronger and longer, “AQUA PRIMAFORMA! Hnnnggg!!! Hng!!!!!”

…

“AQUA PRIMAFORMA! Hnnnggg!!! Hnng!!!!!...”

…

“....HNNNGGG!!!!!!!!.............. AGH, DAMN IT!!!!!” he muttered as he finally surrendered, pulling away and dropping his body on the chair’s back.

“How can I even activate it if I don’t know how it works!?” he whined. After a big sigh, his eyes met the ceiling again, trying to contain his irritation and disappointment.

But just when he was about to lose hope, a particular memory came to his mind: it was the final message Vega gave before she left the Main Hall.

“‘If you want to truly master it, you must understand the very essence of water itself.’...” he recalled. “Hmm… The very essence of water?” He did his best to analyze the statement.

“Well, water is liquid — it can flow,” he whispered. He continued murmuring, as if he was having a full discussion with himself…

“Water molecules are made up of Two Hydrogen Atoms and a Single Oxygen Atom… Wait, does science even matter on these things!? This is supposed to be mystical, right? Welp, in the abstract… water is life, but it can also cause destruction. Water is also uhm… wet? Wait… Is it really wet? I don’t even know at this point!... Ugh! This is making my head hurt!”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Because of the stress it was causing, he completely canceled his self-discussion.

“Okay–okay! Let me just do this one last time!”

And just like he said, he made his final attempt to make the Words work.

He breathed deeply, trying to focus on this last attempt. He lifted his arm and aimed his palm at the glass. With a dedicated eye, he stared intently at the water, imagining every component and property of water he knew about.

Triggs visualized every water molecule occupying space inside the glass, seeing how they interacted with one another. Then, using a large portion of his mental energy, he imagined the molecules vibrating slowly, commanding the water to flow at his signal…

“AQUA PRIMAFORMA!”

…

PLOP!!

…

“Wait!? Did I!?...”

He squinted his eyes as he looked closer to the glass. He was sure that he saw a small ripple after he said the Words. Quickly, he tried doing it again, repeating the exact process he took…

“AQUA PRIMAFORMA!”

…

BAM!

A thud echoed from outside the house, causing the water in the glass to tremble slightly. Judging by the sound, it seemed like a suitcase had dropped to the floor.

KNOCK-KNOCK!!! KNOCK-KNOCK!!!

“Triggs!? Are you home!? Triggs!!!”

“Ah, shi— I totally forgot she’s coming back tonight!” Triggs uttered in panic after hearing the voice of his sister. Hurriedly, he rushed to open the door.

As he opened the door, he was met with the narky expression of his sister.

“Why aren’t you answering my calls and messages!?” the sister scolded Triggs.

Triggs tried to come up with an alibi. “Uhm… I was busy…”

“Busy doing what? You’re suspended and don’t have any schoolwork to do. What could you possibly be busy with?”

“Sleeping… I am busy sleeping…”

“Huh!? Sleeping at night? What—.” The sister paused, looked away from Triggs, and took a deep breath, whispering to herself to calm down. “Come on, Trina… Take a deep breath… You just had an awesome vacation with James. Don’t let this bad energy ruin your vibe…”

After a final big exhale, Trina gazed at Triggs with a forced smile. “Well then, dear brother, could you at least give me a hand with my stuff?”

Triggs then gave an inattentive nod. “Uhm - Yeah… Sure…”

Triggs grabbed the suitcase and the other luggage. Together with his sister, they entered the house.

“Home, sweet home….” Trina expressed with a relaxed sigh. “I really missed the smell of our house,” she added as she threw herself to the sofa.

Enthusiastically, Trina started sharing her vacation experience. “Triggs! We went to see the Pyramids and Sphinx in Giza! Those structures really are majestic!”

“Oh… Nice…” Triggs responded with a monotonous murmur as he moved his sister’s things inside the house.

“I'd only ever seen those online, but seeing them up close was pretty mind-blowing. It made me wonder how the ancient Egyptian people actually built those things…”

“Uh-huh…”

Trina sprung on the sofa, as she remembered something notable from her experience, “Oh! One of our tour guides shared this interesting info. She said there are ongoing studies suggesting the pyramids were actually built way earlier than we originally thought. She mentioned that if the theory turns out to be true, it could totally shake up everything we know about human history!”

“Really? Cool…”

“Mmm-hmm! James also agreed to this. He also believed that the pyramids were built for a much different purpose. Something we still couldn’t comprehend…” Trina tilted her head as she tried to remember. “I can’t recall exactly what he said, but it has something to do with energy and astronomy…”

“Wowers….”

“Seriously, Triggs!? Are you even listening?”

“Uhm… Yeah!?” Triggs’ heedless reply. “Uhm… Ate…” he murmured, intending to open up a different topic to his sister. “... I just want to tell you I’ll be going somewhere tomorrow night. I should be back the next day… ”

“Gosh, Triggs. I just got home, and the first thing you tell me is that you’re leaving tomorrow. Didn’t you even miss me at all?” Trina teased.

“It’s just an overnight party with my friends…”

“Psh! Whatever…” Trina muttered, rolling her eyes with a scoff. “By the way, you’re supposed to return to class tomorrow, right? Your suspension is about to end.”

“We’re in the final weeks of the semester, so professors usually skip classes since we're just wrapping up unit requirements,” Triggs answered.

“Hmm, okay…” Trina mumbled as she rose from the sofa. “Just don’t get into any more trouble, okay? And make sure to complete all your requirements for this semester,” she reminded Triggs like a mother.

“Sure, Ate,” Triggs answered sincerely.

Trina stretched her arms upwards, accompanied by a relieving yawn. “Damn, all this traveling has my body feeling sore,” she mumbled breathily. Then she requested with a sweet voice, “My very helpful brother, since you’re already being so generous, could you please extend your kindness and put my stuff away in my room? Pretty please?”

“Okay…” Triggs replied after a sigh.

“Thank you, Triggs!!!” Trina expressed as she headed toward the kitchen to get something to drink.

As Triggs prepared to move his sister’s things, he suddenly heard a loud shriek from the dining area.

“Triggs!? What the heck is this!?”

Abandoning what he was doing, Triggs rushed to check what happened. There, she found her sister standing by the dining table, her face filled with bewilderment as she stared at the glass of water Triggs had left earlier.

“What the heck happened here?” Trina muttered.

As Triggs got closer, he saw that the glass was cracked and water was pooling on the table. He couldn't believe it and was puzzled, trying to figure out why this happened. Though he wanted to deny it, the only explanation he could think of was the Words he used earlier.

…

…

…

“Done and ready to go!” Otto announced, pouring the last bottle of liquor onto the Garden’s soil. He flung his robe over his shoulder and struck a cool, ‘prepared’ pose. His mighty aura roared triumphantly, overpowering the evening crickets.

“I think we're all set now,” Triggs declared. He, too, was already prepared: dressed in his robe, with a one-handed broadsword and a crossbow strapped to his back in an X formation, and his belt holding a quiver of arrows. He was giving off a passionate look, with all his mind, body, and spirit dedicated to the mission.

“You better be! Our estimated departure time was 6 PM. We're already 30 minutes behind our target timeframe,” Lae scolded, sounding like a strict teacher. She was fully equipped with her tools: a utility belt bag around her waist and a short knife strapped to her thigh, all concealed under her robe. Anticipating a tough fight, she wasn’t wearing her glasses this time; instead, she had opted for her corrective contact lenses.

“Yada-yada! Can we just get this over with already!? Let's fucking go now,” Monty blabbered. Still wearing his favorite hoodie, only his face and hands were exposed. A utility bag hung around his waist, carrying his sling. As usual, a grumpy expression was etched on his youthful face, and even though nothing had happened yet, he was already showing signs of irritation and impatience.

“Yaaay! I’m so excited! I wonder what kind of monster we’ll be battling” Calla said, the edges of her oversized robe fluttering in the air as she excitedly hopped like a bunny on a summer day. She didn’t carry any weapons; all she had was her boundless energy and invigorating courage.

Contrary to Calla’s radiant energy, Zaine was quietly sitting on the grass, focused on sharpening his karambits. His robe hung loosely over his left shoulder, and his expression was as fierce and intense as a tiger’s.

Beside him was Claire, fidgeting anxiously, worried sick about her friends' safety. "Uhm... Good luck, you guys. Please... Please come home safe," she uttered with a shaky voice.

“Don’t worry, Claire. We will,” Triggs assured.

“Well, if everyone’s ready, let’s move now,” Lae declared. She chanted the Words to open a portal.

“OPERBA!”