Lia was standing atop one of the tall pillars, doing stretches and some elaborate moves, wearing only her underwear. In reality, she was following the training methods of Arcus, letting the flow of her mana be reinvigorated by the body's natural movements. More than that, she was getting surprisingly close to placing one foot into a new element: air. Every time she let her hands move, the grass below her followed its movement, going against the natural wind blowing around her.

"You are doing good," Arcus said, accompanying her for the past month, teaching Lia about all the eight elements and their basics, and finally helping her choose which she should focus on. While Swimmy and the wolf were teaching her about them, she simply tuned out their voice, listening to Arcus instead, ignoring everything the two were saying to her. She was surprisingly good at playing the girl who was looking at them attentively, but her mind was in a completely different place. "You are very close to being able to cast your first air-based spell. Your mana is managing to subtly change its state by now. Good! Very good!"

"I can feel it." She thought, eyes still closed, following the weird, dance-like movements while her long, loose hair followed her like a beautiful golden cape.

"You should have an easier time with air! It is highly compatible with both of your current elements! It can directly feed your fire and easily create storms by combining it with water!"

"You already want me to combine it?" She asked, forming a small smile, not falling out of her half-trance, focusing on the flow of her mana.

"Earlier, the better. You are not learning air to use it alone. That isn't your way anymore! You will have to incorporate it into your main elements! Use it to increase the strength of your spells."

"I know. I have all the things you memorized. But… it is still a big mess, I will need years to unravel all this!"

"It will make sense as you get better at it. I can be with you for around a week or two, but then, I will be too weak to help you and I will completely dissipate. You have to leave by then."

"Do you think they are suspicious?" Lia asked, not expressing her feelings about assimilating part of Arcus's being. The ancient dragon wanted it, and she couldn't be more grateful to him. In the past month, her thoughts managed to be straightened out and regain her calmness, all thanks to the guidance of a being who survived the worst years in Meriath's history.

"The wolf is. She tried to probe you. She wanted to know why you didn't meditate, but she can't bring it up all the time. Or it would turn herself suspicious."

"Swimmy talks about it all the time, though!" Lia shrugged, finally stopping, opening her mismatched eyes that were shining in a brilliant light.

"But he can get away with it as he is constantly on about it."

"True!" She chuckled and with a sharp breath, she managed to blow out a minuscule windblade that cut off a few strands of grass.

"Very good! I told you you are close!"

"It's still the most I can do! When my mana transforms into the element of air I still can't… how do I say this… collect it? Grasp it? It's like air; it slips through my attempts to handle it!"

"You will get a hang of it eventually, trust me! And it will be easier to merge with your main elements."

"Do you think they would try and take over my body?"

"No," Arcus replied, sounding serious. "I don't think the likes of you are ready in their eyes. But I bet they will entice you to come back sooner. They used the desperation in Erias's case too, making him visit multiple times, right until the point we made the Exodus."

"I bet they were disappointed he died! Well, his body did."

"Never mentioned it yet. I was waiting for it all these years. They seem to be extremely patient and that is why it's hard to know what their stance is… or what their real end goal is. They didn't seem too troubled back in the old days, either! Not even when we told them the world is on the brink of destruction."

"They sound more tricky than the Undead… at least with them, I know they are simply assholes."

"Heh… true." Arcus chuckled as the two went over the theories once more.

Lia's days were usually the same. She went into a half-sleep status, reviewing the new knowledge in her head and studying it while Arcus rejuvenated her body and spirit. Then came the training and, finally, fighting against Swimmy. Arcus was right. Every time Lia fought against him, it was a difficult battle, and not because of the difference between their strength. His innate ability to take control and transform any elemental spells was highly annoying, and Lia didn't manage to land a hit on him for two weeks straight. Since then, she has blasted him in the face a few times, using fire and retaking control of it when Swimmy changed it into water. It had to be done in a special way, letting go of her authority over it at the last moment, the instant when it transformed and recaptured it.

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But… this also gave Lia an idea. Something she has been theorizing since then. If she could become an expert in the field of switching her control on and off, she could manage to use spells while teleporting. Summoning them, traveling through No-Space, and reentering Meriath, retaking control of them, attacking from two fronts. She wanted to try it out here, but the wolf's rule was too great, and they were utterly cut off from No-Space.

When she fought against Swimmy, she concentrated on simply using her fire spells. She started utilizing tactics, expecting him to turn it into water, attacking not Swimmy himself but the area around him. Hitting her own water spells resulted in a sizzling explosion, filling the space with fog and blinding both of them. On one hand, Swimmy wasn't bothered. In his human form, he stood still, waiting for Lia to make her next move. He was confident in dealing with anything she threw at him.

"Hm..?"

With a prickling feeling, Swimmy could swear the wind had rushed past him a moment ago… and he was not wrong. It was Lia who was swinging her sword at him from behind for the first time since they started sparring. It was a simple yet elegant move, one she learned from Solren. Her eyes were closed, focusing via her other senses, aiming the artifact's blade right at the point between two scales on Swimmy's neck.

"....!" With a somewhat hurried, almost panicked move, he leaned away, avoiding the blade, giving the answer Lia needed.

She immediately went on a rabid attack spree, hacking at Swimmy relentlessly, summoning her second sword between strikes, and amping up the speed of her attacks. This time, Swimmy could no longer rely on dodging alone and had to use his hands to redirect the blades and parry all of her lightning-quick slashes.

"I got you now…" Lia thought, gloating in her mind. She finally was brave enough to bring them out and seeing how Swimmy avoided them instead of turning them into scraps told her everything. If she didn't use spells, she could injure him.

Yet… she also made one fatal mistake. In her flurry and excitement, she let herself act by instinct and, for a brief moment called upon the wind, surrounding her blades with it, increasing their speed. Swimmy immediately capitalized on it and the next moment, Lia's weapons were encased in incredibly heavy blocks of stone, flipping her out of balance and making her land face flat on the ground with a loud crash.

"Ugh…" She groaned, feeling humiliated and that her nose was also broken. "Damn it…"

"That was a good surprise! But you are still green!" Swimmy laughed, acting as if his previous panic was not even real.

"Yeah…" Lia continued groaning, not getting up. "I'm finished. I am stomping in place like an angry kid; I need something different… I'm leaving!"

"Mhm! True, you need a little bit of scenery change! Come back when you managed to manifest your new element more substantially! Then we can get to the next stage!"

Lia was slightly surprised, so she continued facing the ground to avoid betraying her expression. She was expecting him or the wolf to protest, but no. Not even when she stood up, fixed her sorry self, and asked to be sent out. The ethereal wolf simply appeared when she was ready, looking at her, and Lia could swear she was trying to do something. Arcus felt her thoughts, only speaking to Lia when she was back in the familiar cave.

"The wolf tried to lock your new knowledge… but you didn't learn from them!"

"Wouldn't she notice it?"

"Not really; it felt like a subtle force was washing over you without any effects. I only noticed it because I am mostly made out of memories. Worry not! All is good!"

"Well… they will know something is wrong when I don't return!" She chuckled, taking a deep breath and feeling the passage of time. "I was in only… for… four days?"

"I can't tell." Arcus murmured, "I won't be here for long anyway."

"That reminds me!" Lia snapped her fingers, rushing out, "Do you know where is your real body right now?"

"Huh? Well… I think, yes!" He replied, telling her, watching Lia climb onto the ship she came with and taking off hurriedly…

…

….

……

"What is it?" Swimmy asked, watching the wolf just standing there, looking puzzled.

"Something was not right. I can't tell what…. And it bothers me."

"That usually doesn't bode well… is it the girl? Is it because she was branded by the Soulbound bastards?"

"No. She is clear of their stench. So far… What I felt was something else. As I said, a feeling. Didn't you notice? She wasn't sleeping or meditating. I couldn't access her memories while in a constantly conscious state."

"And?"

"People, even strong ones, need rest. Something is going on with her…"

"We still taught her the elements!" Swimmy shrugged, "Even if she would turn against us, it is our words that imprinted the knowledge in her! We can control her powers via that. You worry too much!"

"Yes…" She murmured, unable to shake off the weird thoughts that were gripping her soul, "She won't be able to go against us... If she survives. We already wasted the previous body that the Sect Master had chosen for herself."

"It's not a big deal." Swimmy shrugged, "She will be back! Our agents will ensure they fall into enough despair and make the girl return to us for more. This time, we just need to raise her qualification to a moderate level! Don't go for perfection, or this one will be gone from our grasp, too!"

"I know, I know!" The wolf nodded her head, slowly disappearing. "Let's rest. There is no point in worrying about it. Let them and the Soulbound fight, further weakening each other. We have time… all of it, in fact."