I’m so tired...

This evening, much like the nights before, Lei-Lei sat on the village center’s roof. With Yushia gone and more kids disappearing, she’d become a paranoid insomniac. Her sense of worth had diminished as well. Were all her efforts toward trying to protect her people in vain? The thought alone frightened her.

Lei-Lei's long ears perked when her ether field sensed the lives of Danei and Kuei vanish. Clenching her teeth, she held her staff firmly and slid off the roof, walking along the village bridge system. Lifting the drapes to their house, she took several steps inside and pushed their hanging bodies, swinging them. “You two have escaped, haven’t you? I’m sorry I couldn’t protect everyone.”

The loss of their wives left Danei and Kuei depressed and hopeless about their clan’s future. With the continued disappearance of the kids, they assumed they would eventually be next and committed suicide before it could happen.

Pointing her staff at the hanging corpses, Lei-Lei chanted. “I beseech you, Voice of Rain. Imprisonment Aqua.” Two bodies of water conjured at the staff’s point, swallowing the bodies and slicing the rope tied around their necks. She led the trapped corpses outside and headed down the steps to the forest floor before setting the men and their bodies against a tree. “May the voices guide you toward our fallen.”

Lei-Lei headed back up the steps but detoured to her house instead of her usual post. She grabbed two Silverwolf fangs from her robe’s pockets and sat on her knees in front of her shrine. She took a deep breath and spoke gently. “I beseech you, Voices of Spirits.”

A shiver traveled down her spine. Having sought their guidance recently to identify the man in the white suit, she was unsure if the spirits would help her again. They were a stingy bunch, but she couldn’t admit that in front of them. Still, she was grateful for anything they did. Most people, if they were ever lucky to be gifted by Inanis and received a spirit, would have strength superior to all their peers. Unlike those people, however, Lei-Lei was gifted four.

She was the chosen among the chosen.

Within the void that was her blindness, four sets of slanted, expressive eyes appeared, each blinking as if having just woken. They glanced at each other before looking down at the one who summoned them.

The spirits were nearly identical, apart from the shape of their irises: from left to right were the dotted iris Voice of Mist, the raindrop iris Voice of Rain, the snowflake iris Voice of Ice, and the swirled iris Voice of Wind.

“What is it that you wish to know of, Lei-Lei?” the Voice of Rain asked, his voice deep and booming.

“Is it my clairvoyance you seek?” the Voice of Mist asked next, her voice slow and seductive.

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“Or perhaps she seeks advice from a truly wise one,” the Voice of Wind spoke, his voice husk and elderly.

“Power,” the Voice of Ice hissed, his voice soft yet stern.

“I seek all that I can from you, Spirits,” Lei-Lei begged. “I am lost. I do not know if I am capable of protecting those I care for. They vanish, and all I can do is watch with the ether you’ve given me.”

“The demon is the root of your problems, is it not?” the Voice of Rain boomed.

“The Vermillion Bird is within your arsenal,” the Voice of Ice said. “The Cerulean boy is too.”

“Only the Vermillion Bird,” the Voice of Mist corrected. “The Cerulean boy is currently being mothered by the demon and is hypnotized. He’s quite deep within the forest, far from Lei-Lei's village.”

Lei-Lei called out to the Voice of Mists who had helped her identify the demon before. “May you give your guidance to the Vermillion Bird?”

Shocked, the Voice of Mist widened her eyes at the request. “Pardon me, but giving my guidance to a being like the Vermillion Bird is beyond what I am capable of. She’s a primordial being, nearly as old as Inanis herself.”

“If I may,” the Voice of Winds interjected. “If it’s survival you seek, avoidance of conflict will serve you well.”

“Blasphemy!” the Voice of Ice shouted. “The demon we speak of is the one who took everything from Lei-Lei. You call yourself the wise one, yet you are unaware of the swelling hatred deep within Lei-Lei's heart!”

It was true. Underneath her cool and aloof facade, her heart ached for the vengeance of her people. Abandonment meant shame, and she had brought enough to her village already.

“Lei-Lei, I, the Voice of Mist, will give you my guidance—”

Before the Voice of Mist could finish, the Voice of Winds erupted again. “Absolutely not! Giving her your guidance would be sentencing her to death!”

The voices quarreled, conflicted between confronting the demon. Between the three that fought, the Voice of Mist remained neutral while the Voice of Winds and Voice of Ice advocated for their own ideas of either avoiding or confrontation. Seeing his fellow voices disgrace themselves, the Voice of Rain roared. “SILENCE!”

Everyone became silent under his power. They had no right to influence Lei-Lei's decisions.

“Voice of Mist.” Lei-Lei threw the Silverwolf fangs on the ground. “Once more do I seek your guidance. Please, grant me the knowledge of Yushia’s location.”

The Voice of Ice laughed hysterically at the Voice of Wind. He had no doubt that Lei-Lei would take a fighting approach.

“I grant to she who is favored by ether,” the Voice of Mist spoke, slow and relaxed. A gaseous ball of white ether manifested in front of Lei-Lei's face, growing larger as the spirit chanted. “I bestow my favor upon you.”

The white ball of gas whistled before popping, sending the information of Yushia’s location to Lei-Lei's mind. The influx of knowledge overwhelmed her, making her fall on one knee. Then, the spirits disappeared.

Fei had woken up from the loud Silverwolf fangs hitting the floor. “Lei-Lei?”

“Rest,” Lei-Lei reassured, standing back up. As she lifted the drapes out of their home, she began biting her nails for the very first time.