It was getting late. The sun was slowly descending behind the treetops, coloring the skies into a dusty purple. Despite the retired champion’s obvious preference for isolation, he reluctantly offered his visitors to stay for the night. Elem and his friend gratefully accepted the offer. From their location in the forest, they would never reach Alabaster City before nightfall anyways.
“I moved to these woods to be away from all the meaningless things people waste their time on. Here, I can experience the true meaning of summoning in peace- without any distractions. Although that didn't seem to stop you two troublemakers from finding me,” Balthazar teasingly grumbled as he pulled two spare sleeping bags from a nearby knapsack.
After a quick and simple meal, they prepared for the night and laid down in the open air. Away from the city’s flashing neon lights, the starlit skies were breathtaking and, for a while they simply stared at the heavens and listened to the crackling campfire and the chirping crickets.
Of course, it was Aja who broke the silence first.
“Your Karasu Tengu is impressive,” she commented. “But I don’t remember you having it as your Wind Summon during your time at the Duel Tower Tournament. How’s that possible?”
Balthazar chuckled at the suggestiveness of her question. After spending a few hours together, the hermit finally seemed to loosen up a little.
“That is true. Back then I used to have a Harpy as my Wind Summon but now I have my Karasu Tengu,” he replied cryptically. “There are secrets in this world; frowned upon methods that can unlock enormous potential. But you will learn about such matters when you’re ready.”
“You’re talking about Fusions right?” Aja asked. “Hasn’t the CSA openly condemned those?”
Elem pricked up his ears. If he wanted to grow as a summoner he had to consider every potential path. Although the topic was widely considered a taboo, there were hardly any Sekuheim disciples who hadn’t heard rumors about duelists mysteriously fusing their Summons. According to some, a fortunate duelist could merge two mediocrely powerful Summons into a more imposing specimen, all in the span of a single day.
“Of course I am talking about fusions. I connected with my Karasu Tengu by performing a ritual on two of my other Summons; my Oni, an Earth Summon, and the Harpy I just mentioned,” Balthazar admitted. “And yes, the Global Summoning Association thinks those rituals are too risky and they are right; too many young summoners have perished while attempting them.”
Aja let out an excited gasp. While they had heard of the concept of fusions before, they had never actually spoken with someone who’d successfully merged their Summons.
“How was it?” she asked enthusiastically. “How did the ritual feel? Was it hard? Did you have to sacrifice a small child or something?”
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The hermit sighed as he rolled to his side, turning his back to his guests.
“I won’t tell you any more, you’re simply not ready yet. Not even close.”
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The next morning Elem rose a few hours before dawn. He had barely closed an eye and didn’t see a reason to prolong his restless wiggling. It turned out that sleeping on a patch of grass was even less comfortable than he’d expected and Aja’s very specific fear of bugs crawling into their sleeping bags had rubbed off on him too. On top of that, Balthazar Flame’s musings on the art of summoning had been zooming through his mind all night like a misguided skyrocket.
“The true meaning of Essence,” he muttered to himself. According to Balthazar, grasping this aspect of summoning was key in becoming a great duelist. He had to understand Essence, but what did that even mean?
Elem groggily rubbed his eyes. In all honesty, he didn’t see the point of Balthazar’s philosophical approach but that didn’t matter. The man had managed to grow into a world class summoner and Elem would be a fool to ignore his advice.
It was time for a practice round.
Elem walked to the edge of the meadow and sat down on the dew-covered grass. He then closed his eyes and focused on the Essence within his body. Maybe he could apprehend Balthazar’s theory by experiencing it.
His Essence burned like a small flame; easy to manage yet difficult to expand. Elem directed his Essence towards his elemental node and called his Summon. The Kappa almost instantly materialized and calmly hunched down beside him. They would do this together.
As Elem focused, he could hear the hermit’s words echoing through his mind. He had to experience Essence in its truest form: as a type of energy inherent to everything around him and not just as something he could cultivate internally.
He tried to get a feel of his surroundings. If Essence was so widespread, he had to be able to sense it somehow. However, Elem was unable to grasp anything outside of the Kappa and his own corporeal experience. His own Essence, coursing through his veins like a raging river, was simply too difficult to ignore.
The more Elem tried to adjust his focus, the quicker he felt his own Essence deplete. He desperately tried to escape the constraints of his own body- the only place he knew to draw Essence form- but his efforts were fruitless. All he managed to do was aimlessly propel his Essence throughout his body, the spiritual equivalent of flexing muscles without actually moving. The exercise exhausted him and within a short timespan he was forced to send his Kappa back to its realm.
Trying to source external Essence seemed like an impossible, fanciful task. However, Elem wouldn't give up so easily. He had to evolve as a Summoner if he wanted to take out Ferran. He needed to become stronger. For his father. After resting for a few minutes, he tried again, continuing the cycle over and over.
When simply applying his focus didn’t work, Elem tried different methods. He placed his hand on the ground and attempted to feel any hints of Essence in the earth below. Next, he spread his arms, trying to perceive the Essence supposingly floating through the air. No matter how hard he tried, nothing seemed to work.
Elem kept calling the Kappa time after time, until his body could barely conjure up any more internal Essence. He finally folded over, out of breath, dizzy and sick to his stomach.
Laying on the wet grass, Elem realized he was doing it all wrong. He was trying to force something that couldn’t be forced. Throughout his life, he had achieved his goals through sheer willpower and stubbornness but this challenge required a different perspective. For once he didn’t need to be a sturdy rock, he had to be fluid like a stream of water.