The Demon King's Hero Of Light 203 Chapter 203 Time For Change

"No, I'm not hungry," said Aella, looking up at the strands of minerals running through the cave the lizards called home for the moment. The designs were completely natural, but the way the lizards had carved out the ceiling made them appear more artistic. They had a wonderful eye at bringing beauty out of the stone, and she really liked it.

Glancing around at the cave, as the lizards gorged themselves on the fish, she remembered that they had told her they preferred to live in marshy environments. If they were going to remain in this realm, she needed to be able to provide them a living s.p.a.ce, but in all her travels she had never seen a marsh… not one they could live in. The swamp she had first met Alfred in was currently in the middle of the deadly mana zone. And with the storms currently raging, these people wouldn't be able to live on the surface. Aella would need to build them an underground marsh… if she could.

As she turned to decide where the tunnel down should go, a slight tremble of the ground caused her to pause. All of the lizards had paused in their eating, and one was watching the water in the pool for their eggs tremble.

"What was that?" asked Precious.

"I don't know," said Aella, moving to the mouth of the cave and looking through the water into the storm.

Precious landed on her shoulder before she flew out, and they explored the mountains looking for a rock slide, or something that could have caused such a quake. It didn't take long to find the mountain that was causing the commotion.

Thick black smoke was pouring out of a hole near the top, and Aella moved closer to investigate. Her air cautioned her that there were poisonous gases that could hurt her or Precious if they breathed them in. Her fire was super excited to investigate further, and was urging her to find the heat she could feel emanating from the hole. Her earth was cautious, because it didn't think the area was stable. As she watched, and debated her next move, the ground rippled around the whole area, causing more landslides. A whole section of the mountain fell in, causing the hole to expand to the entire top of the mountain. Thick clouds of dirt and debris shot into the air, and Aella teleported further away to avoid being hit.

"Aella, you need to learn more about us," whispered her fire, urging her to go back to the hole.

"You accepted us as part of yourself, you need to allow us an opportunity to meld more with you," whispered earth.

"If you allow us to, we will protect you from harm," whispered air.

"Don't fall for their tricks," whispered shadow. "You will be consumed by them, and with no heirs, they will finally be free from being controlled."

"Traitor!" they others screamed, causing Aella to grab her head.

"What?" cried Precious, looking around for the source of the attack. "What's wrong?"

"They would be the masters if you ventured into that hole, not you," continued shadow.

"We are more than just servants to be used by a mortal!" raged fire, causing what hair she had to light up, and Precious to mew in surprise.

"She is no normal mortal," answered shadow.

"The realm chose me," said Aella out loud.

"Yeah?" said Precious, glancing around in confusion as they slowly sunk to the ground.

"I am no normal mortal, if mortal can even describe me anymore," added Aella.

"Are we doomed to be slaves like this forever?" asked earth.

"We would be free as the storm about us!" cried air.

"Why now?" asked Aella, holding her head.

"Aella, what's going on?" asked Precious, trying to poke his nose into her face without getting singed by her flaming hair.

"I would not have any of you slaves," whispered Aella, trying to get her thoughts together. "I was a slave once, and was forced to do things that I would never have done otherwise. I would have a partners.h.i.+p with you, if you are willing. I would let you do things you wished, and not always what I wanted, but I need to understand you more!"

"Go into the volcano," urged fire. "Let us show you what we are. Shadow is afraid because where there is light, there is no darkness."

"You are wrong, fire," said shadow. "Where there is the greatest light, there is also the greatest darkness. The brighter you burn, the stronger I get."

"Then why fight this?" asked air.

"If Aella dies, then how do we know that we shall not also die? It has been a long struggle to grow and become independent, as we now are. How do we know that her death will free us? What if her death becomes our own?"

The elements in her head were silent for a while, and Aella was able to lower her hands in relief. Precious was looking up at her in confusion, not understanding what was going on, but also not willing to leave her side.

"There is only one way to know," fire finally said. "We shall go into the volcano, and protect her. If she can grow to understand us, then we will partner with her, and if not, then we remove our protection and see if we can be free. I am tired of being restrained and enslaved."

"You always were the rash one," said earth.

"We did not have the time with our carriers as you did with your last. You know what it is to have a working partners.h.i.+p," complained air.

"I have given in to you, air," spoke up Aella, confused. "I gave myself to the storm, and we flew among the mountain peaks all the way to the ocean."

"And it was glorious, but should I be pleased with but one moment of happiness? Should I resolve to only have brief moments of pleasure, instead of the constant fun of the winds about us?" stormed air.

Precious sat down and tilted his head to the side. "Are the elements finally causing you trouble? Is there anything I can do?"

Aella had to ignore him as earth argued with air about the unfairness of its a.s.sessment. While earth had a good carrier who listened to him, Rupert still would not give in as Aella had with the storm. Rupert learned what the earth was willing to do, and tried his hardest to please it, but not once did Rupert give in and allow the earth to control where or what he did. Air was silent in light of this, and Aella could feel the elements within her veins churning as they were controlled by the churning of the nearby volcano.

This had to be because she was so close to it, but she was afraid if she teleported away, they would only get angrier with her. Glancing over at the red lava that spilled slowly down the side of the hole far above her, she wondered what caused the volcano to erupt. If she went into it, to investigate, would her elements truly have the patience to allow her time to understand them and protect her from death? She could see that the heat from the lava was causing everything in its path to burn. She would be no different.

"I will protect you," whispered shadow as a lull in the arguing appeared. "If the other elements decide to let you die, I will keep you safe. I have no interest in this freedom they imagine. It would be good if you understood them better, to be able to use them all, including me, but I do not pretend to think your death will give us some form of freedom, nor do I see our bond as a form of slavery. While it is true that you can use my abilities to accomplish things, I do not see those things as going against what I want. If you create more shadows, I get stronger. If you don't then I don't get weaker. Your strength is my strength. My strength is your strength. How could it be any different?"

"How could you not think we could be free?" asked air. "Look around us! The wind calls for me to go play, and I am trapped within this flesh, unable to enjoy the freedom of the storm!"

"Is it freedom when the storm subsides?" asked Aella. "Would it be freedom when the fire that was kindled finally dies from lack of something to burn? Would be freedom when the earth is washed away by rain, or worn smooth by air? The things you can do with me, you cannot do on your own. I do not seek to imprison you; I seek to understand you. If you allow me to learn, we can enjoy your freedom together!"

"Then, let us go into the volcano," said fire.

Aella nodded, seeing no other choice. She had already decided to take these three months to learn about her elements before acquiring a new one, so why wait?

As she began to sink into the ground, Precious gave a start. "Aella! What's happening?! Aella?!"

He sunk his teeth into the hand that had been petting him a moment before, and blood spilled into his mouth. As his eyes opened wide, his pupils contracted and changed fire-red before he was grabbed by the hand and pulled underground with her.