The moment the golden one stepped onto the land a gush of wind swirled around her, lifting her orange dress and herself ever so slightly. The mellow warmth of the sun settled the nature's excitement, subduing the girl's energy to invite quietude. A joyous smile spread across her face as she hopped a step away, making room for her mother's appearance.

Aurelia stared up at the older woman, the braided red hair swaying behind a little as she settled. A small smile was on her face and her eyes remained fixated on the little one in her hands, clad in that light blue cloth that radiated less in this land. Its glow remained, however, and it was quieter here.

Aurelia jumped just a little to gain a peek of her new sister but the woman raised her hand, wishing to keep the atmosphere quiet for the moment.

"Shh, you'll wake her," she whispered, her smile now growing. "I am aware that you are excited to play with Ariana, but she needs to rest for a while. I promise you will get plenty of time with her."

"Okay, mother. I will hold you to that!" Aurelia replied in an excited whisper closer to her mother's ears, going to a quiet demeanour immediately after.

The older woman's gaze remained fixated on the little one, her smile warm and melancholic. Aurelia wishes to spend time with the two, but something told her she should skip ahead.

Without a soul, but you have a name, the mother thought as she rocked Ariana ever so slightly in her arms.

Floating throughout the lands to maintain my individuality for you... the only difference between our energy and that of souls is that one can be destroyed while others can't, right?

As the rocking stopped, Ariana slept in tranquillity. As she stared at the little one her own existence felt sick. Everything of that day was wildly printed in that part of her energy... the entity destroying her people, trapping their individuality within him. Only a quantum thread of Nuo's energy had escaped, drifting in time until it had found its way to this body, living like a parasite.

How cruel. We really should have never existed.

As each day passed, the woman found herself empathising with Vlad's thoughts and actions. The Wind Phoenexias were gone and this little one could live her life to the age of a human.

Exterminate all the unnecessary creatures. But then the energy will be trapped within Vlad. That's okay, just kill Vlad afterwards and everything will be reversed. All these beings were without souls. None of them was a living thing, anyway. 

Would it be possible to destroy the entity once it trapped such polarising energy? Perhaps that's why the Shadow Beings did what they did...

In her time she had seen too many living things wishing to die. The burden of work, the despair of emotions, the annoyance of thoughts...

Souls don't appreciate their own existence.

Some believed in a single existence, like that of the Wind Phoenexias. Some believed in the concept of souls going from place to place, facing choices and consequences, possibly somewhat governed by destiny, possibly somewhat governed by their past actions. Did that mean souls had individuality? Did they change?

Perhaps they are right, letting go into freedom would be better. Which existence is freer, if they are bound by their actions? Consequences embedded within the information of their soul. We will live once, we will die and be no more. We will have made our mark as we wanted, unbound by what comes after. A single existence.

One chance.

Which existence is more meaningful? Which is more merciful? Should the Demonic Creatures be ended in one swift blow like they were, marking a bitter end? What meaning did that display? She liked to believe that the Wind Phoenexias were honourable in their time's end, leaving a beautiful impact on their world. Or at least a kind one.

The woman sighed as she looked at Aurelia's quietude, shifting to Ariana's innocence.

She was in no place to make such choices, so for the time being her focus would remain on her two daughters.

- - - - -

https://youtu.be/OcyeUBhuqvk

Ariana sat on the dense grass, its fluffy bedding inviting her to lay down and sleep for an eternity by the river, but the girl remained straight up.

Her blue gaze was on the water of a lighter shade, gently trickling along the depth of the valley. The wind ran along the area, towards the higher plain against the motion of the river, causing gentle and random ripples on its clear surface. 

The Wind Phoenexia stood up slowly, the lucid blue of her short dress sparkling in the sun, swaying politely with the wind. Her bare footsteps were nearly silent on the bushy grass as it took her around the place she had come to know as home. Empty endlessly on one side, dense trees covering the other. She jumped a little and the wind carried her over the river, to the dense side, as if she were only taking a long leap.

A brighter smile lay on her face and she took a deep breath, taking in the smell of the forest while stepping inside. An alleviating cold hit her instantly, drying the heat of all worries. The wind whistled through a long tube of wood that lay horizontally on the ground, covered with dried leaves. Ariana found her new spot for the moment and remained seated on the wood, leaning back as she caught the scattered sunbeams that fell through the largely covered sky.

The sun shone brightly, slightly obscured by a thin layer of clouds to sweeten the heat. The wind swirled around the girl and Ariana chuckled, standing up as she decided to take a little walk.

The presence of time vanished as Ariana explored her land, something she'd done countless times yet each venture gave her something new. A new emotion felt, a new thought discovered, a new sight scene, a new sound heard, a new scent felt. A new stamp of time.

Ariana finally returned to her seat, deciding a little rest would be good. She leaned backwards on her hand, staring at the even more tranquil blue that spread seamlessly before her. 

The girl thought about how everything was so pretty. How did these physical factors matter to the spirit of this land?

"Your joy makes me happy," the spirit's thought reverberated within Ariana, instilling a warmth she had never felt before. The girl reacted with a shy smile, truly feeling joy at that moment.

A sudden burst of wind lunged at her, the stark cold sending shivers down her spine. Ariana stood up immediately, walking till she found firm ground deeper amidst the woods. The wind pushed back against the force, wanting to save the girl from the harsher touch but she raised her hand.

"Leave it be. It'll help me sense the presence."

The force only heightened but Ariana maintained her ground, waiting in her place as she retracted her presence.

Let them come to me, but let them take their time.

Black mist flooded from the entrance to the woods, some of it floating up and dispersing to block the brilliant blue, dimming the sunlight. Ariana maintained a calm composure, still waiting.

She knew she wouldn't be killed and she didn't care for pain. Her only responsibility was to the land and no harm should come to it.

However, before she could even react something stung her, immediately setting her unconscious. The wind hastened from all directions in a flurry of panic as it fought against the beings of darkness unsuccessfully, only able to knock off one's ring far away, a gentle clink failing to reach anything in that noisy scene.

The being that had been struck disintegrated immediately and Zephyr stopped, horrified at what she had done.

Stop... completely useless against him... how did they come in? How did he come in the first time? He is trapped in the Shadow Dimension so how could he have done anything?

Such paralysing fear...

Zephyr let the beings leave, casting a spell immediately after. It cut off her communication with the entire world outside.

Only one being could break it. Zephyr needed isolation. Zephyr needed that one to break it. Zephyr knew she was useless against that entity and she hated how she had given up already. But it didn't change the fact that Zephyr needed her Shadow's comfort.

The black mist parted and sunlight filled the land once again.

I'm begging you... come as fast as you can.

- - - - -

Ariana stood at the border that separated her from her sister, her presence lingering just before the threshold that would wake the older girl. She could feel the warmth of the hearth that burned gently deep in that mansion, 

Such a big and lonely place... but perhaps it wasn't. She was often alone in the Valleys with only Zephyr by her side, but it never felt lonely. Something in that vast space connected her to the rest of the world, and something about that feeling felt borrowed. As if Zephyr waited for someone else as she took care of Ariana, and even the latter waited for something as she kept the spirit company. 

Something about Zephy and Aurelia felt very the same, yet something else was fundamentally different.

Being the last of something... it was a very odd burden and she wondered how many things felt it in the lifespan of existence. Will existence itself cease to exist one day? For all of time? Although time would cease with existence...

Ariana took a few steps back to view the place in its entirety. It felt simultaneously small and large. A big and regal exterior, no doubt, but it would've become a small place for Aurelia as she would now know every nook and cranny. If she was more connected to the vast world then the mansion was nothing, but perhaps the very definition of space changed. The layout transformed to a different definition.

Waiting and learning... is that what both of them were doing? Is that what she should do? There is a lot to learn in the world, about the world, but how useful is it?

Does knowledge have to be useful, or is its pursuit enough? Intentions... motivations... she heard from Zephyr that the Wind Phoenexias did what the Angels don't do. If Demonic Creatures brought negativity to the surface and if it damaged living things, then Wind Phoenexias could bring positivity. The Shadow-Trappers maintained neutrality, after all.

Right? Then was their existence really so pointless? Oh, but if both Wind Pheonexias and Demonic Creatures went then all would be fine. Both groups' existence is trivial. Shadow-Trappers merely adapted. They aren't ordinary beings...

Ariana turned around to face the large land before her. So mellow, so warm, so still despite the Phoenexias living there. Something about those beings matched the Shadow-Trappers incredibly well to Ariana, like what the Wind Phoenexias were to the Demonic Creatures. 

Already using "were"...

The orange sky spanned the city full of autumn leaves, the extra layer above their firm ground. Few sparse yet strong structures of deceased wood spot the area, everything mathematically placed to leave plenty of breathing space. From the distance it seemed as if there were hardly any Phoenexias - the "headquarters" was a fair distance away from Aurelia and other a few other Phoenexias were dispersed over the land simply to keep their distance from each other of their own volition. Temporary distance to look after the land in their respective areas.

Perhaps if Hearth had living things, just as Earth did, it would mirror the latter perfectly. But if Earth's sentience had caused so much trouble, Ariana couldn't begin to imagine anymore. Still, were all the seven lands truly parallel? Did they change together, following the same rules and repercussions? Abstract to concrete, laws to living, shadow to vessel... somehow Ariana was most curious about Hearth.

The living things were for Wind Phoenexias, like the world is for Phoenexias. So the lands aren't living, after all? Or perhaps they are alive in a different definition...

Ariana didn't like how Earth's emotions affected Hearth but she appreciated the latter's kindness. Her home was the Valleys, her origin was with Zephyr and the others but she would forever be grateful to Hearth for all it gave her. She spent more of her time in this place, more of her time with the people there and she would always acknowledge her presence in that land, however minimal it was.

As if she was two different persons to the things of each land, to her own perception in each place...

"Ariana?" A soft voice broke the girl out of her thoughts. She raised her gaze to meet the fair woman, the presence separating her from the land. A brilliantly orange dress humbly hung from her tall frame, her smile incredibly affectionate. None of it was intimidating, not for Ariana.

"Hello mother," Ariana replied in a soft tone as she made her way in a demure fashion. The lady was her strongest attachment to the land, even above her sister. Somehow Ariana felt a connection between her mother and her deep past... perhaps it was because she was the first one to greet her after she woke up from her long slumber.

As Ariana made her way to the heart of the city she gave her sister a mental goodbye, content to spend the present time by her mother's side.

The next time I return from the Valleys, we will be together!

----- -------

Audrey sat on her knees with a smile as she faced the girl clad in blue. Every time she saw her she was reminded of the beautiful land that stretched beyond the horizon. That golden scene, the day she trained for her borrowed powers, the day they fought Vlad together...

Somehow Ariana didn't remind Audrey of the Wind Phoenexias. At least that was true before the most recent story the leader had witnessed. Now a discomfort pervaded her gut, not giving her a moment's break. 

No space to breathe. To feel the wind's freedom.

"I will stop existing one day. In a sense I will die one day, right? I've technically already existed for over three millennia, so why does the prospect of this 'death' make you sad, Audrey?"

Audrey wasn't sure how to respond.

"Is this because with me there will be no more Wind Phoenexias? But that's the point, isn't it?"

Audrey took in a futile, deep breath, unable to let it go.

"You Shadow Beings are special. You will never be extinct because you're not really a species. You could all stop existing, return to the Shadow Dimension, then your soul could come to the physical world whenever you wish and take the form of a Shadow Being. A vessel is all it is, right?

"Everything that lives comes to an end. You simply travel. In a way, so do we and so do living things.

"Don't be sad."

Let go of the incorrect convention.

"Everything ends."

The voice that came from behind was gentle but it held its usual strength, unafraid. Ariana's eyes widened, melting immediately after with a deep smile, slightly curious to see why the Shadow picked her statement midway.

"Everything ends and hence it begins. Between that beginning and end, there is time."

Audrey turned to see her tall friend, Evelyn's presence bringing her a comfort nothing else could ever do. Hope... meaning...

"A rock's time. A lizard's time. A human's time. Audrey's time, Ariana's time, Earth's time, this world's time."

Life.

As her pitch increased, Audrey sighed. Evelyn sat with her two friends, both their focuses on her.

"I am sure that we all leave a mark on time. So what if time one day ceases to exist one day? It existed. The mark is not erased.

"Be careful, but be free. It is your mark. It can only be made when you pick the brush, dip it in its colours, touch the paper, move it across and lift it up."

Audrey smiled and gave a hearty nod, her eyes glistening ever so slightly.

"Oi, where are you getting all this wisdom from?"

Evelyn narrowed her eyes towards the little boy as tall as her, turning to Audrey to complain. She hesitated, deciding on a different course of action, her next words incredibly calm.

"Careful, you're treading on dangerous land here."

"Careful, you're treading on dangerous land here."

"Audrey!"

The shadow in question chuckled as Evelyn frowned at Jack's mimick, shaking her head to say she was not going to be a part of their shenanigans.

"You should see the way she is with Zephyr. An infant," Ariana teased and Evelyn pulled a convincing face of betrayal, pouting. A grin then came upon which Ariana's eyebrows furrowed, worried, while Jack prepared himself for some entertainment.

Before Ariana could even react Evelyn was at her, unleashing her tickles in full throttle. Jack wore a large smile, satisfied at the outcome even if he knew he was in danger of the same happening to him.

As the sounds of laughter echoed across the place that had been so good to her, at that moment, Audrey felt content. Content with the way things were.

But the unease remained.