100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 554 - Whole

The spirits flourished.

Their individual characters blossomed too.

Marie developed a practical and dependable nature. When tasks arose, she tackled them head-on. She was the first to notice when the man grew weary. She repaired the cave without complaint when it needed mending.

Kaia became spirited and self-assured. Once she mastered it, her laughter rang out freely. She engaged in fiery debates. She insisted every meal was superior when graced by her flame.

Sylra grew sharp-witted and inquisitive. Her questions flowed incessantly, sometimes three at once. Occasionally, she'd preempt the man's response by answering herself, then demand his confirmation of her correctness.

Marina evolved into a tender and sensitive soul. Nurturing came as naturally to her as breathing. She was quickest to cry, second to laugh, and most forgiving.

The once-tranquil cavern filled with noise, warmth, and vitality.

Marie maintained the cleanliness of the carpet, the spot where she rested while aiding the man's physical recovery.

Kaia stood sentinel over the fire pit, as though it were the world's very core.

Sylra claimed the low table, granting her an optimal vantage point for arranging provisions, herbs, and her endless stream of questions.

Marina cherished the bed, the place where she had first tended to him through his fevers, his weakness, and his prolonged journey back from despair.

These specific locations became their own unique domains.

And because these spaces were claimed by them, the cave transformed into a true home.

Yet, in essence, home was not defined by the carpet.

Nor by the fire pit.

Nor by the table.

Nor by the bed.

Home was anywhere the man happened to be.

...

Within the present, the four women shed quiet tears as the recollection enveloped them.

Now, they grasped the reason they had instinctively gravitated to those particular spots.

These were not places belonging to strangers.

They had always been theirs.

•••

Years unfolded within the visions.

The spirits gained strength.

Their humanoid manifestations grew, their bodies of light, once tiny, becoming more substantial and stable.

Concurrently, the man's own condition improved.

His features regained their fullness.

His hair was trimmed.

His attire became clean.

The emptiness that once resided in his eyes softened into a calmer expression.

On occasion, he would laugh.

Sometimes, a smile would surface without his conscious awareness.

At times, when the four spirits engaged in a frivolous dispute, he would close his eyes, feigning annoyance while the subtle upturn of his lips told a different story.

They acquired knowledge about humans.

They learned about the world around them.

They came to understand kindness and its opposite, the dynamics of trade and the pangs of hunger, the cycles of seasons and the fury of storms, the essence of life and the finality of death.

They also observed that the man never spoke of his past.

Not in any significant depth.

He would respond to practical inquiries.

He would impart knowledge.

He would offer corrections.

He would issue warnings.

However, when questioned about events preceding their time in the cave, his gaze would invariably drift to some distant point.

Eventually, they ceased their inquiries.

This cessation was not due to a loss of curiosity.

It stemmed from the fact that he was happy now.

Or at least close enough to contentment that they hesitated to disturb it with probing questions.

At times, they embarked on journeys.

The man carried what he referred to as his Origin Core.

"It assists me in accomplishing feats I ordinarily could not."

Sylra tilted her head thoughtfully.

"At what expense?"

The man regarded her, then offered a faint smile.

Marie knitted her brow.

"There is indeed a cost."

"A cost is always present."

Marina gently touched his sleeve.

"Then, please refrain from overusing it."

Kaia puffed out her cheeks indignantly.

"If you collapse again, I shall incinerate your dinner."

The man looked at her, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"That would punish you as well."

Kaia paused, taken aback.

Then, she whispered, "I shall burn only your portion."

He let out a laugh.

Nevertheless, they journeyed onward.

The five of them traversed the world.

They rectified damaged lands.

They brought retribution to those who polluted waterways, who set forests ablaze for selfish gain, who fractured mountains in pursuit of illicit ores, who subjugated villages, and who disrupted the natural equilibrium of the land.

The man did not always resort to destruction.

At times, he offered guidance.

At times, he issued warnings.

At times, he provided healing.

And when wickedness had repeatedly chosen its destructive path, he would deliver judgment.

Standing beside him, the four spirits matured into guardians befitting their title.

Marie worked to stabilize territories ravaged by conflict.

Kaia purified corruption with cleansing flames.

Sylra relayed vital messages across impossible distances.

Marina restored tainted waters and tended to those left behind.

The world began to transform.

And at the conclusion of each expedition, they would return to the cavern concealed behind the waterfall.

To their sanctuary.

The four spirits rarely strayed far from the man's presence.

They remained connected to him in their own distinct ways.

And the man, who once sat in desolate darkness anticipating nothing, rediscovered his purpose.

Not because his pain had vanished entirely.

But because four beacons of light refused to allow him to be solely defined by it.

•••

Then, the vision began to fade.

The four women present felt the shift instantly.

The comforting warmth receded.

The surrounding panels shuddered.

The memory seemed reluctant to proceed further.

Yet, it persisted.

Cherished moments, however precious, do not always endure indefinitely.

Something transpired.

Initially, the vision presented only fractured glimpses.

A sky sundered apart.

A desolate, broken landscape.

A world seemingly weeping through its natural elements.

The man stood amidst the devastation, his garments stained with blood.

And...

The four spirits were fading, their lives ebbing away.

The beautiful elemental women, once radiant and full of power, began to disintegrate into dust motes.

Marie’s earth-gold luminescence fractured.

Kaia’s fiery aura flickered and died.

Sylra’s wind-formed body wavered.

Marina’s water-light scattered like raindrops lost in a storm.

The man held them, all four.

His arms alone were insufficient to defy the inevitable.

Despair returned to his face, now deeper, amplified by the memory of happiness he had previously known.

"No," he choked out.

His voice splintered with emotion.

"Don't do this."

Marie was the first to smile.

A trembling hand reached out, brushing his cheek.

"Fear not," she soothed, "Wherever you walk, I will be with you."

She then planted a kiss upon his cheek.

Her lips left behind a faint shimmer of earth-gold light.

Kaia managed a soft, pained laugh.

It sounded like a dying ember’s final, defiant spark.

"I will watch over you through the fire's glow," she declared. "So try not to make a face like a burnt dish when you cook."

She kissed his other cheek.

Sylra moved closer next.

Her form was already dissolving at the edges, yet her eyes remained brilliantly alive.

"I shall be everywhere," she whispered. "As long as air exists, the wind will forever caress you."

She too, kissed him.

Marina was the last.

Tears streamed down her face, but she offered a smile through her sorrow.

"I will be the water that sustains you eternally," she promised. "I will be beside you in a different guise. Do not be afraid."

Her kiss was tender, like a gentle stream.

Then, their forms slipped further from his embrace.

The man desperately tried to hold them.

His fingers phased through shimmering light.

"No," he breathed again, the word barely audible.

But they were already transforming into scattered motes.

The four spirits exchanged glances.

In their final act of defiance, they united their powers.

Earth.

Fire.

Wind.

Water.

Their combined magic spread across the world.

Not for their own salvation.

That opportunity had long passed.

They poured their remaining essence into the very elements, nurturing the world's nascent foundations. They granted the earth, flames, winds, and waters the impetus to reawaken.

From this ultimate sacrifice, new spirits would eventually emerge.

Not them, however.

Never them.

But others, in sufficient numbers, ensuring the man would not forever tread a silent world.

The four spirits offered him a collective smile.

"They will watch over you," they spoke as one.

And then, they vanished.

Utterly.

The man remained on his knees, his arms still cupped around the space where they had been.

The field fell silent.

The world moved on.

Cruelly so.

For a prolonged period, he uttered no sound.

The four women observing this vision struggled for breath.

For a terrifying instant, they feared he would revert to the man they had initially discovered.

That hollow, starving shadow lurking within the cave.

The one who had lost all will to live.

The vision focused on his eyes.

They appeared vacant.

Fractured.

Sinking into darkness.

Then, the vision abruptly ceased.

•••

The cavern materialized around them once more.

The four golden panels hovered in the air for a few more heartbeats.

Then, they dissolved into nothingness.

The Will of the World flowed back into Marie, Kaia, Sylra, and Marina.

With it came the revelation of the complete truth.

Enough to comprehend their true nature.

Enough to understand why this specific location had drawn all four of them.

Enough to realize why their individual paths had converged at the precipice of eternity.

They were not merely cultivators striving for breakthroughs.

They were elemental spirits who had taken human form, forgotten their origins, lived anew, loved again, and under a different sky, rediscovered the same man.

Their genesis was intertwined.

Their fundamental laws were inseparable.

They were born from the world's four primordial elemental memories.

And long ago, before they understood the concept of choice, they had chosen Lucien.

Marie sat on the floor, tears tracing paths down her face.

Kaia knelt by the fire pit, one hand pressed firmly against her heart.

Sylra leaned against the table, her body trembling in silence.

Marina sat on the bed, her knuckles white as she clutched the blanket, as if it were the only anchor preventing her from unraveling.

For a significant duration, no one spoke.

Then, Marie roughly wiped her face.

"I remember," she stated.

Her voice was raspy, laden with emotion.

Kaia nodded, quiet sobs escaping her.

"Everything."

Sylra closed her eyes, a silent acknowledgment.

"We were spirits."

Marina gazed towards the cavern's entrance.

"And he was ours."

The words quivered with unspoken depth.

Marie looked at the others, a profound understanding passing between them.

Verbal communication was unnecessary.

They comprehended each other far too well now.

Their understanding surpassed anything they had experienced as humans.

Their distinct personalities persisted. Their past lives remained. Their names were retained. Their personal choices held true.

Yet, beneath these individual layers, their ancient bond had been rekindled.

Four spirits.

Four women.

Four paths that had once circled a broken man until he rediscovered the will to live.

Kaia dabbed at her tears, a faint, pained smile gracing her lips.

"So that's why..."

Marina sniffled, her voice thick with tears.

"Why what?"

Kaia glanced towards the bed where Marina was seated.

"Why you always claim the most comfortable spots first, like you own them."

Marina blinked, processing the remark.

Then, through her tears, a laugh escaped her, warm and genuine.

Something inside shattered.

Marie let out a laugh as well.

Sylra covered her mouth, yet her shoulders trembled.

The laughter sounded wet and fractured, not quite joyful.

But it was a sign of life.

And that held significance.

Suddenly, the atmosphere within the cavern shifted.

All four women felt their current barriers begin to yield.

This was not due to power being infused into them.

It was because their resistance had finally ceased.

They had been striving to break through as four distinct individuals, each bound to separate elemental laws.

However, their true origin predated this separation.

They were, in essence, four spirits born from the elemental memories of a single world.

Their individual strength had always been a given.

Their collective completion, on the other hand, had always been a shared endeavor.

Marie slowly rose from where she had been sitting.

Kaia stood up near the hearth.

Sylra straightened herself by the table.

Marina got up from the bed.

Four distinct lights began to coalesce around them.

Tears continued to stream down their faces.

Yet, a profound change was evident in their eyes.

Determination now resided within them.

They exchanged glances, gazing at each other.

Then, they gave a unified nod.

There was no need for lengthy declarations.

They understood implicitly what needed to be done.

They had to advance.

Not to revert to the spirits they once were.

Nor to discard the women they had become.

But to achieve true wholeness.

Meanwhile, outside the cavern, Lucien remained oblivious.

He had no idea that the four women he held dear had just recalled a past existence prior to their current one.

He was unaware that the affection they shared had not originated from romance, admiration, loyalty, or physical attraction.

It had begun as a simple act of concern.

As sheer persistence.

It started with four tiny lights refusing to abandon a starving man lost in the darkness.