(Snowe's POV)
Based on the vehicles in the garage, it was obvious that Zai and I were the last to arrive this time.
I feel bad for keeping everyone waiting, but it's only been a day at least, and it was mostly Zai's fault!
Regardless, I hope it's not too big a deal. RJ met us in the garage.
He was shirtless, and his face was glowing.
I don't think I've ever seen him this happy.
"It's about time you got here," he teased,
"Sorry... Snowe held us up," Zai accused with a casual shrug.
"Me?!" I shouted in shock.
RJ laughed in response before hugging Zai.
"Snowe is always making trouble for others, huh?" he agreed.
I pouted and folded my arms.
"Yeah, I'm so glad I can finally see you, my one true love," Zai cooed.
I know he's joking, but my heart still cringed at his wording.
"Oh yes, I missed you too, my dear. It feels like forever since we've spent time together," he replied in the same humorous tone as Zai.
I squeezed myself in between them and spread my arms to guard Zai.
"Enough of that, it's time to go!" I declared.
RJ flicked my forehead, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut.
"Don't be jealous..." he muttered.
Zai flicked his forehead in retaliation.
"Why shouldn't she? You know that if I were a woman, you would have been all over me," he teased.
RJ's face scrunched up. I could see the wheels spinning in his head as he mentally debated over Zai's words.
RJ opened his mouth to say,
"The others are waiting in the backyard."
After that, he burst out laughing and added, "You're so wild, Zai! You just say whatever you want."
We followed him into the backyard.
Insinz was setting up a portal, seeming to hold off on completing it until we were all ready to go. Tana was sitting on the porch steps, looking off into the wilderness.
Cera was cuddled up with a man in the corner of the porch, exchanging whispers.
The man looked eerily similar to RJ.
That must be the brother Zai mentioned.
Cera's skin is fairer than the others', so it was clear to see how much he was blushing; even his neck looked reddish. I've never seen him look so soft.
It's off-putting if I'm being honest.
"Where's Valin?" I asked, after looking around once more.
"Oh... he's saying goodbye to his girlfriend one last time; he should be here in a minute," RJ answered.
Lisa is here?!
"Oh, don't worry, she knows what we are and doesn't seem too worried about it. She's an odd human... Oh, and Aluma isn't coming," he continued.
I just met her, so I hadn't thought of her just yet, but RJ informed me regardless,
"What about... your human friend?" Zai inquired, leaning back against the wall, next to RJ.
"Oh... Aluma said she'll look after her while we're gone. Innoccence can talk now, and she knows how the world works, so she can help Aluma navigate that, and if she wants to be transformed. Aluma volunteered to perform it. Her base element is still Earth, so she's taking over the healing process as well," RJ explained.
Zai closed his eyes, then chuckled a little.
"I guess she didn't want you spending all that one-on-one time with your childhood friend."
"I thought I was the mind reader." Rj replied, joining in on the laughter, "Yeah, she's been so jealous and possessive since she's gotten here... It's kind of hot."
As soon as RJ said this, Valin stepped out onto the back porch.
"Finally!" Insinz grumbled.
Insinz then drew out the rest of the symbols for the portal, opening a gateway into Afaria.
The first thing I noticed after passing through the portal was Afaria itself.
It was beautiful.
Most of the buildings were made of crystal and sparkled, while trees and plants surrounded them. I could even see a lake in the distance.
I didn't have much time to sightsee as Insinz led us all to a camouflaged doorway on the ground that led into an underground room. That's where two more people met up with us and... a second Insinz?!
The one I had grown used to disappeared at the sight of his duplicate, and Tana rushed into the arms of the one left behind and gave him 5 swift kisses on the lips. RJ placed the map on the table.
That's when Valin stepped forward and started speaking while looking over the map.
"Okay... Zai and I are Team One. Insinz and Jey are two. Rytem, Cera, and Netalai are three."
"I'm going with Insinz," Tana insisted, but Valin frowned and said,
"No. It's too dangerous for you to be in the room with both him and Jey at full power... hmmm, but Tana, can you create a clone?" Valin asked after tapping the map a few times.
"I think so."
So, she has no idea.
"You can send a clone with them... but your best bet would be helping to diminish the surrounding armies with Markis and Snowe."
"I'm strong! And I discovered my element." She declared again,
"It's not about being strong; your body cannot become your element to negate damage.
You can get hurt.
That puts strain on the overall plan.
We can't have Insinz worried you'll get caught up in the crossfire."
She pouted and folded her arms, and Insinz hugged her shoulder to calm her. He's not saying anything, so I think he must agree.
I'm in the same position, even though I'm faster than most of the people here, my body isn't intangible, and I'm still not as fast as Zai.
I wish I could be with him, but I've got to settle for what's best.
Plus, I do have plans that Zai might not approve of. I hate to hide things from him, but this is a special situation, so it's probably best that we separate.
I took notes from Tana and rushed over to kiss Zai while I could.
He immediately licked my tongue and pinned me to the wall behind him.
"Um... g-good reaction speed," I mumbled out shyly.
He never cares where we are! My heart is doing jumping jacks right now.
"Thanks..." he whispered as he kissed me again, this time adding pressure until I opened my mouth wider, and then tangling his tongue with mine.
After he pulled away, I was out of breath and embarrassed.
"We'll meet up again soon... I love you," he cooed.
"... I love you too!"
My reply made him laugh, then he laid his forehead against mine for a second before pulling away. Insinz lined up Zai, RJ, Valin, and Cera, then extracted an odd-looking jewel from each of their necks.
From their grimaces, I could tell it was painful, and each of the crystals was drenched with blood upon removal. Once that was done, all seven of the Chosen began transitioning into their true forms.
Zai's silvery appearance still surprises me when I see it, and I feel so much overwhelming pressure coming from him.
My mind is also filled with lewd thoughts of what he did to me in that form, so much so that I can barely stand to look at him.
Insinz's hair turned mostly dark purple, and now only the ends were pink; his muscle density also visibly increased.
RJ's hair turned white, moved around constantly like a violent flame, and his eyes lit up turquoise.
Cera had the least dramatic change, aside from his hair glowing faintly and flowing like gentle waves.
When Valin released his form, his hair began growing rapidly, stopping just above his ankles; the shade of red darkened, but his lime-green eyes glowed brighter, and like Insinz, his muscle mass also grew.
The ones called Rytem and Netalai didn't change, maybe because they never needed to appear human.
Netalai had golden curls which moved similarly to Cera's; his whole body seemed to sparkle, and he was thin and frail-looking in comparison to the others.
While Rytem had dark blue straight hair and gradient blue eyes. His appearance reminds me of my dad.
It's been so long since I thought about him... I don't think I like it.
"Wait, Rai... before we separate..." Zai began as he reached into the duffle bag we brought with us and pulled out two long emerald blades.
He handed them over to RJ.
RJ's eyes grew wide with surprise.
"Wow... when did you make this?" he muttered.
"You needed a weapon... and these blades have a high melting point."
RJ smiled and began practicing with his weapons.
After a few good swings, he put them away and hugged Zai.
"Ooo, can I get one of those?" Markis asked, interrupting the touching moment.
I can make my own weapons, but giving an ice sword to Markis (a fire user) would be pretty dumb.
Zai sighed and reached into his bag, pulling out one more long sword, then splitting it in half and reshaping it into dual daggers.
He tossed one of those to Markis.
"I don't have time to acquire the necessary minerals right now, so this will have to do."
Markis caught the blade and flipped it around in his hand, checking the balance.
"I am giving this to you because you are one of the people watching my wife's back... if anything happens to her or if you hurt her yourself, I will tear your head off before you can blink," Zai warned.
The mood just changed from wholesome to tense!
"I'll make sure she stays safe."
No one else saw it, but at that moment there was a flicker of light.
Markis's dagger clattered to the floor.
Every finger on his hand had twisted into unnatural angles, broken in several places.
I think it was too sudden and shocking for him to feel the pain right away, but a few seconds later, he was gritting his teeth and trying to keep from screaming.
"Okay, thanks. Valin, could you heal him?" Zai muttered with his eyes fixed on his victim.
Valin rolled his eyes, going over to Markis to do as requested, while Cera scolded Zai for using violence on his boyfriend.
"What's wrong with you? We're on the same side!" Cera shouted, following after Zai, who only grinned and said,
"It's not like we're friends... and I needed him to know I wasn't bluffing," Zai replied indifferently.
I'm not sure what to say... other than it's fair to assume Zai doesn't like him. While everything was going on, Tana was in a corner, with her eyes closed.
She seemed to be meditating when a clone appeared next to her, and she exhaled, seeming to be a bit exhausted.
Insinz walked over to her and whispered something before pecking her lips and walking off with the other Seven with her clone. Watching Zai leave is hard... I hope we really can meet again soon. I released my power; it felt like finally getting to stretch after being in a cramped space.
"We have to take a different path to exit; they don't want us anywhere near the castle for now," Tana explained while pointing down the opposite corridor.
There were three ways back to the surface:
One was the way we came, the other must open up near the palace, and this one... probably opens at another strategic location.
Markis picked up his blade, sheathing it in his belt.
He then pulled off his shirt, so I turned away. Since he wasn't a chosen one, I wasn't expecting a huge increase in power when he unleashed his form, so I was in for a surprise.
It wasn't as powerful as Zai's or RJ's, but I could feel that his strength was well above average, and the difference between his suppressed and released forms was greater than the others'. I glanced back at him to see his hair was now bright yellow and lifted, moving like a flame, the same as his brother's.
He also had body-painted drawings of fire on both his wrists.
"Mmm... that's better... your husband has quite the attitude," Markis noted, while following Tana's directions and walking into the hallway,
"Yeah... he's usually not so aggressive," I replied defensively, and Markis laughed.
"It's fine, he has plenty of reasons to dislike me, and I still got this badass dagger. I'm not going to hold it against him," Markis said with a wide grin.
The way Zai talked about Markis, I would never have assumed he could be so forgiving or understanding.
Maybe he's changed.