Chapter 99 - The Motivation

"First, you need to have faith in the spirit that is living inside of you. You need to believe in its strength that he or she holds the power to give you everything you asked for, specific to the element of they keep," said Trisha as she stood before Christopher.

Trisha arrived shortly after sunrise, surprising the people of Aeros from within the castle walls. She came with Abasi, creating a gate in the middle of the courtyard, appearing fully bare, yet covered in their second skin.

After reuniting with the other two masters, they left, bringing Christopher back to earth and to the rainforest of the master's usual meeting place, Brazil.

They all settled in the middle of the secret cavern where a pool of water was available for Christopher to practice on.

Standing in limestone ground, next to illuminating water, Christopher nodded and took a deep breath. He recognized that, perhaps, that was what was missing; his faith over the blue crystal.

"Right. Let me give it a try," said Christopher, confirming with Trisha.

"You already did it earlier. You just need to trust the blue crystal and that he is capable of letting you command over an enormous amount of water," suggested Abasi. He stood next to Trisha, also giving advice.

Turning to the pool of water, he glanced at the illuminating gemstones below. It was because of the stones beneath that this secret cave had light enough for everyone to see within half a mile.

Walking in in his tunic and trousers, his wings kept, without needing to use it that day, he made it closer and closer to the water until he was inches away.

While standing in front of the three masters, Christopher raised his hand and revealed the blue crystal. Like always, his eyes glowed in the same color.

Before commanding it, he closed his eyes and concentrated. He wanted to be fully one with the spirit of the water, not just for the earth but for the sake of Pelagy.

"Mahli, the spirit of the water. Thank you for choosing me," he told, loud enough for everyone to hear. Without hesitation, he added, "I'm sorry for not having realized it sooner, but now I know... you are my power and my gift."

At the end of his words, he felt chills all over his body, but instead of featuring the sudden sensation, he embraced it fully, raising his chest and spreading his arms while still revealing the stone in his hands.

It was the first time Christopher manifested his second skin. It slowly covered his body, starting from his torso.

The sight of seeing his man in his second skin pleased Amanda. She was the proudest.

It took Amanda a month to transform in her second skin after being found by Trisha, but Christopher did a better job. For it was because of his great desire to help his world and his people, he easily became one with his crystal.

His desire was his motivation.

Abasi and Trisha were equally pleased, reflecting smiles on their faces.

When Christopher opened his eyes, he saw his arm wrapped in a layer of blue. He touched his right arm and felt his second skin. He gave it a mild pinch and realized it was thicker than he anticipated.

He was still in his clothes, but his body was covered in another layer of blue skin.

Amazed, he turned to Amanda and asked, "Is like a protective layer?"

"Yes, it is," said Amanda. "You will rarely get a scratch, not unless your opponent uses a very sharp and powerful blade."

"It's magnificent," he said, still in awe by the power of the blue crystal.

After seconds of appreciating his new form, he turned his attention back to the water. He directed his hand in the same direction and silently commanded, 'Empty the water in this cavern, let us see the gemstones beneath the water.'

Slowly, everyone could see the water shaking. Droplets of water began to rise by itself, like rain was gradually pouring from the bottom instead.

As Christopher witnessed the inverted rain happening before him, his eyes shone brighter and brighter in each second that passed.

Soon enough, the water began to form waves, moving to the sides of the limestone rocks. Only the surface where Christopher and the other masters stood, where no water splashed before them.

They all watched as the water practically climbed up to the wall, pooling above instead of the cavern depth. The three masters behind Christopher gasped, seeing a glimpse of the gemstones, for the very first time, out of the water.

Each time peaks of the gemstones revealed out of the water, it created a fluorescence effect, further brightening the lights in the cavern. The masters were forced to close their eyes momentarily.

Minutes passed, and the masters tried to see more of the gemstones coming out. Regardless of how painful the lights were, they were eager to see how plentiful were exactly beneath the deep waters of the cavern.

They held their breaths.

They took a few steps closer, feeling their throat dry out of excitement, but just as they saw about a meter of various luminous gemstones, the water trembled dramatically, and everything went falling back down to the deep hollow, splashing against the limestone rocks.

"Chris! Watch out!" Amanda yelled, rushing towards him.

The water splashed hard against Christopher that he nearly fell on this back. If it were not for Amanda who caught him, he would have landed on the rocks. Instead, they took a crouching stance.

Amanda quickly raised her hands, creating a shield of fire, going ten feet up. The thin layer of fire promptly evaporated the water meant to splash against their direction.

When the waters finally calmed, Amanda took down the thin walls of fire and Christopher gradually stood up. He sighed and said, "I failed."

"No!" The three masters said at the same time.

"No, you did not... Chris. Look at me. You did better than I first attempted to control my powers," said Amanda.

"And it never is the same for each of us," revealed Abasi, walking up to them from behind. He turned to Trisha and said, "Brody took a long time to realize his powers, but he is one of our strongest now, easily transforming into any shape that he wants."

"The elements that we handle are also different," reasoned Trisha. "We each have our own strength, the right time to find it.... and the right motivation."

"The yearning for your home is a good motivation already. Use it in your training and find more that drives you," suggested Trisha.

Slightly shying from her next recommendation, Trisha added, "And don't forget. It's important to practice... unity."

Amanda sneered.. She had now realized how much unity her friends had to make to reach their level of power control.