The New Elemental God

It was close to nightfall when Adam, Calder and Shu laid their eyes on Hikari's volcave, using Shu's exact words.

They travelled for about an hour at a slow pace since Calder wasn't strong enough yet. Adam used the trip time to relax and get his mind at ease. His thoughts were out of control, making him angry at everything, even though he knew it wasn't anyone's fault. 

What happened was unfortunate al thought it could have been avoided.

The more Adam thought about it, the stronger his feelings grew. He was being washed over by regret, sorrow, frustration all at once but he didn't have time to whine about it.they had to stick to the plan, until something better came up.

Trying to distract himself, the Earth God admired the black rock and shape to the volcanic mountain ahead. It was textbook perfect shield volcano. Out of the cavity the orange lighting made it look like it was active. 

"This place... It was not supposed to be here." Adam said out loud, more to himself than to the others, but still they heard it. 

 No one said anything but by their looks it was one of those question he would not get an straight. 

The peak was so big they had to fly higher to enter through the cavity. Thanks to his Divine wisdom, just by looking at it, Adam knew it was taller than Mount Fuji and that it was extinct.

Amazed with the size of the thing, the Earth God tried to imagine how destructive it must have been, it could easily shape an entire continent. Everything around it, the forest that covered its base was all alive thanks to that powerful mountain. 

A couple minutes of intense climbing later, they arrive at the top. Looking down on it he felt so inferior and unworthy. The mountain was magnanimous, powerful but also calm. Inside, at the bottom of the crater that once was filled with boiling lava, there was a sparkling cheerful city. 

Resembling ancient Japan, the leveled roofs had incredible carved details on each one. Down on the streets, the city was colored by vibrant shades of coal and crimson red that covered the walls and the people's clothes. 

Fire lit the buildings everywhere, making electricity feel so tedious. The whole place looked like it was pulsating like flames, it was unbelievable that Hikari lived in such an agitated place. 

Adam stood open-mouthed, his expression of shock becoming the reason for a wave of giggles among his companions.

"What?! I just don't get it why would these nice people want to live close to that grumpy dragon…"

As the Young God rambled trying to get more laughs, his audience --Calder and Shu-- closed their faces suddenly and swallowed dry. Already, aware of who was behind him, Adam shook his head in regret and turned around with a cold stomach. 

"Relax, I will not burn you alive." To the clown's surprise the Fire Goddess wasn't insulted but she still didn't change her uptight posture. "They are not here because of me. These people are devoted to the volcano, well to Fire, actually."

Adam had never been so close to the woman before. Measuring 1,70 meters, the Earth God was still a few centimeters shorter than the Goddess.

For the first time her hair was down. Dark as the night sky it flowed down her right shoulder, making it pop up against the bright red of her upper clothes. She was wearing a traditional Japanese kimono. Her sleeves were decorated with a phoenix of golden feathers. 

"So they are here for you." Letting out unpretentiously, the Young Man was near enough to notice a tiny glimpse of embarrassment on the crimson eyes. To his surprise he got affected by her reaction and immediately stepped back.

"Well, we should go, the scholars insisted on preparing a welcoming feast at the Fire Temple."

"Hey, hold on!" 

Shu floated to the lead in a hurry, stopping Hikari who had already turned around. 

"We can't go to a party dressed like this! It's insulting!" Some would say they were overreacting, but the Air Deity was dead serious as if Hikari had just spit on their mother. 

"I agree. I need a hot shower to feel one hundred percent better." Calder raised his hand to support Shu's motion. 

Rolling her eyes at the two of them the Goddess nodded accepting the request. They really looked up for her approval on everything, much like Adam's family looking up to his mother, he thought.

The trio was sent to Hikari's castle to get dressed and meet her in the temple. 

Shu took them through some secret passage underground and Adam was not able to see much of the exterior. In the interior there wasn't enough time to explore but the place seemed enormous but very minimalist for a Goddess' castle. 

To go back they took another underground passage that led them to a room inside the temple. All three of them were fooling around in the small cabinet when the tall lady opened the door, reprimanding each one of them with only her burning gaze. 

"They are waiting for us!" Hikari barked.

In line, the three Deities got out of the secret closet and positioned themselves against the wall like soldiers waiting for instructions. They were in a very long red corridor.

"Follow me."

The Goddess was more solemn than usual, while leading them through the hallway they could hear chatter and music coming from the other side of the wall.

Although Adam had been to many company dinners, that feast was different. Back on Earth the boy didn't care about people's expectations because they were all money hungry vultures. In this new world, people had expectations not based on wealth but on character and power, things Adam didn't have. 

Before entering through a narrow door, the New Earth God's stomach was frozen like an ice cube. So when he stepped into the room the ice was split in half, sending chills up his body. 

From the outside what appeared to be small and intimate place was in fact a monumental gallery. The first thing Adam noticed was the waterfall of magma, flowing from inside a black rock wall and down into a pool, like a fountain. Around it there was an altar, covered in candles circling the lava-fall and a place for people to kneel. 

Looking higher, to the ceiling, there were colorful engravings depicting the battle of a young girl and a dragon that lived inside the volcano. The paintings had decorated framing made of red wood that was also used in the massive pillars. The wood seemed to be from a parent species of the trees in the City of Spirits. 

Positioned exactly in the middle of the temple, between a corridor of monumental pillars, the dining table was meters long. 

Every person held their breath as the Four Elemental Gods entered the room. Walking in a steady sort of godly way, the guests bowed drastically in respect while they passed by. Adam couldn't help but feel dislocated. He didn't deserve all of that, he had no clue what being a God meant, never in his life he helped another soul. 

"Is this really necessary?" The Playboy scooched over and whispered into Shu's ear. 

"It's their tradition, refusing would mean they are not worthy of our presence."

Swallowing the thick saliva, Adam went back into position and tried not to embarrass himself.