The New Elemental God

Finding it strange, Adam turned to her, but this time, she was the one giving him her back.

"But our emotions are strongly connected to the Elements. Our biggest challenge is to master ourselves first; only then the Elements will follow you."

Staring at her in confusion, the playboy caught a single tender glance she threw at him, accompanied by a polite bow.

Disoriented, Adam watched as she flew away into the night sky, vanishing completely. Left with no idea what any of that meant, he concluded that vague and mysterious answers were simply the rule in the Afterlife.

Exhaling heavily, the young man felt foolish for not understanding the way people behaved in this new world, but he pushed those thoughts aside. The night was clear, and he noticed the stars.

With no intention of returning to the party, Adam used his sword case as a pillow and lay on the stone floor, gazing at the sky a little longer.

Reflecting on everything terrible that had happened in the past day or so—time was confusing for a god—he wondered if his mother was okay. He was certain she wasn't dead. Marduk wouldn't have kidnapped her just to kill her somewhere else. The possibility that she was alive in one of these worlds reassured him, but at the same time, it fueled his anxiety.

What if they couldn't find the demon in time? What would happen to his mother?

Even more troubling was the question of why Marduk had taken her in the first place. She was no one—just a grieving human. Why would he need her alive?

Worries filled his mind, surfacing one after another, no matter how much he told himself there was nothing else he could do.

Liar, a voice in the back of his head whispered.

Fearlessly determined, Adam floated up, wiggling his arms and legs.

I can't just lie here and wait for them.

Recalling what Hikari had said about mastering himself, the new god decided to start right then and there. Too afraid to use his powers and accidentally cause an earthquake or a rockslide, he chose something less dangerous to begin with.

Opening the case, Adam took out his sword.

Alone in the middle of the patio, bathed in silky moonlight, the Earth God assumed the first stance he had seen the goddess take. Holding the katana with his right hand first, then placing his left behind, he lifted it above his head. With his feet firmly planted, he twisted the hilt, and something clicked in his mind. A sensation ran from the tip of the blade to the soles of his feet.

His arm muscles tensed, and he prepared to make a slash when, inexplicably, his body moved on its own. The blade cut through the air in front of him with a sharp woosh.

Surprised by his own skill, he shrugged it off, pretending it was nothing.

Ready to try again, he pulled the sword back—but it didn't budge. Frowning, he looked down. The tip had lodged itself deep in the ground, having sliced effortlessly through solid stone.

For a moment, pride swelled in his chest. Then panic set in.

What if he had damaged some sacred or magical part of the place?

Using a bit more strength, he pulled the blade free and quickly inspected it, relieved to find it unscathed.

That was his first lesson: he needed to learn how to stop the sword.

Given the incident, Adam decided it was best to return to the castle and pretend he had never been there.

Here's your revised passage with improved grammar, punctuation, and flow:

Hikari's place was called a castle, but there was nothing particularly fancy about it. Adam's room had a simple wooden bed, a desk, and a high window. It was cozy, but he couldn't wait to get out.

In the tall, unfamiliar room, Adam spent the entire night waiting for morning to come. His mind wouldn't stop racing, stirring out endless worries and making a million plans—one for the next day, another for the day after that, and so on.

As soon as the sun appeared, he opened the door and stepped out. Of course, he had no idea where he was or where to find the others, so he simply picked a direction and started walking.

The corridor outside his room had many doors. As he passed them, he knocked on each one before waiting at the end of the hallway, near the top of a staircase. No one came out. Not a single noise.

Moving forward, he flew down the narrow spiral stairs to the lower level, where he found more doors. Again, he knocked on every one of them, but no one answered.

Frustrated, he continued exploring and came across a grand staircase, decorated with flame-like symbols, leading to what he assumed was the ground floor.

Once there, he spotted someone darting out of a door, swiftly crossing the room before disappearing into another. Without hesitation, Adam flew after them.

The hallway he entered was lined with more doors, but these were open, allowing light and chatter to spill out. Landing on his feet, he walked toward the nearest one.

Inside, he found the largest library he had ever seen. The door he had come through led to a balcony overlooking the massive space. Below, four more balconies descended toward the ground floor, where tables were filled with people reading, writing, and carrying books at a frenetic pace.

Looking up, he saw that books covered every inch of the walls, leaving only the windows untouched. Rudimentary elevators carried people up and down, stopping at the balconies to let passengers off.

Adam descended, wondering why everyone was in such a rush so early in the morning.

As soon as they noticed him levitating in the middle of the room, all movement stopped. The entire library turned silent, and in unison, everyone bowed.

"Hey! We were about to come get you."

Adam turned toward the voice. On one side of the library, beneath the first balcony, was a long wooden table. Seated around it were all the Elementals—and two unfamiliar figures.

One was a short, chubby creature covered in white fur. Their small head was framed by tight, curly white hair, making them resemble a sheep. On the opposite side of the table, with their back turned to Adam, stood a figure of average height. They looked mostly human, except for the long, curled-tipped horns projecting out of their head.

"How long have you all been here?"