The New Elemental God

"What's funny?" the boy asked, stopping as he wondered what atrocity he had said to embarrass himself.

"She fights you?" Shu inquired, raising their arm to support their chin as they analyzed the Playboy's reddened cheeks.

"Well, it feels like a 'she'—I don't know, how to explain…" he mumbled, looking away to hide his face. "Hey, what were you saying? Elements are people…"

To shift the focus away from him, the Adam kicked a nearby rock and waited for Shu to continue.

"Okay," The Deity smirked before adding, "the elements are very sensitive to our emotions. When the Earth reacts to your distress, it's not fighting you—it's supporting your feelings."

Surprised, Adam felt oddly happy that his Element was on his side, even if it made life dangerous for everyone else.

"That's where it gets tricky. The Elements are free—they don't want to be controlled, and they don't care about anything around them. That's our job," Shu said in a firmer tone as they approached the pupil. "We have to master the Elements so they respect our wishes and boundaries. Otherwise, every time we release them, our emotions might cause them to destroy everything that tries to contain them."

"And how do I do that?" Adam asked.

Shu retreated, revealing a very wicked smirk. In their palm, a small tornado appeared. Adam watched it and thought it was almost cute—like something out of a cartoon. As he observed it closely, he noticed it growing in size. The wind was messing up his hair, so the Playboy stepped back to fix it. When he looked again, the mini-tornado had grown taller.

It was impossible to keep his hair in place. Gusts of wind blew and pushed him about as they pleased. Soon, the tornado became larger than both of them, yet Shu still held it within their palm.

"What are you doing?!" Adam shouted between gasps, even though he was only a couple of meters away.

Dust and rocks began to be pulled toward the pillar of wind. Adam struggled to stand still as it grew larger. Beneath it, the Air Deity remained untouched—calm, with swirling air obscuring his face.

"I got it!" gasped the pupil, short of breath and dizzy from all the pushing and pulling. He was also afraid he'd be sucked in and die, since he didn't know how to fly inside a tornado.

"I said, I GOT—" 

With a smirk from ear to ear, Shu simply closed their hand, and the pillar of wind vanished.

"It…" Adam exhaled a defeated breath, pulling his messy hair back and recomposing himself. "Was that necessary?"

"It was," Shu giggled at the student's sorry state before adopting a more serious posture. "To master an element, you can't fight for control; you have to trust your intentions. You can't control the Earth unless your will is unshakeable."

Nodding steadily, the trainee began to grasp the concept. Shu had a remarkable way of explaining things simply and directly—unlike everyone else there.

"So I have to want something really badly?"

"Not just want it—you have to do it. No one's going to follow someone who merely wants to go somewhere; they follow those who actually go." The Air Deity playfully prodded Adam's chest just above his heart.

As Adam weighed over those words, the Earth God felt he understood what he needed to do. It sounded a bit absurd—to attempt something he believed he couldn't do—but that was the whole point. He had thought he couldn't, but that was a lie. Earth had given him that power when he crossed into the Spiritual World; he just had to use it.

"Okay!" With one last determined nod, Adam was ready to throw some rocks.

Seeing that the student had understood, Shu floated to a safe distance behind him.

Adam began searching the ground like a sniffing dog and jumped up when he found what he was looking for.

Holding a rock the size of his hand, the Earth God breathed in deeply. He squeezed the stone, feeling its texture and weight. It was a rugged basalt rock, formed when magma filled that area. Adam knew it was the perfect piece to start with.

After analyzing the rock, he felt foolish for overthinking "melted dirt."

"Hey, establish your intentions!" Shu shouted from a few meters above, punctuating their support with a few playful punches in the air.

Adam was the only one standing in his own way. The fear of failure was paralyzing. If he couldn't even move a simple rock, he wouldn't be able to save his mom—and he had to.

"Fuck this!" Adam cursed, pushing aside the cold feeling in his stomach as he threw the rock upward with all his might.

With his arm raised, he held up two fingers and, his heart pounding like a drum, pointed toward the farthest wall in front of him.

One second later, a minor explosion erupted in the targeted wall. Jumping like a small child, Adam raced over to inspect it. The impact mark left by the rock filled him with pride.

"I fucking did it!" he shouted, ensuring the entire cave could hear.

A tiny white spot in the air appeared to clap and cheer his accomplishment. Meanwhile, behind Shu, Calder was controlling eight long whips of water, attempting to hit Hikari, who moved so fast that only divine sight allowed Adam to catch her movements.

Hikari was running along the wall to evade the water blows striking the space behind her. Calder, meanwhile, hovered a few meters above the ground, spinning and hurling more water at the Fire Goddess.

"Wait until they see my rock," Adam said with a salty tone as Shu approached with a grin.

"You'll get there. We all started with a rock," the deity replied, noble in their attempt to lift the playboy's spirits. "When I first got here, I couldn't fly."

Adam tilted his head slightly, his expression a mix of confusion and determination. "I know, right? I was too afraid to trust something invisible to hold me."

Eager to learn Shu's secret—it was absurd that one day they were scared to take their feet off the ground—Adam asked, "Then what did you do?"