After she was gone, I lived alone.
Every morning, I went to the market like my mother once did. I sold whatever I could gather, then returned to the forest before the sun went down.
The people at the market never knew who I was. I kept my head down, spoke briefly, and left quickly.
I had no friends. No place to call home—except that treehouse.
But time moved on.
And wounds, though they never disappeared, began to scar.
That day, I saw a robber—a large man, armed, snatching the trading pouch of an old woman who was trying to defend what was hers.
No one helped. Everyone stayed silent.
But I—I couldn't stay silent.
The emotion—anger, injustice, and loss—all erupted inside me.
The ground beneath my feet began to tremble. Stones lifted into the air. Leaves swirled.
And before I even realized it, the earth aura that had long slept within me… awakened.
Far from there, a magic orb hanging in a dark room lit up once more.
The old sorceress—the same woman who had once sensed my birth—paused.
Then slowly opened her eyes.
"He has returned. And this time… his aura is clear. No longer hidden."
In an instant, the message spread.
Messenger birds flew. Underground networks moved.
The wielder of the earth element has returned.
"So, this place means a lot to you," Carla said, turning to me with a smile.
"Of course. This is where I was raised," I replied.
"So… are you ready?"
The sky over the harbor that evening glowed softly, and the sea breeze greeted us like a welcome from another world.
Beside the large wooden ship docked at the pier, I stood with Carla, gazing out over the vast, endless ocean.
"A green place… a free place," she whispered, her voice nearly drowned by the waves.
"That's what I dream of, Hiro. Not just for me—but for you too. We need a new world."
I replied gently,
"Whatever it is, we need a new place—far from here."
Agreeing with her resolve.
After everything that had happened, we truly deserved a place to breathe.