Adrok couldn’t help but chuckle, “What do the gods do indeed? As of right now, they maintain the Continental Barrier and provide an endless supply of resources for everything living on this planet. It’s why an ultrapolis like Runefal is able to sustain its overly excessive size. 95% of all this continent’s resources are used by that city alone.”

  Once the drinks were delivered, Adrok ordered a house special for everyone. Now that he was finished with the bothersome interruptions of the waitress, he continued. “That’s not to say that the Gods can contact and ask someone to do things for them.”

  “A loophole? Really?” Eldin said in disbelief.

  Adrok nodded, confirming Eldin statements. “Now that you two have had your fun, it’s my turn to ask some questions. Looking at Lumina, he asked. “How were you able to perform impossible movements in battle against those prarie-dogs if you aren’t using ice platforms like your mother?

  Eldin had an answer, but he held back wanting to hear what Lumina had to say. “Impossible movements? Do I move in ways that normally aren’t possible?”

  “Yes.” Eldin replied. He was actually surprised that Lumina never realized it. Growing up alongside his friend, he had noted many things she had done that shouldn’t have been possible. “You also run exceptionally fast.”

  Finding the current puzzle quite fascinating, Adrok continued his questioning. “What elements do you prefer to use?”

  “I can’t control any elements right now. But I am trying to learn how to control energy.” Lumina responded

  Both Eldin and Lumina took the time to explain how they learned about her unique power and everything that had happened up to that point including their first fight with a massive wolf.

  By the time they had finished telling their story to Adrok, all three of them had received their food and finished the pan-fried fish and vegetable stir fry. Setting his plate aside so he could put his elbows on the table, he already had plans forming in his mind. Wanting more information, he asked. “I’m assuming that you’d like a little help on figuring out how to control energy like your father?”

  Lumina nodded.

  “Not much I can do. Hero was supposedly the only one to figure out the impossible.

  Lumina's hope for an easy solution was quickly snuffed.

  “That’s not to say that I can’t figure it out. Maybe sharing what I know with you will allow you to learn how to control it.”

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Upon hearing Adrok offer to give up information on energy, both Eldin and Lumina were interested in knowing what he had to say. “As you know, energy represents life itself and that all sentient creatures on this planet are the harmonious fusion of all 7 elements. Each element has its own purpose and place in our world.”

  After stating the obvious information on the basics of elemental theory, he continued, “Energy is unique in the fact that it doesn’t have a physical manifestation, but it can be contained. It exists and permeates everything on this planet. We control it to some degree; that’s how vehicles and other moving objects work. We are controlling energy by containing it in our bodies or containment systems and redirecting it. This is the fundamental basis for elemental manipulation and automation.”

  Eldin and Lumina nodded in agreement. While not new information to them, they could feel that Adrok was building up to the eventual answer. “Certain factors can either increase or decrease how much energy we are able to hold within ourselves. As you know, the more physically fit a person is, the more energy they can house and the faster they can recover it.”

  Eldin knew about the fitness aspect, but he hadn’t really thought of how efficiently someone could recover it. He continued listening to Adrok.

  “But why is there such an obvious gap of energy in equally fit individuals? Much like the body can be trained, so can the soul. Unlike our muscles which have a limit confined to our flesh, the soul is not bound by such physical barriers.”

  Despite the ever-present fear gnawing at the back of her mind, Lumina focused the best she could on what Adrok was telling them.

  “If one could see souls, I would imagine that mine or Elrin’s would be extremely vast in comparison. That feeling you get when you meet someone and know that they are strong. I would theorize that their souls are actually interacting with one another.”

  Eldin was pretty sure he had heard something similar to what his father told him, but if he did, he didn’t spend much time on it.

  Adrok continued after ordering a drink. “Powerful emotions can spike a person’s energy. Emotions themselves do not give more energy, but they exponentially increase or decrease how efficiently the soul can pull in surrounding energy.”

  They knew that one could get stronger or weaker based on their emotional state. But neither Eldin nor Lumina had figured that it made that drastic of a difference. “Exponentially increase or decrease?” Eldin asked completely shocked.

  Adrok nodded knowingly before continuing, “My theory for you Lumina, is that if you want to control energy, life itself, the ability to hold a person’s soul in your hand.” Adrok made a fist with his hand to emphasize the last statement, “You will need to find a way to control your own soul and not just increase its size like everyone else.”

  “Control my soul?” Lumina asked completely confused. “How do I do that?” To her, Adrok’s answer was incredibly simple. The only problem was that it was much easier said than done. "Is it even possible to control one’s own soul? Or even controlling the soul of another creature?" She asked.

  Adrok stood up from the table after finishing his drink and setting the appropriate amount of crystal for the meal. “I have no idea. But like you, I would love to find out how. Questions that lead into the unknown are what make life exciting.” He said with a chuckle. “And I have the perfect test subject for this experiment.”

  “Test subject?” Eldin responded with trepidation.

  “Experiment?” Lumina asked with similar feelings.

  They were both shocked at what Adrok suggested. “Spirits are pure energy. We are going to use this town’s malevolent ghost, Alice to test our theories.”