Order of the Elements-Chapter 80: Flight Lesson - Part 3

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

Sora screamed as he plummeted from the cliff, limbs flailing in terror. His eyes were wide, filled with sheer panic as the wind roared past him. The world spun and blurred as he tumbled helplessly toward what felt like certain death.

Meanwhile, at the top of the cliff, the others had rushed to the edge, eyes glued to the shrinking figure of their falling friend.

Hikaru whipped his head toward Teshii, who arms were now crossed coolly, his gaze calmly following Sora's descent – like he hadn't just shoved someone off a cliff.

"Teshii!" Hikaru shouted.

Teshii turned his head toward him, tilting it with a confused expression behind his shades. "What?"

"Why did you push Sora?!" Hikaru demanded.

Teshii shrugged, completely unbothered. "He wouldn't jump off the cliff, so... I gave him the extra push."

Then – he turned ever-so-slightly to the open air, lifting his shades with one finger and flashing a cheeky grin to no one in particular.

"No pun intended, guys!"

Hikari smirked as she caught the moment. "See, Hikaru! That's how you do it."

Hikaru narrowed his eyes and glared at his sister but decided not engage. Instead, he leaned forward, gripping the rocky edge and peering over the cliff.

"C'mon, Sora..."" he whispered under his breath. "...you can do it."

Far below, the wind howled as Sora continued his frantic descent.

"IM GOING TO DIE! I'M GOING TO DIE! I'M GOING TO DIE!" he wailed, the ground rushing up at a terrifying pace. The once-distant forest was getting closer – fast.

His heart thudded in his chest, his breath coming in short, panicked gasps. He spun midair, flailing helplessly.

I need to do something.

I seriously need to do something!

I... I don't want to die!

He raised both arms toward the sky, willing the air to obey.

"C'mon! C'mon! C'mon! Wind, work with me!"

Back at the cliff, Haruto narrowed his eyes, his brows furrowed with concern as he noticed something.

"...He's not controlling the wind."

"Maybe I should have gone down there," Haruto muttered.

"Nah!" Teshii replied, now casually sitting on the edge of the cliff, one knee up as he watched Sora shrink further and further from view. "He just needs to try a little harder to control the wind."

Ikazuchi, arms still crossed, glanced sideways at Teshii. "How exactly is this supposed to help Sora fly, though?"

"It's not!" Teshii said bluntly.

Everyone turned toward him, blinking in confusion.

"Huh?!"

"Teshii, what do you mean 'it's not'?" Moriya asked, baffled.

Teshii stretched his arms behind his head, reclining a bit. "Originally, my plan was just to push him off the roof."

"...What?" Hikaru said flatly.

"But," Teshii continued, undeterred, "I figured that wouldn't be enough."

"Sora would probably just tank the fall and still not try hard enough," Daichi added, watching Sora tumble down through the air."

"Yes!" Teshii snapped his fingers and pointed at Daichi. "See? Even Terra gets it."

He sat up straighter, his grin growing. "When you're in a life-or-death situation – like falling off a hundred-metre cliff – you have no choice but to try your hardest. And that's when Sora will really tap into the Element of Air. That's when the breakthrough will happen."

"So... you're willing to risk his life just so he tries harder to use his powers?" Hikaru said, still trying to wrap his head around the logic.

"Yup!" Teshii nodded, completely shameless. "High risk! High reward! And the reward being... Zephyr being able to control the Element of Air a lot better. Besides... we can't have our strongest Element also be the laziest. If he doesn't pull his weight, you guys are just going to end up doing all the work for him."

Ikazuchi raised an eyebrow, then let out a sigh. "...Yeah, you know what? Teshii's right when he says it like that."

He leaned over the cliff edge, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"YOU BETTER CONTROL THE WIND, SORA!"

As Sora continued to fall, he was already halfway to the ground. His heart pounded in his chest as the landscape below grew closer and closer.

"C'mon! Work with me, wind!" he shouted in desperation, the wind howling past his ears as he descended.

Back atop the cliff, Teshii smirked, arms folded as he watched intently. "This reminds me of our fight against Smokewraith, Sunshine."

Hikaru turned his head toward him, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"When we fought Smokewraith, you couldn't summon the Element of Light," Teshii replied, his eyes fixed on Sora. "You were trying to force it out – just like Zephyr's trying to force the wind to obey him."

Hikaru's eyes widened, the memory hitting him all at once.

That day at the university – the intense battle against Smokewraith. The moment he struggled to summon his light... Teshii's voice, clear and cutting, echoed in his mind.

"STOP OVERTHINKING IT, SUNSHINE!"

"STOP FORCING THE LIGHT TO COME OUT!"

"AND BE ONE WITH THE LIGHT!"

Those exact words... they were what allowed me to unlock the full potential of the Element of Light.

With a surge of clarity, Hikaru stepped forward and leaned over the cliff, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"SORA! STOP TRYING TO FORCE THE WIND OUT! BE ONE WITH THE WIND!"

Sora's ear twitched mid-fall as Hikaru's voice reached him.

Be one with the wind?

As the words echoed in his mind, he realized he was now just thirty-five metres from impact.

But this time – he didn't panic.

He closed his eyes.

He took a slow, steady breath.

The world quieted.

Be one with the wind...

7 Years Ago in the Arashii Household...

It was night. The moon shone in the dark blue sky, stars glittering like scattered diamonds.

Then–

Clack.

The front door of the Arashii household closed as a grey-haired woman with green eyes stepped inside.

CHARACTER INTRODUCTION

Name: Miki Arashii

Species: Human

Age: 34

Hair Colour: Grey

Eye Colour: Green

Height: 5'4

Weight: 129lbs

Occupation: Waitress

Miki let out a long sigh, clearly exhausted from a tiring shift. She slipped off her shoes and made her way toward the living room.

"Sora!" she called. "Are you here?"

"Yeah," Sora's voice called back.

Miki entered the living room – and froze.

Her eyes widened at the sight before her.

Food was scattered all over the table. Rubbish littered the floor. Empty water bottles were piled on a small couch, untouched.

And most importantly...

A 10-year-old Sora was lying lazily on the couch, eyes glued to the TV.

"Sora," Miki called again, this time more firmly.

"Yeah," Sora replied, still not looking at her, attention fixed on the screen.

"Didn't I tell you to clean up after yourself before I left for work?"

"Yes. You did," Sora said, finally sitting up.

"Well... it seems like you haven't moved from that spot since I left and... THAT WAS THIS MORNING!"

Sora flinched at his mother's irritated tone and looked down. "S-Sorry, Mom!"

Miki let out another deep sigh, her arms crossed.

"Sora, you need to stop being lazy."

"I-I know, Mom. I'm sorry," he said softly.

She walked over, pulled his head against her stomach, and gently ruffled his hair.

"You know, Sora... I think it's time for you to start trying a little harder."

Sora looked up at her. "Hmm?"

"If you try to work harder, you'll start producing great results. And once you start seeing those results, you'll begin to believe in yourself. And once you believe in yourself... there's nothing you can't achieve."

Sora's eyes gleamed as he took in her words.

"Mom..." he murmured.

"I love you, my baby boy," Miki said with a warm smile.

Back to the Present...

Sora was 15 metres from impact. His eyes remained closed. His breath was steady and slow.

Be one with the wind...

Suddenly, the wind began to surround him, spiralling around his body.

From above, the Elements' eyes widened as they watched Sora come dangerously close to death. The girls immediately turned away, unable to watch the moment of impact.

And Teshii?

Still sitting calmly at the edge of the cliff, arms resting on his knees. He watched as Sora plummeted closer and closer to the earth – but there wasn't even a hint of worry in his eyes.

He was smiling.

As if he had complete faith that Sora would overcome his laziness.

Then – at just five metres from the ground...

FWOOOSH!

The wind caught him like invisible hands, lifting him up in a sudden surge. Air swirled around his body, spinning beneath his arms and across his back, twisting through the air in perfect sync with his movement. His body tilted toward as he zipped upward, soaring past the cliff's edge.

"WOOOOOOOOOOHH!" Sora screamed, wide-eyed in awe.

From the cliff, everyone watched as he flew.

"H-He's flying!" Hikaru shouted, his eyes gleaming.

Teshii smirked. "Told you it would work."

FWOOOSH!

Sora flew back to the top of the cliff and finally landed on the rock terrain, panting heavily, his hair completely windblown.

"SORA!"

Sora turned to see the others running toward him.

"That was amazing!" Hikaru said, beaming. "You can finally fly!"

"Thank you, Hikaru," Sora said, bowing respectfully.

"I knew you didn't need my help, Sora," Haruto said. "I had 100% faith in you."

"You did?" Teshii asked, raising a brow. "I don't believe that."

"I did." Sora said. "I've always have faith in Sora."

Teshii chuckled, then turned to the group.

"See? I told you my plan would work. Now all of you owe me a mochi."

The others just stared at him in disbelief.

"You didn't even put a bet on it, Teshii," Ikazuchi said flatly.

"Yeah, yeah," Teshii said, waving him off. He turned to Sora.

"Well, Zephyr, you finally did it. You can fly – and you've overcome your laziness."

"Yes," Sora said, bowing to Teshii. "It's all thanks to you and Hikaru."

Teshii nodded, pleased. "Though... you may have overcome your laziness. But I want to try one more thing."

The wind blew gently across the cliff as silence fell.

Then–

"ZEPHYR, THERE'S A WOMAN RIGHT BEHIND YOU!" Teshii shouted, pointing behind Sora.

Sora's eyes widened in fear. "WHAT?!"

FWOOOOOSH!

Without even looking, Sora instantly shot into the air, flying away from the cliff in panic.

The others just watched him.

"Well..." Teshii said, arms crossed. "He may have overcome his laziness, but he hasn't gotten over his fear of women. But we can work on that."

Everyone burst into laughter as Sora continued to fly away, still convinced a woman was behind him.

Then–

The cliff suddenly started to crack.

But no one seems to notice.

Meanwhile in a Forest...

The forest stood tall and ancient, its towering trees reaching high into the sky, their branches interlaced to form a ceiling of green ad gold. Hafts of sunlight pierced through the canopy above, spotlighting patches of earth like silent blessings from the heavens.

Birds chirped in the distance, their songs echoing faintly between the trunks. A gentle breeze weaved its way through the underbrush, rustling the leaves with a soft, rhythmic hush.

And then–

Step. Step. Step. Step.

A lone figure moved through the heart of the forest. White-haired, with haunting black eyes and pale, corpse-like skin-bones almost jutting through the surface as if he were a walking cadaver.

It was a mutant.

The very same mutant who had slaughtered most of the SHINRA agents in the Tanaka's barn. In his skeletal hand, he clutched a weathered map, eyes studying it with cold calculation.

Then – he stopped.

He head reached the forest's edge.

Sliding the map back into his worn-out cloak, the mutant slowly lifted his head, black eyes scanning the horizon.

And there it was.

A small, isolated village resting quietly beyond the field. Smoke curled from chimneys. Rooftops dotted the landscape like fragile pieces of a forgotten past.

He narrowed his eyes, locking onto the village from the shadows of the forest.

"So that's the Village of Blacksmith, huh..." he muttered under his breath.

Then – a smirk.

Cold. Hollow. Promising destruction.

He stepped forward again, heading straight for the village.

TO BE CONTINUED!!!