Awakening the Divine Spark-Chapter 99: Jiraxa’s first spark.

Lee wasn’t as fast as Mirax or the Haonians, but they were only few steps behind when he leaped off the edge, propelling himself forwards. On the way down, he felt the two thick spears swooshing past him, but was more focused on tucking the bag with sparks under his armpit and properly grouping up, preparing for the impact.

The fall of hundred yards was not going to last long.

He did miss the exhale part, though, not that it mattered. The horrifying sight of Mirax spasming on the flat rock in the middle of the lake, for a split moment made Lee forget where he was, but he was immediately brought back to the reality when he hit the water himself.

It wasn’t as bad as Mirax’s end. Apparently, in panic the guy managed to jump so far, he landed on the rock Jiraxa danced on earlier, instead of water. But the water wasn’t a cotton candy either. Lee knew his legs were broken even before his vision darkened, but solely on willpower he resisted the natural reaction, and somehow didn’t pass out.

Enduring the agony, he paddled with the one free hand, barely getting to the surface, and fortunately it was when Jiraxa arrived. The girl reacted first and went after him, even though her swimming skills were questionable, while the two devils on the shore stared at what was left of Mirax in disbelief.

"Take the bag!" Lee managed to hiss though clenched teeth.

Even if her intentions were good, it looked like he was better off helping himself. Besides, while he would’ve loved to pass out, he couldn’t let his cover to be blown. He was wet and it was hard to imagine whether he would still be able to play the old woman after getting out of the water. Fortunately the passionate devils didn’t care, at least so it seemed.

"I’m coming!" Arax shouted and rushed in the lake, his expression completely contradicting his actions. Neither of the brothers liked water, and Thorax didn’t even manage to get further than knee deep.

"We need to get away. Fast! And far!" Lee hissed, but this time because of burst of pain after Arax picked him up. The two huge hands were merciless, but in a way Lee was thankful for the rough treatment that didn’t let him loose consciousness.

"Can you walk?" Arax asked, putting Lee on the ground, and the latter had to use the last bits of willpower to resist the urge to curse him.

"You two! Use the shield as stretchers!" He commanded, "And go! I’ve no idea if the Haonians have ways to get down from the cliff. The guys are super strong – Slivax’s squad is in trouble."

The expressions of the two brothers changed, hearing the last part. They looked at Lee with eyes wide as saucers, but fortunately Jiraxa brought them back to reality.

"So many!" She exclaimed, and the two brothers were shocked again by the sight of her holding few wind sparks in her hand.

"We can count them later! GO!" Lee shouted.

"Which way?" Arax asked, after they put Lee in the shield.

"Directly back where the caretakers are!" Lee said.

He felt like he could pass out any moment, but first he pulled hair over his face and tried to adjust the clothing. Strangely enough, the two brothers held the shield surprisingly steady despite running at fast pace, and finally Lee couldn’t resist, and closed his eyes. He managed to say a few words prior to that, though.

"When we’re there, leave me be. I’ll be fine tomorrow."

***

Lee didn’t expect he was going to be out much longer, but for the next three days his squad members were too busy to pay attention to his condition.

They spent the rest of the first day and largest part of the second on the way back to the rift, but but the third – teaching Jiraxa how to absorb a spark. The sparks they got were numerous and of high quality, and it was decided she had earned one with her performance.

It was the morning of the fourth day, or the last one of the conquest, when Slivax returned along with three other members – it was all that was left from his former glorious squad. All of them were exhausted, injured and looked like they had aged over a decade. And seriously pissed.

If the caretakers weren’t present, Slivax probably would’ve directly attacked the devils, but under their eyes he managed to keep himself in check, partially.

"You sons of bitches! You set us up!" His shout woke Lee up, "You knew there were no sparks in the cave!"

"What are you talking about?" Thorax was caught off guard, "Jiraxa ..."

"Right, you, little snake!" Slivax took a step towards her, but found the two devils standing in his way.

"I’ll remember this! You’ll pay for the deaths of my friends!" He said, walked over to the side, and sat next to the remaining squad members. If the shouting wasn’t enough, Lee was fully awaken by the sharp stares Slivax sent their way.

"What’s going on?" Lee asked.

"No idea." Arax said, "I think he’s nuts."

"He looks sad." Jiraxa said, but kept close to Thorax, just in case.

"I think he looks like a sad nut!" Thorax laughed, amused by own joke.

"How long was I out?" Lee asked, changing the subject.

"Lunax is probably going to open the rift soon." Arax said.

"Oh?" Lee was surprised, but after quickly inspecting his own condition, crawled out of the shield he had lied in the whole time. As expected, the water spark had fully healed his injuries.

"What have you been up to?" He asked, stretching himself. He would’ve loved to go for a swim or do a proper exercise, but for now still had to look old.

"We started to instruct Jiraxa on how to assimilate a spark." Thorax said, "She’ll get her first one after we get back home."

"Congratulations!" Lee said, but cursed to himself for missing out on learning the basics. But then got an idea, and said, "Let’s get over all of it one more time after the return. We can’t let any mishaps happen, right?"

***

It was clear Lee’s little operation made them the most successful squad of the conquest. And while they kept one spark for Jiraxa, the Good Brothers received large amount of divine contribution. Lee had no clue of the numerical value, but he didn’t actually care. He was more interested in finally learning something practical about the sparks.

The absorption of the spark turned out to be rather simple. Either it was the advanced technique or the environment, Jiraxa only spent a long afternoon to absorb the spark, although, according to the brothers, to fully complete the fusion process will take months.

And the ritual that Lance prepared so meticulously for, turned out to be primitive in comparison. While Minister Newman had built a special building for his son, all Jiraxa needed was a remote place, outside of Ashland, with no people around.

She sat in the middle of nowhere, with the two brothers guarding against unwanted visitors, and focused on her breathing, according to Arax’s instructions.

From what Lee understood, the technique to absorb different types of sparks varied by element. For example, the main tool in the spark’s assimilation for Jiraxa was her own breath as it represented the concept of wind within her.

Technically, she made a short incision in the middle of the chest, and kept pressing the spark close to it, while taking deep and sometimes shallower breaths, but keeping the proper rhythm. The blood colored her hands and clothing, but she ignored it, and soon, as expected, the wound closed on its own.

Supposedly it was the effect the sparks had, although contrary to water sparks, the others didn’t directly heal. The small scar on Jiraxa’s chest will always remain there, similar to the scars everyone else who absorbed a spark had.

While Lee observed, Arax, kept monitoring the process, and often gave her advice or pointed at mistakes. From the side the whole thing resembled a field hospital, where the patient was cut open and operated right next to the battlefield, instead of being brought to a proper medical facility.

From the looks of it, this was the way everyone in Ashland got their sparks.

This was Jiraxa’s first spar, but most seasoned treasure hunters had two, and the caretakers, even three. For Lee it was hard to imagine how exactly someone was supposed to wield the power of several elements at the same time, while he was incapable of mastering one.

Of course, he had never actually tried, but it only meant that the next part of Jiraxa’s lessons would become much more interesting – the practical application of the elemental power.