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p There was an increasing heat in the tunnel that Gil knew was coming from bubbling magma. He pretended not to hear the soft rumbles getting louder since he knew the danger that it held. He also silently sent blessings to Remey since she had given him the bark to chew on. He could feel the burn of his eyes and nostrils from the fumes produced.

The wind elemental mana that had naturally gathered around Gil seemed to increase as he moved through the tunnel. This didn\'t make much sense since he was heading toward a string source of fire elemental mana with a lot of earth elemental mana from the stones nearby. But he just accepted it since he was still unsure how to handle the newfound increase in his senses.

The stones seemed to change as he got closer to the opening that was shining with a bright yellow light of flames. There was a glassy smoothness to them, even the ceiling was flat and dark as if it was a black mirror. "Zephyr, we are about to meet another grand spirit. I hope you can hear me." Gil worried that Zephyr was too tired to be able to sense what was happening. But a small change in the wind around him gave clarity.

The moment he stepped in to the light, Gil found himself on a large ledge. He was looking down at a massive bubbling pit of magma. Hotter than any he had ever seen or felt. Rocks bubbled up to the surface just to melt in to the mix. Nothing could withstand such heat. Even the monsters that swam in lava would have trouble in such a place.

The only oddity was a single spec of pure white heat in the center of the bubbling magma. A familiar shape took form as the white heat dimmed. "Zephyr!"

In a flash of heat, a spirit the same size with similar features moved around Gil. instead of the feather like patterns around it, the grand fire spirit had arching flames. There were many smaller fire spirits that melted off of it due to the incredibly dense fire elemental mana it bade gathered.

"You look different, funny. You aren\'t in your spirit form! Zephyr!!!!" Gil was completely shocked. The angry face the grand fire spirit made seemed a lot like Remey. On top of all that, Gil wasn\'t sure how he could even understand it.

"I\'m not Zephyr. I\'m Gil. She\'s resting in the spirit mark here."

"No, I can feel it. You are the same. Both of you are one of you. I can feel it." The surety in the grand fire spirit\'s words even convinced Gil.

A soft breeze blew from Gil causing the grand fire spirit to light up again. "Good! I thought you would miss it. I am leaving. It took a few thousand years. But I can finally go to the fire elemental plane!" This was another shock that Gil was not prepared to understand.

"How can I understand you and how are you going to another plane of existence. Don\'t you nee-"

"Why\'d you pick a human avatar? I thought you would go to the wind elemental plane. So boring. But it\'s fine. I figured everything out. You\'ll catch on eventually." The fire started to pick up more and more while Gil was stuck in his confusion. The fire spirit was gathering a massive amount of fire elemental mana to a singular point behind it.

"The others already came to say something. Well, not that water spirit. She was all steam." There was a burst of magma below in reaction to the grand fire spirit\'s annoyance.

"But I wanted from you. We were there thousands of years ago when it all started. I remember it. Although you don\'t seem to. You won\'t even separate your spirit from the human. They aren\'t like the other ones with the wings you know. They could do a lot more with their bodies." The fire spirit was becoming white hot again. But Gil couldn\'t feel the heat growing. Instead, he felt a hole in his chest. As if he was feeling great sadness.

"I think I can do it now. Finally, you took so long. But we will see each other again. When the world finally wakes up properly." Gil realized that tears were flowing. Tears he wasn\'t sure why he was crying until he heard Zephyr\'s voice crying out from the spirit mark.

"Just watch. You can come and meet me another time." The mana that gathered suddenly stopped. The flames didn\'t even shover. The magma did not churn. "I renounce the name Fintan. May the world name the next grand fire spirit in my place. I look forward to the next time we meet my sister." The white heat flashed suddenly leaving Gil crying and alone.

Confusion and loss were all Gil could feel before the emptiness in his chest began to calm down. "Zephyr, there is a lot we need to talk about. A lot. But rest well. I will head home." The volcano had returned to how it had been before. But now, it seemed emptier. It seemed that it was less alive and soon to cool.

The slow trudge back through the cave was met by many fire and earth elemental spirits moving toward the volcano. They had felt that the grand fire spirit Fintan give his name back to the world and ascend to the fire elemental plane. But they were too young to understand that. But they felt it. Just as Gil could still feel it through Zephyr.

"What happened?" The elf that had led Gil there was panicked and angry. But when she saw Gil\'s face she was at a loss. She had no idea what had happened to cause Gil to be in such a shape. She could only sense that it was not the time to ask such questions.

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