78 Affinity Crystals (1/2)

”He wouldn't have known without you. Don't think too poorly of him.” Maya looked almost as shocked as Will felt.

”These Crystals could be a weapon against us if they're not closely regulated.” Will was already thinking of how they could be used against him in the future. All someone needed was a friend or relative with an aura to supply him in large quantities and he could have a rogue weilder on the loose.

”You cannot control everything, Will.” Maya tried to be the voice of reason. ”Everyone should have the right to protect themselves. If one person uses the Crystals wrongly out of a group of a hundred, shouldn't the hundred be able to protect themselves? What if one day you turn corrupt and they need to use the power within these stones to stave you off? If you take away this power, wouldn't that show you as power hungry? Give them power and you will receive their respect.”

Will knew she was speaking the truth. There was already one version of himself that was power hungry, and that Will was already trying to cross a dimensional rift to get to his world. If he was going to protect his Crystallia, he needed a world united, not just one super power. ”You re right.” Will said defeatedly. ”I need to trust our people more.”

Will took another look at the wind Crystal. ”There might be another use for this.” He focused on the crystal within his hand once more. Instead of reaching out to the strength of the crystal in the hopes of negating its effect, he instead inserted his consciousness into the fragment. In moments he was no longer standing alongside Maya, instead he was inside the twister within the fragment.

Wasting no time, Will sat cross legged within the twister and focused on the wind surrounding him. In no time, his body began to absorb the air current which had blown around him. In no time, the current began to diminish, and he began to feel his connection to the wind grow slightly. It was as if the wind itself was entering his body and storing itself within his core.

Will took himself out of the crystal once more with a look of satisfaction on his face. Child like wonder filled him as he looked to Maya. ”There's another use for these Crystals besides the primary use Leo had made them for!”

Maya stood from the stall she had been sitting on and stretched. ”Is that what you were doing?” She yawned and stood at Will's side. ”I was wondering if you were ever going to move.”

”How long was I standing here?” Will only felt as though a minute had passed since he entered the Crystal.

”Take a look for yourself.” She said as she looked up into the sky.

Will followed her gaze and to his amazement, the moon was not only risen, but was high in the sky already. ”When did it become night?”

”You've been standing there looking at that stone for the entire day. I tried many times to snap you out of it, but it was as if you weren't in your body anymore. Where did you go?”

Instead of answering her, Will tossed the Crystal to Maya. She took a quick look at it and her eyes went wide. ”You negated it?”

”No, I just absorbed its power.” Will shrugged and grinned. ”I may not be able to negate their power, but I think I can increase my control over the elements with these.”

”How could you have possibly figured that out?” She handed the stone back to his open palm.

Will looked at the Crystal thoughtfully. ”I took a page from myself from the separate timeline.”

Will continued quickly before Maya could object. ”I remember seeing the raw energy funneling into his body, but I think I can make this a sort of training for myself.”

”How? By having everyone funnel power into these Crystals for you?” She couldn't imagine that he could do such a thing and have everyone willing to do it.

”No, I'll only need five people to give me their aura in these crystals. One for each aura I haven't mastered. I'll only need a little of their power, then I can train myself.”

”If I can gain one Crystal for each affinity, I can train myself in each element much the same as I did a few years back with my flame aura. All I need to do is absorb the power and train my understanding of each one. Each of these powers need to be worked on like muscles. All I have to do is send all of my energy from each element into its respective crystal until I'm worn out, then rest until it restores. I can absorb the energy every once in a while to increase my power further.” As he was explaining to Maya, an idea began forming in his head. ”This discovery might actually be more important than the Ryder.”

”That's just like you.” Maya said with a smile.

”What?

”You can turn any situation around into one that can help.”

”If we are going to survive what's next,” Will clutch the Crystal within his hand. ”We are going to need all the help we can get.”

Will opened his hand once more and looked thoughtfully at the small stone. ”We still have a few days before we need to be back here for the feast, and there's something that I would like to try.”

”Don't forget, we still have to move in to our new home.” Maya smiled at the thought. She had not had a home since her cottage in the woods.

Will nodded. ”I might be a while again, but if I'm right it's worth it.” He sat down cross legged on the grass and folded his hands around the clear stone. ”I'll see you in a bit.” He smiled at Maya and closed his eyes.

”I'll be waiting.” Maya gave a small smile. She had waited a year for him to come back to her, she could wait a few more hours.

Will allowed his consciousness to enter the Crystal once more. What met him this time was not a vortex of power, but clear walls of an empty vessel. ”Here it goes.” He sat cross legged within the stone and summoned his wind.

Air currents slowly came to life around him. They started as small gusts of wind, then began to build into a twister of energy around him.