Spirit Game

Rain searched for #4 until night swallowed the day, but he still couldn't find where the little chick had gone.

"Have you seen #4?" Rain asked the villagers, but they only shook their heads.

~Chi!~

Chi called loudly and sharply, stomping her foot in frustration. 'How dare that brat not show himself when our lord is calling? I will make sure to punish him severely.'

"Don't threaten him. He might not come out anymore," Rain sighed.

His statue was with #4, and he feared that he might run away from home with it. #4 had a bit of a rebellious streak, and Rain worried about both #4 and his precious statue.

I hope he didn't do anything rash.

"Oh, you're looking for #4?" Hana asked with a big smile, unfazed by the dirt on her hands and feet as she cleaned the pig's pit.

It was the first time Rain had seen Hana's limbs stretched like roots. Her hair also extended into multiple strands, handling various tasks in the pen.

At this rate, she could finish task meant for ten people!

"I haven't seen him."

Rain's shoulders slumped.

~Chi!~

'Say so in the first place! Don't get our hopes up!'

"But have you checked the roof of the monument?" Hana asked.

"Monument? Do we have a monument?" Rain didn't recall anything about that.

Hana laughed a little. "We do. You know that old shelter we used, those two giant enclosed stones? You said to turn them into monuments, remember?"

"Oh right." Rain's face brightened. "Now I see. Thank you, Hana!"

"Anytime." Hana beamed.

Rain and Chi immediately headed to the center of the village where the two shattered stones were located. They were more like broken boulders at this point since Druger was still trying to restore them to their former form.

Under the shadow of the twin moons, Rain could make out a small figure on top of the giant boulders and sighed in relief.

Chi, on the other hand, was furious. ~Chi!~

"Wait," Rain stopped Chi from approaching and slap #4 senseless. "I'll go and talk to him. Chi, you stay here."

Chi wanted to protest, but Rain was already climbing the boulders to where #4 was.

"There you are, #4. I was looking all over for you," Rain said, sitting beside him.

#4 was all perched up, looking at the twin moons and hugging his statue as if his life depended on it.

Rain noticed that #4's face looked crestfallen, as if he carried the weight of the world on his tiny shoulders.

Rain patted his head and gently said, "Don't mind what others said, #4. Me and the others believe that you can still evolve."

~Chirp~

'Stop giving me hope. We both know that it's impossible for me now. It's best if you just sell me. In that way, I can be useful as Soul Elixirs!'

Rain couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. #4 was really acting like a teenager having a tantrum. He did his best to keep a straight face and respect his feelings. "Listen, I'm not giving you false hope, and I would never even think about selling you. Ever. I believe in you, #4.

Evolution isn't impossible for you — it's just a matter of time and determination."

'Lies. It's been a month and I still couldn't evolve. What that annoying fart said is true.'

Annoying fart? Is he referring to Cid? Rain thought, holding his laughter inside.

Still, #4 was down, and Rain felt that no amount of words would get through to him. What he needed was space and silent support.

Right now, #4's ears were closed, so it was best to leave him alone.

But before that, Rain wanted to tell #4 something important. "You know, back in my world, I'm extremely ordinary. I didn't have high grades. I didn't excel in sports, music, or art. I didn't even have the looks that would make women swoon, nor the luck to save me from a difficult situation.

"I was living a fairly uneventful life, never really seeing anything worth getting excited about or exerting real effort to do. However, ever since coming to this world, and probably due to the constant fear for my life, I have done the unthinkable — things I never knew I could do."

". . ." #4 stared at Rain. His Lord's eyes were always pure and true, always gazing ahead. He might have seen them waver and shake with fear, but he never saw him give up nor run away from a problem.

His Lord had always faced challenges head-on, even when they seemed insurmountable. The evidence was all around them, in the village Rain had built from nothing.

He had made it rain when they had no water, constructed salt caves to preserve their meat for long periods when hunting was scarce, and devised strategies to fend off countless enemies with his quick thinking.

Rain's relentless determination and unyielding resilience had turned their once small and struggling group into a flourishing and vibrant community.

They had come so far from nothing because Rain never stopped working for a solution and never gave up.

What kind of troop was he, if he gave up on himself while his Lord didn't?

Rain's relentless spirit, his ability to find hope in the darkest of times, had always been a guiding light. #4 felt a surge of emotion, a mix of guilt and newfound resolve.

He looked up at Rain, tears brimming in his eyes. His Lord had believed in him, had always seen his potential, even when he couldn't see it himself.

The night sky seemed a little less daunting, and the weight on #4's shoulders a little lighter. Rain's words had rekindled a flame within him, a determination to strive for more, to believe in the impossible.

Rain continued, his voice steady and filled with conviction, "I've faced challenges here that I would have never imagined back home. And every time, I found strength I didn't know I had. This world has pushed me to grow, to become someone I never thought I could be. And it's not because I'm special. It's because I chose to believe in myself, even when things seemed impossible."

He looked directly at #4. "You have that same strength within you, #4. You might feel like you're at the end of your rope, but I promise you, there's more inside you than you realize. Don't let anyone, not even yourself, tell you that you can't evolve, that you can't achieve greatness. I believe in you, and so do the others. You're not alone in this.

Rain tapped #4 little shoulder and beamed at him. "Always remember, no matter what others tell you, no matter if you've lost hope in yourself, we're still with you, believing in you always."