The Spirit Searcher

"The Zodiacs have appeared. Just as you said they would. So which Zodiac shall we focus on?" A woman asked with her hood on.

"The Originals...The Chinese Zodiacs can wait. They are a special case..we can't get through their spirit as easily..." A male said and walked ahead. "My main target is the Leo. I have history with Leona..."

"Understood." The woman followed behind.

I yawned as I sat in the restaurant with the others. I looked out the window and watched the people walk by. It was a peaceful place for the most part. Sephora was in her younger form named Ophi. She didn't want to stand out so she transformed into a younger form of herself.

"So...Ophi. What's your history with this place?" I looked her.

"Well...I was born here. My mother lived here at the time the Spirit-Demon War was happening." Ophi spoke leaning on the table while on her phone. "Me, Leona, and Annette were the protectors of the Spirit Realm. We are the second generation of Zodiacs and this place was the main target because of the previous God of the Spirit Realm."

"First off, who's Annette? And second, previous god?" I asked.

"Yeah, Annette is the Goddess of Aquarius and the Goddess of the Spirit Realm. The previous god was named Eclipse. He was a dragon and our mentor." Ophi answered, still looking at her phone.

"What's the deal with your form as well? You look no older than me!" I looked at her.

"Just a part of my power, I can manipulate my own age via either using one of my many abilities or Shedding Skin." Ophi said.

"Ehh?! Shedding Skin?!" I looked at her with a bit of disgust.

"I am part serpent. Shedding Skin has many uses. Besides the history behind this form is complicated. It dates back when Steven was only 14 years old." Ophi looked at me.

"How old was he when he died?" I asked.

"Around late 30's...early 40's give or take." Ophi said. "He didn't age normally. He was hit by the Scarlet Sun which caused Age Deceleration. In reality he should've been at least in his late 50's, early 60's."

"Age Deceleration..? Scarlet Sun?" I looked confused.

"Let's just say, you have a lot to learn." Leona said.

I nodded and placed my cheek on my hand, looking around. The reason we were even sitting at the table was because we were waiting for Yui. She went to order food and hasn't returned because the line was long.

"Just be patient. The food here is top tier. You won't find food like this in the Human Realm at all." Ophi smiled and went back to looking on her phone.

'Yeah tell me about it. I'm not even hungry, I just wanna see Annette.' I thought to myself.

'Be patient.' Ophi looked at me slightly.

'Yep...forgot you can read minds..' I sighed.

"Finally I'm here!" Yui smiled and set the food on the table. "Oh man, whoever this cook is must be like someone who was trained by Gordon Ramsey because the amount of people who were in the line."

I looked at the plate and rose an eyebrow.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I dunno!" Yui smiled cluelessly.

"Well at least I have old Yui back and not mean Yui." I scooted over so she could sit.

Yui sat down and said thank you for the food then began to eat. Her expression when she took the first bite was outstanding. It seemed like she was gonna cry. I rose an eyebrow at her and she looked at me and held her fork towards me with a piece of meat on it. I shrugged and opened my mouth then I saw a flash with my peripheral vision.

"Cute." A male said and held down his camera. He had a bored looking expression on his face as he looked back up at us. "Oh, my name is Gwyn. I'm a Spirit Searcher."

"D-Delete that picture!" I blushed and looked embarrassed.

"Come on it was a little cute." Ophi smiled. "Just cousins sharing food...nothing weird."

'You wouldn't understand weird unless you read Chapter 7...' I blushed even more and rubbed the back of my head.

"It's not like that at all!" Yui said.

"Anyway why are you here?" I asked.

"Ahh, Gwyn has a special ability that lets him see things you and Yui can't see...mainly because you're not spirits. He can turn those invisible things into visible things. It can range from doors to people to entire temples where Annette stays. A Spirit Searcher's main role is to make things visible to the eye...using a camera." Ophi explained.

"And I can see you and Yui have a little sexual tension between one another." Gwyn said.

"Ehh?!" Yui and I said at the same time.

"He's joking." Ophi giggled.

It's so hard to tell if one is serious or not if their voice is naturally monotone..

"I was requested to join by Nymphira. She wanted me to join your little quest to stop the Dark Zodiacs. Honestly finding them isn't gonna be as easy as you may presume. That's where I come in and use my camera to find their hiding spots or even find weakspots and all that. You need me." Gwyn said.

"We don't NEED you!" I said.

"You can't hit what you can't see nor touch. The Spirit Realm is all Reality Bending. You aren't dealing with Human Realm threats anymore." Gwyn sat down beside Ophi.

"He's right. You will need someone who can u cover all their secrets." Ophi said.

"That's why we have you!" I said.

"I don't own a camera." Ophi said.

I pointed at her phone and she shook her head and smiled.

"Us Spirit Searchers need special cameras. Not any ol' camera will work. You need the Spirit Finder any model. The older the model, however, the less you'll be able to find. The newer models are a must have." Gwyn stated.

"How many of you are there? The Spirit Searchers I mean.." I asked.

"Not many to be honest. Our job is pretty freaking boring. I like it because I love taking pictures plus it's a rare ability like Ophi's Age Manipulation." Gwyn answered.

I nodded and Yui was taking notes. This Spirit Searcher job was a bit more complicated than I anticipated because it requires the ability to bend reality to even see invisible items through the camera. Neither Yui or I have that ability even if we transcend like Stella or Aria. We are strictly Demons of a certain element and Zodiac Knights.

"So is Annette's Temple invisible as well?" I asked.

"Yep. That's why you need me. Things work differently outside the Human Realm especially how the elements work." Gwyn looked at us.

"The Elements?" I asked.

"In this Realm, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Ice, Thunder are weakened. Space, Time, and Chaos are strengthened. Light and Dark remain the same. You can't fully stop time in the Spirit Realm, but you can still heavily manipulate it." Gwyn stated.

Great...We are at more of a disadvantage...well our Zodiac Modes are. Our Demon Forms are still safe, but that is still a problem. We can only increase our bond by using Zodiac Modes...We will have to train twice as hard to be able to keep up with the Dark Zodiacs.