The sun had risen higher now, filtering through clouds and casting a soft glow across the training terrace. Rizz sat cross-legged on a patch of moss near the spirit well. His breathing was shallow but steady. Around him, the wind shifted naturally, as if drawn to his presence. Small flecks of flame and water flickered in the air—residues of unfinished spells.
Today's task was different.
"Elemental nature magic," Safa said, placing a hand on the grassy ground, "is not a weapon. It's life. Trees don't bloom to strike. Rivers don't run to destroy. But they can. If you force them, they will resist you. If you listen, they will guide you."
Elena approached with a wooden bowl in her hands. Inside it were small stones—each glowing faintly with a different hue: blue, green, yellow, brown, red.
"These stones hold the echoes of nature's five essences: water, earth, wind, flame, and lightning," Elena explained. "Your task is not to control them—but to connect with them. If you can do that, you may begin to understand what your Soul Seal really awakened."
Rizz stared at the bowl, then reached in and took the green stone. Earth. He pressed it to his palm and closed his eyes.
His breathing slowed.
Suddenly, his body felt heavier, not just in weight—but in memory. The earth held history. It had been crushed, bled on, walked across for ages. He felt mountains grow and crumble, trees rise and fall, roots twist deep into cold silence.
When he opened his eyes, a thin vine had wrapped around his arm, blooming from the cracks in the ground.
"Impressive," Elena said softly. "You didn't pull the power. You invited it."
Next, Rizz took the blue stone. Water. He tried again.
This time, the connection was more difficult. His heartbeat sped up. Water was never still. It carried grief and rage just as much as peace. He felt like he was drowning in someone else's memory.
He gasped and dropped the stone.
"Don't force your soul into unfamiliar rhythm," Safa warned. "Water reflects what you hide."
Rizz clenched his fists. "Why is it so hard? I can wield holy fire, I can use both light and darkness—but the moment I try to connect… I feel like I'm slipping."
Elena placed a hand on his shoulder. "Because fire burns on instinct. Light and shadow respond to emotion. But nature… nature requires patience."
Raze finally stepped forward from the background.
"You've done well. But it's time we push you," he said.
Rizz looked up, surprised. His father rarely joined the actual lessons unless things became serious.
Raze conjured a small orb—glowing white and red, swirling with the fusion of fire and light.
"This is fusion magic," Raze said. "One of the rarest, most unstable forms of elemental control. Two or more elements combined to create something entirely new. You are not ready to create your own yet—but you must learn to endure its presence. If you ever want to wield it."
He threw the orb into the center of the field.
The pressure around them changed instantly. The grass burned. The air shimmered. Rizz staggered back, coughing as the wave of heat and light pulsed through him.
"This is what happens when raw fusion exists without harmony," Raze said. "If your Soul Seal matures, it will try to fuse not just light and shadow—but holy and hellfire. That will either make you a miracle…"
"Or destroy me," Rizz whispered, eyes wide.
Safa nodded. "That is the path of a true Nephalem."
Rizz stood slowly, staring at the melting stones and crackling air. The orb trembled before him, glowing brighter.
"I want to try," he said suddenly. "Not to control it. Just to feel it."
"Rizz—" Elena began, but Raze held up a hand.
"Let him."
Rizz stepped forward. The ground cracked under his feet. His heart raced. But instead of pushing the energy back, he opened himself to it.
Light. Flame. Judgment. Mercy.
Pain. Heat. Sorrow. Truth.
He dropped to one knee, teeth clenched, arms trembling—but he didn't collapse.
The orb cracked—then vanished.
Silence followed.
Safa exhaled. "He endured it."
Elena whispered, "He's not a child anymore."
Raze smiled faintly. "He never was."
Rizz looked up, his forest-blue eyes now faintly glowing with gold and ash.
"I felt something at the center," he said. "A spark. Not just fusion. Something else. Like a memory that doesn't belong to me."
The adults exchanged a look.
The Soul Seal had begun to awaken something ancient.
And it had only just started.
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