The grand courtyard of Aethergrove's Elemental Hall was filled with vibrant banners representing the four elements: red for Fire, blue for Water, green for Earth, and white for Air. Children dressed in ceremonial linen waited in neat rows under the morning sun, excitement flickering in their eyes.
Kai stood among them, expression calm, hands at his side.
He could feel the pulsing power beneath the ground — the Elemental Conductor was nearby. A sacred artifact said to be created by the Ancients themselves. It read your soul and aligned you with your destined element.
To him, it felt like a toy. A mask.
Still, he had to play along.
He saw his adoptive parents in the crowd, smiling nervously. Lysa waved. Calen raised a fist of encouragement. Kai gave a soft nod in return.
One by one, the children stepped forward and placed their hands on the Conductor.
Each time, the crystal flared a color.
"Water!""Air!""Fire!""Earth!"
Cheers followed. Prideful parents. Teary eyes. It was all very heartfelt.
Then came his turn.
He walked slowly toward the monolith — a floating gem, suspended in air by some invisible force. As he neared, it pulsed once, faintly.
He raised his hand.
This is it.
Touch.
A moment passed.
Then another.
No color.
The crowd began to murmur.
The crystal started to vibrate, glowing not red or blue, but pure white. Then — all at once — it exploded in a blinding burst of golden light that knocked several nearby elders off their feet.
Gasps. Screams. Dust filled the air.
When it settled, Kai stood untouched. The gem was gone — shattered.
The crowd was silent.
The Head Elder stepped forward in awe. "...I've never seen anything like that."
"Is he... elementless?" one of the priests whispered.
"No," the elder muttered. "He's something else."
Kai lowered his hand, eyes neutral, though inside he was thinking fast.
Too flashy. I need to disappear from here—
But just before panic could spread or attention could tighten, something else happened.
Elsewhere — In the Void
The dark, infinite space shimmered.
A being of blinding light and haunting depth stirred. The Voice. The same one Kai encountered when he first died.
It had no face. No form. It existed between worlds.
"He has fulfilled the condition. The disguise holds. He remains unseen by the divine systems of Oryndor."
Its tone was not praise. It was acknowledgment.
"As promised, he shall now wield them all. Every element, tethered to his will."
The void pulsed, and far across space, Kai's body shuddered.
Back in Aethergrove
Something flooded into Kai's veins. Ancient. Primal. Familiar.
Suddenly he could feel everything.
The pull of fire in the volcano to the east.The flow of water in every river and lake.The hum of earth beneath the ground.And the whisper of wind in every breath.
He didn't show it.
Instead, he fell to one knee and pretended to faint from the energy surge.
Lysa screamed from the crowd. Calen rushed forward. Elders tried to assist.
"Kai?!" Lysa called out, panic in her voice.
He opened his eyes slowly and gave the most innocent smile he could fake.
"I'm okay... I think I was just overwhelmed..."
The Head Elder narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
He had seen miracles before. But this wasn't a miracle. This was impossible.
Later That Night
Kai sat in bed, staring at his hand. Sparks of fire danced across his fingers. Then droplets of water, a gust of air, a small tremor of stone. All four, responding to his will, perfectly balanced.
Not forced.
Merged.
He closed his hand.
"This world gave me rules," he said softly. "And now it gave me all the tools to break them."
Still, he wasn't stupid. He couldn't use these powers openly. Not yet.
He had to rise slowly. Hide in plain sight.
But inside, something else itched at the back of his mind.
Veyon.
The being in the cloak of shadows. The one who warned him. If that being was watching... others might be too.
And he was tired of being the one who always waited for war to start.
Now, maybe—just maybe—he'd be ready before it came.