The mountain path twisted like a serpent down Azur Peak's rugged face, each turn revealing new vistas of the kingdom of Ardentia spread out below. Caelum adjusted the pack on his shoulders, still unused to wearing anything other than the simple garb of the temple. Master Torvak had insisted he take proper traveling clothes, supplies, and a modest sum of silver coins—all donations from the various masters who had, over the years, taken an interest in the boy with the grey eyes.
"Remember your breathing," Torvak had said during their final meeting that morning. It wasn't the dramatic farewell Caelum had half-expected; the old master hadn't been one for sentimentality. "When your emotions rise, your elements will respond. Fire to anger, air to fear. Control your breath, control your core."
Now, as he descended alone—the temple's tradition for those leaving to find their path—Caelum focused on that rhythm. In and out. Steady and measured. The wounds from yesterday's encounter with the corrupted bear still pulled painfully at his chest with each breath, but the temple's healers had worked through the night to ensure he could travel.
By midday, he had reached the treeline where dense forest replaced the bare rock of the upper slopes.
The air grew warmer, thicker with moisture and the scents of vegetation. Caelum paused to drink from his waterskin and assess his progress.
That's when he noticed he wasn't alone.
His grey eyes caught the subtle disturbance in the mana flow—a concentrated mass of energy moving
parallel to his path, just within the trees. Not natural wildlife; this was too controlled, too purposeful.
"I know you're there," he called out, setting his pack down slowly. "You might as well show yourself."
Silence answered him, but the mana disturbance paused its movement.
Caelum sighed. "If you're going to rob me, you should know I have very little worth taking. If you're going to kill me..." He settled into a ready stance, feeling his core warm in response to the potential threat. "...you're welcome to try."
A rustling came from the underbrush, and a figure emerged—not the bandit Caelum had expected, but a boy perhaps a year older than himself. His dark hair was tied back in practical braids, and he wore the simple clothing of a mountain village. Most striking were his eyes: a deep amber that seemed to catch and hold the dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy.
"You're the one they call Grey Eyes," he said, his voice carrying a hint of the distinctive accent from the eastern foothills. "The temple's prodigy."
Caelum relaxed his stance slightly, but remained wary. "I'm Caelum Skyshard. And you are?"
"Sero." He offered no family name. "Is it true what they're saying in the village? That you awakened with dual affinity?"
"News travels fast," Caelum remarked dryly.
"News like that? Lightning-fast." A hint of a smile touched his lips at his own joke. "The temple hasn't produced a dual-core in over a century."
Caelum studied him more carefully, his mana-sight revealing something odd about his own energy flow. It was... muted somehow, as if deliberately dampened.
"You have an awakened core," he observed.
Sero's eyes widened slightly. "So the rumors about your sight are true as well." He approached, no longer trying to hide. "Earth affinity. Nothing special like yours."
"But you're not from the temple. Village-trained?"
He nodded. "Self-trained, mostly. My grandmother had some knowledge." He gestured at Caelum's pack. "You're leaving the mountain. Where to?"
"The Academy, in Ardentia."
At this, Sero let out a low whistle. "Ambitious. They only take one village-trained prospect per year, you know. The rest are all noble children or special recommendations."
"I have a letter from Master Torvak," Caelum said. "And my... unusual circumstances might help."
"Mind if I walk with you a while?" Sero asked abruptly. "I'm actually heading to Ardentia myself. Hoping to try for the Academy too, though my chances are slim."
Caelum raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You're applying to the Academy?"
Sero nodded, a determined look crossing his face. "Been my dream since I first manifested. Figure I've got nothing to lose by trying."
Caelum hesitated only briefly. His instincts told him Sero wasn't a threat, and having company familiar with the lower paths could be useful.
"I wouldn't mind the company," he admitted.
As they continued downward, Sero proved to be a knowledgeable guide and an easy conversationalist.
He pointed out edible berries, warned Caelum away from deceptively solid-looking ground that concealed sinkholes, and shared village gossip that had clearly never made its way up to the isolated temple.
"...and then old man Korro realized the 'ghost' stealing his chickens was just the mayor's son, trying to impress that girl from the tannery," he was saying as they navigated a particularly steep section. "Should have seen his face when—"
He stopped so abruptly that Caelum nearly collided with his back.
"What's wrong?" he asked, immediately alert.
Sero's voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't move." Slowly, he pointed to the path ahead where it curved around an ancient oak tree.
At first, Caelum saw nothing unusual. Then his mana-sight revealed what had alarmed Sero—a subtle wrongness in the flow of natural energy, a disruption that pulsed with that same sickly green he'd seen in the corrupted bear.
"Corruption," he breathed.
Sero nodded grimly. "It's been spreading in the lowlands for months now. The village elders say it's worse than they've ever seen."
"What's been corrupted?" Caelum peered around the tree but saw only empty path.
"That's the problem," Sero murmured. "Sometimes it's just... areas. Patches of ground, segments of stream. Touch them, and..." He drew a finger across his throat.
Before Caelum could respond, a piercing scream broke the forest's quiet. Without hesitation, he sprinted forward, ignoring Sero's hissed warning. Rounding the bend, he came upon a horrific scene.
A traveler—a middle-aged man in merchant's clothing—lay writhing on the ground. His right leg was partially sunk into what appeared to be normal forest soil, but Caelum's grey eyes saw the truth: tendrils of corruption crawling up the man's leg, spreading through his mana channels like poison.
"Help!" the merchant gasped, his face contorted in agony. "Please, it burns!"
Sero arrived beside Caelum, his expression grim. "It's too late," he said quietly. "Once the corruption takes hold..."
But Caelum was already moving forward, his mind racing. He'd seen corruption before, in the bear, and he'd managed to destroy the crystalline growths with his fire. Perhaps...
"Stay back," he warned Sero. Kneeling beside the merchant, he examined the spreading corruption with his mana-sight. It moved like a living thing, following the natural channels of energy in the man's body. The merchant had no awakened core to fight back with, making him especially ulnerable.
"What are you doing?" Sero demanded. "You'll get infected too!"
Caelum ignored him, focusing instead on his breathing, feeling his core respond. "Sir," he addressed the merchant, "this will hurt, but it's your only chance."
Without waiting for consent—there was no time—Caelum placed both hands on the man's corrupted leg and channeled his fire affinity. Heat flowed from his palms, carefully controlled, targeting the corruption rather than healthy flesh. The merchant screamed anew, but Caelum held firm.
"The corruption feeds on mana," Sero warned. "You'll only make it stronger!"
He was right—the sickly green tendrils seemed to absorb his fire, growing brighter rather than burning away.
Think, Caelum! He recalled his fight with the bear. Simple fire hadn't been enough; it was only when he'd accidentally combined his affinities...
Taking a deep breath, Caelum reached for both elements simultaneously. Fire came eagerly, too eagerly, threatening to spiral out of control. Air was more elusive, slipping through his grasp like... well, like air.
Focus. Balance.
In his mind's eye, he visualised the elements not as separate forces but as complementary ones—fire could not burn without air, air was shaped by heat's convection. They weren't two powers but aspects of a single harmony.
The effect was immediate. His hands began to glow with a strange blue-white radiance—not quite fire, not quite wind, but something new.
The merchant's screams subsided to whimpers as the blue energy flowed into his corrupted leg, surrounding the green tendrils.
Sero gasped. "You're generating lightning aspect! That's impossible for a newly awakened—"
Caelum couldn't respond, couldn't spare the concentration. The lightning energy wasn't destroying the corruption; instead, it seemed to be containing it, preventing its spread upward through the man's body. But containment wasn't enough—the corruption remained, pulsing angrily within its new bounds.
I need to purge it completely.
With desperate inspiration, Caelum altered his approach. Rather than trying to burn the corruption away, he began to draw it toward himself, using his dual-core as a lure. The green tendrils writhed, resisting at first, then slowly began to flow toward his hands.
"Are you insane?" Sero cried, grabbing his shoulder. "You're absorbing the corruption!"
"Not... absorbing," Caelum managed through gritted teeth. "Transferring."
Indeed, the corruption wasn't entering his body but gathering between his palms, forming a swirling sphere of sickly green energy. As the last tendril left the merchant's leg, revealing blistered but uncorrupted flesh beneath, Caelum stood and took several staggering steps backward.
The sphere pulsed between his hands, growing more unstable by the second. His arms trembled with the effort of containing it.
"What now?" Sero asked, supporting the weakened merchant. "You can't hold that forever."
Caelum didn't answer. Instead, he channeled more power into his hands, creating a shell of lightning aspect around the corruption. Then, with a final surge of effort, he compressed the shell inward.
The corruption sphere collapsed in on itself with a sound like glass breaking. A flash of blinding light followed, and when Caelum's vision cleared, all that remained between his palms was a small, perfectly formed crystal—clear as diamond, but with a faint blue luminescence.
"What... what just happened?" Sero asked, staring at the crystal.
Caelum swayed on his feet, suddenly drained beyond measure. "I don't know. I just... it felt right."
The merchant was examining his leg in astonishment. The skin was raw and pink where the corruption had touched it, but there was no sign of the sickly green tendrils. "You saved me," he said, his voice shaking. "I thought I was dead for sure."
"We need to get you to a healer," Caelum said, pocketing the strange crystal. "There's a village nearby, right?"
Sero nodded, still looking at Caelum with a mix of awe and suspicion. "Rivermark is about two hours downhill. They have a decent healer." He helped the merchant to his feet. "Can you walk, sir?"
The merchant nodded, wincing as he tested his weight on the injured leg. "I think so, with support."
Together, they helped the man down the path, carefully avoiding the corrupted patch of ground.
Caelum felt the mana exhaustion setting in—a bone-deep weariness that made each step an effort of will. Still, his mind raced with questions.
What was this corruption? Why had his combined elements been able to neutralise it when neither alone could? And most puzzling of all, what was the crystal in his pocket, formed from compressed corruption?
"That was reckless," Sero said at last, breaking the silence. "Brilliant, but reckless."
"You sound like Master Torvak," Caelum replied with a weak smile.
"I'm serious. I've never seen anyone manipulate corruption like that, let alone convert it into... whatever that crystal is." Sero's amber eyes studied him intently. "You're something else, Grey Eyes."
The merchant, who had been listening silently, spoke up. "The Academy will want to know about this.
The Royal Arcanum has been studying corruption for years with little progress."
"You're familiar with the Academy?" Caelum asked.
The merchant nodded. "Davin Mercer, at your service. I supply rare materials to the Academy's research division." He gave Caelum an appraising look. "If you were planning to apply, I believe I could put in a good word. After what you just did, they'd be fools not to accept you."
Caelum glanced at Sero, whose expression had fallen slightly. An idea formed. "I already have one from my master but what about my friend here? He's Academy-bound as well, with an earth affinity."
Mercer looked surprised, then thoughtful. "It wouldn't be out of the question, I suppose. Especially if you're willing to assist with corruption research."
Hope flared in Sero's amber eyes. "You mean it? I could actually have a chance?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Mercer cautioned. "But yes, I believe arrangements could be made. The Academy has grown increasingly desperate for insights into the corruption phenomenon."
By the time they reached Rivermark, Caelum was nearly dead on his feet. The village was larger than he'd expected—a bustling way station for travelers and merchants heading to and from Ardentia. They delivered Mercer to the local healer, a sharp-eyed woman who took one look at his leg and ushered them all inside.
"Corruption burns," she identified immediately. "You're lucky to be alive, let alone walking."
While she tended to Mercer, Caelum sank gratefully into a chair, his body finally giving in to exhaustion.
Sero handed him a cup of strong herbal tea.
"Drink. It'll help with the mana drain."
Caelum accepted it with a nod of thanks. "How did you know about the corruption?" he asked. "About it feeding on mana?"
Sero's expression darkened. "My village was hit hard last spring. A stream we'd used for generations suddenly turned... wrong. Three children died before we realised what was happening." He stared into his own cup. "The kingdom sent investigators, but they couldn't do anything. Just cordoned off the area and left us to manage."
"I'm sorry," Caelum said softly.
"It's happening everywhere," Sero continued. "That's why I want to join the Academy. If I can't fight it, what's the point of having an awakened core at all?"
Before Caelum could respond, Mercer limped over to join them, his leg now bandaged.
"The healer says I'll make a full recovery, thanks to you," he said to Caelum. "I've been thinking about your situation. I'm leaving for Ardentia tomorrow—I have a private carriage. If you both wish to accompany me, I could deliver you directly to the Academy gates."
Caelum and Sero exchanged glances. It was an unexpected stroke of fortune.
"That's very generous," Caelum said.
"Not at all. It's simple self-interest." Mercer smiled shrewdly. "The Academy pays handsomely for useful information about corruption. Bringing them two promising recruits who've already demonstrated practical experience? That's worth far more than the inconvenience of company on the road."
And so it was decided. They would spend the night in Rivermark to recover their strength, then depart for Ardentia in the morning. As Caelum lay in his rented bed that night, he found himself staring at the crystal he'd created from the corruption. In the darkness, its faint blue glow was more pronounced, pulsing gently like a tiny heartbeat.
What had he done? Was this power something unique to his dual affinity, or could anyone with the right training achieve it? The crystal seemed to respond to his thoughts, its glow brightening when he focused on it.
One thing was certain—his journey was taking an unexpected turn. He'd left the temple seeking control over his awakened core, but now found himself entangled with a mystery far greater than his own powers. The corruption was spreading, and somehow, he had found a way to neutralise it, at least on a small scale.
If the Academy could help him understand this ability, perhaps he could make a real difference in the world. Not just as a warrior with a rare dual affinity, but as someone who could stand against the corruption that threatened everything.
With that thought providing comfort, Caelum finally drifted into exhausted sleep, the crystal glowing softly on the bedside table beside him.