For days, Jeff and I trained from dawn until the moon rose.
The goal was simple—find my elemental affinity.
But after endless hours, it felt like we were chasing shadows.
"Alright," Jeff said, wiping the sweat from his brow as he knelt on the grassy ground. "We've gone through light, darkness, fire, water, earth, wind, and nature. Try again. Focus on the mana flowing through your body—let it answer to one of them."
I nodded silently. My breathing steadied, my eyes closing. I drew in the surrounding mana, letting it move through my veins, searching—begging—for a response.
Jeff raised his hand and summoned a soft blue orb of water, swirling gently in the air. "Let's start simple. Water. Feel its flow. Calm and steady."
I extended my hand toward it, trying to match its rhythm, its temperature, its energy… but nothing.
The water rippled, then stilled completely, refusing to answer me.
Jeff frowned. "Alright, let's try fire."
He conjured a small flame. The warmth brushed against my skin, but the moment I tried to connect, it flickered and vanished—like it was rejecting me.
We went through every element.
One after another.
Light ignored me. Darkness rejected me.
Even nature remained silent.
When it was over, I knelt in the dirt, my hands trembling slightly. The silence of the mountain pressed down like a weight on my chest.
Jeff exhaled and scratched his head. "I… I don't get it. Usually, at least one element reacts. Even a tiny spark. But you—nothing. Not even darkness."
I kept my gaze low. "Maybe… I really don't have talent for magic."
The sadness in my voice surprised even me. It wasn't just disappointment—it was the ache of being empty.
Jeff sighed, crouching beside me. "Hey… don't give up that easy. There's still one thing we haven't tried."
I looked up slowly. "What do you mean?"
"In our world," he said, his tone suddenly serious, "there are rare cases—very rare—where someone's magic doesn't belong to any of the seven basic attributes. They're called 'Unbound.' Their mana doesn't fit light, darkness, or the elements… it's something else entirely. Time, dream, void, even emotion-based magic. But it's dangerous to test."
"Dangerous?"
"Yeah," Jeff replied. "Because to find it, I have to enter your consciousness directly—to see your soul's core. Only then can we find the truth of your element."
He held out his hand. "Do you trust me?"
I hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded. "I do."
Jeff placed his hand on my forehead. "Alright then. Don't resist."
The world dissolved.
Everything turned silent and still—like time itself had stopped. My body vanished, and all that remained was awareness floating in an endless, dark void.
Jeff's voice echoed faintly beside me. "This… is your consciousness."
He looked around, his expression darkening. "It's empty. Too empty."
Then, in the distance, he saw it—a faint figure curled up on the ground. A man, his hair dark, his body trembling slightly, his eyes dull and lifeless like a broken doll.
Jeff approached carefully. "Is that… you?"
The curled figure didn't respond. Its face was identical to mine, but void of emotion—like it wasn't alive.
Jeff knelt, reaching out his hand. "Hey… wake up."
The moment his fingertips brushed the figure's shoulder—
BOOM.
A shockwave exploded through the void, throwing Jeff backward. His vision blurred as the entire space began to distort, the ground cracking beneath his feet.
The lifeless copy began to rise, its head tilting slowly upward. When it opened its eyes—
They glowed blood red.
The air thickened, crushing, suffocating. Jeff stumbled, his chest tightening under an invisible pressure.
"What… is this… energy?" he gasped.
The copy's voice was a whisper that reverberated through the void. "Leave."
Jeff's mind screamed danger. A monstrous aura radiated from the figure—pure chaos, unrestrained destruction. It wasn't mana. It wasn't life force. It was something darker… older.
The figure stepped forward, each movement cracking the ground beneath it. Shadows erupted around him, swirling like storms of madness.
"Your soul…" Jeff whispered, eyes wide. "It's not human."
He reached out instinctively, trying to stabilize the space with a defensive spell, but it shattered instantly as the aura intensified.
The copy's body pulsed, and red cracks spread across its skin like molten veins. Behind it, the darkness twisted and shaped itself into monstrous, shifting forms—like beasts born from insanity itself.
"I sense… rage. Pain. Hatred," Jeff muttered. "No—this is more than that. This is… Chaos."
The chaotic presence surged again, the sound of a thousand screams echoing within it. Jeff fell to his knees, clutching his head.
Then, through the storm, the real me appeared—floating in the void, my body trembling as my consciousness flickered. My eyes opened—and they, too, glowed red.
"Jeff…" I whispered weakly. "It hurts…"
The chaotic energy roared, threatening to consume everything.
Jeff gritted his teeth, forcing his way forward through the storm. "Listen to me, Ling! You have to fight it! That thing—it's you! It's your power!"
I screamed, the pain splitting my head apart. "Make it stop!"
The figure's red eyes met mine. In that instant, I saw something within it—not just anger, but sorrow. Endless sorrow.
The chaotic version of me reached out its hand.
And before I could react, our hands met.
Everything went white.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the mountain. The sun had set. Jeff was lying beside me, breathing heavily, sweat covering his face.
He looked at me, his expression filled with both awe and fear.
"Fan Ling…" he said quietly. "You don't have an affinity with any of the seven elements."
He took a shaky breath. "You are the first person I've ever seen… who holds the element of Chaos."
The wind howled softly through the trees, as if even nature itself feared the name.