After the announcement in the royal court, life inside the palace slowly returned to normal.
But for Saksham, everything had changed.
One year.
That was the time he had before entering the Royal Academy.
One year to grow stronger.
One year to hide the forbidden element.
Inside the palace training grounds, Saksham practiced alone again.
The instructors had stopped giving him normal lessons.
His mana was already far beyond what they could teach.
Saksham stood in the center of the field.
He slowly lifted his hand.
A small golden light appeared above his palm.
Light Element.
Then—
very carefully—
a tiny sphere of darkness formed beside it.
Darkness Element.
The two elements floated quietly.
Perfectly balanced.
Saksham whispered to himself.
"Balance Control… activate."
The two energies slowly moved around each other like planets orbiting a star.
No explosion.
No instability.
Just perfect harmony.
Inside his mind, the system window appeared.
STATUS WINDOW
Name: Saksham Singla
Age: 5
Title: Chosen of the Gods
Elements:
• Light
• Darkness (Forbidden)
Skills:
• Divine Understanding
• Elemental Control (Beginner)
• Dual Element Harmony
• Balance Control (Level 2)
• Light Step
Mana Capacity: 10,000
Saksham focused again.
He combined both elements slowly.
Light and darkness merged together, forming a strange silver glow.
A completely new energy.
Saksham's eyes widened.
"A fusion…?"
But suddenly—
a cold voice spoke from behind him.
"Interesting."
Saksham instantly turned around.
Standing on top of the training wall was a tall man wearing a long black cloak.
His face was hidden by a shadow.
The palace guards had not noticed him.
Which meant only one thing.
He was extremely powerful.
Saksham quietly prepared a light spell.
"Who are you?"
The man jumped down silently.
His landing made almost no sound.
"A traveler."
His voice was calm but mysterious.
"I came to see the prince blessed by the gods."
Saksham stared at him carefully.
"You were watching me."
"Yes."
The man nodded without hesitation.
"And what I saw was very… unusual."
Saksham's heart beat faster.
Had he seen the darkness element?
The man slowly walked closer.
"Most people in this kingdom believe the prince only has powerful light magic."
He stopped a few meters away.
"But what you just created…"
He pointed at the fading silver energy in the air.
"That was not just light."
Silence filled the training ground.
For a moment, Saksham considered attacking.
But the man suddenly smiled slightly.
"Relax."
"If I wanted to expose you, the entire palace would already know."
Saksham frowned.
"Then why are you here?"
The man looked up at the sky.
"I was curious."
"Because long ago…"
He slowly turned back toward Saksham.
"I saw a power very similar to yours."
Saksham's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
The man's voice became quieter.
"A forbidden element."
The air suddenly felt heavy.
Saksham prepared to summon light again.
But the man raised his hand.
"I'm not your enemy."
Then he pulled down the hood of his cloak.
Revealing silver hair and sharp blue eyes.
"My name is Orion."
"I am one of the hidden instructors of the Royal Academy."
Saksham froze.
Royal Academy?
Orion continued speaking.
"I came to evaluate future students early."
"But I didn't expect to find something far more interesting."
He looked directly into Saksham's eyes.
"You have the potential to shake the entire world."
Then he turned around and began walking away.
Before leaving the training ground, he said one final thing.
"Prince Saksham."
"If you truly want to survive the academy…"
"Train harder."
"Because geniuses there…"
"…are monsters."
And just like that—
he disappeared.
Leaving Saksham alone in the silent training ground.
Inside his mind, the system activated again.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
New Skill Discovered
Element Fusion (Locked)
Requirement:
Balance Control Level 5
Saksham slowly looked at his hands.
Light.
Darkness.
And now…
fusion.
For the first time, he realized something important.
The power he possessed…
might be far greater than even the gods expected.
To be continued…