Morning sunlight spilled over the silver rooftops of Velerune, turning its crystal towers into pillars of light. The day after his awakening, the city felt unchanged.
But Axel felt different.
Not stronger.
Not confident.
Just... aware.
He stood at the gates leading beyond the outer districts, dressed in light combat attire. A short sword rested at his waist, not for elegance, but necessity. With unstable water control, he could not rely solely on magic.
Waiting near the stone fountain were three familiar figures.
The first leaned lazily against the railing, silver hair crackling faintly with pale sparks. His sharp Amber eyes gleamed with mischief.
"About time," he grinned. "I thought the newly awakened young master might oversleep."
Axel smirked. "Still faster than your lightning Kael."
Kael Stormborn.
An orphan raised in one of the Valehart-funded orphanages. Axel had met him when they were both seven. Kael had been thin, defiant, and constantly in trouble for hitting the other children when angry.
Now, at seventeen, he stood tall and confident. Lightning element. Quick temper. Faster smile.
"Low-level dungeon," Kael said. "Good place to test your water tricks."
Axel rolled his eyes. "Let's survive first."
Two identical figures approached from the eastern Street.
The twins.
Lysander and Lyra Dawnflare.
Lysander carried himself with calm composure, red hair tied back neatly. His fire-element aura flickered warmly around him like a controlled flame. Lyra, beside him, looked nearly identical save for softer features and luminous golden eyes. Her light element manifested subtly, tiny motes dancing faintly around her shoulders.
"Are we all ready?" Lyra asked gentry
Axel nodded. "Low-level dungeon. We clear the outer chamber and withdraw if anything feels wrong."
Lysander grinned. "You're the one who just awakened. Don't start acting like the cautious leader now."
Kael laughed. "He's scared we'll see him trip over a puddle."
Axel crossed his arms. "I will remember this when you need my help."
Lyra stepped closer and smiled warmly at him. "We're here to support you, Axel. That's what friends do."
Something in her tone steadied him.
They had grown together.
Trained together.
Bled together in sparring sessions.
And today would not change that.
________________________________________
The dungeon they selected lay two hours beyond the city walls, nestled within a rocky hillside. Dungeon in this world were anomalies, spaces where mana condensed unnaturally, warping demonic beast and terrain. They were ranked from low, mid, and high-level according to danger.
This one was low-level.
Suitable for newly awakened cultivators.
But as they approached the stone archway that marked the dungeon entrance, a familiar voice halted them.
"Well, if it isn't the fractured prodigy."
Axel's jaw tightened before he even turned.
Standing beside the entrance was a group of four cultivators dressed in black and silver uniforms bearing a thorned crest.
At their center stood Darius Blackthorn.
Tall. Sharp-featured. Black hair slicked neatly back. His dark eyes seemed to swallow light itself. A faint ripple of dark mana lingered around him like smoke.
The heir of the Blackthorn family.
Rivals of the Valeharts for generations.
"Darius," Axel said evenly.
Darius' gaze swept over him slowly. "I heard about your awakening." A faint smirk curved his lips. "Water, was it? How fitting. Weak . Shapeless."
Kael's lightning flared faintly. "Say that again."
One of Darius' lackeys stepped forward, a bulky boy with wind element. "Careful, orphan."
The word hung sharp in the air.
Axel moved slightly in front of Kael. "Choose your next words carefully."
Darius raised a hand, stopping his subordinate.
"Oh, let them speak," he said lazily. "After all, Valehart heirs are known for hiding behind others.
Lysander's fire flickered dangerously. "You want to test that?"
Lyra's voice cut through softly but firmly. "We are here for a dungeon, not pointless conflict."
Darius chuckled. "Pointless? Everything involving your family has purpose."
Axel stepped forward until he stood directly across from Darius.
"You have something to say. Say it."
For a brief moment, Darius' eyes sharpened.
"My father sends his regards."
The words felts deliberate.
Measured.
Axel felt a pulse in his chest, not mana, but memory. His mother collapsing years ago. Pale. Poisoned.
Kael noticed the tension. "We're wasting time."
Darius tilted his head. "Be careful in there, Axel. Dungeon can be... unpredictable."
"And so can lightning," Kael shot back, sparks snapping at his fingertips.
For a seconds, dark mana surged from Darius like a creeping shadow.
Kael answered with crackling white arcs.
Fire ignited around Lysander's hands.
Light shimmered around Lyra's form.
Axel summoned water, unstable, wavering but present.
The air thickened.
Several nearby cultivators stopped to watch.
Then,
A pulse of mana exploded between them as two senior cultivators intervened.
"Enough!" one barked. "Take your grudges elsewhere!"
Darius' lips curved faintly. "Another time."
He turned smoothly and entered the dungeon with his group.
The tension lingered like smoke after fire.
Kael exhaled sharply. "I hate that guy."
Axel stared at the dark entrance. "The feeling is mutual."
Lyra stepped closer. "Ate you alright?"
He nodded, though his fists remained clenched.
"Let's go."
________________________________________
Inside, the dungeon air was damp and heavy with condensed mana.
The first chamber held several mana-infused wolves, low-level demonic beast with hardened claws.
"Formation," Axel called.
Lysander moved left, flames coating his blade.
Kael took the right flank, lightning dancing between his palm.
Lyra remained behind Axel, light forming a faint protective veil.
The wolves lunged.
"Now!"
Fire burst forward, forcing two wolves back.
Lightning struck with explosive speed, dropping another instantly.
Axel raised his hand, summoning water.
It trembled.
Shook.
He forced it outward.
A whip of water lashed around a wolf's leg, buy slipped loose.
"Axellll!" Kael warned.
Before the wolf could reach him, Lyra's light flashed, blinding it briefly.
"Focus!" She said gently.
Axel inhaled.
Don't force it.
Guide it.
Hr allowed the water to flow naturally from his cracked channels rather than trying to compress it too tightly.
This time, the stream formed smoother, less condensed, but stable.
He redirected it to the wolf's muzzle, suffocating its breath just long enough for Lysander to finish it with a fiery strike.
Silence fell.
The demonic beast dissolved into mana particles.
Kael grinned. "See? Not useless."
Axel huffed lightly. "High praise."
They continued deeper, clearing chamber after chamber. Axel's control remained imperfect, but with his friends covering him, he adapted.
Water to trip.
Water to redirect.
Water to restrain.
By the time they reached the core chamber and shattered the low-level mana crystal, Axel was breathing hard, but smiling faintly.
They exited u der the afternoon sun.
Kael clapped him on the back. "You improved mid-fight."
Lysander nodded approvingly. "Your control stabilise when you stop overthrowing."
Lyra smiled softly. "You trust us. That makes a difference."
Axel looked at them, really looked.
A best friend with lightning in his veins.
A fire-wielding twin with unshakable resolve.
A light-bearer whose calm steadied storms.
"I'm lucky." He said quietly.
Kael blinked. "Did he just get sentimental?"
Axel rolled his eyes. "Don't ruin it."
They laughed together as they walked back toward Valerune.
________________________________________
That evening, Axel stood once more in his family estate's study.
Alaric and Seraphina listened intently as he recounted the encounter with Darius.
When he finished, silence settled heavily.
Alaric's expression darkened. "He mentioned his father?"
"Yes."
Seraphina's finger tightened around her teacup.
"It is time," Alaric said quietly.
Axel looked between them. "Time for what?"
Seraphina inhaled slowly.
"You deserve to know the truth."
The room felt colder.
"When I was pregnant with you," she began softly, "your father and I were clearing a mid-level dungeon.
Alaric's jaw tightened.
"We were part of a four-person team," he continued. "One of them was someone we trusted."
Axel's pulse quickened.
"In the deepest chamber," Seraphina said, "I was struck by a poison hidden within a demonic beast's core.
"A poison meant not to kill instantly," Alaric added. "But to corrupt mana."
Axel's breath caught.
"The traitor," Alaric said, voice low, " had been working for our rivals."
"The Blackthorn family?" Axel asked.
"We suspect," Alaric answered. "But we had no proof."
Seraphina's hand moved unconsciously to her abdomen.
"The poison nearly killed me. Your father eliminated the traitor... but the damage had been done."
Alaric's eyes softened with pain rarely seen. "The poison reached you before we could purge it."
Axel's chest tightened.
"That is why," Seraphina whispered. "Your mana core formed fractured."
Silence.
Heavy.
"So I was born broken," Axel said quietly.
"No," Alaric said sharply. "You were born surviving."
Seraphina's eyes shimmered faintly. "You lived when you should not have."
Axel swallowed.
"Why not confront them?"
Alaric's expression hardened. "The Blackthorn family holds a King-level cultivator."
Axel froze.
King- level rank.
Above Lord- level.
Below Demi-god level.
"Do we not also have one?" Axel asked.
Alaric nodded slowly. "We do. And that balance prevents open war."
Understanding dawned slowly.
Politics.
Power.
Stalemate.
Seraphina stepped closer, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Your broken core is not a curse," she said firmly. "It is proof that you endured poison before you were born."
Alaric's voice turned steady and resolute. "And if the Blackthorn believe it made you weak..."
A faint tremor ran through the air, earth mana responding instinctively to his will.
"They will one day learn otherwise."
Axel closed his eyes.
Broken.
Mocked.
But not alone.
When he opened them, the uncertainty had not vanished.
But it had changed shape.
" I will cultivate." He said quietly. "Not to prove them wrong."
His gaze sharpened.
"But to ensure no one can ever hurt what I care about again."
For the first time that day.
Alaric smiled.