After rising from the ornate oak table, the king began to pace nervously around the dimly lit chamber, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. The tension in the air was palpable, thick with unspoken fears and foreboding.
"Sire, what is troubling you?" inquired, Serap the eldest member of the council, his voice barely concealing his concern.
"The child of one of the sorcerers involved in the Cataclysm has resurfaced," the king declared, his brow furrowed as he continued to walk, the heavy fabric of his royal cloak trailing behind him. "He has been admitted to the Academy. And that troubles me greatly."
As the gravity of his words sunk in, the councilors exchanged anxious glances, murmurs rippling through the room like leaves rustling in a storm. Some conjured magical screens, their fingers flying over the intricate glyphs, sifting through classified records in search of information.
"Sire, do you know this child's name?" a younger councilor, Arlen, asked, his voice edged with suspicion.
"Yes," the king replied, frowning. "My daughter mentioned that his name is Ajin."
"What did you say, sire?" Mariel, the head of the council, exclaimed, his voice rising in disbelief. "Could this child be Adrian's son? The records show that Adrian's wife was pregnant six years before the Cataclysm occurred, yet there's no official report from any hospital in the kingdom that she ever gave birth."
"That can't be true," the king interjected, running a hand through his disheveled hair in frustration. "Adrian wasn't even in the kingdom during that time. Besides, how could this child remain hidden for sixteen years? By the name of the Dragon, it seems impossible!"
"Sire, forgive my presumption, but we are indeed speaking of Adrian," Serap reminded him gently, his gaze steady.
"Yes… Yes, you're right," the king conceded, the weight of the revelation settling heavily upon his shoulders. "We must contact Meliora immediately and instruct him to keep a close watch on this child."
The king moved to the center of the room, halting as he gazed into the flickering flames of the grand fireplace. The fire danced, casting playful shadows that flickered across the stone walls, casting an eerie glow over the concerned faces of the councilors. His hands trembled slightly behind his back, betraying the turmoil within.
"Do you think he possesses light magic?" a bold, younger councilor dared to break the heavy silence, his voice quivering with uncertainty.
Ioana, the only female councilor, turned to him, her expression contemplative. "I can't say for certain. Adrian wielded light magic, but we lack information about the child's mother or her elemental affinity. Without that knowledge, we cannot ascertain what his primary element might be or if he possesses one at all."
"But Ioana, light is a primary element," another voice chimed in from the shadows. "Let's assume his mother also had a primary element. That means the boy might have inherited either hers or Adrian's, or perhaps a mix but this last possibility seems unlikely, since he was accepted into the Academy."
The king turned back toward the council table, his expression serious. "Very well then. I'll consult with Meliora. He'll observe the boy closely and will assemble a team that includes him, Sidonia, and Albert."
"Sire, isn't that excessively dangerous?" another councilor voiced, his brow creased with worry. "To place your childern children in a team with him? If it were up to me, I would remove him from the Academy immediately. We'd eliminate a potential threat before it has the chance to manifest. Who knows what hidden power he might harbor, something beyond our control?"
"I understand your concerns," the king replied, his tone resolute yet pained. "But we must keep him close. If there's even a chance that he's a key to understanding the past, we cannot afford to lose that insight."
That same night, miles away from the opulence of the palace, Ajin lay awake in his modest bedroom, a small, cluttered space lit only by the silvery glow of the moon filtering through the thin, tattered curtains. The shadows of the room danced along the faded wallpaper, twisting into strange shapes as his mind churned with unease. He stared at the ceiling, his heart racing, feeling a palpable weight pressing down on him. Suddenly, his palms flickered to life, glowing with an eerie luminescence that cast an otherworldly light around the room. Panic surged through him, and he extinguished the light in an instant, feeling as though he had extinguished a part of himself.
"Not again…" he whispered, his voice barely escaping his throat, shaky and laced with dread. Deep down, he understood that his magic was anything but ordinary; it pulsed through him with an unsettling energy that felt both foreign and familiar. A profound yet disquieting connection to another presence thrummed beneath his skin, whispering to him in the enveloping darkness of night.
"Rise. Show them what you can do. I know you're stronger than this," the voice urged, smooth yet commanding, echoing in his thoughts like a long forgotten melody, buoying him with a mixture of dread and curiosity.
He jolted upright, a hard chill racing down his spine as the silence of the room enveloped him, thick and suffocating. It felt as though the very walls were closing in, closing off the sanctuary of his familiar surroundings. He couldn't shake the unsettling sensation of being watched, as if unseen eyes lurked within the shadows. Outside, the rain fell steadily, drumming against the window like a heartbeat the rhythmic sound a cruel reminder of the chaotic storm brewing both in nature and within him.
Glancing at the mirror beside his bed, he was startled to see a faint smile reflecting back, unsettling and yet oddly comforting. The reflection felt foreign, as if it belonged to someone else, yet it tugged at something deep within him, igniting a flicker of recognition.
"We will meet soon," the unseen presence seemed to echo, filling the air with a heavy sense of anticipation that thrummed like an electric current in his chest, urging him to confront the power that lay dormant within. The promise of something greater loomed ahead, shadowy and enticing, as the night grew darker around him.