Chapter 11: The Impossible Truth
**Boom!**
The sound tore through the quiet morning, sudden and violent. It was not a loud crack, but a deep, heavy thud that seemed to punch the air. The silver instrument, which had been sitting so neatly on the grass just a second before, vanished in a cloud of smoke and flying pieces.
Tiny, sharp bits of metal and glittering crystal shot out in every direction. They made a soft, whistling sound as they cut through the air.
Aiden, who was standing right in front of it, barely had time to flinch. The force of the blast hit him square in the chest, like a strong push. He threw his arm up in front of his face, but it was too late.
He felt several sharp pinpricks of pain. Small slivers of metal and glass had cut into the skin of his hands and arms. A few even nicked his cheek. He looked down and saw thin red lines welling up with blood. The blood was warm as it trickled down his arm.
The pain was sudden and sharp, like when you scrape your knee on rough ground, but it was not unbearable. His body wobbled from the force, and he had to take a step back to keep his balance. A cloud of gray dust and smoke swirled around his legs, smelling faintly like burnt metal and earth.
Then, everything was still. The only sound was the ringing in his own ears and the soft rustle of leaves in the trees.
**"Aiden!"**
His mother's voice sliced through the quiet like a knife. It was loud and filled with panic. One moment she was standing by the fence, and the next she was right beside him.
She moved so fast her form seemed to blur. The ground where she had been standing had two small cracks from the force of her sudden movement.
Without a word, she raised her hands. Her palms began to glow with a soft, warm, golden light. It was the same gentle light she used to heal his scrapes when he fell as a child.
She held her hands just above his cuts. The golden light flowed from her skin to his, like liquid sunlight. Aiden felt a pleasant warmth spread over the stinging cuts. The skin on his arms twitched and tingled.
He watched as the thin red lines closed up, the skin knitting itself back together until only faint pink marks remained. The smell of her healing mana was clean and sweet, like fresh rain and herbs, cutting through the dust.
"Aiden," she asked, her voice still shaking a little, "are you alright? Are you hurt badly anywhere else?"
Aiden blinked slowly. He took a steady breath, feeling the calm return to his body. He looked at his arms, then up at her worried face. "No, Mom, I'm fine. They were just small cuts. It doesn't hurt anymore."
Sara paused, her eyes quickly scanning his face, his arms, his legs. Seeing that all the wounds were truly gone, she let out a long, slow breath of relief. Her shoulders relaxed a tiny bit. "Alright," she murmured softly, mostly to herself.
But then her expression changed. The worry turned into a firm, serious look. She turned her head sharply toward Jonathan, who was still standing a few paces away. He was staring silently at the blackened, broken pieces of the instrument scattered across their garden.
"I think that thing was broken," Sara said, her voice firm and sure. "First, it lit up for all ten elements—which is crazy. And then it just exploded. It must have been faulty from the start. There is no way, no possible way, for one person to have an affinity for all ten elements. Even for a special child like Aiden, that is completely impossible."
She spoke with the confidence of someone who knew the rules of the world. As a Stage Four mage and a master healer, she had seen many gifted people in her life. But this? This broke every single rule she had ever learned.
Jonathan finally looked away from the wreckage. His gaze moved to Sara, then to Aiden. His eyebrows were drawn together in deep thought. He was quiet for a long time, just thinking. The morning birds had started chirping again in the trees.
"I was thinking the same thing," he admitted slowly, his voice measured. "The result doesn't make sense. So, why don't we test it again? With a different instrument."
He turned fully to face Sara. "You can switch places with one of your puppets. Remember, I placed several of them along the forest path to the capital, each exactly one kilometer apart."
"You can use them to jump from one to the next. Go to the supply depot in Elfis and get another affinity meter. With your speed, you can be back in just a few minutes."
Sara's eyes flickered with understanding. Aiden was completely healed now, not a scratch on him. She straightened her back, her face all business. "Okay," she said with a nod. "I'll be right back."
The moment the last word left her lips, her figure shimmered, like a mirage in the heat. Then, she simply wasn't there anymore.
In the spot where she had been standing, a small wooden doll about the size of Aiden's hand appeared on the grass. It was a simple thing, carved with careful lines that glowed with a faint blue light for a second before fading.
Aiden stared at it. Even after seeing his mother do this many times, it never got less amazing. One second she was here, the next she was gone, replaced by a little doll from far away. It was like magic—which, he supposed, it was.
Jonathan stood beside him, his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't say anything, just waited patiently. The seconds ticked by quietly.
Then, the little wooden doll on the grass trembled. The carved lines on its body dimmed completely. With a soft *pop* of air, it vanished.
In the very same instant, Sara reappeared, standing exactly where the doll had been. It was as if she had never left. In her hand, she held another long, silver tube. It looked identical to the one that had just exploded.
She walked over and handed it carefully to Jonathan. "You and I should test this one first," she suggested, her tone practical but cautious. "Before we give it to Aiden. If it's also broken, it might explode again. It won't hurt us as badly as it could hurt him."
Jonathan took the instrument. He nodded once. "Okay."
He knelt on the grass and placed the new instrument on the ground. The morning sun made its polished surface gleam. He put his right hand flat on the smooth crystal sphere at the end. He closed his eyes, his face calm and focused.
Aiden watched. After a few seconds, the crystal ball began to glow with a soft, steady light. It pulsed gently, like a heartbeat. The light traveled from the ball down the silver tube. It flowed smoothly into the first little glass bulb, then the second, then the third.
Sara and Aiden both watched in silence.
It only took a moment. When it was done, only two of the ten bulbs were shining brightly. One glowed a soft sky blue. The other glowed a warm, fiery red. Water and Fire.
Jonathan opened his eyes and looked at the result. He studied it for a second, then lifted his hand from the crystal. He looked at Sara and Aiden.
"It works perfectly," he said simply. "The mana flow was stable and clean. No problems at all. You can try again, Aiden."
Aiden nodded. He felt a mix of nervousness and determination. "Okay, Dad."
Jonathan handed him the instrument. Aiden took it with both hands. It felt cool and heavy. He placed it gently back on the ground, in a clear patch of grass. He took a slow, deep breath in and out to calm his nerves.
He knelt down and placed his palm firmly on the crystal ball. It was smooth and cool against his skin.
He closed his eyes. He started the breathing technique he knew so well now. *In, out. In, out.* He focused on his heart, on that new, light-green pulse inside his chest. He gently pulled the mana from there, guiding it down through his shoulder, along his arm.
He could feel it moving, a stream of warm energy. When it reached his hand, he pushed it forward, into the crystal.
The ball under his hand began to glow immediately. It started as a faint shimmer, then grew brighter and brighter. A soft, low hum came from the silver tube. The light, now a pale white, traveled from the ball into the tube. It slipped into the first glass bulb, then the second, moving in a smooth, steady line.
Then, the light began to get stronger.
Aiden's eyes opened wide. He could see the glow inside the bulbs getting brighter, not softer. The silver tube in his other hand began to vibrate faintly. The speed of the light moving through the bulbs increased, flickering quickly from one to the next.
Jonathan's face grew dark and serious. He could feel it too—the pressure in the air changing, a strange energy building up around them.
Sara took a cautious step closer. "Jonathan," she began, her voice tense.
But she didn't get to finish her sentence.
With a sudden, silent flash, all ten bulbs on the tube lit up at once.
Every single one. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Healer, Light, Puppeteer, Parasite, Illusion. All ten burned with a bright, clear, undeniable light. The colors mixed together into a brilliant, blinding glow that lit up the whole garden.
The mana inside the instrument went wild. The gentle hum turned into a loud, rattling vibration. The tube shook in Aiden's hand.
Jonathan's instincts screamed danger. "Aiden!" he shouted, his voice sharp and commanding. In one fast, powerful motion, he lunged forward. His hands clamped onto Aiden's shoulders. He pulled his son backward with all his strength, yanking him away from the device.
Aiden stumbled back, his hand tearing away from the crystal ball.
The very instant his hand left the sphere—
**BOOM!**
A second explosion, even louder and stronger than the first. A visible wave of force blasted outward, flattening the grass in a circle. A flash of light—a mix of gold, red, blue, and silver—burst into the air before fading into thick, gray smoke.
Pieces of the second instrument shot out like deadly rain. They clattered against the stone path, thudded into the wooden fence, and stuck into the soft earth.
Jonathan had turned his body, shielding Aiden completely. He felt a few small pieces ping harmlessly off his own back. The dust and smoke washed over them.
Slowly, the dust began to settle. The air smelled strongly of ozone and burnt things. Where the instrument had been was now just a small, blackened spot on the grass, surrounded by twisted, smoking fragments of metal and glass.
Silence fell again, deeper than before.
For a long moment, no one spoke. No one moved. The only sounds were their own breathing and the faint *tink-tink* sound of hot metal pieces cooling down.
Jonathan finally let out a slow, controlled breath. He relaxed his grip on Aiden's shoulders and stood up straight. His face was blank, unreadable. He stared down at the new mess of wreckage. His lips moved slightly, and a low murmur escaped, almost like he was talking to himself.
"All ten elements…" he whispered. The disbelief in his voice was plain. "But the instrument… it was fine. We checked it. It was perfectly fine…"
He trailed off, his words dying in the smoky air. He was a man who trusted facts and logic. But what had just happened had no logic. It made no sense at all.
Beside him, Sara's breathing was quick and shallow. Her hand came up and pressed against her chest, as if her heart was hurting. Her face had lost all its color. She looked from the broken pieces to Aiden, then back to the pieces.
"How…" she whispered, her voice thin and trembling like a leaf in the wind. "How can this be possible… How…"
A soft morning breeze finally stirred, drifting across the garden. It gently pushed the last trails of smoke away, clearing the air.
Jonathan, Sara, and Aiden stood together in the middle of their quiet garden. The sun shone down on them, warm and ordinary.
But they had just witnessed something that was not ordinary at all. They had seen proof of something that should not exist. The impossible truth was now lying in broken pieces at their feet.
Author's Note: Tell me your thoughts about this chapter in the comments, and tell me what your favorite scene in this chapter is.