The courtyard was silent.
Not the silence of peace, but of disbelief.
Even the crackle of torches seemed to vanish as Aelion stood in the shattered circle, his body faintly glowing. Seven motes of light hovered around him — fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, ice, and light — each flickering with a life of its own.
Every elder present felt the shift in the world's flow. The mana in the air bent toward Aelion, trembling as if paying homage to something ancient and absolute.
The Elder Pyromancer broke the silence first, his staff clattering against the stone floor.
"Such resonance… impossible! A mortal cannot harmonize opposing elements!"
The crowd erupted.
"What is he?!"
"Did he summon a spirit?!"
"Blasphemy! The elements must not mix!"
Aelion's chest heaved as the last of the blinding light faded. His vision spun, his veins felt aflame and frozen at once. The seven energies within him clashed violently, threatening to tear his soul apart.
He dropped to one knee, panting. "I—I can't control it…"
"Stay back!" shouted an elder, raising his staff. "That energy is unstable!"
Flames leapt up to encircle the area, sealing Aelion in a fiery ward. The others backed away, shielding their eyes.
And then, through the crowd, Kael Veyra stepped forward.
The prodigy's face twisted with something between awe and fury.
"So this is what you've been hiding, cousin? A freak's power?"
Aelion looked up weakly. "I didn't ask for this."
Kael's lips curled into a smirk. "Of course you didn't. You could never earn it. You're a disgrace, and now you've tainted the Awakening Grounds with some… foreign magic."
"Kael!" one of the elders barked, but the boy ignored him. His arrogance, once tolerated, had now found purpose — hatred.
He turned to the watching crowd. "This is a mockery of our bloodline! Fire is purity! Fire is dominance! What you see before you is an abomination!"
The murmurs turned into jeers. Fear and pride mixed like oil and flame.
"He's no Veyra."
"That's not fire—it's corruption."
"Banish him!"
Aelion's hands trembled. He didn't understand what had happened, but every word pierced deeper than any wound. His heart thundered — not from fear, but from something older, heavier… anger.
Before he could speak, a sudden flare of red engulfed him. Kael had drawn his flame.
"If you're so proud of your new power, show it!" Kael roared. "Or burn beneath mine!"
The elders tried to intervene, but Kael's arrogance and fire surged first. He thrust his hand forward, unleashing a torrent of searing crimson flame that roared across the courtyard.
The inferno swallowed Aelion whole.
Gasps filled the air. "He's gone!" someone cried.
But as the smoke cleared, Aelion still stood — untouched. Around him, the fire bent, curved, and spiraled — dancing harmlessly around his body like loyal serpents. His eyes glowed faintly, seven colors swirling in endless motion.
Kael stumbled back. "What… what is this?!"
Aelion raised a hand. "Your flames… they're loud," he said quietly. "But they lack harmony."
The air trembled. For a heartbeat, wind gathered around him, whispering softly. Water vapor condensed, glowing faintly as it coiled around his arm.
The crowd watched in stunned silence as flame and water intertwined, forming a sphere that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Aelion lowered his hand. The two opposing forces merged — and the courtyard exploded in a burst of steam and light.
The impact sent Kael flying back into the stone wall.
When the light faded, Aelion stood alone amid a ring of scorched earth and melted stone. His clothes were torn, his breathing ragged, but his eyes burned with an unyielding calm.
The elders stood speechless. No one spoke. No one dared to.
Kael rose weakly, coughing, pride shattered. "You… you used water against fire?! That's forbidden! That's—"
Aelion turned his gaze toward him. "Wasn't it you who attacked me first?"
The silence that followed was heavier than any roar of flame.
The Elder Pyromancer finally approached, his voice uncertain. "Aelion Veyra… what you've awakened is beyond this clan's teachings. Such a force cannot be understood lightly. You are"
"I don't know what I am," Aelion interrupted, his tone low. "But I'll find out."
He turned, walking toward the exit as the crowd parted like waves before him. Every step he took left faint ripples of elemental energy that shimmered across the stone.
Whispers followed him some in fear, some in awe.
"Did you see how the flames bowed to him?"
"No one can control two elements, let alone seven…"
"Maybe the ancestors have returned…"
But to Aelion, the words were distant. His thoughts burned inward. The moment he had channeled those two elements, he had felt something awaken — a connection to that strange realm, to the Elemental Nexus. The seven pillars. The voice that called him heir of infinity.
Yet beneath that power was danger — chaos that clawed at his soul. The moment the fight ended, he had felt it. A roaring imbalance within, threatening to consume him.
He stumbled once outside the courtyard, clutching his chest as pain surged through him.
"Steady, boy."
The voice came from an old man leaning against a tree — a forgotten caretaker of the outer estate. His eyes gleamed with knowing. "You've awakened something ancient, haven't you?"
Aelion looked up, startled. "How do you know?"
The man smiled faintly. "Because I've seen that light before… long ago, when the heavens themselves trembled. You carry the Core of Infinity."
Aelion's eyes widened. "You… know what it is?"
The old man shook his head slowly. "Only legends. It is said that once every age, a soul is born that contains all elements creation's mirror. But such souls burn too bright, too fast. The world fears them, because they remind it of what it can never be."
He turned away, gaze distant. "If you wish to live, learn balance. Fire and water. Light and shadow. Creation and destruction. Only harmony will keep you alive."
Before Aelion could reply, the man vanished as if he had never been there. Only the scent of ozone remained.
Aelion sank to his knees, the wind swirling faintly around him. He looked at his trembling hands, at the faint multicolored glow still radiating from his veins.
For the first time, he felt both powerful and powerless.
"Balance…" he whispered. "Then I'll find it. No matter what it takes."
---
Back in the grand hall, the clan elders gathered in urgent whispers.
"This cannot be ignored," one hissed. "That boy is a threat to the hierarchy."
"He could be our salvation," argued another. "An affinity with all elements think of the potential!"
The Clan Lord, a towering man wreathed in golden fire, sat in silence for a long time. Then he spoke, his voice like distant thunder.
"Potential is a double-edged blade. If he loses control… we burn."
He stood. "Place him under observation. And find out what awakened inside him."
Far away, alone beneath the crimson moon, Aelion sat cross-legged once more, breathing slowly. The world was quiet, but within him, seven voices whispered in unison — the slumbering spirits of the elements calling from the Nexus.
He closed his eyes.
For the first time, he didn't reject the chaos.
He listened.
And in that fragile harmony, a spark of understanding was born.
"Balance," he murmured, "begins with me."