The room was still dark when he woke.
At first he thought it was dawn again—the faint blue shimmer on his ceiling looked like morning light—but then he realized it was that dream.The same one.Always the same one.
A voice—or maybe a thought—echoed through the darkness:
[Mind's Eye]
It wasn't spoken. It flashed—letters made of light, pulsing in and out of existence like a dying star.
He jolted upright, chest heaving.
"Again…" he whispered.
The whisper felt too loud in the silence.He sat there for a long moment, staring at his hands. Five fingers. Five years old today.
Inner Monologue
It hasn't shown itself since that fight.Why now?Why on the day of my awakening?
He stood, his feet touching the cold marble floor. Ether stirred faintly around his skin, gentle and familiar—like breathing. He tried to recall that old feeling, the one from the courtyard when the world had slowed and everything had become clear.
Mind's Eye…
He exhaled and reached inward. Ether responded—slowly at first, then with sudden force. It rushed through him like a storm. The air shimmered, his curtains lifting though no wind had touched them.
But before he could focus, a heavy pressure filled the room.The serpent's aura.
The same invisible presence that had always lingered through the manor now pressed down like a mountain, sealing his Ether instantly.
W-what…?
The room darkened, shadows bleeding across the floor. And then, before him, the air twisted—shimmering faintly until a translucent figure emerged.
Not flesh. Not illusion.Ether, made visible.
"Don't," a voice hissed.
Sarah's tone was sharp, almost scolding—but not unkind.
"Don't even think about doing that again. Continue as you were."
And just as suddenly, she vanished.
Aftermath
He stood there frozen, trembling slightly.He hadn't sensed her coming. Not even a flicker.
That terrified him more than the warning itself.
I didn't even feel her presence…Have I grown weaker? Or has she… hidden deeper?
He sat back on his bed, legs folding beneath him.His thoughts drifted, his eyes grew heavy, and soon he fell back asleep—his last moments of rest before the morning that would change everything.
Narration — The Morning of Awakening
The manor was alive with noise.
From the kitchens to the balconies, servants whispered like wind through old trees.Everyone knew what day it was.
The Young Master of House Aurelion was awakening.
For the first time in five years, anticipation outweighed formality.Some bet it would be Flame, inherited from the Lady of Azure Fire.Others whispered Lightning, the mark of his father's bloodline.A few dared to hope for both.
In the barracks, knights clinked mugs and made their own wagers.
"I'll put two silver on Flame!""Ha! He's a copy of the Lord, you'll see the storm before sunrise."
Even the maids passing through the corridors couldn't help but smile.
The Boy
In his room, he was quiet.
Maria, the head caretaker, entered softly—her posture firm, her tone gentle.
"Young Master, it's time."
He looked up from the window, eyes calm but uncertain.
"Is it really… today?"
"Yes. Everyone's waiting."
He nodded once, stood, and brushed his robes flat. His movements carried that same strange stillness that always made adults uneasy—too deliberate for a child.
As they stepped into the hall, his heartbeat thudded once, deep and low.He could hear the chatter echoing from beyond the courtyard doors.
They're all talking about it.Flame… Lightning…But no one ever mentioned Mind's Eye.
He frowned slightly.
There were no books about it in the study.No scrolls about awakenings either.Mother must have removed them. They didn't want me knowing how it happens.
Narration — The Unwritten Rule
In noble houses across Arian, the Elemental Awakening was sacred.Children were kept ignorant of its process, to keep their Ether untainted by expectation.For a curious mind, knowledge could shape the outcome.
But this child—whose Ether already thought for itself—was never meant to awaken quietly.
As Maria led him down the final staircase, sunlight cut across the marble, bathing the path ahead in gold.
Five years old, he thought.And the world already feels heavy.
He stepped into the courtyard.The wind shifted.Every candle in the manor flickered.
Somewhere deep inside him, something whispered—soft, rhythmic, familiar.
[Mind's Eye — Active]
[End of Chapter 15 — The Awakening Year]