The morning bell had barely finished tolling when Instructor Drayven, a gaunt man with oil-black hair and perpetually curled lips, strode into the elemental training hall. His sharp eyes immediately scanned the room, lingering on Cedric for a fraction too long before turning away with deliberate disinterest.
"Today," he announced, voice dripping with condescension, "you will learn the difference between using an element and manifesting it."
He snapped his fingers, and a swirling vortex of fire erupted from his palm—not as an attack, but as a living extension of his will. The flames coiled around his arm like a serpent, its heat contained yet palpable.
"Any fool can throw fireballs," Drayven sneered. "But true power comes from embodying your element. Manifestation is the bridge between mortal skill and transcendent mastery. It feeds your core, strengthens your affinity, and—for those worthy of it—unlocks deeper potential."
His gaze flicked to Cedric again.
"Of course, some of you may lack the refinement for such techniques."
A few noble students chuckled. Aveline's knuckles whitened around her pen.
The Test Begins
Drayven ordered the students to the center of the hall, where polished obsidian stones lay in a circle—elemental conduits meant to amplify manifestation attempts.
"Darkness users, step forward," he commanded.
Only three students moved—Cedric, a timid noble girl from the Ashford line, and Victor Leonheart, his face still bruised from their last encounter.
Drayven's lips curled. "Leonheart first."
Victor placed his hands on the obsidian, his face tightening with effort. After a long moment, a weak shadow pooled at his feet before dissipating.
Drayven nodded approvingly. "Adequate. For a secondary element."
The noble girl fared worse—her shadows flickered like dying candlelight.
Then it was Cedric's turn.
Drayven smirked. "Try not to embarrass yourself, commoner."
The Manifestation
Cedric stepped forward, his expression unreadable. He placed his palms on the cold stone—
—and let go.
The hall's torches guttered as pure darkness erupted from him. Not as a skill. Not as an attack.
But as a living force.
The shadows at his feet churned like liquid night, spreading in inky tendrils.
The air around him warped, light bending unnaturally.
His own silhouette seemed to flicker, as if he existed in multiple places at once.
And then—
The darkness spoke.
A voice that wasn't a voice—a whisper that slithered into every mind present:
"You dare mock what you cannot comprehend?"
Drayven stumbled back, his face pale. The noble students recoiled. Even Aveline and the others stared in shock.
Cedric's eyes opened—his irises were gone, replaced by voids darker than the rift itself.
For one terrifying second, the instructor flinched.
Then, as suddenly as it began, the manifestation ceased. The shadows retreated. The torches flared back to life.
Cedric stood calmly, as if nothing had happened.
The Aftermath
The hall was dead silent.
Drayven's throat worked soundlessly before he managed, "That... will be all for today."
He didn't look at Cedric again.
As the class filed out, whispers followed:
"Did you see that?"
"No one manifests like that on their first try—"
"What is he?"
Aveline fell into step beside Cedric, her voice low. "You've been holding out on me."
Cedric flexed his fingers, watching the faintest wisp of shadow curl around them before vanishing. "Didn't know I could do that."
Behind them, unnoticed, Headmaster Orlan observed from a shadowed alcove, his ancient eyes gleaming with something between satisfaction and concern.
The moment Instructor Drayven dismissed the class, the heavy oak doors of the training hall burst open. A woman with silver-streaked auburn hair and piercing golden eyes strode in, her white and gold robes flaring behind her like unfurled wings.
"Leaving so soon, Drayven?" Her voice carried the weight of command, freezing the sneering instructor mid-step. "I believe your students were just beginning to learn something meaningful."
Drayven's jaw tightened. "Instructor Elizabeth. This is my class—"
"Correction," Elizabeth said, her smile sharp as a blade. "This is the Royal Academy's class. And I'll not let your prejudices stunt a generation of talent."
Her gaze swept over the students before landing on Cedric. "What you just witnessed—what he did—wasn't just a parlor trick. That was True Manifestation."
The Lesson Begins
Elizabeth raised her hand, and light exploded from her palm—not as a blinding flash, but as a living, breathing entity. The radiance coalesced into the form of a winged serpent made of pure sunlight, its scales shimmering as it coiled around her arm.
"Manifestation is more than just shaping elements," she said, her voice echoing strangely as the light-serpent hissed. "It's conversing with them. When mastered, your element becomes an extension of your will—a companion, not just a tool."
She gestured, and the serpent took flight, circling the room before dissolving into motes of gold.
"Darkness," she continued, turning to Cedric, "can manifest as sentient shadows that fight alongside you. Thunder calls storm spirits. Wind summons hurricane avatars. But these are not mere skills—they are awakenings."
A murmur ran through the class.
Elizabeth's eyes gleamed. "And for those rare few with dual cores..." She clapped her hands together, and the remnants of her light-serpent merged with a sudden gust of wind, forming a radiant tornado that hovered above her palm. "Elements can combine."
The implications hung in the air like static before a storm.
The Demonstration
Elizabeth turned to Cedric. "Show them again."
For a heartbeat, Cedric hesitated. Then he stepped forward, placing his hands on the obsidian stone.
This time, he focused.
The darkness didn't just pool at his feet—it rose.
Tendrils of shadow slithered up his arms like living tattoos.
A cloak of night billowed behind him without wind.
And then—from the abyss—two glowing crimson eyes opened within the swirling dark.
The manifestation growled, a sound that vibrated in their bones.
Elizabeth didn't flinch. She smiled. "Now that is a shadow worth fearing."
Aveline's lightning crackled unconsciously along her fingertips. Vivienne's fan froze mid-flutter. Even Kyle stopped sharpening his daggers.
Drayven looked ill.
The Revelation
As Cedric's shadows retreated, Elizabeth addressed the class.
"True Manifestation is the mark of a master. Most spend decades achieving what some of you may now attempt because you witnessed it firsthand." Her gaze lingered on Cedric. "And a rare few... are simply born with the gift."
She turned sharply to Drayven. "Which is why discrimination has no place in this hall. Talent does not care for bloodlines. Power does not bow to titles."
The noble instructor opened his mouth—
"Leave," Elizabeth said softly.
Drayven left.
The Aftermath
As the students filed out, whispers followed Cedric like shadows:
"Did you see its eyes?"
"They say only the Umbra Grandmasters can manifest sentient darkness—"
"He's not human..."
Elizabeth caught Cedric's arm as he passed. "Stay a moment."
When the hall emptied, her golden eyes bored into his. "You're holding back."
Cedric said nothing.
"Your water core," she pressed. "Why haven't you manifested it?"
A beat of silence. Then—
"I don't know how," he admitted quietly.
Elizabeth's smile returned. "Then it's a good thing you're my student now."
Outside the window, unnoticed by either, a violet-eyed crow watched from the branches before taking flight.