The blade cut through air with savage rhythm.
Again. And again.
Each swing painted a dark arc across the training room, its edge laced with spiraling void — a storm barely held back.
The woman's breath came ragged. Her shoulders trembled, not from weakness, but from what brewed inside.
Her eyes, dark and hollow, caught the flicker of her reflection in a shattered shard on the wall.
Something shimmered there — grief, rage, madness. Maybe all of it.
"Shut up,"
she whispered, voice cracking like dry leaves.
"I won't do it. I'd rather die."
She reached for her hair, clenching the strands between pale fingers.
Then, with a growl, she turned the blade inward — pressing the tip against her own chest.
One thrust. That's all it would take.
But her hand froze.
The metal kissed skin. Nothing more.
Seconds passed.
Then the blade clattered to the ground, ringing out sharp and final.
Her head snapped toward the door.
She felt it before it opened — a familiar presence, warm and alive.
The panel slid aside.
"Mom! Mom, I finally got it!"
A boy burst in — lean, wide-eyed, no older than twelve. A tablet clutched in his hand, shaking with excitement.
The woman blinked. Something in her shattered expression softened. Her lips curled into a smile that looked too pure for a face like hers.
"Ashley… I told you not to come in when I'm training."
"I know."
he said, out of breath.
"but I had to. It's important!"
He stopped. Eyes scanned the cracked walls, the scattered cuts carved into stone. Then the sword on the floor.
"Mom… are you okay?"
He stepped closer, gently reaching up to touch her hand.
"I'm okay, Ash."
she brushing his hair back.
Her gaze dropped to the tablet.
"So, what's this big news?"
She arched a brow.
"Don't tell me you got a girlfriend online."
"What? No!"
Ash flushed, then thrust the screen toward her.
She looked. Read. Then her eyes widened.
"Three Soulcore?!"
Ash crossed his arms, chin lifting in pride.
"Yeah. Tier 5 Vessel. And… I'm a Hybrid Soulcore user. Pretty impressive, right?"
The woman kept staring at the screen. Her eyes tracked each line until they stopped on a single word.
Her expression shifted.
"Dark Soulcore…"
Ash's grin didn't fade.
"Yeah. And Fire. And Lightning."
He looked up, expecting her to cheer, to laugh, to maybe pull him into a hug like she used to.
But her face had gone quiet — too quiet.
The smile was gone. Something else had taken its place.
"Mom?"
he stepping closer.
"You okay?"
She blinked, as if waking from a dream.
"Yeah… I'm alright."
Her voice didn't sound sure.
"Just reminded me of something."
Ash frowned. His hand hovered near hers. But she smiled again, softer this time, more for him than for herself.
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, have you heard the voices yet? Seen your status?"
Ash brightened.
"Yeah. It sound so mystic and godly—just like Max said It would. And my status… it looks amazing. Like it's alive."
He hesitated.
Then his voice dropped a little, thoughtful.
"Mom… I've got a question. Why do we have Soulcores? Like, where did they even come from?"
She didn't answer at first.
Her gaze drifted to the ceiling, to the cracks and shadows above.
Then slowly, she spoke.
"Honestly… I don't know either."
She looked down, meeting his eyes.
"But I do know a story."
Ash dropped to the floor with a soft thump, crossing his legs like a student waiting for storytime.
His mother raised a brow.
"What are you doing?"
"You're about to tell a story."
He patted the floor beside him.
"So I'm getting ready."
She shook her head, but the corner of her mouth tugged upward.
"Fine."
She sat across from him, resting her hands on her knees.
For a moment, she didn't speak. Her gaze drifted to the boy in front of her. Ash was smiling again—genuinely, like the world hadn't touched him yet. It was the kind of smile that could melt even the hardest heart.
She smiled back.
"I don't know the whole story. But it's something my uncle used to tell me when I was your age. I still remember the way he said it."
She took a breath.
And began.
"Before history, before kings and empires, before even the first spoken word, the gods descended.
They arrived to find a world untamed—where beasts of impossible strength roamed, their bodies pulsing with raw, uncontrollable power. Yet, the gods saw potential. And so, they reached out—not to create, but to reshape.
From these beasts, they forged the first humans. No longer creatures of instinct, but beings of will and reason. To guide them, the gods bestowed a gift—the seven elements: Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Lightning, Light, and Dark.
But not all creatures accepted this change. Some rebelled, refusing to bow to the gods will. Hatred festered, and war ignited. The gods, unwilling to let their creation be undone, made one final decision.
They split the world in two.
One half became a prison—a land of mist and shadow where the rebellious creatures were sealed away. The other became a sanctuary, where humanity could thrive, free from the horrors of the past. To ensure this balance, the gods created an unbreakable barrier—the Eternal Fog."
Ash leaned forward, his eyes wide.
"Wait… the gods made the Fog Wall?"
His mother nodded, lips curling into a faint smile.
"That's what I was told."
Her gaze wandered to the window, where the sky was darkening.
"No one really knows what's inside the fog anymore. Some say the creatures still roam there—unchanged, waiting. Others think the gods wiped them all out long ago."
Ash's brows pinched.
"Then… what happened to the gods? Why don't we see them now?"
His mother's face changed. Something unreadable passed through her eyes.
"No one knows. My uncle used to say they vanished. Just like that. One day they were here. The next, gone."
Her voice fell.
"But I believe they're not all gone. At least… one of them is still alive."
Ash felt the shift in her tone. He tilted his head.
"So the humans, what happened to them. Now with the gods gone, how to we get to now."
She didn't answer right away.
Instead, she looked at him—really looked at him.
"You'll see it soon too. Now that your Soulcores have awakened... you'll start to understand. You'll see what humanity became after the gods disappeared."
Ash listened in silence.
She continued.
"After the Gods disappeared, humanity ruled itself. Kingdoms rose, civilizations flourished, and for a time, peace endured.
But peace is fragile.
Light and Darkness could not coexist. Their war consumed the land—firestorms raging across cities, oceans rising in fury, mountains shattered by forces beyond comprehension. The war twisted the very elements themselves. Water, poisoned by conflict, birthed Ice—cold, unyielding, forever severed from its source.
Even the sky was torn apart.
When the war finally ended, only four elements remained.
The rest faded into history, their wielders lost to myth. From the survivors, four great elemental bloodlines emerged, shaping the world anew:
The Burns—forged in fire, their bloodline born from embers and rage.
The Frosts—descendants of ice and water, wielders of cold and tide.
The Terras—masters of earth, unshaken, unbreakable.
The Gales—children of the wind, swift as the unseen sky.
From the ashes of war, they built a new world. The world you live in now."
Ash opened his mouth to ask another question, but the soft hiss of the door cut him off.
Kael burst in, cheeks flushed, eyes gleaming.
"Ash! Dad's back!"
Ash turned, torn between curiosity and joy.
"Mom's telling me something cool. Can you tell Dad I'll come in a bit?"
His mother ran a hand through his hair, her touch gentle.
"Go with him. You know how your father gets. He'll want to see you."
Ash grinned.
"Yeah… you're right."
He stood and dashed after Kael. Their footsteps echoed down the hall, laughter chasing behind them.
Left alone, the woman rose slowly.
She walked to the blade still lying where it had fallen.
Her fingers closed around the hilt. For a moment, she stared at it—at the sharp edge that had nearly ended everything.
"What was I thinking…?"
She slid the blade back into its sheath, the click soft but final.
"I can't. Not when I have them."
With the blade on her back, she turned to the door and walked out.
————
Two Years Later
Rain soaked the stone.
A crowd stood in silence, heads bowed, eyes dark. No one spoke. Even the wind held its breath.
The grave sat beneath a tree that had long since withered. Carved into the worn surface were words that did not seem real:
Here Lies
Lyra Flynn Burns
Mother. Wife. Friend. Master. Hero.
Ash stood at the front, barely breathing.
He didn't blink. He didn't move. The world around him blurred—just shapes and murmurs. None of it mattered.
One by one, the people began to leave. Boots scraped over wet gravel. Cloaks fluttered. The grave was left behind, and with it, the boy who couldn't walk away.
Only Ash remained.
Only him… and the stone.
Rain poured harder.
His hands curled into fists at his side. His jaw trembled.
"I swear. I won't let this happen again."
He dropped to his knees.
"I'll train. I'll become strong enough to protect them. Max. Keal. Dad. All of them."
His voice cracked. His breath caught.
"And I'll kill every last one of those monsters that took you from us."
Tears mixed with rain, trailing down his cheeks. At first, they were hard to notice. But his soft sobs gave them away.
He folded forward, pressing his forehead to the grave.
The storm above raged on. But beneath it, a boy cried alone—for a promise, for the past, and for a future he had no choice but to claim.