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Chapter 6 – The Whisper Before It Starts
(but long and full Theo-core)
It's been a few months now since I started training with Dad. Not like a few days or weeks. Actual months. And I haven't exploded yet, which is honestly a miracle.
Me, Kael, and Noah — we trained a lot. Sort of. Sometimes. Okay, mostly we just swung wooden swords, fell on our butts, and argued about who's faster.
But yeah. We trained.
Today, though? No training. Just walking through the village. The three of us, side by side, doing absolutely nothing useful with our time.
Kael and Noah were already arguing again.
"Bro I could totally punch through a tree if I awakened fire," Kael said, flexing his tiny noodle arm like it meant something.
"You can't even punch through mashed potatoes," Noah shot back.
"You wanna test that?!"
"Punch a potato right now. I dare you."
They kept bickering while I just walked, staring ahead, kinda zoning out. Not that I wasn't listening — I just had that weird feeling again. That quiet buzzing behind everything, like the whole village was holding its breath.
People were whispering.
Like every five steps someone was talking about mana.
"I heard Sara's kid awakened yesterday!"
"Already?! What core did he get?"
"They said green! Wind element!"
"Oh lucky! My son just got red fire. He sneezed and set the curtains on fire!"
Everyone was talking about it. It was in the air — like something big was coming. Like mana was showing up at every corner and kids were just waking up with powers left and right.
We were next.
I knew it.
Kael knew it.
Noah definitely knew it but was pretending he didn't care.
We walked past a stall where some kid was bragging loudly to his friends.
"I got water element! I can splash people without using my hands!"
Kael stopped walking. "Yo I want that. I could make someone wet from across the room."
"Don't say that sentence ever again," Noah said.
I laughed and shook my head. "You guys think we'll get our elements soon?"
Kael grinned. "We're close to the age, right? It's gotta be any day now."
"I'll get fire," he added, puffing out his chest. "Then I'll roast Noah."
Noah raised an eyebrow. "You'll roast yourself trying to light a torch."
"Okay but imagine: Kael, the Fire Lord. Sounds sick."
"You'd burn your own house down in ten minutes."
"You're just jealous."
"I'm grateful."
I smiled quietly.
They were always like this. Loud, annoying, but kind of perfect in their own way.
---
It started getting late. The market noise died down a bit, and the lanterns started flickering on. I could hear the old metal chimes hanging outside the potion shop.
"I should head back," I said. "Mom's gonna yell if I'm late again."
"Again?" Noah asked.
"Yeah, she says if I'm late three times in a row she's gonna make potion stew."
Kael gagged.
"That's evil."
"She's serious too. She already got the pot ready."
We all made the face of children who had suffered before.
"Alright then," Kael said, "tomorrow we wake up as mages."
"Tomorrow you wake up on fire," Noah muttered.
"NOAH STOP CURSING ME."
---
I climbed up a tree near the house when I got back. I don't know why I always end up in trees when I'm thinking, but I do. Maybe it's because everything feels quieter up there. More floaty. Less "you must become something" and more "just sit."
And that weird feeling was back again.
That buzz in my chest.
Not pain. Not heat. Just… pressure. Like something wanted to stretch.
I leaned my head back and looked up at the sky. It was getting dark now. The stars were coming out slow, one by one.
Should I ask Dad about it?
Would he even understand?
I don't even know how to describe it. "Hey Dad, sometimes I feel like I'm glowing on the inside, is that normal?" That sounds like a sentence Kael would say after eating too many glowing mushrooms.
---
Dinner was already on the table when I came in.
And I'm telling you — Mom was on a mission.
She made my favorite food.
Not one dish. Not two. Like, six.
I don't even know what I did to deserve this.
"Mom. One more plate."
"Another."
"Just a little more."
"…Okay, I need one more of those little bread rolls."
"Okay, now I'm full—wait no just give me that piece."
I ate like someone who hadn't seen food in weeks.
"Slow down," she said. "You're not going into battle."
"What if I do tomorrow?" I asked.
She stopped for a second.
Then smiled.
Dad said something while wiping his mouth with a napkin. "The elder's arriving next week. He'll start observing the village kids. Help with the awakenings. Make sure they don't go wrong."
He said it casually, but it felt heavy.
Awakenings could go wrong?
"Don't worry," Mom added. "You'll be fine. All of you will."
I believed her.
Mostly.
---
I went to bed feeling tired, full, and kinda floaty. Not sleepy floaty — just that weird feeling again. That hum.
I curled up under the blanket and stared at the ceiling for a bit.
Just one more week.
Just one.
---
The Dream. Again.
Dark.
Quiet.
But not empty.
Four lights floated in the dark like stars. Close now. Closer than before.
Red. Blue. Green. Gold.
They pulsed. Not fast. Not scary. Just like… breathing.
And I walked toward them.
One step.
Then another.
Almost—
---
I woke up.
Sweaty. Breathing fast.
Stared at the ceiling again.
This dream was happening too often.
And it always felt real.
Ever since I got my old memories back…
everything's felt different.
And now?
Something's coming.
I can feel it.
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