Bo Zhai School, Shanghai
The classroom still buzzed after Huo's shocking dual awakening. Students who once laughed at him now swarmed with empty smiles and insincere praise.
"Huo, incredible! I always knew you were special."
"Fire and lightning… our school's pride!"
Huo ignored their voices. Words shifted with the wind; strength did not.
Then Zhao Ling stepped forward. The orb flared violently, arcs of lightning blasting through the room, burning cracks into the floor.
"Another lightning mage?!"
"Even stronger than Huo's lightning…"
Zhao Ling turned, smirking at Huo. "Looks like you've got competition, flame boy."
Huo's lips curled into a half-smile. "Let's see whose storm burns brighter."
From his desk, Jing Feng watched in silence. The laughter from before still echoed in his ears—not directed at him, but at Huo, his friend. Yet the sight of lightning erupting twice in one class made his blood stir.
Huo… Zhao Ling… all of them shine so brightly. Then I'll just have to become the wind that never bows, the storm that cannot be caged.
The teacher, Wang Chi, cleared his throat loudly. His gaze lingered on Jing Feng. "Don't underestimate him," he said to the class. "A wind mage with focus can rival even the fiercest fire or lightning. Sometimes, the unseen breeze topples empires while thunder only makes noise."
Students fell silent.
And just for a moment—just outside the classroom window—a faint shimmer appeared. A pair of enormous spectral wings stretched across the sky, only to vanish in an instant. Jing Feng's eyes widened, then narrowed with determination.
Behind him, Lao Qin awakened earth. The ground cracked faintly, and for a blink, the shadow of a reptilian tail whipped across his robe. Some students laughed at his heavy build, but whispers of "strength" carried in hushed tones.
Zhao Ling, now seated, idly traced the lightning symbol that had appeared like a beak-shaped mark across his shirt. He grinned. "Looks like fate favors me."
Huo caught the glance, and his grip tightened on his bracelet.
---
Varanasi Institute of Magic, India
The altar glowed faintly after Aarav's awakening. Whispers circled the students.
"Water and light? Support magic…"
"A waste of a dual awakening."
Arjun awakened his earth element with calm precision. As the ground beneath his feet rumbled faintly, for just a moment, the shadow of a massive elephant's tusk appeared on the earth-colored patterns of his robe. Teachers exchanged knowing glances, already whispering about his potential.
Mira's awakening froze the altar in seconds, her cold beauty matched by the frost that spread across the stones. As she stepped back, the faint outline of a jagged claw of ice shimmered briefly across her sleeve before fading. Students shivered at the omen.
But both of them spared Aarav only passing glances. Arjun looked at him as if he were already irrelevant. Mira said nothing, but the curve of her lips betrayed her doubt.
Only Ravi clapped, his voice strong. "Laugh all you want. Aarav will prove everyone wrong—and when he does, I'll stand with him." The faint crimson claw-mark glowing on his robe flickered like fire.
Aarav said nothing. Later that evening, he sat on the ghats of the Ganga, staring at the flowing water. The river shimmered beneath the twilight, reflecting his turmoil.
Support type? Weak? He dipped his hand into the current. It surged around his palm like a living thing. They've never seen Maa Ganga's rage. They've never known how blinding true light can be. I'll make them understand.
---
In the shadows…
Cloaked figures gathered around a dark triangle symbol carved into stone.
"The boy in Shanghai—fire and lightning. Watch him closely."
"And the one in Varanasi? Water and light. Harmless."
Mocking laughter echoed.
But one figure raised his head. His voice was sharper, colder.
"You're blind. Water erodes mountains. Light burns shadows. That boy will not remain harmless. He will be the crack in our foundation if ignored."
The chamber fell silent as the triangle pulsed faintly, as though agreeing.
Chapter 3:- END