The morning sun spilled gold over the fields, warming the earth and casting long shadows across the barn. Chickens clucked and fluttered as Renji scattered feed, his bare feet kicking dust in the yard. He hummed to himself, not a care in the world, his voice carrying easily in the open air.
Any day now. At twelve years old, he was on the edge of destiny.
Half of the world's children lived out their lives as ordinary commoners, but the other half—lucky, blessed, envied—manifested an Element at this age. water, sand, mud, toxic gas… nearly anything could awaken within the body. From that moment forward, they were no longer simply human. They were Elementals.
Renji tossed another handful of grain, grinning as the chickens scrambled. Please let it be something amazing, he thought. Lightning, maybe fire. Something powerful. Something that shines.
A voice cut across the farm.
"Renji! Oi, Renji!"
Renji squinted toward the road, spotting a lanky figure creating a small wave across the lake and riding it. Taro's grin was wide as always, his blonde hair catching the light.
"You're late again," Renji called, shading his eyes with one hand.
Taro smirked. "Tch. Show some respect, brat. I'm fifteen now—that makes me your senpai."
Renji rolled his eyes. "Senpai? More like slacker. What do you want?"
Taro puffed out his chest dramatically. "Only to inform you that your amazing, talented, handsome best friend has just been promoted to Leader class."
Renji's eyes widened. "Already? That's awesome!" He paused, scratching the back of his head. "Uh… remind me how the classes go again?"
Taro groaned. "Hopeless. Fine, listen carefully, one last time. When your element awakens, you start as a Warrior class by default. Get stronger, and you climb to Leader, then Emperor, King, and Titan. That's as far as most people can dream. Titans are as strong as entire armies."
Renji's eyes lit with fire. "Then I'll go further. I'll climb all the way to Overlord."
Taro burst out laughing, hands on his knees. "Hah! You? There hasn't been an Overlord in five hundred years. To reach that level, you'd have to surpass the Titan class and rise into monarch class then to god and defeat the majority of the nine Elemental Gods to reach Overlord. You'll be lucky if you can even summon mud."
Renji clenched his fist, determination blazing in his chest. "I don't care what element I get. I'll be the greatest Elemental the world has ever seen."
Taro shook his head, still grinning. "Dream big, kid. Just remember, you still haven't even manifested yet."
The farmyard fell quiet for a moment, only the chirping of birds filling the air. Renji looked down at his hands. Any day now, he told himself again. Any day…
The wind shifted. The chickens squawked and scattered. Somewhere beyond the hills, the sky rumbled. At first, Renji thought it was thunder—until the ground shuddered beneath his bare feet.
A sound tore through the valley. Not thunder. Not at all.
It was the low, rolling roar of bombs.
And then, from the distant road, a man came running—blood on his face, voice raw with terror.
"Run!" he screamed, staggering toward the farm. "Get the children out! Run!"
Renji's smile faltered. The bucket of grain slipped from his hands, scattering across the dirt.
It was the last morning he would ever sing in these fields.