Two years later, Willowreach's modest Spirit Academy opened its doors for the seasonal assessment.
Every child between ten and twelve was tested for elemental affinity and martial aptitude. Those who passed received sponsorship. Those who failed… well, the weak were swallowed.
Kai stood in line with the other children, Zen watching from the back of the crowd like any ordinary grandfather.
The examiner, a stern woman named Instructor Vell, pressed a glowing crystal orb to Kai's forehead.
The orb flickered. Then it screamed.
Black veins spread across the crystal like cracks in ice. The entire testing hall went silent.
"Shadow affinity…?"
Instructor Vell whispered, voice cracking. "That's not—shadow isn't one of the recognized elements. It's a myth."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Some children stepped back. Others stared with open hunger.
Zen's hand tightened on his walking stick. He had known this day would come.
Kai simply smiled the same calm, storm-gray smile he had worn since he was one year old.
"Does that mean I'm accepted?" he asked politely.
Instructor Vell swallowed. "Accepted? Boy, you just broke the testing orb. You're not only accepted—you're the first recorded Shadow Adept in Valoria's history."
She did not see the way the shadows at Kai's feet briefly formed the shape of a protective wing before vanishing.
But Zen did.
And somewhere, far away, in a realm the five continents had forgotten, something ancient stirred in recognition.
To be continued…