Shatter and Rise
The training yard behind Elandor's north tower wasn't meant to hold storms.
But it did now.
Essence cracked the air like war drums. Lightning scars marred the flagstones, and the stone effigies used for training had already been reduced to rubble. At the center of it all stood Kael — shirt torn, breathing ragged, Essence flaring in volatile rhythm.
Again.
He drove his fist forward, and Scorchbreak Drive detonated against a reinforced Essence slab. The structure didn't just fracture — it imploded, slag bursting outward from the pressure rupture.
Again.
He blurred forward, Storm essence trailing from his feet, and launched into Storm Vault Execution, the ground splitting as he vaulted skyward and came crashing down in a kinetic-storm spiral that cratered the yard another half meter deep.
His bones ached. Muscles trembled. Vision blurred.
But still, again.
"Kael," came Daren's voice from the edge of the arena. "You've been at it for nine hours. This is madness."
Kael didn't look at him. "I wasn't strong enough."
Daren stepped forward, arms crossed. "You were. You saved her."
"She almost died."
"And killing yourself won't fix that."
Kael turned, the Lightning still rippling off his back like storm-fed wings. His eyes burned with raw defiance.
"If I'm going to lead a team into the Hollow Verge again… if I'm going to stand between her and what's coming—I need to be stronger than this. Stronger than what I was."
"You're burning Essence too fast. You'll tear your channels apart—"
"Then they'll tear," Kael snapped. "And I'll rebuild them."
For a moment, the air stood still.
Daren exhaled and stepped back. "Then go on. Shatter."
Kael turned toward the far wall — the thickest Essence pillar in the yard, laced with runes from five different affinities. It was built to withstand Blaze-tier bombardment. Maybe higher.
He inhaled, every nerve inside him singing with pressure.
Storm. Lightning. Flame. Kinetic.
He threaded them all — a spiral of volatile power crawling down his arms, legs, and spine. Each affinity fighting for dominance, until Kael forced them to synchronize. Like a storm trapped in flesh.
He lowered his stance.
Then launched.
The world around him blurred as he crossed the gap in a blink, his form barely visible even to Daren's trained eyes.
"Essence Devastation: Apex Overdrive."
The pillar didn't just break.
It vanished, disintegrated by a full-body, multi-affinity strike that fused Storm's speed, Lightning's paralysis, Flame's pressure, and Kinetic's crushing mass.
The shockwave leveled the remaining effigies. The ground split into veins of scorched obsidian. Kael hit the floor hard, skidding across the debris until his back struck the edge of the arena wall.
He coughed — blood, Essence, something deeper. And then… he breathed in.
And something changed.
A roaring heat coiled around his core. Not external. Not cast.
Internal ignition.
A second pulse echoed through his limbs — heavier, denser, brighter.
Essence Ascension: Pyre Rank – 1st Flame.
The air itself pulled inward around him. His aura no longer flickered — it burned, steady and sharp like a blade at full draw. Daren stepped forward, mouth slightly open.
"You really did it…"
Kael stood, trembling slightly — not with weakness, but with the aftershock of transformation. He could feel his strength pushing beyond human thresholds. Weight no longer slowed him. Speed bent to his motion.
This wasn't just a jump in rank.
It was the moment he became worthy of leading a Pyre-tier team into the dark.
⸻
Later that night, he returned to the tower balcony.
Leiya sat in the same spot, wrapped in a light cloak now. The bruises on her face were mostly gone, and her aura had settled — but the lines around her eyes spoke of pain not yet healed.
She looked up as he approached.
"You're glowing," she said softly.
He sat beside her again, slower this time. "Pyre," he murmured. "First Flame."
Leiya smiled faintly. "I figured. The whole tower shook about an hour ago."
He hesitated.
Then: "I couldn't protect you the way I am now. That won't happen again."
"You think power's the answer?"
"It has to be. I can't lose anyone else. Especially not you."
Leiya's gaze softened. "Kael, it wasn't your fault. I chose to fight beside you."
He turned his hand over, palm up. "I'm not asking you to stop. I'm asking to be strong enough to stand in front of you when it matters."
Her fingers slid into his.
"You already are."