Sei felt the warmth cover his body; the scent of lavender filled his nose.
His eyes fluttered open, revealing the wooden beams of his bedroom ceiling. He was in his bed, but his entire body ached as though it were on fire.
"Oh, my goodness, you're awake!" His mother leaned forward, tears brimming in her worried eyes.
A relieved chuckle followed. "I knew he'd pull through," his father said, sitting beside her.
"What – happened?" Sei asked looking at the ceiling.
His parents exchanged a glance, a seemingly dangerous one.
"You… collapsed outside" his mother said, her voice trembled "Rudo and the others came running, they were terrified"
'Yeah, I remember those lights that shimmered around my body and that was damn painful.' he thought.
His mother continued, "Your father rushed out, but you were already unconscious when he reached you."
Am I finally getting my power up, hell yeah, I am just seven, ha-ha I will beat that Rudo piece of shit.
"Sei" his father spoke, his voice tensed, "What you experienced was not at all normal, normally humans awaken their core at ten, and some born genius manage to do it before"
He paused and let out a sigh then continued, "Still they awaken a single element core, but your body was covered by all the elemental particles" his eyes squinted,
"So, this is the miracle boy," an unfamiliar voice interrupted, startling them all.
An elderly man stood in the doorway; his hands folded within the long sleeves of his robe. His white beard hung like a thick, knotted rope, and his piercing, beastlike eyes focused on Sei.
Sei's parents immediately stood up and bowed in respect.
"Grandmaster, when did you – "his father spoke but the old man intercepted,
"So, boy is your body in pain." He asked, his beastlike eyes stared straight at Sei.
A faint smile tugged at the old man's lips as he stepped closer. "Lie down straight."
"What?" Sei blinked.
"Sei, do as he say," his father urged.
Sei obeyed, stretching out on his bed. The old man moved both his hands in a circular motion; golden particles swirled around forming a pattern through the air. Sei watched in awe.
Whoa… He's like some crazy old mage. But now that I have my power-up, I'll become super strong too.
Without warning, the old man's hands shot forward, pressing firmly against Sei's stomach. The golden patterns surged across Sei's body, then vanished. Sei felt the pain slowly fading.
Turning without another word, the old man began walking toward the door.
Wait… What did this old man even do?
The room fell into a tense silence until the old man paused.
"Oh… I suppose I forgot to mention what I did."
Sei burst in laughter; this old man has gone senile. but he felt his fathers gaze and controlled himself.
"I have sealed 80% of his core"
The words struck Sei like a blow. The power he had just begun to feel—sealed away before he could even understand it. His face went pale.
"Don't fright boy, it will unseal automatically when you turn ten, till then you will train with me or you may die" The old man added.
What? Why would I die? is this power a gift or a curse? These questions shadowed his mind.
"What is this power I've been given?" Sei's thoughts raced. Is it a rare gift… or just another cruel joke from those bastards? He needed to find the truth and how to control this new power he accepted the old man's offer.
Later that day, Sei sat in his room, staring blankly at the wall. His mind was a storm of thoughts—until he heard the distant sound of horses. The sound was faint, yet somehow clear, as though his hearing had become sharper.
He ran to the window and after some time he saw a procession heading towards their village.
At the front, two armored riders guided their steeds. Behind them trailed a luxurious cart draped in royal colours. It was no doubt a royal cart from the looks, Sei's Eyes narrowed.
His parents ran out and bowed before the royal procession, the riders jumped off the horses and bowed down. The curtains of the cart parted, and a pale, slender hand emerged, pushing them aside. A young boy stepped out—delicate and regal, with long black hair that shimmered in the sunlight and skin pale as milk.
"The second prince of the Claudia Kingdom has graced you all with his presence" one of the Guards announced.
The boy seemed nervous, his gaze avoiding the villagers who stared in awe.
'Is he a prince, doesn't look like one, he's a scaredy cat'
The prince spoke something too soft for Sei to hear, but his father's face darkened with anger.
"The Kingdom of Astresia has declared war on us? This is madness!" his father's voice boomed, anger lacing his words.
One of the guards immediately stepped forward, placing a hand on his sword. "This is a disrespect to the Royal Blood!"
But the second guard quickly intervened, bowing deeply. "Forgive him, Sir Leon. He is new." Turning to the first guard, he added, "This man is Leon Haswarth, the hero of the Disdain War. Show respect."
The Other Guard's eyes wide opened, he immediately bowed and apologized for his rudeness. Leon shook his head.
Whoa, so my dad is a war hero, he sure looks tough that means he must be super strong. And what is this about the war, I need to know.
Leon and the Prince exchanged few words, then the prince got back into the cart, the Guards shook hands with Leon and mounted their horses, the Procession left without any further delay.
But Leon's Face had this look of disappointment and tension streamed his features.Without another word, Leon rushed inside, grabbed his sword, and marched back out.
"Dad, where are you going?" sei asked, innocently.
Leon pat Sei's head, he smiled faintly, "I will be back soon" he spoke slowly and left with just that.
Outside, he gathered ten other men, and together they vanished down the forest path.
Sei waited until his mother was distracted, then slipped out of the house, following the path into the woods.
Sei now sat on a stone, between dense trees and grass, in the woods, even the sunlight came in flickers and the atmosphere was filled with smell of dry earth and leaves.
Shit, I am lost. I shouldn't have come out here in the first place and that old man also sealed my powers. What should I do?
He was completely lost in his thoughts when suddenly he heard something moving in the wilderness nearby. He immediately became wary of the sound and stood straight, his eyes locking at the movement of the grass in front of him.
The bushes ahead shivered, leaves parting.
"W-Who's there?" Sei's voice trembled, his small fists clenching.