"Lucien. Elemental affinity: Fire. Grade: Blue."
The elder conducting the awakening test declared loudly, even as disbelief flickered across his face.
For a brief second, the arena was silent.
Then it exploded.
"Did he just say Blue grade?"
"Oh my God, a Blue grade appeared in our city!"
Even the elders supervising the ceremony looked stunned, clearly not expecting a city this small to produce such a result.
Among the people of Eldoria, elemental affinities were graded by color. There were four known grades—Pink, Orange, Purple, and Blue. Though rare, there were also cases of individuals awakening multiple elemental affinities.
The representatives of the various academies immediately broke into heated arguments over who would take Lucien as a student. Situations like this were usually handled discreetly, behind closed doors. But this time, none of them wanted to miss out on a prodigy of this level.
"Cough, cough." The elder cleared his throat loudly, drawing their attention. "Why don't we allow him to choose which academy he would like to join?" he said, clearly trying to save the academies from losing face in front of the crowd.
The representatives reluctantly calmed down, their gazes snapping back to Lucien, eyes filled with eagerness and expectation.
Lucien wore a wide smile, clearly pleased with the attention. Without hesitation, he chose Ashbourne Academy—the academy publicly known as the best for fire cultivators, though it also accepted those of other elements.
The representative from Ashbourne Academy looked proud and satisfied upon hearing the decision, while the others appeared visibly downcast. As for the crowd, emotions were mixed—envy, excitement, anticipation, and expressions that were impossible to read.
"Alright," the elder conducting the test shouted, raising his voice. "Let's continue."
Gradually, the noise died down, and the ceremony resumed. Names were called one after another as children stepped onto the stage.
"Next up—Azrael." The elder's voice echoed across the arena.
He stepped forward slowly, the world feeling heavier with every step. The noise of the crowd pressed in around him, but he barely noticed it. His heart was beating faster than he expected.
Not because he was excited, but because he was afraid.
Afraid of not awakening anything at all. Or worse… awakening an element with a weak grade.
In Frosthaven City, most people awakened Pink or Orange grade. Orange was already something worth celebrating. Blue grade, like Lucien's, was extremely rare.
And Azrael knew that, but something inside him refused to accept mediocrity.
At the center of the platform sat a smooth, obsidian stone, the surface etched with strange, glowing runes.
"Place your hand on the stone" the elder spoke to him calmly.
Azrael placed his hand on the obsidian stone, the surface etched with strange, glowing runes. Almost immediately, a foreign energy seeped into his body, curling around him like liquid smoke, circling his limbs, then flowing back into the stone.
The elder conducting the test leaned forward, scanning the runes, whispering to himself as he checked the results. The stone's surface shimmered faintly—and then the words appeared:
Elemental affinity: ???
Grade: Unclassified
The elder's eyes widened. He muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else, "This… this can't be right."
"Place your hand again," he said, trying to keep his voice steady.
Azrael obeyed. The same thing happened. Energy entered, curled around him, then returned to the stone. The crowd murmured, whispers rippling like waves. Why hasn't he announced the result? Is something wrong with the boy? Or… the stone?
Finally, the elder spoke to one of the supervisors. "Bring another stone. Quickly."
A different obsidian stone, equally inscribed with runes, was brought to him. The elder gestured. "Place your hand again."
Azrael did. The strange energy seeped in, circled his body as before, then returned to the stone.
The elder took a careful look at it.
His eyes widened in shock.
The other supervisors immediately caught the change in his expression. Their brows furrowed, attention sharpening as they exchanged brief glances.
"Well?" one of them pressed. "Announce the results."
The elder swallowed, still staring at the inscriptions as if doubting what he was seeing. When he finally spoke, his voice carried a slight tremor.
"A-Azrael. Elemental affinity: Darkness. Grade: Blue. Secondary element: Wind. Grade: Orange."
For a heartbeat, the arena was frozen in stunned silence.
Even Azrael couldn't believe what he had just heard. He looked toward the elder, searching his expression for some sign of a mistake. But the elder was staring back at him with the same lingering disbelief, and that was all the confirmation Azrael needed to know he wasn't hearing things.
Then, as if the crowd remembered it was supposed to erupt, the arena came alive. Shouts, gasps, whispers—energy and excitement cascading through the stands.
"Dual elementalists!" someone shouted.
"Damn, he awakened two elements… with Darkness being Blue grade!"
"I must be dreaming!" another murmured.
Even the representatives from the academies froze, forgetting to argue over who would take him.
Lucien, meanwhile, was livid. Shocked too. Just as he thought he had the spotlight, Azrael had appeared and stolen it from him.
Still stunned, Azrael began to step down from the platform. The elder called out: "Wait! Which academy would you like to join?"
The question snapped him out of his daze. He glanced at the crowd, then smiled faintly at the thought of telling his uncle. "I will have to consult my uncle first," he replied.
The elder raised an eyebrow. "Where is your uncle?"
"At home," Azrael answered, a small smile tugging at his lips, thinking about how he'd break the news to the only family he had left.
"Oh," the elder replied, momentarily caught off guard.
Before he could say anything else, one of the academy representatives quickly stepped forward, clearing his throat. "That's quite alright," he said smoothly. "I can escort you to your house so you may speak with your uncle properly." His smile was polite, but the intent behind it was obvious—he was trying to get into Azrael's good books early.
Another representative scoffed. "And why do you have to be the one to escort him?" he snapped, irritation clear in his tone. He turned toward Azrael almost immediately. "I am a representative of Brightwood Academy," he said. "Given how rare the Darkness element is, you'll struggle to find a proper instructor capable of guiding you."
He straightened slightly, voice steady with confidence. "At Brightwood Academy, we possess memory crystals left behind by past Darkness elementalists. Through them, you can study their experiences, techniques, and even learn suitable skills. You won't be left to figure it out alone."
"Tch." Someone else clicked their tongue. "So what? We have one too."
Before anyone could fully process what was happening, the representatives had already fallen into a heated argument, voices overlapping, tempers flaring, each academy unwilling to back down.
The elder conducting the test watched the scene unfold for a few seconds… then sighed.
"Cough, cough," he said loudly, cutting through the noise. "Enough." The argument slowly died down as all eyes turned back to him. "How about this," he continued. "Azrael will return home alone and consult his uncle properly. You will all be given the location, and you may visit tomorrow to receive his decision."
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, one by one, the representatives nodded. It was… reasonable.
The elder turned to Azrael and asked for directions. Azrael gave them calmly, his mind still reeling from everything that had happened. With that settled, he was permitted to leave the platform.
Even after his departure, the arena remained in disarray, voices buzzing with excitement and disbelief. In the end, the elder announced a ten-minute break.
When the time passed and order finally returned, the ceremony resumed, names once again being called—though the shadow Azrael left behind lingered heavily over the ground.