The crack in the sky did not disappear.
It remained faint but visible, like a scar across the heavens.
By midday, the entire region had seen it.
And Yildes had already reported it.
The World Government
Far from the village, beyond mountain chains and sea borders, stood the capital of the World Government — a massive city built around a circular tower that pierced the clouds.
Inside the upper chamber, projections of the sky crack hovered midair.
Officials stood in silence.
"The disturbance was detected across all continents," one analyst reported.
"No mana surge preceded it."
"That's impossible," another replied. "Spatial fractures require catastrophic mana concentration."
A man seated at the center table spoke calmly.
"Shadow General Yildes confirmed the phenomenon himself."
Silence followed.
If someone like Yildes was concerned… it wasn't minor.
"And we still do not know what caused it?" the man asked.
"No."
The projection flickered.
The crack pulsed once.
Very faint.
The man's eyes narrowed.
"Monitor it constantly. Inform all high-ranking attribute holders. We cannot afford blind spots."
For the first time in decades—
The World Government did not have answers.
Back at the Village
Kael sat alone at the edge of the training yard.
He hadn't spoken much since morning.
Rion's awakening had spread quietly through the village. Whispers already started.
Rare Light.
Sixteen.
Perfect control.
Kael stared at his own hands.
Nothing.
Xilo approached quietly and sat beside him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
"You're angry," Xilo said gently.
Kael forced a laugh. "At what? I'm fine."
Xilo didn't look at him.
"You felt it," he said. "The moment it didn't respond."
Silence.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"I trained just as hard," he muttered. "I pushed just as much."
His voice wavered slightly — barely noticeable.
"I wasn't asking to be special. I just didn't want to be left behind."
That was the first crack in him.
Xilo placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Power does not define your path."
"That's easy for you to say," Kael replied quietly. "You have Lightning."
There was no anger in his voice now.
Just something raw.
For the first time since they were children—
Kael looked small.
Xilo's eyes softened.
"You think power begins at awakening," he said.
"But sometimes… it begins long before."
Kael didn't understand what that meant.
But he held onto the words anyway.
Meanwhile
Rion stood across from Yildes inside their home.
He wasn't glowing now.
He looked like himself again.
But different.
Stronger.
"Kael won't say it," Rion began, "but he's angry."
Yildes remained still.
"He thinks the rivalry is over."
Rion's fists tightened slightly.
"It's not the same if I'm just… ahead."
Yildes studied his son carefully.
"You believe Light makes you superior."
Rion hesitated.
"…No."
But he had thought it.
Yildes walked toward the window.
"Listen carefully."
"In this world, everyone is born with mana. It flows through the body like blood. Attributes shape that mana."
Rion nodded.
"Some are born with average reserves. Some with high."
"And some," Yildes continued, voice steady, "are irregular."
Rion's eyes sharpened.
"Kael," Yildes said carefully, "was not born with mana."
Silence.
Rion blinked.
"That's impossible."
"It should be."
Yildes' shadow stretched slightly along the floor.
"But yesterday… when your Light awakened… I sensed something."
Rion's posture straightened.
"A surge of mana."
Silence deepened.
"From Kael?" Rion asked quietly.
"Yes."
Yildes' expression did not change.
"I do not know what it means."
That honesty carried weight.
"I have theories," he added calmly. "Nothing more."
Rion waited.
"You, Xilo, and I all possess high-density mana. Kael has grown up within that environment since infancy."
Rion's eyes widened slightly.
"You think his body adapted?"
"I think," Yildes replied evenly, "that the human body is capable of surviving conditions it was not designed for."
"That does not mean he is powerful."
"That does not mean he is weak."
Silence.
"I do not know what Kael is," Yildes finished.
Rion looked toward the training yard outside.
For the first time—
Rion didn't feel ahead.
He felt uncertain.
High above them, unseen by most—
The crack in the sky pulsed again.
Slightly wider.
And somewhere far beyond the World Government's detection range—
Something answered it.
Silently.