Morning — Uneasy Calm
Sunlight filtered weakly through fog.
Too peaceful.
Too deceptive.
Aanha woke heavy — limbs aching with drained mana and lingering guilt.
Sai was already awake, leaning near the window.
Watching.
Thinking.
Sai (quiet):"You almost burned the ward stones last night."
Aanha (tired):"I didn't mean to…"
Granny entered, placing a small wooden box onto the table.
Charms.
Spirit stones.
Balance sigils.
Granny:"Which is why today, child… we begin control."
Aanha blinked.
"Today?"
Granny's gaze sharpened.
"No more delay."
Afternoon — The Training Ground Beneath the Hill
Granny's back garden stretched wider than it looked from inside — an enclosed circle lined with spirit stones and old wooden charms hanging from poles. The sunlight filtered through the fog above, catching on faint floating particles of mana.
Sai stood across from Aanha, a long branch in hand like a staff. "Rule one — don't try to control the flame. Listen to it first."
Aanha:"Again with this philosophy…"
Sai (smirking):"Listen to it first."
Aanha (rolling eyes): "You make it sound like it talks."
Sai: "It does. You just haven't learned to hear it."
Granny, sitting cross-legged on a nearby mat, smirked. "He's not wrong, child. Your flame remembers what your mind has forgotten. Let it speak."
Aanha sighed but nodded, closing her eyes. The pendant on her neck pulsed faintly, syncing with her breathing.She raised her palm. A flicker appeared — first gold, then briefly red — before sputtering out with a sharp hiss.
Aanha: "Ugh! It's like it wants to bite me."
Sai laughed softly. "That's improvement. Yesterday it wanted to burn you."
Granny (dryly): "Less joking, more grounding. Aanha — again."
The girl steadied her breath. This time, she focused not on forcing the fire, but on its warmth — the rhythm within. Slowly, the flame rose again, steadier, golden light glowing between her fingers. The air hummed with low resonance.
Sai stepped closer, his own markings flaring faintly blue. "Now breathe — let it find your flow."
Their auras met — wind curling around fire — forming a brief spiral of light that danced above their hands.For a moment, everything aligned.
Granny (quietly): "Good… she's syncing."
But then, a faint crack of energy burst — Aanha gasped — the spiral flared too bright. Sai caught her wrist, grounding her energy before it could lash out. The flame subsided, leaving faint sparks drifting upward.
Aanha slumped to her knees, panting. "I— I almost had it."
Sai (smiling): "You did. For a heartbeat. That's more than most on their first day."
Granny rose, walking over with her usual calm. "Enough for now. The flame is ancient. It remembers faster than your body can keep up. Give it time."
She handed Aanha a flask filled with shimmering amber liquid.
Granny: "Drink this. It'll help you recover your focus."
Aanha drank it — and immediately grimaced. "Ugh! It's bitter!"
Sai (grinning): "Told you. She's upgrading your dosage."
Granny (mock stern): "Childhood's over. You're not getting sugar anymore — just strength."
Sai chuckled while Aanha made a face, still sticking out her tongue as they walked back toward the porch.
Evening — The Voice in the Pendant
The house was quiet, lit only by the warm orange glow of old lanterns. Sai had dozed off on the couch, a book slipping from his hand. Granny was outside, tending to her wards.
Aanha sat near the small window, watching the sky fade from blue to violet. The world felt peaceful — almost too peaceful after what happened in the morning.
Her hand absentmindedly brushed over the pendant. It was cool now — no longer pulsing.She whispered, "Who are you really…?"
The moment her fingers traced its center, a faint shimmer appeared — and suddenly, she heard it again.A whisper. Soft. Familiar.
Voice (faint): "Little flame…"
Aanha's breath caught.
Aanha (softly): "Mom?" barely audible even to Aanha. She didn't realized.
The pendant glowed faintly gold mixed with pale silver — light and shadow intertwined. For a moment, she saw a blurred vision: two silhouettes standing on a burning field — one bathed in white light, the other cloaked in silver mist. Then, just as quickly, it vanished.
Aanha pressed her hand to her chest, heart racing. Sai behind her, "You okay?"
She nodded slowly, forcing a small smile. "Yeah… just thought I saw something."
Sai eyed her pendant, then the window. "Then you're seeing more than most. Don't lose that — whatever it is."
Aanha turned back to the fading sky, whispering under her breath: What was that?... and what am I?...
The pendant gave a soft, almost comforting pulse — as though it had heard her.
Next Morning — Balancing Light and Shadow
Mist still hung low over the valley when Aanha woke. Sai was already outside, practicing with his wind runes, streams of air circling around him in rhythm.
Aanha stepped out, stretching her arms, the pendant glinting against her neck.
Sai (without turning): "You're early. Couldn't sleep?"
Aanha: "The pendant kept… humming."
Sai: "It's reacting. You used a lot of energy yesterday — your aura's still unstable."
Granny joined them, carrying a small wooden box filled with charm papers and stones. "Today, we start your real lesson — balance."
She spread the charms around Aanha in a wide circle. Some gleamed faint gold, others dark silver — one half bright as dawn, the other dim like moonlight.
Granny: "You carry both within you — flame and shadow. If they fight, you'll destroy yourself. If they dance, you'll reshape the world."
Aanha took a deep breath. Sai motioned for her to begin.She knelt, closing her eyes, focusing on her heartbeat. Fire rose at her palms — warm and golden — but just as before, it flickered. Then a faint gray hue shimmered around her left hand, pulling at the flame.
Aanha (strained): "It's… it's slipping—"
Sai: "Don't fight it. Let it move. Fire burns, shadow cools. One breath in, one breath out."
The air shimmered as two energies met — golden fire spiraling with silver mist. Her hair lifted slightly with the charge; even the earth beneath her hummed.
Granny smiled faintly. "There. The twin flow."
For a brief moment, Aanha's aura stabilized — golden warmth ringed by faint silver lines. The pendant glowed steady, its resonance in harmony with her pulse.
But the balance didn't last. The moment her concentration wavered, the shadow flared too strong — the ground beneath cracked, and Sai quickly dispelled the surge with a sweep of air.
Aanha (panting): "I… almost had it again."
Sai: "Almost is good. But don't push it. You're not racing anyone."
Granny: "She is, actually — against the world that'll come for her."
Aanha looked up at her grandmother's eyes — not stern, but quietly proud. "Then I'll just have to win."
***
That night, the sky was moonless, the kind that swallows light whole. Sai slept in the room beside hers, while Granny was in the cellar preparing new barrier seals.
Aanha sat by the window, tracing her pendant again. It had been glowing faintly all day — not bright, not loud — just alive.
Then she felt it — a pulse, sharp and cold.The glow shifted from gold to silver, the air around her rippling as though reality itself had taken a breath.
Voice (soft, echoing): "Ember Vein… child of dawn and dusk…"
Aanha's heart skipped. "Who's there?"
The window fogged despite the still air. Symbols faintly appeared on the glass — the same ones from her dream at the shrine. Suddenly, she saw a reflection — not her own, but a woman's silhouette, eyes glowing faint blue.
Voice: "she's looking for you… don't let them find the shard."
Aanha stepped back. "What shard?"
But the vision fractured — the pendant flared bright — and the air split with a faint hiss. From outside came a low rumble, like claws scraping the fence.
Sai burst into the room seconds later, runes already glowing on his arms. "You felt it too?"
Aanha nodded, pointing to the window. "Something was here. It said… shard."
Granny appeared behind them, her hands glowing with an old sigil. The house's wards flared — golden lines racing up the walls, sealing cracks of shadow that had begun to form.
Granny (grimly): "The barrier's holding… but not for long. The pendant's call drew something from the veil."
Sai turned to Aanha. "Looks like your flame isn't the only thing waking up."
The pendant, still glowing between light and dark, pulsed one last time — then went silent.
Granny lowered her staff. "It's begun again… after all these years."
Aanha looked from Sai to her grandmother, her voice trembling.
Aanha: "What's begun?"
Granny: "The Hunt for the Shards of Origin — and you, child, just called the first one."