The Awakening Hall was enormous.
Hundreds of fifteen-year-olds stood inside while instructors prepared the awakening ceremony.
One by one, students stepped onto a glowing magical circle.
A crystal appeared above the circle.
Then their power was revealed.
"Fire!"
The crowd cheered.
"Water!"
More applause.
"Lightning!"
The hall erupted.
Evans watched nervously.
Then an instructor called out:
"Olivia Carter!"
Olivia took a deep breath.
"Wish me luck."
"You've got this."
She stepped onto the circle.
The crystal above her began to glow.
At first, nothing happened.
Then—
BOOM!
A brilliant golden light filled the hall.
The instructor stared at the crystal.
"Light Element."
The crowd gasped.
"That's a rare ability!"
Olivia stared at her hands in disbelief.
She had awakened the Light Power.
She looked toward Evans and smiled.
Evans raised his fist.
"That's my friend!"
Then the instructor called the next name.
"Evans!"
The hall became quiet.
Evans walked toward the circle.
He stepped inside.
The magical symbols beneath his feet began glowing.
The crystal above him remained completely silent.
Five seconds passed.
Then ten.
People began whispering.
"Did he fail?"
"Maybe he has no power."
Evans's heart sank.
Then the crystal suddenly cracked.
CRACK!
Darkness spilled across the entire hall.
The lights went out.
Everyone screamed.
A cold wind swept through the room.
Evans looked down.
Something black was spreading from his feet.
It looked like smoke.
But it wasn't smoke.
It was shadow.
The shadows around him began moving on their own.
The instructor stumbled backward.
His face became pale.
"No..."
Evans looked confused.
"What is it?"
The instructor stared at him.
"Shadow."
Silence.
Someone whispered:
"That's impossible."
Another student stepped away.
"The forbidden power..."
Evans looked at the darkness surrounding his hands.
For the first time, he felt afraid of his own power.
Olivia pushed through the crowd and ran toward him.
"Evans!"
He looked at her.
"Olivia..."
She stopped in front of him.
Despite the fear in her eyes, she didn't move away.
She simply reached out her hand.
"Come on."
Evans stared at her hand.
"You aren't afraid?"
Olivia shook her head.
"You're still Evans."
He slowly took her hand.
Behind them, however, the instructor continued staring at the shadows.
Because he knew something the others didn't.
The Shadow Power had not awakened in Aurelia for three hundred years.
And the last person who possessed it had been responsible for the greatest catastrophe in human history.
The instructor whispered:
"The Shadow Sovereign has returned."
Far beneath the Awakening Hall, something ancient opened its eyes.
And it smiled.