Silence.
Then — a roar of wind, flame, and thunder tearing through the hall.
When the light finally dimmed, the marble floor was cracked and scorched, the air thick with the scent of burnt ozone. Mentors rushed to stabilize the elemental currents, their chants echoing like fractured prayers.
In the center stood Yohan — unharmed, his cloak torn, his eyes faintly glowing. Around him, five colors flickered and then vanished, leaving only a cold shimmer in the air.
The Mirror was gone. The impossible had happened.
Lily was the first to move. She ran toward him, stopping just short when she saw the expression on his face — distant, calm, too calm for what had just occurred.
"Yohan… what did you see?" she whispered.
He didn't answer. His hands trembled slightly, but not from fear. From restraint. Deep within, he could still feel it — five voices whispering, clashing, feeding off each other.
The Head Mentor approached, robes flowing like storm clouds. His voice was sharp.
"The Mirror has never shattered. What have you done, Yohan?"
Yohan met his gaze. "You said it reveals what we are," he said softly. "Maybe it just couldn't decide what I am."
The crowd murmured again — "Unstable… cursed… dangerous…"
Mentors sealed off the hall, surrounding him with barriers of light. Yohan didn't resist. For a moment, he even smiled — small and bitter.
He knew this would happen. They feared what they didn't understand. And fear, he thought, was just the polite word for hatred.
That night, the Academy buzzed with rumors. Some said he carried all five elements. Others said he was something older — a remnant of the world before balance was born.
Lily found him sitting alone by the fountain under the moonlight.
"You could've fought back," she said quietly. "You could've defended yourself."
He looked at her reflection in the water.
"Why?" he murmured. "So they can call me a monster louder?"
The wind carried his words away. Lily wanted to speak, but the calm in his eyes frightened her. It wasn't defeat — it was acceptance.
In the stillness, Yohan whispered to himself, so softly even the night could barely hear:
"If I am the villain of their story… then let me be one worth remembering."