Three nights passed in silence. Or at least, the kind of silence that breathes.
The Academy believed its chains and seals could contain him — but the elements had never belonged to the Academy. They belonged to the world. And the world was listening.
Yohan sat unmoving, his back against the wall, staring at the faint light seeping through the cracks in his cell. His mind had grown sharp in solitude — too sharp. The whispers came clearer now, no longer distant.
Fire: "They fear you because they see their weakness in you."
Water: "They fear you because they cannot heal what they don't understand."
Earth: "Patience. All storms pass."
Wind: "No… some storms are meant to break things."
Aether: "Balance… must collapse to be reborn."
He didn't answer. He only closed his eyes. For the first time, he didn't fight them. He listened.
Outside, thunder rolled across the sky.
In another wing of the Academy, Lily stood in front of the council. "He's not evil!" she pleaded. "The elements responded to him because he's different. He could be the key to something greater."
But the elders had already decided. "Tomorrow, he will be transferred to the Abyssal Vault. No one who enters that place returns."
The words reached Yohan before Lily could even tell him. The elements whispered them into his ear.
And that night, the chains cracked.
It didn't happen with noise — it happened with stillness. A silence so deep it swallowed sound. The air grew heavy, the walls shimmered. One by one, the five colors of light spiraled around him, merging into a soft white glow that pulsed like a heartbeat.
When the guards arrived, the chamber was empty. The chains lay on the floor, melted like wax.
Yohan walked through the dark corridors of the Academy, barefoot and calm. His power didn't rage — it flowed. The flames bent around him, water parted, stone softened beneath his steps.
He wasn't escaping. He was leaving.
Lily saw him through the glass of the courtyard gate. "Yohan—!" she called, but her voice trembled.
He turned his head slightly, his expression unreadable.
"You tried to help me," he said softly. "But some storms… can't be stopped with kindness."
Then he looked toward the horizon, where the first light of dawn broke through the mist.
"Tell them I didn't escape," he whispered. "Tell them the world called me back."
And with that, the wind rose — carrying him beyond the walls.