Sabre stood in front of the awakening orb, trying to keep his breathing steady. The hall was large and cold, built from white stone that reflected the faint blue light of the orb. Even though almost every fourteen-year-old in the district came here eventually, the place still felt too empty… too serious. The glowing orb sat on a slim stand that looked older than the building itself. It almost felt like the orb was watching him back.
He rubbed his palm against his robe, wiped away the little sweat there, then stretched his hand forward. His fingers shook, but only slightly. He hoped no one noticed.
Behind him, the elders stood in a single line. They always looked calm, but today, their silence made everything feel heavier. Sabre tried not to look at them for too long. Their white robes, their hands folded in front of them, their cold eyes that never missed anything… they made him feel like he was already doing something wrong, even before he started.
He took a breath, stepped closer, and lowered his hand until his palm touched the orb.
It was supposed to be warm.
It was supposed to glow gently.
It was supposed to show just one color.
But the moment Sabre touched it, the orb reacted as if it woke up from a long sleep.
A sharp pulse of light shot out, bright enough to make Sabre blink. The surface under his palm vibrated, then began to rumble like distant thunder. Sabre's eyes widened, and for a second, he wondered if he should remove his hand—if maybe he was doing something wrong. But before he could think too much, the orb's light deepened and cracked like a shell under pressure.
A thin line of lightning spread across the orb's surface.
Someone behind him gasped.
Another person muttered, "This… this isn't normal."
Sabre's heart hammered faster. He could feel something rushing through him—not pain, not warmth, not cold—but a strange pull, like the orb was trying to look deeper into him than anyone ever had. His skin prickled. Little sparks danced between his fingertips, flickering like they were alive.
He swallowed hard, trying to stay still.
The orb pulsed again—then again—each one stronger than the last.
The blue color shifted into pure white.
Then it exploded into colors he had never seen before. Gold flashes mixed with silver streaks, twisting like chaotic wind trapped inside the glass. The elders stepped forward, their calm expressions breaking.
"Remove your hand," one said sharply.
Sabre tried. He really did. But the moment he tried to pull away, the orb pulled back. His palm stuck to the surface like two magnets clashing. His breath caught in his throat as the energy inside the orb surged through him. His knees almost buckled, but he forced himself to remain standing.
"Elder Corvan," one of the elders whispered, "the orb is binding to him."
"That's impossible. The orb only binds to those with unstable…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
A sudden wave of force blasted out from the orb, pushing all the elders back a step. Sabre stood at the center of it, his robe fluttering, hair rising from the invisible wind swirling around him. His eyes stung, the light too bright, but he refused to close them.
Then—everything stopped.
The world froze in complete silence.
The orb turned black. Not dark. Black.
Like all its light vanished at once.
Then a single thread of golden lightning shot upward, piercing the ceiling before disappearing.
The orb lit up again—this time in two colors.
Deep violet and electric blue.
The colors swirled violently, fighting each other for space inside the orb.
"Dual affinity…" someone whispered.
"Two? It cannot be."
"It's unstable—look at the reaction."
"Boy, release it—"
But Sabre couldn't let go. His hand refused to move, and his entire arm trembled like the power was shaking every muscle. His teeth clenched tightly, and his legs felt weak.
The orb cracked.
A spider web of fissures spread from the point where his palm touched it.
Sabre stared in shock. Breaking the orb wasn't just strange—it was unheard of. It had never cracked for anyone, not even those with legendary talent.
"What's happening?" Sabre finally managed to ask, voice shaking.
"Just hold on!" Elder Corvan shouted, but his voice sounded unsure, like he wasn't certain Sabre would survive it.
The orb cracked again.
A deeper, louder sound—like a stone breaking under pressure.
Then all the light rushed out.
Lightning burst upward.
Astral light burst downward.
Both collided at Sabre's chest.
He choked, stumbling forward as the power slammed into him. His eyes widened, seeing flashes of stars, empty skies, and violent storms. His mind felt like it was being pulled in two directions. His heartbeat sounded like thunder.
The hall disappeared for a moment.
He wasn't standing on the floor anymore.
He was falling—no, drifting—inside a dark space filled with floating lights. Like stars that didn't stay still. They floated around him, far and close at the same time, bending in ways normal light shouldn't.
Above him, lightning coiled like a living serpent.
Below him, astral energy formed a quiet ocean that stretched endlessly.
Sabre felt both calling to him.
Lightning wanted his strength, his fire, his spirit.
Astral wanted his mind, his calm, his depth.
He didn't choose.
They chose him.
Light crashed into his chest, filling him completely.
Sabre gasped as the hall returned. His knees gave out, and he fell forward, catching himself with his hands. His breath came out heavy and sharp. Sweat rolled down his forehead, and his whole body trembled from the force that had just entered him.
The orb behind him shattered completely.
Glass hit the floor like falling rain.
The elders froze, eyes wide, faces pale.
"No one… no one has awakened like this in several generations," Elder Corvan whispered. "Lightning Magic… and Astral Manipulation… together? This is dangerous."
Another elder stepped forward. "Sabre, stand. We need to—"
He stopped abruptly.
Because Sabre wasn't just kneeling.
The floor under Sabre's hands was cracked in a spiderweb pattern, as if lightning had struck it. His skin glowed faintly with electric traces, and around his shoulders, a soft purple mist drifted like smoke.
Sabre noticed none of that.
He only felt the strange energy swirling inside him—wild lightning and calm astral force twisting around each other.
"Am I… going to lose control?" he whispered.
Before the elders could answer, the large doors at the end of the hall slammed open.
A messenger rushed in, panting heavily.
"Elders! We have an emergency! A second incident has just occurred outside the western border—something no one has ever seen before!"
All the elders turned sharply.
But Sabre felt something else.
A pull.
A calling.
The same kind of pressure he felt the day he met the rogue in the woods. The same uneasy feeling he tried to ignore before. Now it was stronger—much stronger—as if calling directly to the magic inside him.
Sabre slowly raised his head, eyes glowing faintly.
"What incident?" Elder Corvan demanded.
The messenger swallowed, staring in fear.
"A tear… a tear in space. Like something trying to come through."
The hall went silent again.
Sabre's new astral senses immediately reacted. His chest tightened, and the lightning inside him sparked violently.
He didn't understand it yet.
But something out there was connected to him.
Something dangerous.
Something waking up at the same time he did.
And Sabre realized…
His awakening wasn't just the beginning of his power.
It was the beginning of something else.
Something coming.
Something he might not survive.