Two days later, Instructor Haga summoned the four of them—not as students, but as candidates.
"You four… showed unusual synchronicity in the arena. Balance in chaos. That is rare."
They stood in a vaulted room beneath the academy, old stone and iron carved with Jinki seals. Dust floated in golden shafts of candlelight. On the wall behind Haga was a mural—cracked, faded—depicting six elemental beings in a ring of flames. Wind, earth, water, lightning,Fire,Sound.
And one more: void.
"This academy was not built to train children," Haga said. "It was built to keep something locked away."
Denji blinked. "Wait—what?"
"Long ago," Haga continued, "Jinki was not merely a tool. It was a key. There was a fifth element beyond the others—Void, or as some called it, the Silent Jinki. It was used to seal an entity that should not exist."
He gestured toward the cracked mural. "Akira discovered writings about it. He believed the seal was breaking."
Shinji stepped forward. "Why hide this from us?"
"Because you are not ready," Haga said. "But fate does not wait for readiness. It waits for resonance. And your resonance is undeniable."
He raised a hand—and a stone door groaned open behind him. Stairs led into darkness.
"The Vault of the First Flame," he said. "Your Jinki will be tested there. Not by us—but by what lingers."
The stairs led them deep underground, where the stone grew warmer, humming with latent energy. Their Jinki reacted immediately—Shinji's flames flickered higher, Denki's sparks danced, Hinari's body seemed to vibrate with current, and even Denji's calm aura felt strained.
"Something's… pulling at my core," Denji said, sweat beading on his brow. "Like it's trying to rewrite my Jinki."
They entered a chamber filled with crystalline structures, each one humming with different energy signatures—memories, stored within pure Jinki.
"They're echoes," Denji whispered. "Of past users. Maybe even… Akira himself."
Then one of the crystals began to glow. A deep red.
Shinji stepped forward, instinct driving him. The crystal pulsed—once, twice—and then surged with flame.
Suddenly, the chamber was gone.
Shinji stood in a burning wasteland. The sky above cracked with unnatural lightning. Mountains had been shattered. Cities burned in the distance.
And in the middle of the chaos stood Akira—his older brother, face hardened by battle, eyes lit with searing crimson Jinki.
"You shouldn't be here," Akira said, not surprised. "But I guess the flame found you too."
Shinji stepped closer. "Is this… a memory?"
"A warning," Akira said. "This is what's coming. Daimao Maoshi returns. And no one's ready."
Shinji saw flashes—an enormous shadow devouring Jinki fields, black tendrils turning masters into husks.
"What do we do?" he asked.
"You survive. You learn. You unify. The shadows fractured us. The elements must become one again. Or we all burn."
The vision collapsed into smoke.
When Shinji awoke, the others were beside him. Denki looked worried. Denji was pale. Hinari knelt at his side.
"You were screaming," she said quietly. "The fire… it wasn't normal."
Shinji sat up. "I saw it. The war. Akira's warning. It's not just a prophecy. It's a memory of what's coming."
"That's impossible," Denji said. "Time doesn't work like that."
"Unless Jinki does," Denki murmured.
Back at the surface, the instructors had questions. Haga was silent, but other masters were not pleased—especially regarding Hinari.
Word of her true Jinki affinity had spread—and with it, fear.
"Compressed Lightning users are unstable," one instructor said. "Too volatile. Too dangerous."
"So was Akira," said another.
That night, Hinari sat alone by the practice fields, lightning sparking quietly around her fingers. She looked calm—but inside, storms brewed.
Shinji approached.
"They're afraid of you."
"I know."
"But I'm not."
She looked up. Her eyes weren't angry. Just tired.
"I didn't ask for this power."
"Neither did I," Shinji said, sitting beside her. "But we can choose how we carry it. Akira made his choice. I'm making mine."
"And what choice is that?"
"To stand with those who have something to protect."
In the following days, tensions grew. Denji began keeping more to himself, pouring over texts late into the night.
One evening, Denki confronted him.
"You're hiding something."
"I'm researching," Denji snapped. "The Vault changed us. I need to understand how."
"You mean how to control everyone else's Jinki," Denki shot back. "You've always been obsessed with control."
Denji didn't deny it.
"If we're going to face Maoshi… we need more than raw power. We need order. Strategy. Sacrifice."
"So you'd sacrifice us?" Denki said.
"If I have to," Denji replied, cold.
The room sparked as Denki's hands lit up with volatile electricity.
"Say that again."
But Shinji stepped between them.
"Enough. We need each other. Like it or not, whatever's coming will destroy us unless we fight together."
Hinari, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"We need to train."
By week's end, the four stood together again—this time in a secret clearing behind the academy, moonlight shining on them through wind-tossed branches.
"The instructors won't help us anymore," Shinji said. "We've seen too much. We know too much."
"So what now?" Denji asked.
"We train ourselves," Hinari answered. "Harder. Smarter. Together."
They drew their Jinki in unison.
{Don't forget our goal,reach 50 power stones for a bonus chapter, Don't be stingy,bless me with your power stones}