It was the day the Elders said they would come.
Hurukoya moved under a shadow that was not from the clouds. Mothers kept their children close, fathers sharpened weapons they knew were useless. Even laughter had abandoned the village.
The children still trained in the square, firing beams of Enso under Envelon's watchful eye. Each burst of light cracked against the air like it was fighting to stay alive.
"Again!" Envelon barked. "Hold your focus! Your Enso must obey you, or it will betray you."
Sweat dripped from faces, little hands shaking with the effort. And yet, Enid stood apart. His Enso beams were straight, pure, controlled. Every blast looked effortless.
The whispers followed. He's the one. He's our hope. He'll save us.
Enid hated it. He didn't want to be their hope. He only wanted to protect his father.
Rei's Enso flared wild beside him, scorching the ground. Kaien hissed, batting out sparks on his sleeve. "Damn it, Rei, you'll kill us before the Elders do."
Rei said nothing. He could feel the stares. He could feel himself being marked.
At the edge of the square, Reganu coughed blood into his sleeve. His gaze lingered on Enid, heavy and sorrowful. He knew this day would break him.
Beside him, Envelon's cloudy eyes were unreadable. But inside, he already knew the truth. Training meant nothing. The Elders were death itself, and this village was a nest of lambs.
---
By midday, fog rolled over the village until the world outside vanished. The villagers whispered. Some prayed. Some wept.
Shira sat before the seal, her blade resting on her knees, her chant steady as stone. But her eyes betrayed what her lips would not, tension, sharp as glass.
Then Envelon came. Staff in hand, his steps heavy but unshaking. He stopped before her.
"Shira," he rasped. "Step aside."
Her gaze cut to him, cold and steady. "You would open the seal?"
"I would save them," Envelon thundered. His staff blazed with Enso, brighter than fire. "Better I sacrifice myself, better one life, than to watch them all vanish like I did when I was a boy."
Gasps rippled through the villagers crowding near. He was there? He saw the Elders before?
Before Shira could answer, another flare burst. The air shuddered as Reganu appeared, hand trembling against the hilt of his blade.
"Envelon!" he barked. "Not you too!"
Shira's voice cut like steel. "Stay back. Neither of you will touch it."
But Reganu ignored her, staggering toward the seal, desperation breaking him. "We must do something! I cannot…"
She flash-stepped, her strike cracking across his hand before he could touch the barrier.
The villagers muttered in confusion, fear rising like smoke. "Why are they fighting?" "What's happening?"
Envelon raised his staff, Enso roaring skyward. "If you will not move, then I will force you!"
Shira's voice shook with fury. "You old fool! You'll doom us all!"
From the crowd, Mira's scream split the air. "Grandfather, stop this! Please!"
Kaien shoved through, shouting, "What are you doing, you're going to kill us!"
But Envelon only roared louder. His beam fired toward Shira. She barely dodged, stone exploding where she stood.
In that instant, Reganu flash-stepped above her and pinned her down, blade dragging sparks across the seal.
The barrier cracked.
The air screamed.
And then they came.
Four figures blitzed through the wound, faster than sight. One moment the square was whole, the next, the Dark Elders stood in its center. Silent. Motionless. Their presence suffocated the village.
---
The villagers screamed. Mothers clutched their children. Warriors raised spears though their arms shook.
Shira rose from the ground, blood streaking her face. "Fools…" she hissed. "You've let them in."
But Envelon wasted no breath. He seized Enid, ropes binding his arms in an instant. The boy thrashed, tears of rage in his eyes.
"Grandfather! Let me go!"
"You would give a child?" Mira screamed at Envelon, her voice breaking. "You would damn your own blood?"
Envelon's eyes, clouded but hard, snapped to her. "Better one than all!"
He raised his staff and fired a beam at the ground before them, a warning blaze that seared dirt to glass. Villagers stumbled back, terror in their eyes.
"I do this for you all!" Envelon roared, dragging Enid forward. His old voice was shaking, but his grip was iron. "Spare the village, take me, take him, but do not erase the rest!"
The villagers' gasps were deafening.
Shira's face twisted in horror. "Envelon! You cannot…"
But his voice cracked the silence again. "God Enso! This boy is the closest you will ever see to it!"
The world froze.
Enid's scream ripped from his throat, raw, broken. "How could you, Grandfather?! How could you?!"
The villagers erupted in cries of fury and disbelief. Some lunged to save him, others collapsed in despair.
And then…
"He lies!"
Reganu burst forward, dragging Rei in his grip. Rei stumbled, coughing, sparks of unstable Enso crackling from his skin in terror.
"This boy!" Reganu roared, voice shaking the ground itself. "This cursed child! This is the true anomaly! The one destined for Awakening!"
"Father, no!" Enid screamed, struggling against the ropes.
Reganu's tears burned as he shouted louder. "You fear the Awakening? It is here! It is him!"
For the first time, the Dark Elders turned their heads.
Their faceless gaze fell upon Rei.
The square was silent. The villagers could only hear Rei's shallow, broken breath as the weight of gods crushed the air.