"Alright everyone, focus on my words and do as I tell you."
Silas stood in the middle of the students as he gave them instructions.
"Try to focus your mind on your chest. Imagine with me a second heart beating there—that is the shard. After you sense it, try to direct your intent toward it. When you connect to the shard, you will be able to use its power. For now, try to manifest your power in front of you. There's no need to rush—take your time and do it slowly." Silas explained the process of connection calmly, making sure everyone was listening.
'A second heart, huh? Let's give it a try.'
I thought as I shifted my focus toward my chest.
I cleared my mind and searched for the shard. At first, I felt nothing, but after a few moments, I sensed something cold pulsing faintly.
'Is this the shard?'
I wondered as I increased my focus, trying to grasp it. Over time, the sensation of coldness grew stronger.
'This is it.'
I muttered as I finally sensed the shard—it was a small fragment of black crystal, just like the one I had carried my entire life, it was releasing a thick black mist.
'I have to connect with it now.'
I directed my intent toward the shard, trying to reach it. I imagined my thoughts as a silver thread piercing through the black mist touching the shard's surface.
The moment the thread touched the shard, it pulsed violently, releasing more black mist.
'Did I fail?'
I panicked, but the shard suddenly calmed down. At the same time, I felt something new—like having a third hand. I decided to open my eyes.
As soon as I did, a new scene awaited me.
'Amazing. Who would've thought the day would come when I'd wield such power?' I marveled at what I saw before me.
Floating in front of me was a pitch-black orb absorbing all light around it as it rotated.
My thoughts were interrupted by a bright light to my right. I turned quickly, searching for its source.
'What?! That girl is using light?!' To my surprise, the source was Elena herself. A white star had formed in front of her, illuminating the world around her.
'Of all things, why would the girl I just met have the shard opposite to mine? What are the chances? Why does this feel like a novel where the boy of darkness falls for the girl of light?'
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts, and looked at the other students.
'Fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, ice, plant, iron…'
There were all kinds of shards—some basic elements, others quite strange.
'What is that?! Oh my god, is that a tear in reality?!'
My eyes widened at a boy with purple hair and golden eyes staring at a crack in space before him.
'Wait, a crack in reality? Could he be from the Starwalkers family? That would make sense. Silas told me he's in the same academy , so he must be the space element. Wow, what a powerful shard.' I thought in awe, but pain in my chest quickly cut off my thoughts.
'Ugh, what is this?!'
I closed my eyes, trying to communicate with my shard, only to find it trembling violently.
Before I could panic over a mistake, a strange feeling slipped into my mind.
'This feeling… jealousy? Why do I feel jealous?! Wait—it's not my feeling. It's coming from the shard. Could it be upset because I admired another shard? Are you serious?!'
I quickly directed my intent to the shard.
'Calm down. I won't replace you or anything like that. You made me immortal, so you're definitely better than the space shard.' I tried to soothe it like calming a crying child.
To my surprise, the shard stopped trembling violently and instead pulsed energetically.
'Incredible… I can feel happiness coming from the shard. Who would've thought shards could have emotions like this?' I wondered as I opened my eyes again and looked at Silas, waiting for his next instructions.
Finally, Silas spoke after confirming everyone had connected to their shards.
"Well done, everyone. I bet you're surprised by the strange emotions you're feeling. Let me explain—those are the shard's emotions. As I told you before, shards have their own consciousness during the connection process. You can send your thoughts to the shard, and the shard can send its thoughts to you. But the shard is limited to simple emotions." He raised his right hand, and a sphere of shadows formed above his finger.
'It's less dark than my shard, and unlike me, it's affected by surrounding light.' I compared the differences between us.
"Now, I want you to wrap your power around a part of your body." Silas said as the sphere of shadows slid down, covering his hand until it turned pitch black.
"As you can see, this is the simplest form of reinforcement. Try to do it slowly and carefully. Some of you may fail on the first attempt, but don't give up. It's important to harmonize with your shard to succeed. Don't be afraid from your own power. For example, those with fire shards won't burn their hands if they try this. Remember shards will never hart their owner" Silas reassured them before dispersing the shadow.
'Annoying as a person, but at least he's a good teacher.'
I thought as I turned my gaze back to the orb of darkness before me.
I directed my intent toward the shard, asking it to envelop my hand. Keeping my eyes open made it harder, but eventually, I succeeded. The shard trembled slightly in acknowledgment, and the black mist around it quickened.
At the same time, the orb of darkness before me descended onto my hand, slowly wrapping around it like a piece of black cloth.
The change was instant—I felt my hand harden, tough enough to withstand normal bullets, and I feel like I can break steel easily.
'Amazing. This is just reinforcing one hand. What if I reinforced my whole body? But let's not rush things.' I turned my gaze to Elena. She had already succeeded—her right hand was wrapped in light, glowing with angelic brilliance.
'She did it too. What about the space boy?'
I looked at the Starwalkers heir.
His left hand was covered in a violet layer with white stars shimmering inside.
'So this is space reinforcement. Beautiful… .' I thought, gathering as much information as I could.
I glanced at the other students. Some had succeeded in reinforcing their hands, but most struggled to control their shards.
"Calm down, everyone. Don't pressure yourselves or your shards. Everyone will succeed eventually. This isn't a race." Silas encouraged them, ensuring no one rushed.
…
After fifteen minutes.
"Now that you've all succeeded, let's move on to the next step." Silas manifested shadows again, this time as hands rising from the ground, writhing like an octopus.
"What you see here is called shard manipulation. I want you all to change the form of your power into something you're familiar with, something that suits your shard. If you understand that, you can begin." Silas dismissed his shadows, letting them try.
'What should I pick? Something fitting for darkness… hmm… oh, this will work.' I directed my thoughts to the shard, asking it to take a specific shape.
The dark orb appeared before me, stretching and growing.
'This is mentally exhausting. It's hard to change shapes.'
I thought, pushing harder to form my chosen shape.
After a long 5 minutes I have Finally do it, the darkness solidified into a completely Fark chain.
'Yes, I did it.'
I rejoiced at my success. I chose a chain because it suited darkness well, and the ability to restrain opponents would be effective in battle.
'What about those two?'
I turned to Elena beside me.
'What's she trying to make?'
I tried to understand her creation but couldn't.
Her light element descended to the ground, shifting rapidly until it became a beautiful flower.
'Impressive. To form something as complex as a flower, she must've had good training. I called her stupid, but she's actually a genius. Silas never said it had to be for combat—he just wanted to test our creativity.'
'This girl isn't simple.'
Acknowledging her ability, I turned to the other boy.
'Whoa, how did he do that?'
I was stunned by the space element before him.
It had taken the form of a serpent made of stars, floating calmly, moving like a living creature.
I looked back at my Dark chain.
'Looks like I've got a lot of work to do, right, Dark?'
The shard pulsed in response, agreeing with me.
'Oh, someone's eager to grow stronger. Let's give it our all together.'
"Alright, that's enough for today. You can stay here and train more, or leave and do something else. Tomorrow, we'll have real physical training." Silas clapped his hands, ending the first day.
'Finally over. Honestly, this is exhausting. My head already hurts.' I dismissed the dark element and stood up.
'I'll go grab some food.'
I decided, walking toward the exit.
"Wait, let me come with you!"
Elena called from behind, running to catch up.
'Seriously, can't I eat alone at least ?'
I sighed, continuing forward.
'I need to uncover this girl's secret soon.'
I thought, glancing at Elena walking beside me with a smile.
...