The wind did not feel like a friend anymore.
It screamed.
Elian stumbled backward as the air around him twisted violently, pulling at his clothes, his hair, even his breath. The sky above had turned into a churning abyss of black and gray, and the creature descending from it brought a pressure that made his chest ache.
People were running.
Screaming.
But Elian couldn't move.
His eyes were locked on the thing falling from the sky.
It wasn't fully visible—its body hidden behind layers of swirling clouds—but its wings… its wings stretched far beyond what should be possible, cutting through the storm like blades through water.
"Elian, MOVE!" his mother shouted, pulling at his arm.
That broke him out of his trance.
He ran.
The ground shook as the creature landed just beyond the edge of the village.
A deafening impact echoed through the valley, followed by a blast of wind so strong it knocked several people off their feet. Roof tiles flew, wooden carts overturned, and the peaceful village of Aerith began to crumble under a force it had never known.
"Elian!" his mother cried again. "Don't let go of my hand!"
"I won't!" he shouted back, gripping tightly.
But the wind had other plans.
A sudden gust—stronger than the rest—tore through the street, slamming between them like an invisible wall.
"Elian!" she screamed.
"Mom!"
Their hands slipped.
And just like that—
She was gone.
"No…" Elian whispered, his voice shaking.
The world blurred as panic surged through him. He turned wildly, searching through the chaos—faces, dust, falling debris—but she wasn't there.
"Mom!"
No answer.
Only the roar of the storm.
Then the wind changed again.
It wrapped around him—not violently this time, but firmly. Protectively.
Like arms.
"Elian," it whispered, cutting through the noise.
"I don't care!" he shouted. "I have to find her!"
"You cannot."
His breath caught.
"What do you mean I can't?!"
The wind tightened slightly.
"You must survive."
A shadow fell over him.
Slowly… Elian looked up.
The creature had fully emerged now.
Its body was massive, formed of dark mist and fragments of something solid—like shattered stone held together by the storm itself. Its wings were jagged and endless, each movement tearing through the sky.
And its eyes—
They were glowing.
Not with light.
But with something deeper.
Something ancient.
It was looking directly at him.
Elian froze.
"Why…" he whispered.
The wind trembled.
"It has found you."
The creature moved.
Not with a roar.
Not with a charge.
But with terrifying silence.
In a single motion, it descended—faster than Elian could react.
"NOW!" the wind shouted.
The air exploded around him.
A powerful force launched Elian backward just as the creature struck the ground where he had been standing. The impact shattered the earth, sending cracks racing through the street like lightning.
Elian hit the ground hard, gasping.
"What… is happening to me?" he choked.
The wind swirled violently, lifting dust and debris into a spinning barrier around him.
"You are chosen."
"I don't WANT to be chosen!" he shouted, fear breaking through his voice.
The creature rose again.
This time… it spread its wings fully.
The storm answered.
Lightning split the sky.
The wind howled louder than ever before.
And then—
Everything rushed toward Elian.
The air collapsed inward.
The storm, the wind, the sound—
All of it converged on him.
Elian screamed.
Not in pain—
But in something else.
Something deeper.
Something awakening.
For a brief moment—
The world went silent.
Then—
The storm obeyed him.
The wind surged outward in a massive wave, blasting everything away from Elian. The creature was thrown back, its form flickering as if it struggled to hold itself together.
Elian knelt at the center of it all, breathing heavily, his hands trembling.
"I… did that?" he whispered.
The wind softened.
"Yes."
But there was no time to understand.
The creature let out a low, distorted sound—almost like a growl, almost like a voice.
And then—
It retreated.
Pulling itself back into the sky, disappearing into the storm from where it came.
The clouds began to break.
The wind calmed.
And the silence that followed…
Was worse than the chaos.
Elian slowly stood.
The village…
Was gone.
Burned, broken, shattered.
Smoke rose where homes once stood.
And the people—
Some were crying.
Some were calling names.
Some… didn't move at all.
"Mom…?" Elian whispered weakly.
No answer.
The wind returned one last time, gentle now.
"Elian…"
Tears filled his eyes.
"I didn't ask for this…"
"I know."
He clenched his fists.
"…Then why me?"
The wind hesitated.
For the first time—
It didn't have an answer.