March 23, 995 KRC (The Fall of the Light Races)
The morning sky was still veiled in a thin mist when the sharp clash of wooden swords echoed through the backyard of a wooden house on the edge of Valiri Village.
"Huff... Grandpa doesn't seem to have a single weak spot," Alfair muttered between breaths.
He moved in a blur, his body slicing low across the ground like a streak of light, aiming an attack from below.
"Oh? You really think you can land a hit like that?" Balia mocked casually, sidestepping the strike.
"Not done yet!" Alfair unleashed a flurry of blows from every direction, his speed so fast it left afterimages in the air.
But Balia remained calm, effortlessly blocking and dodging each strike.
"Not bad... but your form's full of openings."
In a flash, Balia's wooden sword struck Alfair squarely on the backside.
"Ow! That hurts!" Alfair yelped. He countered with a quick kick, hoping to catch his grandfather off guard.
But Balia caught his leg with ease.
"You've been too focused on attacking. You leave yourself wide open."
With a twist, he sent Alfair crashing to the ground.
"See? That's how easy it is to bring you down."
"Huff... fine, let go of my leg. I'll start over."
Alfair lay on the ground, catching his breath.
"Alright." Balia released him and stepped back.
Alfair stood again, eyes narrowed as he replayed his grandfather's words in his mind.
"This time, I will land a hit," he said with a confident grin.
"Oh? Don't just talk—show me," Balia replied with a smug expression.
"You better not regret it, old man."
Alfair raised his wooden sword. Light began to gather along the blade, glowing brighter and brighter.
"Not bad," Balia murmured.
Alfair suddenly threw the sword at Balia and vanished from sight, as if swept away by the wind.
"What's that boy up to?" Balia moved to dodge the flying sword—
but in that moment, Alfair reappeared behind him, fist aimed at a weak point in his back.
Just as Balia blocked the punch and deflected the thrown sword—
Alfair vanished again, reappeared in front, snatched the sword mid-air, and swung it in a brilliant arc toward the smallest gap in Balia's defense.
Balia grinned. "So that's your plan."
Alfair's slash came fast and sharp, his blade leaving a trail of light through the air.
But Balia was no ordinary opponent.
He stood still—and suddenly, thick roots burst from the ground, forming a shield that blocked the attack with ease.
Alfair's eyes widened. Just one branch had stopped his most focused strike.
And before he could react—
SMAACK!
"That's the second time I've smacked the same spot," Balia teased, laughing.
"Cheater! You weren't supposed to use roots!" Alfair huffed, rubbing his sore backside as he got ready for a third round.
"Still want more, huh?!" Balia cackled.
Alfair's face turned serious. He was done holding back.
Balia raised his wooden sword and motioned for Alfair to come.
Without a word, Alfair dashed forward. His movements were sharper, faster—his strikes weaving around Balia like a dance. Each swing traced patterns of light in the air, forming a glowing whirlwind that spun tighter and faster, pulling in the air around it.
"You've grown stronger…" Balia murmured, now caught in the eye of the luminous vortex.
The whirlwind shrank, preparing to crush him—
BOOM!
Alfair's body slammed into the grass.
He lay there, panting, sweat dripping from his face. His small frame trembled with exhaustion—but his eyes still burned with defiance.
His hair was split in two shades—jet-black on the right, glowing white on the left.
His irises shimmered pale blue-white, while his pupils were deep black—as if light and shadow coexisted within him.
He was only twelve, but already bore a power that no ordinary human should have.
While other children his age were still learning to control fire, water, or air...
Alfair had been born with something far more rare—two opposing elements: Light and Darkness.
Standing across from him was an older man with tied-back silver hair, clad in a robe woven from old tree fibers. His frame was solid as stone, and a smug smile always lingered on his face.
"You lost again, Alfie," the man said, arms folded.
"Just as I expected. But don't be upset—no one in this world has ever defeated me. Because I am—"
"—the strongest man in the world. Yeah, yeah, I know," Alfair interrupted, out of breath and rolling his eyes.
"You say that every five minutes... huff."
"Four minutes, seven seconds," Balia corrected, proud.
"But I don't blame you. It's hard to count when you've been knocked around that hard."
Alfair stood up, grumbling.
"If you fought all the strongest element users in the world at once… would you actually win?"
Balia straightened up, face serious—but that grin only grew wider.
"Win? Alfie, just hearing my name makes them tremble.
If they see me? They faint.
If they breathe in the same air? They apologize to the wind."
Alfair gave him a flat stare.
"Grandpa needs... mental help."
Balia burst out laughing and patted Alfair's head.
"Alright, alright. You want proof? Watch this."
He raised his hand toward a distant mountain—thousands of kilometers away.
The air fell silent.
Alfair could feel it—the flow of Atom Energy, the unseen force that powered all elemental abilities in this world.
Then—
GROOOHHH…
From the mountain's peak, a massive tree burst forth, growing skyward at an impossible speed.
Its leaves shook violently, and even from so far away, the rumble of its roots tearing through rock echoed across the land.
"Did... did that tree just grow... on the mountain?" Alfair gaped.
"Freshly grown," Balia replied, smiling. He then picked up a small stone near his foot.
"Now watch closely... my secret technique: Doom Pebble!"
Without further explanation, he tossed the stone into the air.
Alfair stared, unimpressed—until things started to get weird.
The stone swelled in size.
Not just bigger—it flared into a burning orb, absorbing the surrounding energy.
It accelerated, expanding with incredible force, and when it reached the mountain—
BOOOOM!!!
A colossal explosion.
The giant tree collapsed.
The entire mountain shattered, collapsing into a steaming, flat basin.
The sky and earth trembled, birds scattered in panic.
Alfair fell to his knees, pale-faced.
"That's... impossible. Controlling elements from that far… manipulating energy at that scale? That's something only a being capable of destroying continents could do…"
Balia grinned wider.
"And what's the name of that being?" he asked, proudly pointing to himself.
"…Balia Elenvar," Alfair whispered, eyes wide.
For the first time—he truly believed.
His grandfather wasn't just bragging.
But neither of them realized that deep within the mountain now reduced to rubble…
something ancient had been disturbed.
Something that was never meant to be awakened.