The Awakening of Eden

Eric

It had been a week since Eden took the entrance exams for Lorraine Academy. In that time, he had trained harder than ever before. As his father, I couldn't help but anticipate the arrival of the letter.

When it finally came, I wasted no time calling Eden down. Moments later, I heard his footsteps approaching. His movements were swift, yet there was a slight delay, a hesitation at the stairs. Even though he had memorized our home, navigating it blind was still a challenge.

We sat at the dining table, the envelope resting between us. With steady hands, I opened it and began to read.

"Dear Eden de Sylvain and Family,

First of all, we would like to thank you for participating in our entrance exams and for your belief in Lorraine Academy. This year's freshman class consists of 1000 young Awakened. The selection process was more competitive than ever, with countless talented candidates vying for a place.

With that being said, we would like to extend our congratulations—Eden de Sylvain, you have been accepted into Lorraine Academy. We hope you are as excited as we are to welcome you into our ranks.

...

...

A message from our principal:

"Many young students struggle with the idea that their futures are set in stone, that their destinies are absolute. But instead of trying to force control upon our fates, we must learn to mold them, to work with them in order to reach our dreams. That way, no matter what, we can at least say we did all we could."

The letter continued with standard acceptance details—schedules, uniform guidelines, academy policies. Towards the end, the official start date was listed: September 1, Year 202. 

I looked up from the letter, expecting to see Eden's reaction—perhaps excitement, relief, even the smallest flicker of emotion.

But he wasn't even listening.

His face was still, almost eerily so. His breathing had slowed, his entire body unnaturally motionless. At first, I thought he had simply zoned out, but when I called his name, there was no response. My stomach clenched.

"Eden?" I reached out instinctively.

Then I saw it.

His eyes—once a dull violet—now shimmered with something new, something unnatural. Flecks of dark purple light danced within his irises, like distant stars in a boundless void. The glow was subtle yet unmistakable, giving his blind gaze an otherworldly depth.

Before I could react further, a sudden pulse of energy exploded from Eden's body. The force struck like a tidal wave, knocking me clean off my chair. I crashed into the couch, the impact dulled only by the split-second activation of my mana. Still, the sheer force of it left me momentarily stunned.

I pushed myself upright, eyes locked on my son.

Eden blinked, his expression shifting as if waking from a trance. Recognition flickered across his face, and then—

"Father!"

He rushed toward me.

His movements—something was different.

There was no hesitation. No cautious feeling of his surroundings. No careful, calculated steps. He moved with absolute certainty, navigating the room as though he could see everything, down to the finest detail.

I could only watch, my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

Something had changed.

I couldn't explain it, but I could feel it—a shift in the very air around him. Eden now exuded a faint presence. 

And I had no idea what it meant

Eden

Eden rushed to his father's side, his heart pounding. The burst of the energy had sent Eric flying, and while Eden knew his father was an Awakened, the sight of him sprawled on the couch still sent a chill through his spine.

"Father! Are you alright?" Eden reached out, helping his father sit up.

Eric blinked a few times before letting out a breath, then suddenly burst into laughter. "Alright? Eden, you nearly blasted me through the wall!" He shook his head, rubbing his temples. "It's been a while since I've been caught off guard like that."

Eden let out a breath of relief. His father's laughter was reassuring. But just as quickly, Eric grabbed his son by the shoulders, his expression shifting to one of curiosity—and something else. Awe.

"What in the world was that?" he asked, searching Eden's face. "And how in the hell did you just run straight to me without hesitating?" His eyes narrowed. "You didn't fumble, you didn't feel around… you just moved like you could see."

Eden hesitated. He had expected questions, but the moment had arrived faster than he anticipated. He had always trusted his father, but voicing what had happened made it feel… real.

"There's something I need to tell you."

Eric's brow furrowed, but he nodded, gesturing for them to sit. The two settled onto the couch, though Eric's posture remained tense with anticipation.

Eden took a breath, choosing his words carefully. "The day I awakened… something else happened. Something beyond my ability and my flaw."

Eric leaned in slightly, silent but attentive.

"I received a legacy."

For a moment, Eric simply stared. "A legacy?" he echoed, disbelieving. His fingers tightened against his knees. "Eden, do you have any idea how rare—" He stopped himself, exhaling sharply.

Of course Eden knew. A legacy wasn't something an Awakened simply obtained; they were inheritances of knowledge and power, often passed through bloodlines or discovered in ancient ruins. And yet, Eden had awakened one… on the very same day he gained his ability?

"Whose?" Eric finally asked, his voice quieter now, as if the weight of the revelation was only just sinking in. A legacy… his son had awakened a legacy.

Eden shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know where it came from or why I was chosen. But I do know that it's powerful." His fingers curled slightly. "It's a martial art. One unlike anything else I've seen."

Eric's gaze sharpened. "A martial art?" He exhaled slowly, his mind racing. Martial arts legacies weren't rare—if anything, they were among the most common, passed down through generations and refined over centuries. But the way Eden spoke about it... there was something different here.

Eric nodded, prompting Eden to continue. "When I accepted it, techniques, knowledge, years of experience… they all flooded into my mind. I understood things I had never even thought about before. That's what I've been training since my Awakening."

Eric let out a low whistle, running a hand through his hair. "That explains a lot." His gaze flickered over Eden, taking in the way he sat—composed, poised, a quiet intensity radiating from him. "I knew you were changing, but I assumed it was just you adjusting to your blindness. But this… this is something else entirely."

Eden exhaled. "The martial art itself is incredible, but that's not even the most important part."

Eric arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"The biggest thing… is what it did to my mana perception."

Eden paused, gathering his thoughts. "In the beginning, I started to see mana—just faint particles, here and there. Over time, the more I trained, the clearer they became. And then one day, I saw something else. Something different."

He turned toward his father, his violet eyes—now shimmering with dark purple light—reflecting something almost otherworldly.

A single particle of mana, unlike any other. While normal mana moved chaotically, shifting aimlessly through the air, this one stayed still. As though it existed beyond the need to drift.

He let the words settle between them before continuing.

"And the moment I saw it, its name surfaced in my mind—not as a thought, but as a truth that had always been there, waiting to be recognized. As if it had simply been waiting for me to see it."

Eric leaned forward slightly, his body tense. "What was it?"

"Aether."

The word sent a chill down Eric's spine. He had heard of it before—once, in an old forgotten text, a whisper of something ancient and untamed.

"Aether exists outside of the normal attributes. It doesn't follow the same rules. And that's when I started to think… what if instead of choosing a standard attribute, I chose Aether?"

Eric's breath caught. "Eden…"

Eden pressed forward. "There's something else about my martial art—if practiced as a first discipline, it doesn't lock the user into a single attribute. Instead, it allows them to choose… and evolve differently depending on their choice."

Eric stood, pacing now, rubbing his jaw. "Eden, do you have any idea what you're saying?" He turned, his expression unreadable. "Do you even know if it's possible? No one has ever wielded this... Aether, not in recorded history."

"I know," Eden admitted. "But that's not all."

He took a steady breath. "Before my Awakening, I read a theory. It was buried deep in an old forum, dismissed as nonsense by most. But it suggested that multiple attributes could coexist within a single Awakened—not as separate abilities, but as a true fusion. Theoretically, if one could perfectly balance two attributes at exactly fifty percent, they could wield both."

Eric frowned. "That theory has been tested before. There have been successful cases, but the drawbacks far outweighed the benefits."

"For most," Eden corrected. "Theoretically, if an Awakened maintained a perfect balance—fifty percent of one attribute, fifty percent of another—they could wield both. And there have been instances where people managed it. But the problem was always control."

Eric's expression remained skeptical, but he listened.

"The balance is fragile," Eden continued. "Most who tried ended up favoring one attribute over time, even without realizing it. Eventually, the shift would become too great, and they'd lose the ability to manipulate the weaker element altogether."

"And those who did maintain the balance?" Eric asked.

"There was one documented case," Eden said. "A man who used both lightning and light mana—his control was flawless, however he had to give up martial arts. Through intense meditation, he kept both attributes stable and could utilize them together. But without the martial arts to give the mana direction, the power was nearly useless in combat."

Eric exhaled sharply. "That's why the method was dismissed. Too much effort for too little payoff."

"Exactly," Eden said. "However my thinking was different, I had a supremely adaptable martial art that also allowed me to choose my attribute. However the most crucial part of my plan was my belief in Aether. Aether is different, it follows different rules so wouldn't be right to assume that it would interact with another attribute differently than others would?

Sure enough, as Eden shifted his perspective inward, he could see it. The Aether and the lightning weren't clashing; they flowed together—as if they weren't separate but one and the same.

Yet, something was different about the Aether. Unlike his lightning mana, which naturally gathered in his torso, where his mana pool resided, the Aether was moving elsewhere.

Following its path, Eden soon realized where it was going—his heart. And there, within it, he saw it. A small, pulsating purple orb. A coagulation of Aether, nestled deep within his heart.