The Trial of Affinities

The plaza had thinned out somewhat since the earlier duels, but the air still crackled with energy. Fifty cultivators stood in a wide formation across the tiled grounds, each bearing their own expression—pride, tension, or in some cases, unshakable boredom.

Chase stood quietly at the edge of the formation. His spear remained wrapped in the cloth of anonymity, still in his grasp like an old walking stick. Beside him, Milo sat calmly, his fur brushed by the wind, his small eyes flickering with awareness. He drew plenty of stares himself, a creature so clearly not mundane—but people still couldn't quite place what he was.

A bell rang, sharp and high.

A voice echoed across the plaza. "Top fifty participants, you've proven yourselves in combat. But strength alone is not enough. Now, we test your affinity."

A wave of murmurs followed. Several younger cultivators straightened up in anticipation, while others glanced nervously at one another.

A large stage had been erected at the far end of the plaza, where the elders of the local testing branch sat in front of five tall stone pillars. Each pillar was inscribed with ancient script and elemental runes—Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning—while a sixth, obsidian-black pillar sat slightly apart, pulsing faintly.

Elara stood not far from Chase now, her dark blue robes elegant, her long chestnut hair cascading down her back. Her eyes, however, flicked toward Chase every few seconds. He hadn't said a word since the duels, and yet he'd stolen the attention of everyone around.

"You walk with a spear like it's a cane," she said softly, voice playful. "Is that part of your style or just dramatic flair?"

Chase didn't answer immediately. "What would you prefer it to be?" he said at last, his voice steady, calm.

Elara chuckled, but her smile faded as her gaze shifted toward the affinity pillars. "This next part... might be even more humiliating than the fights. People take affinities personally."

The first name was called.

A girl stepped up nervously and placed her hand on the fire pillar. It pulsed faintly, glowing a warm orange. A moderate reaction.

"Fire affinity. Moderate-grade," one of the elders said without much ceremony.

Next.

A boy stepped up and placed his hand on the wind pillar. It pulsed only lightly. Low-grade.

So it continued—air, fire, water. Earth, occasionally. Most reactions were underwhelming. A few cultivators received loud cheers from family members in the crowd when they scored a "high-grade," but those were rare.

Then Elara was called.

She stepped forward with natural poise, head high, robes fluttering slightly as if even the wind bent to her. Her beauty hadn't faded from anyone's mind, but now they saw something more—nobility.

She placed her hand on the water pillar.

It lit up.

Not faintly.

Not moderately.

It surged. The runes flared a deep, crystalline blue and icy mist curled around the base of the stone. The entire crowd hushed.

"Water affinity," the elder called, standing up now. "High-grade. Near peak-purity."

Even the other elders shifted in their seats.

Elara turned away calmly, though her eyes flicked toward Chase as she walked back.

"Show-off," he muttered under his breath.

Milo snorted.

Then came Chase's name.

He didn't move at first.

When he did, the murmurs returned—this time sharper, more curious. The blind youth who had swept through the duels now walked toward the stone pillars as if none of them existed. He approached slowly, his wrapped spear clacking against the stone floor.

He reached out—not toward the fire, or water, or wind.

He placed his palm flat on the lightning pillar.

The stone pulsed.

A single spark danced across the runes—then another.

Then the pillar erupted in a flash of light. Lightning cracked in the sky above, and the pillar's inscriptions lit up from top to bottom. Cultivators gasped and shielded their eyes. The elder conducting the test stood up abruptly.

"Lightning affinity... high-grade!"

Before the murmurs could die down, Chase—expression unreadable—moved his hand to the obsidian pillar.

Someone in the crowd laughed. "Why touch the dark element? That's just for formality. No one ever—"

Then the pillar lit.

Not like the lightning.

Not with a flash.

It began to consume the light around it. Shadows pooled at its base. The air turned cold. The elder's face twitched.

"...Darkness affinity," he said, after a long pause. "High-grade."

Silence fell.

The plaza, once bustling, now seemed to shrink around Chase as people whispered in awe.

"D-dual affinity?"

"Lightning and darkness? Isn't that... contradictory?"

"Isn't that dangerous?"

Chase said nothing. He turned calmly and returned to his place.

Elara looked at him as though he'd just ripped the veil off the sky.

"You really don't care what people think of you, do you?" she asked, voice soft.

"I didn't do it for them," Chase replied.

He initially didn't plan on disclosing his darkness affinity. But his body moved on its own. 

"...Show off" Milo muttered