Unleashing the Elements

Chapter: 3

I stood across from Abeni, watching as she sat in meditation, trying to unlock her Mana. The night was cool, and the only sounds were the rustling of leaves in the wind and the faint chirping of crickets. I was focusing on my own practice, channeling larger portions of Mana to different parts of my body, trying to gain more control over the energy flowing within me. Every now and then, I glanced at her, wondering what was taking so long. She had been meditating for about thirty minutes now.

"What is she doing in there? Did she fall asleep?" I muttered under my breath.

I considered walking over to shake her awake, but just as my hand was inches from her shoulder, a burst of bluish-lavender energy erupted from her body, knocking me back slightly. I stumbled but quickly regained my footing, my eyes widening in surprise. Abeni slowly stood up, her body practically glowing with the energy swirling around her. She clenched her fists, then stretched out her arms, looking down at herself as if she were rediscovering her limbs.

A grin spread across her face, wild and full of excitement. Without a word, she threw a few quick punches into the air, her movements filled with an energy she had never known before.

"How does it feel?" I asked, chuckling at the sight of her punching the air like a kid with a new toy.

"I feel amazing! I have so much energy, it's like I can do anything!" she exclaimed, her excitement palpable.

I laughed lightly. "Do you even know what 'amazing' means?"

She paused, a little embarrassed. "Well, I heard you use it to describe something, so I thought it was something good."

"It is, but don't copy what I say unless you know what it means," I teased.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she shot back, waving me off. "So, what do we do first?"

I studied her for a moment before replying. "First, let's get you off that energy high."

"Energy... high?" she asked, clearly confused.

"Don't worry about it, just do what I say. I want you to start channeling your Mana throughout your body, but try to use as little as possible at first, okay?"

Abeni still looked confused, but she nodded. "Okay, got it."

"Good. Now, begin."

A week later, Abeni and I found ourselves back in my secret training spot under the cover of night, as had become our routine. The week had been an interesting one, to say the least. After she unlocked her Mana, we had spent every night training together, focusing on controlling our Mana. It wasn't easy, and we had both struggled at first seeing as we didn't have a teacher, but we had finally managed to get our control to a somewhat acceptable level.

Over the past week, we had moved beyond just circulating Mana through our bodies. We learned how to create simple Mana constructs—nothing fancy, just basic orbs—and we were even able to sense each other's Mana over short distances. It was progress, though I was eager to take things a step further. Tonight, I was finally ready to try something I had been itching to do ever since I first unlocked my Mana—elemental control.

Abeni stood across from me, stretching her arms and preparing for another night of training. Her usual fiery spirit was on full display as she cracked her knuckles, looking at me expectantly.

"Okay, Abeni," I began, "we're going to do something different tonight."

Her eyebrow quirked in curiosity. "Different? Like what?"

"Elemental control," I said, letting the words hang in the air.

"Elemental control? That sounds badass! What are we waiting for? Let's do it!"

I chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Just watch, and you'll see."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing my Mana into my right hand. I pictured the element I wanted to control. It had to be something safe—no fire or lightning, as I wasn't sure I had enough control over those yet. Earth was too rigid for what I had in mind, so that left two options: wind and water. I chose water, the element I was most comfortable with.

I visualized the fluid, free-flowing nature of water, and slowly channeled my Mana to manifest it. I felt the energy swirl in my palm, and with a gentle release, the Mana began to take shape. When I opened my eyes, a small orb of water floated just above my hand, shimmering in the moonlight.

Abeni's POV

I watched Kael with growing interest as he closed his eyes and raised his right hand. I could sense his Mana gathering, flowing into the air around him. But this time, something was different. Instead of dispersing into nothing like it usually did, the Mana stayed, floating above his palm. I took a step closer, curiosity burning in my chest.

Then, it started to happen. The Mana orb he was creating wasn't the usual colorless blob. It began to shift and change, forming something clearer... something that looked like...

"Is that water?" I whispered.

I stepped even closer, my eyes fixed on the orb. Reaching out, I dipped my finger into the liquid, pulling it back to taste. It was cold and refreshing.

"It is water," I muttered, awe creeping into my voice.

Before I could say anything else, the orb began to wobble, expanding rapidly. I barely had time to react before the whole thing popped, drenching both Kael and me from head to toe in a splash of cold water.

"Are you serious?!" I sputtered, wiping water from my face.

Kael stood there, frozen for a moment, his eyes wide in shock before he burst out laughing. "I guess I lost control for a second."

I glared at him, water dripping from my hair. "Ya think?!"

He raised his hands defensively, still laughing. "Hey, at least we know it works!"

I couldn't help but laugh too, though I tried to cover it up with a scowl. "Whatever. Now I'm soaked, and it's your fault."

"Well, I can't say this is what I planned," Kael admitted, brushing his damp hair out of his eyes. "But hey, at least I didn't set us on fire."

I rolled my eyes. "Lucky us."

Kael's POV

Once we had both mostly dried off, I sat Abeni down and explained the process to her. She listened intently, her usual hot-headedness subdued for the moment. I could tell she was eager to give it a shot herself.

"Alright, here's what you do," I began, sitting across from her. "You need to picture the element you want to control in your mind—really focus on its properties. Then, use your Mana to fuel that image. Think of it like feeding energy into a picture you're creating."

Abeni nodded, absorbing every word.

"Now, words of caution do not create fire or lightning. We cannot afford to burn this place down and get caught. Got it?"

Abeni rolled her eyes. "Got it."

She closed her eyes, and I could sense her Mana stirring, gathering around her. I waited in silence, curious to see what element she would manifest. After a few moments, the air around us began to shift. I felt a cool breeze pick up, swirling lightly around her.

Wind, I realized with a grin. Of course, it made sense. Abeni had always been wild and unpredictable, like the wind itself.

Her brow furrowed in concentration, and slowly, the wind began to take shape. A small gust swirled above her hand, forming into a barely visible orb of air. She opened her eyes, looking at the faint, swirling wind in her palm with a triumphant grin.

"I did it!" she exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with pride.

I nodded, smiling back at her. "Yeah, you did. So you chose wind."

"Yeah." Abeni jumped to her feet, punching the air again. "This is amazing! What else can I do with this?"

"We'll find out soon enough," I said, standing up and wiping the last of the water from my shirt. "But for now, let's focus on control. The last thing we need is you accidentally starting a tornado."

She grinned, eyes flashing. "You know, that doesn't sound so bad…"

I laughed. "One step at a time, Abeni. One step at a time."

Unfortunately for us we didn't notice a pair of eyes watching us from a distance.

Chapter 3: End