Arakh Xei

A young boy's black eyes were looking over at two other boys, kneeling with an excited grin on their faces.

The square of the village was vibrant and brimming with excitement. The head of the village was old yet pleased. His hunchback belied the vibrant in his voice. "Now, close your eyes and feel the resonance of the world," said the village head. 

The two boys closed their eyes as they should. Minds empty, breathing steady. The young boy looking at them had his brows furrowed. His hands clenched, "C'mon, c'mon..."

Then above the boy with brown hair, emerged a floating small solid rock swirling about. 

"It's earth!" said one of the villages.

"Hayam possessed the Earth Resonance!" said another. 

"Yes," the young boy nodded. "C'mon Reikh, you got this!"

Surely and purely, the young boy's eyes grew warmer, like the afternoon sun, as they met the gaze of the boy with dark black hair, touched with a subtle red sheen.

"Fire Resonance! Reikh is the Fire Resonance!" said one of the villagers. 

"Nice," said the young boy as he looked at the two friends gaining their resonances, "But is that all? Hayam! Reikh! I thought you could do better than this!"

Both of their ears twitched. 

"Shut up, Arakh!," said one of the villagers. 

"Yeah, wait your turn in another year!" said one of the villagers.

"H..Huh?" The head of the village opened his eyes wider. The rock floating above Hayam grew larger and the fire above Reikh turned fiery. "By the gods, level 2 resonances!"

The villagers were in awe, whilst Arakh crossed his arms with a smirk on his face. "That's right."

"Bless upon to Kairan, two rare talents!" said the head of the villages. "Y-You both can stop now."

The shimmering elements above their heads vanished into the air, leaving only the lingering energy of the moment. The boys opened their eyes, their breaths heavy but satisfied, and were met with the proud smiles of the villagers. The excitement in the air was thick—like the warm breeze of summer, it carried a sense of accomplishment.

"Oh good job son!" said one proud father as the mother hugged Hayam. 

"Reikh, you have a bright future, as bright as the flame you resonate with!" said one of Reikh's parents.

Arakh smiled seeing his two friends in the embrace of the people they loved. He walked away from the village square, his boots kicking up dust as the crowd's cheers faded behind him.

Back on the far end of the village, was a rundown house. His eyes were not as vibrant as the time of the coming of age of his friends. He sighed, but it didn't take long before he stopped and heard the shoutings... again.

"I have enough of you!" said the woman inside the place.

"And I have enough of you! You won't cook or clean!" said the man inside. 

"Because you didn't give me any money! I can't buy food! It's not like you are as rich as before your father was still alive! And all the money you get is either you spend it on useless things that you know we can't afford! Why can't you think of our child? And your mother always gives you money!"

"Well, you never help her cook, she is old and fragile, why wouldn't you?!" the man slammed his hand against the table.

"Because it's not my passion! I didn't sign up for this!" she slammed the same table.

"You married me because I was rich! Now that it's gone, this is how you treat me!"

"Enough," said the grandmother. "I have little money left, you can use it."

"Mother! Why do you always help him?" asked the mother, "All the money you gave to him will end up in ashes anyway."

"He is my son, and this is my money," said the grandmother. "Why don't you help me cook or at least clean the house?"

Every day, every single day, morning through night, this what I hear, Arakh said inwardly before sighing. Spare me the insanity, the whole villagers know about my family, every neighborhood doesn't want anything to do with my mother and father, and gaining a girlfriend is simply impossible. Nobody in their sane mind would want anything to do with me or my family anymore. 

He opened the door of his house and caught them fighting each other. The grandmother was the first one to smile, "Arakh, did the coming of age of your friends go well?"

"Yes, Grandma," said Arakh before heading toward his room. He closed the door behind him, shutting out the noise of the ongoing argument. With a deep sigh, he flopped onto his bed, hands crossed behind his head. The muffled voices of his parents still echoed in the distance, their bickering unwavering even behind the closed door. He turned to his side, unable to escape the sound, and reluctantly left one ear open, listening to their familiar misery.

Tomorrow came in a blink of an eye and before he knew it he heard a voice calling his name. "Arakh... ARAKH!" 

Hayam nudged his elbow, "Arakh, the teacher is calling your name."

"Hah, oh," Arakh replied as the others laughed, he looked around and found himself in the training ground.

"Don't, oh me!" said the teacher. The man's attire was both practical and refined, reflecting his role as a teacher. He wore a long, dark coat with subtle gold embroidery. His trousers, reinforced at the knees, were tucked into polished black boots, and a short, sleeveless cloak with a crimson lining draped over his shoulders. Though no weapon was visible, his commanding presence hinted at concealed strength. "It's your time to demonstrate combat!"

"But Master Braun," said Arakh, "I have not yet hit eleven."

"So what?" Braun asked.

"I..." Arakh paused, his eyes spent a second looking at the stern gaze of Braun. Then he slicked his black hair back and moved forward like he was told.

"Now... I'm gonna pick..." Braun scanned over his students before pointing out, "You, miss 'beauty' of the class, Lorelai! Get over here!"

"This is going to be easy," Lorelai tied her ponytail, and with the final stretch of the loop, her eyes sharpened.

Hayam and Reikh smiled seeing the brunette with a touch of green sheen, stepped forward with grace, and laughed when they saw Arakh stunned.

"Stop drooling, Arakh!" said the teacher.

Arakh wiped his lips but his hand was dry, yet Lorelai already gave him a disgusted look. 

"Get ready!" Braun said, raising his arm. "Treat this as a real battle. Go!"

"W-what?" Braun said it so fast that Arakh's mind was absent for a second, but Lorelai was already sweeping down below. With her right fist clenched, she aimed for his stomach. "Eat this."

"Tch!" Arakh crossed his arms and blocked the incoming fist but the momentum was too great that it pushed him away with his feet dragging the soil to break it. His hair fluttered. He slowly put his arms by his side, hiding the pain in his face. He looked up and saw a leaking wind around her bracelets.

"Talk about unfairness," Arakh muttered. "Wish my old man would buy me an artifact like that."

Lorelai paid no heed to his mumbling and lunged forward.

"Tch!" buried his right foot down and flicked the dirt in her direction. "Swallow this!"

"Useless," Lorelai pushed the dirt away, "Huh?" her opponent was missing.

Hayam and Reikh had their eyes wide open as they saw Arakh who had moved sideways, raise his foot. He spun his core and his foot was a deadly whip swinging toward her head. The side attack was sudden and Lorelai's pupils only began to shrink.

"Enough," Braun caught Arakh's foot from delivering the fatal blow and the impact fluttered Lorelai's hair.

Lorelai's eyes widened as her entire body was stunned. That was a fatal blow without hesitation. That flick of dirt decided the match.

Arakh was dangling at Braun's mercy as the latter said, "Well done, Arakh." before letting him go and kiss the dirt.

"Lorelai, you underestimate your opponent, that's why you lose, do that in a war, and you'll die," said Braun. "You are too reliant on the bracelet, facing a richer opponent you would simply lose."

Lorelai opened her mouth but swallowed the words within. She nodded, "Thank you for your input, Master Braun." she clenched her fist and glared at Arakh who was fixing his clothes after the fall.

"En!" Master Braun nodded before crossing his arms and looking at the students of the Kairan Village, "That would be all for today."

"Thank you, Master Braun!"

As the group dispersed, Arakh got a hold of Hayam and Reikh. "Hey!"

"What is it, Arakh?" asked Hayam as he put away the hand that burdened his shoulder.

"I got something for you two," said Arakh.

"What? Really?" asked Reikh. "What is it?"

"I found an interesting wall in the nearby forest, I bet you want to look at it," said Arakh.

"But the forest is dangerous," Hayam said, his brows frowning. 

"Nah, it's not that far," said Arakh. "C'mon!" he led the way.

Hayam sighed before seeing Reikh already following behind Arakh, "H-Hey wait for me!"

Hayam managed to keep up but was received with the laughter of Arakh.

"Hey, Hayam, what do you want to be when you grow up?" asked Reikh.

"Huh, well, I have no idea really, we are still eleven, I never thought about it," said Hayam, "How about you?"

Putting his hands behind his head, Reikh looked up to the bright sky filtered with the leaves of trees. "I want to master this fire resonance I suppose, so becoming a Master Resonator is my answer!"

"Oh right, I suppose I could reach that height as well," said Hayam, "But the road is still so long, we are still at the Beginner Resonator."

"Hey, hey, as long as we walk through it, we'll get there, heck, I'm not even a resonator yet," said Arakh.

"Well, what do you want to be, Arakh?" Reikh asked, his voice light but curious.

Arakh paused mid-step, his eyes drifting upward to the towering rock wall ahead. The question seemed to linger in the air, but his gaze was fixed on the strange formation that loomed over them.

Hayam and Reikh followed Arakh's stare, both of their eyes widening as they looked up at the massive wall. It was etched with a swirling vortex pattern as if the stone itself had been carved by an ancient force. The design was so perfectly symmetrical it seemed impossible, too precise to have been formed by nature alone.

"Pretty cool, right?" Arakh said with a grin, his fingers brushing lightly over the smooth surface of the rock, the coolness of it seeping into his skin.