The clash within

"It's… cold."

Kyle woke in the middle of the night, a shiver coursing through his body.

A strange contradiction gripped him—a cold that pierced his bones, and a heat that threatened to melt him from the inside out.

He sat up, blinking into the dark.

Why do I feel like this?

Training had gone well earlier that day.

He'd managed to punch a hole in the metal block with Fireburst.

After lunch, he'd stayed behind with the other students to keep training—this time focusing on Iceburst.

It was harder to control than fire. Ice was still new to him—the second element he had awakened, and his mastery over it was far from refined.

But he still made some progress, even managing to leave a small dent in the block.

Everything had seemed normal then.

'So why now—why this overwhelming clash of heat and cold surging through his body?'

He glanced around his room, half-wondering if the heater had broken.

The weather outside didn't seem cold enough to explain this.

He threw off the blanket and swung his legs over the side of the bed, then lifted his palm and channeled mana into his flame element.

A warm fire flickered to life in his hand—briefly.

Then frost crept up his arm.

Kyle's eyes widened. "This isn't right… it feels like the two elements are colliding inside me."

He got up and began pacing, trying to warm himself through motion.

He focused more mana into the flame, raising its temperature, hoping to push back the icy sting.

Eventually, he gave up and collapsed back into bed, his body still radiating both heat and chill.

Sleep came slowly—but it came.

—-

The Next Morning

Kyle made his way to class as usual.

Whatever had happened last night… it hadn't returned.

Today's lesson was a continuation of yesterday's—power output.

Since Kyle had already passed, he and the others who succeeded were placed at the back of the field while Professor Darl focused on those who hadn't.

Kyle decided to test his control. He raised his hand and formed a Fireburst.

The flame appeared—but then, just like last night, frost form across his palm.

He frowned. Maybe he should try the opposite.

Canceling the fire, he summoned ice instead.

This time, tiny flames sparked to life over his fingers, weaving through the frost.

His breath caught.

This didn't happen yesterday…

Normally, only one element would manifest.

But now—no matter which one he tried, both emerged.

Suddenly, a sharp sizzling sound erupted from his palm.

The fire and ice were reacting—not in harmony, but in conflict.

The heat and cold fused, then exploded apart, leaving behind a searing pain.

Kyle winced and looked at his hand.

A burn mark—a swirling pattern of red and blue—was scorched across his skin.

And then… the elements vanished.

"…Why are they hurting me?" he whispered.

The elements lived within him.

They were his.

They shouldn't be capable of harming their wielder.

"Are they rejecting each other? Or is something inside me rejecting them?"

The thought came unbidden, but it stuck.

Is this because I used to be a Null?

Or was it because of the unnatural way he had awakened…?

A shadow loomed beside him.

"Kyle," Professor Darl said, stepping forward.

Kyle looked up.

"There's something wrong with your elemental control," the professor said, his gaze serious.

"Your flame and ice—they're not just unstable. They're trying to dominate one another."

Kyle swallowed.

"You need to harmonize them, or they'll tear you apart."

He nodded slowly. "I… I can feel it. They're hurting me."

Professor Darl placed a hand on his shoulder.

"There's a place here called the Elemental Resonance Chamber. Go there. It's used to help balance conflicting mana. Try to make your elements work together before they break you."

—-

The Resonance Chamber

Inside the circular stone room, Kyle sat cross-legged in the center.

Around him, faintly glowing mana crystals pulsed with shifting lights—red for flame, blue for ice.

He closed his eyes and sank into meditation, reaching for the elements within him.

The ring on his finger began to glow.

Then—the world shifted.

The chamber vanished.

His vision blurred, replaced by a vast training hall.

And at its center—

A girl.

Milia.

She stood, her body split by flame and frost—her right side wreathed in fire, her left in shimmering ice.

Her face contorted with pain.

Kyle could feel it—the burning heat, the biting cold.

They crashed inside her like a storm.

Her body convulsed, the elements warping around her, trying to rip her apart.

And yet… she stood.

"Balance…" she whispered, her voice trembling.

"Isn't about control. It's about acceptance."

With those words, she let go.

The fire and ice no longer fought—they flowed, like a river with two currents.

Opposite but aligned.

Then—darkness.

Kyle's eyes opened, and he found himself back in the chamber.

He was trembling, breathing hard.

Milia… she accepted the pain.

She didn't fight the elements—she let them be.

He dove into his consciousness, reaching inward.

There, he found them—two forces, locked in struggle.

Fire roared. Ice howled. Both demanded supremacy.

But Kyle didn't try to choose.

He didn't try to suppress them.

He let go.

The pain came—raw and searing.

His body screamed as the elements collided, clashed, burned, froze.

Then—slowly—they began to shift.

They moved. Not apart, but around each other.

Like dancers in a spiral.

His hand lit up.

The runes on his skin began to change.

The droplet-shaped flame rune in the center glowed brighter, and the crescent-shaped ice rune curved around it like a protective ring.

They had formed a circle.

"It worked," Kyle whispered.

He extended his hand—and flame manifested, steady and controlled.

Ice followed, coiling around the ember like a veil of frost.

A new power emerged—an ember wrapped in ice, flickering with quiet harmony.

The combination of fire and frost.

Conflict no longer—only balance.