Episode 5: The Garden Phantom
Episode 5: The Garden Phantom 🌙 Scene 1 — Silver Leaves and Static Whispers
It was midnight in the Vaelcrest estate.
The moon hung low and bright, cloaking the estate in ghostly light. From her balcony, Elara could see the twin spires of the family's meditation hall, the shimmering training fields, and beyond that, the Garden of Blooming Silence — her favorite place.
It wasn't just beautiful.
It was quiet. One of the few places her nineteen awakened elements didn't make the wind shiver or the earth hum beneath her steps.
But tonight, even the silence felt… wrong.
She stood barefoot in the grass, holding Severance loosely in her right hand. The blade hummed at a frequency too high for human hearing — but her Element Zero knew it. Resonance between matter.
[Atomic System: Passive Scan Triggered.][Anomaly Detected: Phantom Mana Signature — Type: Incomplete Flame / Host Unstable.]
Elara narrowed her eyes. "So you felt it too…"
🌑 Scene 2 — A Boy Not Breathing
From the misted treeline emerged a child — maybe eight, maybe ten. Pale skin. Long black hair. Bare feet. His eyes were wide and shining like oil.
He didn't blink.
Elara stepped back slightly. "You're not from the estate."
The boy tilted his head. Then—
He lunged.
But not with human movement. He skipped. One frame he was standing. The next — inches from her face.
Elara stepped sideways, narrowly dodging as a burst of black fire exploded where she stood.
[Alert: Forbidden Flame – Type: Dissolution Class.]
The fire didn't burn the grass. It erased it.
⚔️ Scene 3 — Atomic Dance
Elara raised her blade just in time. The boy lashed again — claws now grown and twisted like molten glass. Each strike was erratic, twitching, chaotic.
"This isn't normal corruption," she whispered. "You're being controlled."
She slashed horizontally.
Element Zero: Density Warp.
The air warped. The blade passed through, but didn't cut flesh. Instead, it distorted the boy's mana field, short-circuiting his next movement. He fell back, twitching.
But didn't cry.
Didn't scream.
He just stared.
Elara narrowed her eyes. "...What are you?"
The boy opened his mouth—and something else spoke through him.
"So… the Zero really is alive. Fascinating."
The voice wasn't a child's. It was ancient, brittle like dry bone.
"Your element is forbidden. You should not exist. The equation was closed."
Elara gripped Severance tighter.
"Equations can be rewritten."
[Atomic System: Emotional Core Reactivity Spiking. Suggesting Suppression Protocol.]"Override," Elara said aloud. "Let it rise."
☠️ Scene 4 — A Clean Cut
The boy raised both arms. Black fire spun into rings, trying to consume the space around him.
"If you must be tested so early—then by all means…"
Elara vanished.
No flash. No wind. Just—
Gone.
Then, behind the boy:
"Severance: Phase Cut."
A soundless slash. Like a zipper opening in reality.
The black fire stopped. The boy froze. Then —
He split in half.
No blood. No gore. Just unraveling. Like a badly coded program ending mid-loop.
The pieces dissolved into glowing ash.
Elara stood with Severance in reverse grip.
🌲 Scene 5 — Grandfather Knows
Moments later, someone landed lightly behind her. She didn't flinch.
Grandfather Alaric's voice was soft.
"You cut through him without harming the soil beneath. That blade… is dangerous."
Elara kept her eyes on the fading ash. "That boy wasn't alive. He was… a puppet."
He nodded slowly. "They're testing you."
"Who are they?"
Alaric didn't answer immediately. Then:
"In the old days, they were called the Crown of Wither. Those who seek to unmake the laws the gods set."
He looked at her wrist — the faint glowing zero sigil.
"It seems you are the crack in their equation."
🧬 End of Episode 5