The Sevenfold Surge (3)

The flame detonated. It didn't rise like the others. It roared.

A wild burst of orange light surged upward, like a pyre trying to reach the gods themselves.

It was five whole meters high. No—six.

The blaze cracked upward like a living thing, curling in heated ribbons of molten amber, shimmering with raw, unchecked energy. For a second, it felt like the whole world had gone silent. Even the sea behind us froze.

It was orange.

Alteration.

I stared at it, frozen in place, my lips parted. I didn't even realize I was holding my breath until it came out in one messy, half-sobbed, disbelieving gasp.

"…No way," I whispered.

And then I screamed.

"YES!!"

My voice echoed across the beach like thunder.

"YES! YES!! YESSS!!"

I laughed louder than I ever had. It wasn't delicate or graceful or whatever a 'young lady' was supposed to sound like. A deep, messy laugh came out of my lips that cracked open my chest and poured out every last drop of fear, of doubt, of past-life baggage I didn't even know I still carried.

I was crying and grinning at the same time. My cheeks hurt from smiling. My body was shaking. I threw my hands up toward the sky like it was mine.

I had a Flux.

Alteration.

And not just any Alteration. That flame had climbed skyward like a monster awakening from the deep. Five meters. I'd seen flames of a meter, maybe two, but this? This was something else entirely.

Cheers erupted like a landslide from the Morowind Haven crowd.

They were louder than they'd been all day. Some people stood. Some threw their arms in the air. My name was being shouted over and over. I turned slowly, my heart still racing, hands balled into fists that I pressed against my chest. I met the gazes of my village.

The way they looked at me… it was like I was already a hero. Like I was already someone. Like I mattered.

And then, I noticed the kids around me.

A few were literally staring, frozen in place. Others quickly looked away when I met their gaze, especially the boys. Some flushed so red they looked like they'd caught a fever. One tried to pretend he was scratching his neck, but I saw the blush on his ears. Another just turned around and muttered something to his friend, who elbowed him with a dumb grin.

Okay. Wow. That was new. I wasn't used to attention like that. At least not the harmless, you're-awesome-and-also-pretty kind.

But I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel… good.

I had Alteration. Even though I knew I'd never have the Metal Flux again—not like in my past life—I had still ended up with the same type.

That meant something. That had to mean something. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was the God of Time being poetic. Or maybe it was just who I truly was. At the core, even across lifetimes.

When I turned to look at my family, I barely even got the chance to take in the view before Leuven tackled me in a running hug.

"VERDA!" He screamed, practically jumping into my arms. "You got orange! ORANGE!! Did you see how high it went?! I've never seen one go that high! I think you just broke the air!!"

I laughed and hugged him back, squeezing so tight I thought he might pop. My parents weren't far behind.

Mother had her hands over her mouth, tears streaking down her cheeks. She looked so proud I thought her heart would burst. Father—well, he was trying to play it cool, but I saw his clenched jaw and the way he wiped at his eyes when he thought no one was looking.

And little Thea was on his shoulders, clapping wildly and yelling something that sounded like "GLOWY!" while pointing at the leftover smoke in the air.

I took all of it in.

Lilith stood at the edge of the ceremonial platform, watching me.

Her expression was unreadable for a moment but then she smiled. Not a political smile or a priestess smile.

It was small and genuine. The kind you give when you see a flame catch in the dark after a long time waiting.

I was going to be trained by Lilith.

My knees felt like jelly. I could barely keep from jumping in place.

Even if I had to wait ten years before my Flux awakened fully, just knowing what I had—and knowing it was one of the rarest types, second only to Concept—meant everything.

Combat was wielded by nearly everyone. Elemental was rare. Psyche even rarer. Alteration was like finding gold buried under moonstone.

Concept? That was myth. And Lilith was sone of the only ones with it.

But now… I was next, not in Concept but close.

And I could feel it.

------

By evening, the final embers of the ceremony had cooled, and the villagers were already hard at work turning the main plaza into a swirl of soft lantern lights, fragrant steam, and rhythmic music.

Only three of us had awakened with anything other than red.

That included me, of course. Then there was a kid from the mountain line who had gotten Psyche, which was already impressive enough to have his parents sobbing on the ground. And finally, a girl from the jungle had received an Elemental Flux.

Three out of 4,673.

It said a lot.

But it also meant that my Leuven's Sevenfold Surge when he was seven—which he did at home because the cultural event didn't happen at his time—didn't feel like that big of a deal anymore. He'd gotten Combat, just like the majority. He didn't care of course.

He was just the extremely attractive younger brother of the girl with the five-meter Alteration flame.

Not that anyone really minded.

Actually… Leuven was handling the attention very well.

He was sitting beside me on a smooth wooden bench at the edge of the dance ring, just far enough to seem calm, but close enough that our shoulders brushed now and then. We had plates of actual meat in our hands, not fish, for once, which was so rare it felt like cheating. Mother must've bartered for some kind of miracle to get it fresh and cooked by nightfall.

Even Thea had a little dish, though hers was grain porridge. She was curled up on my lap, her fat little fingers reaching for my spoon every time I tried to feed her.

"Don't you think they're being a little too obvious?" Leuven muttered to me between bites, nodding subtly toward the edge of the fountain.

I followed his gaze.

Three girls, probably from the jungle villages, were standing behind a basket of fruit and just watching him. One whispered something to the others, who giggled like they were ten instead of thirteen. One of them had braided flowers into her hair.

I rolled my eyes and shoved another spoonful of porridge into Thea's mouth.

"They've been staring since sundown."

"I know," he said, dramatically. "It's exhausting being this beautiful."

I snorted. "You're such a dork."

"And you're just mad that your fame is only gonna last until tomorrow morning."

"Oh please," I shot back, tossing a chunk of dried meat into my mouth. "They'll be writing songs about me by next week. I'm already planning the chorus."

He nudged me with his elbow, smirking.

"Still, they really were looking at you like you were some kind of legend. All the grown-ups too."

I blinked.

"What, really?"

"And Dad's already talking to people about betrothal arrangements for me. Not even kidding. I think he's making a list."

I laughed so hard I almost dropped the spoon.

"You're thirteen."

"So was he when he started looking," Leuven said, raising his eyebrows pointedly. "And Mom was fifteen when she had me, remember? And dad was seventeen."

That shut me up because it was true. Our parents were still ridiculously young. They looked like they were barely in their twenties, dancing now in the flickering light of the plaza's bonfire like newlyweds. Their hands were clasped, fingers interwoven. Mom laughed when Dad spun her, and she tripped into his arms like something out of a romance story.

People watched them too, but in a different way.

I looked down at Thea again. She had porridge all over her chin and one of her tiny fists clenched around a spoon like she'd just claimed it in battle. I wiped her mouth and smiled. She looked up at me with that gummy, wide-mouthed joy that babies just radiate when they're full and warm and loved.

It made me realize that I really was mature for my age. At two, I had already began to walk and talk in perfect Maori.

She didn't have enough teeth for meat yet. So I kept feeding her gently, little by little, letting her clutch the edge of my tunic with her free hand.

Leuven sighed beside me.

"You know, even if you didn't get Alteration… you'd still be famous here. You'd still be you."

I glanced over at him.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he said with a shrug, flicking a piece of meat at my shoulder. "But now you're dangerous. So I better keep being the cute one."

I laughed again and this time, it felt lighter.

I leaned my head against his shoulder for a moment, just to feel the solid weight of someone who'd always been there, even when I couldn't remember who I used to be.

The music shifted. Another couple took the floor. More kids from nearby villages came wandering past, sneaking glances at the two of us before pretending they hadn't.

Some old woman came by and dropped a fresh meat bun into my lap with a wink.

"For the Firechild," she said with reverence, before shuffling away with a toothless grin.

Leuven burst out laughing.

"I hate that name," I groaned, mouth full.

"You love it."

"Okay yeah I kinda do."

The firelight danced. The stars blinked alive in the sky.

And for the first time in… maybe lifetimes, I felt like everything might just be okay. Just ten years of training and I'd find out my Flux.