Treasure

The sky was dark, torn by powerful lightning that illuminated the darkness. Thunder rumbled with a deafening noise, and rain poured down with an intensity that evoked a brutal deluge. Violent winds came and went, shaking the entire region with incredible force. It was as if the gods themselves had unleashed this storm to sow terror.

"Mother, the storm is unspeakably violent, and Kyriel still hasn't come home... I think it's time we went looking for him," Bertrand said worriedly.

"Yes, go together, you and one of your brothers, that way I'll be more reassured..." she replied, her expression just as alarmed as her son's.

"Okay, in that case, I'll go with Benjamin," Bertrand said.

"But take care and be careful," she said worriedly.

Like almost all living beings in the universe, Bertrand and Benjamin were born with Arts within them. One had inherited the manipulation of the water element and the other that of the wind element. Of course, neither of them had yet reached the enlightenment of the Art, but their degree of energy manipulation was much more advanced than that of their younger brother. In the St. Patrick family, Kyriel and Audrey were the only ones so far who had still not manifested the element of their Art. The latter being the youngest of the family, her case was not so alarming, as most apprentice swordsmen manifested the element of their Art from the age of five. This left a year before the manifestation of little Audrey's Art element.

Young Kyriel, meanwhile, had just turned 13 but had still not manifested the element of his energy. Some in the city of apple trees called him an outcast, others even called him the cursed one. And it was for this reason that Kyriel devoted himself to physical exercise throughout his days, as if to compensate for the lack of manifestation of his Art element. After retrieving their coats from a room, Bertrand and Benjamin were ready to leave. Then, they opened the front door of their house.

"Let's go!" said Bertrand.

"Yes," replied Benjamin.

Far away, in the clearing, up there on the eternal apple tree, a bright gleam in his eyes, young Kyriel was about to perform an incredible feat. Trying to keep his balance despite the rushing winds and torrential raindrops, and despite the pain on his bloodied hands, Kyriel had consumed all the energy he had within him. Looking down, he couldn't see the ground and could therefore well imagine what would happen to him if he fell from such a height. His tutor, meanwhile, was about to intervene. But just as hope seemed to have disappeared, an energy suddenly burst forth from the young apprentice's body. His frightened, frail face suddenly perked up.

"It is here and now that my dream begins," he declared, and the moment he said this, he propelled himself upward using his left hand, which had been buried in the trunk until then.

This action was so impressive that he covered the remaining 40 meters to reach the top of the tree in a flash, so fast that he even exceeded 40 meters and stood upright in the air, 60 meters above the treetop. And that was not all.

Kyriel floated in the air in a trance, a kind of trance completely disconnected from reality. Time seemed to stand still around him, and the energy that had previously surrounded his body expanded and made the cumulonimbus clouds in the area disappear in an instant, stopping the deluge. This energy expanded over a 5-kilometer radius around him, projecting an intense light, so intense that it was noticed by his two brothers who were approaching the clearing at full speed.

"Good God! What is this intense glow!? If we were any closer, we wouldn't even be able to open our eyes in the face of such brightness... Is it coming from the clearing where Kyriel trains?" said Bertrand, looking stunned.

"Look! The rain stopped when that strange light appeared... We'd better quicken our pace... Kyriel may be in danger," replied Benjamin, looking just as stunned as his elder brother. The two brothers began to run even faster.

The light and energy that had burst from Kyriel's body were so powerful that they knocked out every living being within that radius, except for Keith. The young man, despite the intensity of the energy emitted by his apprentice, remained standing and watched the scene with an air of awe and admiration.

"Even among the twelve primordial cities, nothing like this has ever happened before... I am witnessing the illumination of the most majestic Art in the world... And most certainly the most powerful as well..." said Keith.

"This child is definitely not an ordinary being," he continued. A few seconds later, the intense light disappeared, and young Kyriel, standing, closed his eyes, indolent about what had just happened, and began to fall. Although he had just reached the enlightenment of the Craft, he had not an ounce of energy left in him and was about to crash to the ground, unconscious, an apple in his hand. But before he reached the branches of the apple tree, he was caught by his master, who hugged him.

"Well done, my boy..." thought Keith. He came back down to dry land and made Kyriel lie against the trunk of the tree, then smiled when he noticed that the young apprentice, although unconscious, still had an apple on his bleeding hand.

"To think that I came to this clearing to escape from my tasks... If I had known that I would find such a treasure here, I believe I would have come sooner," said Keith.

And as he spoke these words of admiration, he placed his right hand on Kyriel's forehead and poured energy into his body, which resulted in healing all of his apprentice's injuries.

"Good, now I think I need to get out of here... Two young individuals are approaching this area, and based on the energy they're emitting, they have an affinity with Kyriel,"

Keith said, fearing that his powerful energy would affect the two young boys as it approached him. And he also knew that his apprentice and the approaching youths feared no danger, as Kyriel's energy had knocked out all the animals in the area.

"We'll meet again sooner or later, Kyriel... Take good care of yourself!" he said protectively as he vanished into thin air.

About five minutes later, Benjamin and Bertrand arrived on the scene and found Kyriel lying on the tree, his apple in his hand.

"Kyriel! Thank goodness he's fine," said Benjamin.

"But what's that apple on his hand? And how come his clothes aren't soaked after such a downpour?" he continued in a surprised tone.

"No time to wonder... Let's take him home... He looks very tired... He'll tell us everything when he wakes up," said Bertrand.

So, Bertrand put Kyriel on his back and the three brothers set off towards their home.

However, thousands of kilometers away from the clearing, a group of sinister people could be seen gathered around a table and one of them at the end of the table began to smile.

"Well, the time has come," he said, his aura incredibly dark.