The chamber was still. The obelisks stood like silent gods, etched in ancient runes, humming faintly with elemental presence. The faint glow of mana pulsed in the air, yet none of it was inviting. It was a realm of trial—and only those who dared burn could ever hope to rise.
Noah stood at the center.
His eyes were calm, yet his veins pulsed with tension.
"Five days," he whispered, staring at his hands. "If I can't do this in four days... then I'll never be ready for what's coming."
He took a slow breath and sat cross-legged on the stone floor.
The training began.
Day One – The Fracture of Balance
He extended his right hand, summoning Fire Mana.
A crimson wisp ignited above his palm—flickering, wild, eager.
Then, with care, he summoned Water Mana in his left.
It shimmered blue, calm but deep—like a quiet lake before a storm.
For several seconds, they hovered, obedient.
He began to bring them closer.
Just a simple fusion. Just a test.
But the moment they touched—
BOOM!
The entire chamber lit up in a shockwave of steam. Noah flew back, his arms sizzling, thrown against the base of the Earth obelisk.
He coughed violently, smoke in his lungs.
His palms were blistered—red, raw, hissing.
"Too aggressive," he muttered, forcing himself to sit up. "I treated them like tools, not like… emotions."
He didn't stop. He didn't rest.
Again and again he summoned them—Fire and Water—trying dozens of variations:
Fire first, then Water.
Water first, then Fire.
Equal infusion.
Rapid cycling.
Slow infusion.
Every attempt failed.
The elements rejected each other like enemies. They hissed, snapped, clashed. And Noah's hands took the punishment—burned, frozen, scalded.
By nightfall, he was collapsed beside the Fire obelisk, breath ragged, eyes glazed over.
"I'm not forcing it right," he thought. "I'm still trying to combine them… not make them coexist."
But his thoughts faded.
Pain overtook him.
He passed out on the stone, alone in the cold.
Day Two – The First Harmony
Noah awoke before the chamber lights had risen. His back ached. His hands had cracked. Every movement sent dull pain across his ribs.
But he didn't complain.
He sat up, grit his teeth, and returned to the center.
This time, he didn't begin with fusion.
He began with meditation.
He closed his eyes and listened.
To the pulse of mana in the room.
To the vibrations in the obelisks.
To the echo of his own breathing.
Then—slowly, he summoned Fire again. But instead of controlling it, he simply… observed it. Let it flicker naturally. He noticed how it danced at his heartbeat. How it reacted to his breath.
Then he summoned Water, letting it settle in the air above his other hand.
He waited.
Then—he began to slowly merge the two into a single palm.
There was resistance.
But this time—he guided them like a sculptor, not a warrior.
The Fire didn't attack the Water.
The Water didn't drown the Fire.
Instead, they merged into a gentle mist—a fog of white and pink, warm to the touch.
Steam Mana.
It hovered gently in his palm.
His eyes widened. "...Finally."
[System Notification]
➤ Elemental Fusion Success: Fire + Water = Steam Mana (Stability: Low)
He smiled—but it didn't last.
When he attempted to add Wind, the unstable mist sparked violently.
KRAK!!
A bolt of pressure surged through his hand. He cried out, his entire arm going numb. The fused mana burst into static and vanished.
He fell backward, panting, smoke curling from his fingertips.
Still… progress.
That night, he wrapped his hand in enchanted cloth, sipped mana tea from the estate's emergency supply packs, and fell asleep leaning against the Nature obelisk.
Day Three – The Chain of Chaos
Noah sat again—this time with resolve.
Today, he fused three.
He began with Fire + Water = Steam.
Then carefully, Steam + Wind = Mist Gale.
Then attempted, Mist Gale + Lightning = Charged Mist.
It was working.
He could see the color of the mana change—white and gold with arcs of electric blue flashing within.
He held it as long as he could.
But when he tried to add a fourth—Earth—the mana slowed and began vibrating too densely.
A pulse exploded from his hand.
Noah screamed—a raw cry that echoed through the chamber.
His fingers snapped backward, blood gushed from under his nails, and he collapsed, clutching his hand.
It wasn't just physical.
His mana core itself was flickering.
He'd pushed too much, too fast.
He crawled to the edge of the chamber, leaving a streak of blood behind.
There, he vomited—black sludge pouring out of his mouth. Toxic residue from clashing harmonics.
He lay there for hours, barely able to move, drenched in cold sweat.
But inside—he memorized the failure.
"Earth resisted the storm. It was too heavy. I need to shift the weight… or prepare the base better."
Day Four – The Edge of Collapse
His body was wrecked.
But his mind—sharpened.
He spent the morning fusing four elements in sequence:
Fire
Water
Wind
Lightning
Stormfire Mist was born. An elegant, flowing, storm-charged energy that hovered between his hands, calm and deadly.
It shimmered like a storm cloud rimmed in flame.
Noah stared at it for a long time.
Then slowly—he tried to add Shadow.
It resisted.
A cold pressure surged in from the side, corrupting the balance.
He tried to balance it with Light—but both forces warped the fusion.
The mana began to scream in his mind.
He dropped to his knees, gripping his skull.
Visions of himself—dying, breaking, shattering—flashed behind his eyes.
"STOP!" he cried out, slamming his palm to the floor.
The mana dispersed violently, scattering his thoughts.
He slumped forward, trembling.
"Why…" he rasped, "why can I feel them like they're alive, but I still can't fuse them?"
The ten obelisks offered no answer.
But in his heart, a whisper echoed.
"You're doing it wrong."
[End of Day Four]
Noah stood—bloody, bruised, broken.
He couldn't even lift his arms properly.
But his eyes shone.
Tomorrow… was the final day.
To be continued...