It was called Element AxE, or Automatic Transformation of the Elements. It came from the space beyond the world and it was a thin layer of mist. Blue mist. It floated through the void from who knows where and vaporized nearly everything that came in contact with it. Asteroids, barren planets, stars, black holes, and super novas. It was pulled into earth by the strong gravitation boundary and settled into the stratosphere. It seemed to float there, unable to proceed any further. A month after it stayed there undisturbed, it began to lost altitude. The first layer dropped into the sky, then drifted beneath the clouds before accumulating anywhere a solid surface existed. Then the second layer dropped, followed by the third, fourth, all the way to the hundredth layer, yet there was still a massive wall of it at the boundary of space. It made the layers that dropped seem insignificant in comparison.
It was only noticed by the start of the second year, when more than two hundred and fifty layers buckled under each other's weight and began to compound and compress. People thought the rain was behaving oddly and thought it was safe to breathe in. The day in particular was hot and everyone was dehydrated. The rain would freshen them up. They were right, technically. So they breathed it in and when they noticed it was still there, continued to breathe it in. It felt good and there was no danger, yet.
It was still there the next day and that's when people grew suspicious. The rain should have evaporated by now, but it hadn't. It stayed there in the exact position it had been yesterday. The mad folk were forced outside to provide an explanation. They weren't actually mad, just had crazy ideas. Often talked about ancient forces and mysterious beings from out of this world. The truth was that they weren't alone and this planet was a tiny remote hut ostracized by the village in a world of imperials and monsters. Metaphor, of course, or was it? The mad community insisted that they had their memories wiped, which was true, and were sent here for unknown reasons, which was false. They were sent here for a specific reason. They just didn't know what it was because their memory had actually been wiped. They were only spared vague references of elemental supremacy. As for the crime they had to commit to be imprisoned here?
Adam Huxley would find out much later on. It was your usual grim tale, but none of it accounted for a young man with a monstrous, unparalleled, infinitely scaling affinity. Did he know about it though? No, but he would find out. He was an AxE, a group of people named after the term given to the mysterious rain. The mad folks had deduced, through examples, that this rain, or blue mist, or Element AxE as they were forced to refer to it by, provided certain capabilities to individuals. Then they became more specific and said that certain folks had affinity with it, when more and more people started getting angry.
Affinity simply described the people who had the most bizarre interactions with Element AxE. The greatest perceived amount of control and influence over it. When the first and only volunteer for a full three hours combusted into flames, everyone ran for their hut. The ones without a roof simply hid underneath planks of wood, behind trees, or into bushes.
Everyone except Adam Huxley.
When the first poor soul combusted, time in fact seemed to slow down for him. Maybe it was his first time experiencing death and this was his body's way of processing it. Maybe he was already used to it and dreaded cleaning up the mess and wanted to delay it. He clearly saw what had happened, what lead to the combustion, and how it could've been handled differently. Clearly, the body was a medium, not a vessel, through which Element AxE could be channeled. If he did nothing, like the accident that just occurred, since there was probably not enough space inside him, he would explode as well. The problem was he didn't know how to control it. He just knew how it seemed to move.
That was the terrible news. The bad news was that he stood there for half an hour until someone was brave enough to step out and see him. He didn't know why he stood there for so long, doing nothing. Well, he was observing the situation but besides that, he wasn't doing anything. He was moving his fingers actually, but that was so small that hardly anyone would notice. Because he stood at the source of the explosion and wasn't affected, as more and more people came out, the mad folk also realized and accused him of knowing what to do.
That was not true. He didn't. But now he was expected too and there were dozens of people and only one of him. Well, four if you counted his parents and his sister, but what could they do? They were not given any signals from him on how to react, so they just behaved like the crowd. They were expecting him to do something even if they knew he couldn't.
Engage with or demonstrate something he had no idea how to. He could do that or face accusations from the mad folk. He could ignore them, but the mad folk were actually more complicated then their status lent them credit for. Their continued and fierce accusations were no different from a death sentence, because they only focused on things that made sense to them. If it made sense to them, it made no sense to the village folk and that was all they needed to enforce the mad decision to kill.
They originally had fifteen mad folk, and none became mad after them, so when the first died, they yearned for the day when all fifteen die. If someone had the potential to become a different type of mad, they would eliminate that person on the spot. Blood kin was no exception as proven several years ago when the lead elder had his only son killed. It was later discovered that the boy consumed a shroom with hallucinogenic properties but it was too late then. Rationality wasn't a popular subject so far on the outskirts.
So now all eyes were on him and he had a few minutes to figure out how to safely use Element AxE. There were three paths and one led to his safety. The other led to death by Element Axe. If he was smart enough, he could avoid that, but you could only be smart after studying. The other led to death by mob and he had no way to stop that, unless he mastered the whole thing, but if he did, death would be staved off. So in fact there were four paths and he had a fifty fifty chance of survival.
So he focused on Element AxE and concentrated hard. Real hard. Harder then he had ever done in his life. The seconds ticked by, then minutes, and that was when he was in danger. He saw the village folk in his peripheral running at him with sticks and rocks. They were raised and feet away from him but soon they would be inches and falling down on him. They would all pour down on him and he would have no way to resist unless a miracle happened.
Why?
Why didn't it work. What was the secret to Element AxE? The first memory stunned him. He heard voices. A female, young and feminine. Too feminine to be old. He had a sister but she was dozens of feet away from him. How could she be right next to him?
~Brother. Brother. You are on the verge of collapse. I know you can awaken Element AxE. Mother and father bought a cake for your eighteenth birthday. You're not allowed to be lost to the void before you give me just one piece~
Eighteen? He was a fourteen year old boy. Since when did he age an extra four years without realizing it?
~I know you have poor affinity, but this is only an illusion. It was the only mode safe enough for you. The proctor doesn't know what's going on and is trying to safely abort the process. Please help us out~
A strong pull grabbed his attention and he looked down. |-|. This was the symbol for poor or non-existent talent. It was currently inverted. -|- meant monstrous, unparalleled, infinitely scaling affinity. He was aware of that so why was his sister telling me he had poor affinity? Was this really his sister. After the confusion came the ripples. They were small at first but as more appeared all of them started intensifying in size and magnitude.
He was no longer in the village. That much he could guarantee. He was safe from death at the moment, safe from the pressure of Element AxE. In front of him was an imperial city, or was it? But he was not there either. It was on the other side of a hole that was oval in shape. He tried to go through it but no matter how much he moved, it always stayed at a fixed distance.
Then the punch came. It was a fist covered by metal armor. It roared from deep within the empty space and had a dangerous feeling to it. He could see a thin layer of white mist on it. It reminded him of Element AxE, but it was white instead of blue. Was this how it could be used? How was it possible? He looked at it and focused real hard. Not nearly as hard when his life was on the line but with a lot more serious effort. Element AxE was made of finely woven threads of determination, willpower, effort, intent, and drive. Five super thin threads twisted into one finely woven string that contained a treasure trove of possibilities.
It was the same type of possibility he had tried to reach for earlier but couldn't because he was panicking and had no idea how to start. Now he had a reference point. He breathed in and breathed out. Processed the thoughts in his head. He did not utilize it. He did not employ it. He did not apply it in any way. He WAS Element AxE and his intent was its intent. He punched as he breathed out a trailing fog of black smoke. It was blue actually, but it rapidly turned black and was fully black when his punch connected with the metal. He didn't know that it was only visible to him and thought it would intimidate his unknown opponent.
What he expected to see did not happen. The fist wasn't blown back. There wasn't an explosion. There wasn't even an impact. The punch simply was absorbed into his fist. Nothing happened after that. The first crack appeared after he thought that. About nothingness. Then another and another and more cracks appeared everywhere and then he heard the same voice again. His sister, or not his sister.
~Brother. It's a miracle. Hurry up and wake out. Shout with all your might. Be proud~
He was confused. Miracle? Wake up? Shout? He could understand miracle, maybe. That punched was from chance and opportunity. Luck, definitely. But what did wake up and shout mean? He could see how he might need to wake up. It did seem like he was in a dream, but he never closed his eyes to begin with. Everything happened while his eyes were open, so what would he need to do to wake up? Shout? Maybe. Was that it? But maybe he had to do more then shout? Maybe shout, but as Element AxE?
He did nothing for a minute, two minutes, two minutes and thirty seconds, but he finally reacted after two minutes and forty five seconds. He didn't shout into the world but at the world, like he owned it. It was a tremendous roar that clawed at the very corners of the far reaches. Then he was out of breath and gasped but he didn't breathe back in. He couldn't. It felt like the air was being sucked out of him.
"Brother. Brother! You're back. We thought we lost you. On the edge of death, you came back as a Warlock! You skipped straight past training and are more valuable than a Magi. Tomorrow, AxE training will officially begin"