Summershore was a quiet coastal village, where the sound of the waves and the gentle wind created an almost untouched atmosphere of peace. Small wooden houses painted in pastel tones adorned the silent streets.
Carly, with curious eyes and an easy smile, was returning from school accompanied by her mother, recounting her day's adventures as the sunset stained the sky red.
Her mother smiled, ever patient. "You did the right thing, Carly. We go to school to learn. But, since you mentioned the phone, here's yours." She said, handing the device to her daughter as soon as they arrived home.
Carly, her curiosity now fully ignited, soon lost herself in a video. "How the discovery of this new particle can change the world... elementals are revolutionary..." The video's narration was interrupted by an advertisement, which she quickly skipped—but not before her mother cast a worried glance at the screen.
"Is something wrong, Mom?" Carly asked, as her innocent expression turned to concern.
Her mother quickly masked her unease with a smile. "No, dear, I was just thinking about how this new particle works," she replied, trying to dispel the discomfort.
Excited, Carly exclaimed, "It looks like magic! They can create water out of nothing. This could help everyone!" And, in a flash, she dashed off, leaving her mother behind.
"You always manage to see the bright side," her mother murmured, before heading into the kitchen.
Shortly after, her mother called, "Carly, dinner's ready!" Then the girl ran down the stairs, meeting her father, who had just come home from work.
He entered with a tired smile that brightened upon seeing his family. Approaching his wife, he planted a welcoming kiss on her cheek—which made Carly roll her eyes.
"Eww, why do you two always have to do that?" she complained, crossing her arms.
"Someday you'll understand," her mother said with a smile. "For now, let's eat."
Seated at the table, Carly announced with determination, "Today, I'm going to be the fastest eater—I want to get back to my game!" and soon began devouring her dinner. A light laugh was heard, but then her parents exchanged tense looks, careful not to speak in front of their daughter.
"This new particle is causing quite a stir," commented her father, Alex, as he distractedly cut his food. "At work, everyone's talking about it. I heard even the military is investing heavily. What do you think, Emma?"
Emma paused before replying, her voice laced with caution:
"I don't know, Alex. Everything is so uncertain. It's been five years since they discovered it, yet they still call it 'new' because of all the constant innovations. It could help a lot, but… ever since its discovery, I've sensed this tension in the air. I just hope that..."
"I'm done! I'm going to my room!" interrupted Carly, already rising from the table. Within seconds, she was back in her room, her focus entirely absorbed by the virtual world.
Then, the ground began to shake violently.
"There was no earthquake warning. What are the authorities doing?" Alex exclaimed as he hurried toward his daughter, who had already left her room and nearly skipped down the stairs.
The air around them seemed to vibrate with electricity, while the ground twisted and heaved. Carly's father scooped her up, struggling to keep his balance amid the chaos.
Upon returning to the kitchen, he saw his wife sprawled on the floor and tried to shout, "Emma, are you okay?" but there wasn't time for any reply.
Stone stakes, as sharp as spears, sliced through the air with deadly speed. In an instant, Carly's parents were impaled—their bodies pierced by rocks that had sprung from nowhere. Her father's leg was merely grazed, but her mother wasn't so lucky; she was impaled from her abdomen to her back.
For Carly, everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. She watched in horror as her mother reached out, her hand falling limply short of touching her daughter—the biggest shiver of her life.
With indescribable pain in his eyes, her father clutched Carly tightly, diverting his gaze from the surrounding horror.
"Carly, I'm going to lift you up to the fan. Hold on tight. I know you can do it," he said, his voice breaking with pain.
He raised her as high as he could. Carly clung to the fan, and before she drifted away, she heard her father's final words:
"Run, Carly."
The sound of bones breaking and flesh being torn apart echoed through the house.
Summershore, once a sanctuary of peace, had transformed into a field of death. Cries pierced the air, only to fade into a terrifying silence, broken solely by the muffled sobs of Carly as she clung to her fallen father's body.
With her chest aching and her eyes filled with tears, walking became something the girl had almost forgotten how to do.
In shock, she watched as the stone stakes vanished as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving her parents' bodies to fall lifelessly to the ground. It was as if the nightmare had never really happened.
"Why? Why did this happen?" Carly cried, despair overflowing with every tear. But the horror wasn't over. The air around her suddenly vanished. She struggled to breathe, panic seizing her as her hands desperately clutched her neck while the world darkened and she lost consciousness.
When Carly awoke, her house was in flames. Desperate, with her last remaining strength, she ran for the door—but when she opened it, a wall of fire greeted her. Her clothes caught fire, and soon the intense heat enveloped her. She screamed in agony, her voice joining the chorus of despair that echoed through the village.
Then, as if in a nightmare, the fire disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving only ashes and ruins. A giant wave swept away the last remnants of the blaze, and the village that had once been a welcoming home was now nothing more than a distant memory, with only the foundations of the houses remaining.
The attack became known as the Silent Massacre, plunging the world into paranoia over the elementals. No one claimed responsibility for the attack; soon, various individuals began declaring themselves children of God and infiltrated governments in an effort to institute peace. Whether it was merely a ploy for attention and goodwill, it ultimately failed. Five years later, in 2035, that distrust culminated in the Third World War.
Now, with the use of forbidden atomic weapons, humanity grew even bolder, as elemental warfare left little behind at the scene except for millions of lives lost. The cruelty of the attacks became increasingly intricate.
In fifteen years of war, one man—who claimed to be a child of God—seized power over a great nation. Thanks to him, deep scars were left upon humanity, with over a billion lives lost, for he would never relent until he and his allies unified the world. But the true nightmare was yet to come.
As if punishment for unbridled ambition, the Earth retaliated. The continents began to shift, converging to form a new Pangea. In an unprecedented cataclysm, more than six billion people perished in three years, while the world cried out for unity.
Surprisingly, life still flourished on the planet's new face. Two monumental rivers crossed the new Pangea in the shape of an X, dividing the land into four parts. This new territory was named in honor of these rivers: Amazonas and Astraea, symbols of humanity's fresh beginning.
Elementals—once invisible—could now, at times, be seen with the naked eye, manifesting as brilliant streams flowing through the air and the earth. The rapid regeneration of nature was attributed to this phenomenon, as if the planet were healing the wounds inflicted by humanity.
The few survivors—about ten million souls scarred by the tragedy—learned a bitter lesson: they would never again dare to defy nature. Instead, a new era of cooperation and respect emerged, with humans rebuilding their civilization in harmony with the natural world.
Spectacular cities arose, seamlessly integrated into the landscape in ways never before seen. Humanity was reborn from the ashes of destruction—not as masters of the planet, but as its humble guardians.
Over the centuries, life on the new Pangea evolved. Both animals and humans developed a new organ—the Mana Core—allowing them to absorb and utilize elemental energy. Military power concentrated in those capable of manipulating these elements, yet balance with nature was carefully maintained.
Although humanity had faced near-extinction before, unity and resilience ultimately prevailed. The world transformed, and the scars of war gave way to a new era of peace.
When the school bell rang, abruptly ending class, the teacher gazed upon his students and reflected on the tumultuous past.
"That was today's lesson," he said. "Tomorrow, you have a test, and some of you might not return. Good luck. I hope one of you becomes a mage."