Kaelen had experienced a lot of strange things in his life.
He'd fought shadowborn armies. He'd outwitted warlords. He'd survived Lyria's cooking (which was honestly the most impressive feat of all).
But this—standing in a glowing cavern, staring at an ancient magical artifact humming with enough energy to fry a small kingdom—was on an entirely new level of weird.
"This seems like a terrible idea," Kaelen muttered, peering at the artifact. It was a swirling vortex of light, floating ominously above a stone pedestal.
"You always say that before something cool happens," Lyria said, crossing her arms.
"Because I like surviving, Lyria."
Thorne, their new definitely trustworthy guide, grinned and gestured at the glowing vortex. "Oh, come on. This is the power source of the old gods! The Heart of Eldrath! It's legendary!"
Kaelen squinted at him. "You said that about the last artifact we found, and it turned out to be an enchanted teapot."
Thorne shrugged. "Yeah, but this one actually does something."
Kaelen turned back to the vortex. It pulsed like a heartbeat, whispering something just barely beyond hearing. He sighed. "Alright, fine. What do I do? Just… touch it?"
"Basically."
"That's it?"
"Yep."
Kaelen hesitated. "Nothing's gonna explode?"
"…Probably not."
Kaelen turned to Lyria. "This is a terrible idea."
Lyria patted him on the shoulder. "Yup. Now go do it."
Muttering a long string of words that were definitely not heroic, Kaelen reached out and placed his hand against the glowing mass of energy.
The world exploded.
Not literally, thankfully. But Kaelen felt like he was exploding. Magic surged into him, white-hot and unstoppable, rushing through his veins like wildfire. His vision blurred, his mind stretched, and for a brief, terrifying moment, he was pretty sure he could see through time.
Then, just as suddenly, everything snapped back into place.
Kaelen stumbled back, panting. His hands were glowing.
"Uh," he said intelligently. "I think something happened."
Lyria and Thorne stared at him.
"You think?" Lyria said, eyes wide. "Kaelen, you're literally shining."
Kaelen looked down at himself. Sure enough, his entire body was pulsing with light, like he'd just eaten a star for breakfast.
"This is either very good or very bad," he muttered.
Thorne, still grinning like an absolute madman, clapped his hands. "Congratulations! You're now the most powerful person in Eldrath."
Kaelen blinked. "Wait. What?"
Lyria groaned. "Oh, great. He gets god-like power, and I still have to sharpen my sword the old-fashioned way?"
"Okay, but how powerful are we talking?" Kaelen asked. "Like, 'lift a big rock' powerful, or 'melt a mountain with a sneeze' powerful?"
Thorne scratched his chin. "Eh. Somewhere between 'unstoppable force of nature' and 'please don't accidentally vaporize us'."
Kaelen exhaled sharply. "Oh. Good. That's not terrifying at all."
Suddenly, the tiny squirrel, Thistle, leaped onto Kaelen's shoulder and chittered excitedly.
Kaelen nodded sagely. "You're right, Thistle. This is a great time to panic."
Then, without warning, a bolt of raw magic shot from Kaelen's fingertips, blasted a nearby boulder, and turned it into a pile of very surprised dust.
Everyone froze.
Lyria whistled. "Well. That's… something."
Kaelen stared at his hands. "I barely moved. How do I turn this off?"
Thorne rubbed his temples. "Okay, okay, no big deal. You just need to control it. You know, focus."
Kaelen held up his hands. "Alright. Focusing."
He took a deep breath. No more accidental magic. No more accidental magic.
A second later, the ground beneath him erupted in a shower of sparks. A nearby tree instantly burst into song—actual, musical notes floating out of its branches.
Lyria clapped. "Oh, I like this. Do it again."
Kaelen groaned. "I am going to explode before this is over."
Thorne took a cautious step back. "Okay, let's, uh, work on not vaporizing everything you touch."
"Great plan, Thorne. Any actual advice?"
"Try channeling your power into something small. Like, I dunno, a rock?"
Kaelen turned, pointed at a small pebble, and gently willed some magic into it.
The pebble promptly transformed into a frog and hopped away.
Kaelen's eye twitched. "You know what? I quit. I'm going to go live in a cave."
Lyria, still grinning, patted him on the back. "Nope. Sorry, buddy. You're officially the most overpowered person I know. We have to see where this goes."
Kaelen groaned, rubbing his temples. "You people are going to be the death of me."
Thorne smirked. "Not if you accidentally resurrect yourself first."
Kaelen sighed, shaking his head as the magic inside him crackled wildly. This was going to be a long adventure.