CHAPTER 317: ATTITUDE CHANGE

Raegar watched as the flames dissolved into mist, rising like steam. His breath hitched as the sensation shifted, less burning, more like a scalding vapor seeping through his pores. A sharp pain lanced through his body, making him gasp. The transformation was agonizing, each tendril of Aether stretching his senses to their limit.

His skin felt raw, as if the steam were escaping through it, leaving him both exhilarated and drained. He gritted his teeth, pushing through the torment. The Aether coalesced into a shimmering cloud around him. Slowly, a faint, glowing mist formed, swirling with shades of amber and silver, its edges dancing like a living thing.

Moments later, Raegar’s lips curved into a manic smile, a surge of joy breaking through the pain. ’’Vapour,’’ he whispered, his voice harsh but triumphant.

He’d done it, he’d pushed the Fire Aether to its next form. The mist hovered, delicate yet potent, proof of his ever-growing power. But the effort had cost him dearly. His vision swam, his muscles screamed with fatigue, and the pain lingered, a dull ache that pulsed with every heartbeat.

Zahara knelt beside him, her expression full of pride. ’’You’ve reached Vapour,’’ she said softly, brushing a strand of sweat-soaked white hair from his face. ’’But you’re at your limit. Rest now, my love.’’

Her smile grew wide as she continued. ’’You’ve earned it, but you never cease to amaze me. I can’t believe we’re witnessing the birth of a legend that people thousands of years from now will speak of.’’

Raegar collapsed to one knee, the Aether dissolving into the air as his strength faltered, his body a battleground of triumph and torment. His chest heaved, each breath a gasp, yet a defiant laugh broke free from his lips. The thrill of his victory surged through him, warring with the bone-deep exhaustion that threatened to drag him into darkness.

His half-closed eyes burned with aapride, their ember-like glow reflecting the power he’d gained from the Aether. ’’It hurts, but it’s worth it,’’ he revealed, his voice a low, determined declaration. ’’If it means I can shield you girls from the storm that’s coming, the pain is worth protecting the ones I love.’’

Suddenly, a cataclysmic surge tore through him, a searing agony that ignited his very soul. Raegar surged to his feet, driven by an unstoppable force, his hand thrusting skyward as if commanded by the heavens themselves. A wave of crimson flame exploded from his palm, a blazing inferno that roared with primal fury.

The air screamed, the ground trembled, and nearby trees and brush erupted into flames, their silhouettes consumed in a blaze. His roar shattered the night, a raw, guttural cry that echoed with the might of his unleashed Aether, shaking the earth beneath him. The chaos was uncontainable.

Moments later, the other women stumbled out, their faces pale with awe and fear as the fiery tempest raged. Zahara, her grey eyes wide but resolute, stood her ground, shielding the others as embers rained down like falling stars. Raegar’s silhouette stood tall against the apocalyptic glow, a lone figure wielding the heart of a star.

***

Nivara’s breath caught in her throat, her daggers forgotten in her slackened grip as Raegar’s body ignited anew. His roar thundered across the night like the wrath of a legend being born, a sonic wave that shattered the air and sent embers spiraling into the starlit sky. Flames erupted from his body in a cataclysmic corona.

This wasn’t normal fire, but a living inferno that tripled in ferocity, surging outward in radiant pillars that clawed at the heavens. His skin blazed with pure Aether pulsing like rivers of molten starlight. The ground split beneath him, fissures glowing with impossible heat, as the energy inside him transcended its normal bounds.

It was unlike anything Nivara had ever witnessed in her life. She staggered back a step, red eyes widening not in fear, but in awe. The women’s cries of alarm were allowed by the roar, but she stood transfixed, the heat washing over her like a divine baptism. This was no mortal surge; Raegar’s power had evolved into something else.

A force that would change the world, flames twisting into serpentine dragons that coiled and lashed before dissolving into scorching vapor. His silhouette loomed godlike against the blaze, muscles bulging, yet his eyes, those red eyes, locked onto hers, promising salvation amid the destruction.

In that moment, truth crashed through Nivara like a blade to the heart. He was different. Not just a warrior, not just a magic-wielder, but the one, the prophecy whispered in the forbidden scrolls of Dark Elflibrariess. The man whose fire would purge the endless night that will descend on the world, break the Old Ones, and forge peace from the ashes.

Her people, the outcasts of the south, had waited thousands of years for such a soul: a light-bringer born of fire to heal their wounds and unite the survivors of the Fall. Tears streaked her cheeks as she stood there. ’’Raegar, you’re Ael’varyn,’’ she whispered, her voice trembling.

She soon realized the stories her grandmother told her were the truth, as she muttered. ’’You are the Dawn. The one who brings salvation to the world from darkness.’’

The flames raged on, but in her vision, they parted like a veil, revealing the path to redemption she had long despaired of finding. Following that, the inferno that had engulfed him subsided, its towering flames collapsing into glowing embers that drifted like dying stars to the scorched earth.

His ragged breaths echoed in the sudden stillness, the glow of his skin fading as the Fire Aether settled into a dormant pulse within him. The campsite, moments ago a battlefield, began to stir back to life; everyone doused smoldering patches and exchanged wary glances.

The air, thick with the scent of charred wood and vapor, carried a fragile calm, as if the world itself held its breath. Nivara sheathed her daggers with a sharp clink, her red eyes burning with a passion that outshone the fading embers. She surged forward, closing the distance to the young man as his gaze met hers.

’’Raegar,’’ she said. ’’You are the Ael’varyn, the Dawn foretold by the Mother Seer. You must come to the Dark Elf Capital. The king must know that you’re real, for the Darkness is coming, the Fall, the end of the world as we know it!’’

Her words cut through the night like a blade, her hands clenched as she gestured toward the shadowed horizon. ’’A shadow stirs in the darkness, a tide of ruin that will swallow all races unless you, the fire to pierce the night, lead us.’’

Zahara stepped forward, her grey eyes wide with skepticism and unease. ’’The Fall? Nivara, that’s a bedtime story for frightened children!’’ she retorted, the shake in her voice betraying a flicker of doubt. ’’The Darkness, the Ael’varyn, these are myths we Elves whisper to make sense of ourselves, feel better. You can’t believe he’s.’’

She glanced at Raegar; the memory of his power made the doubt even stronger. Nivara spun to face her, her expression fierce. ’’Myths? Did you not witness his power, Zahara? The flames that reshaped the earth itself? The Ael’varyn is no tale, he stands before us!’’

She turned back to Raegar, her voice softening but no less intense. ’’The Darkness is real. Our seers have seen it: a void that devours light, a force that will unravel the world. Only you can stop it.’’

***

Raegar, steadying himself, wiped sweat from his brow, the weight of her words pressing against his exhaustion. The campsite hummed, but the tension lingered. He met Nivara’s gaze, her spark that kindled his own. ’’The Dark Elf Capital, only read about it in a book many years ago. We’ll visit there before heading to the Western Islands.’’

When the group heard this, Dominique stepped forward, a concerned expression crossing her pretty face. ’’What about classes? Will you contact us?’’

’’Of course I will,’’ he reassued the Vampress. ’’I’ll be gone for a week or two, and as for classes. There’s not much they can teach me. I use Fusion Magic; they use normal magic. It’s two different things, plus me exploring the world helps with my powers.’’

’’How do you plan to travel?’’ Selene questioned. ’’I think father has some devices that allow us to talk over long distances?’’

Raegar glanced at the red-skinned beauty and gave her a charming smile. ’’That’s good, we’ll need them, and to answer your first question, I’ll use Marlow to get there and back quicker.’’

’’What if something happens?’’ Alice asked, her green eyes full of worry.

’’Nothing will, if it does, then I’ll protect him,’’ the beautiful Dark Elf suddenly announced, causing everyone to turn to her.

Nivara’s dark grey skin darkened as Dominique teased, her green eyes sparkling. ’’What’s with the whole attitude change? Planning to seduce our lover?’’

When she heard this, a blush lit up her face, but it got worse from there when Drusilla added. ’’No, she wants to scream his name while he ravages her.’’