Pyris glanced at her, his expression unreadable behind the mask. "No one you need to worry about," he replied, turning away. He began walking back into the shadows of the Grove, leaving the girl and the bodies behind.
He's only purpose was to save her, that's it.
Or so it seemed.
___
Alera had always been an outcast, even before she could understand why. Born into the slums of a distant human city, she had no knowledge of her parents. She grew up among the forgotten—the orphans, the poor, and the unwanted, living on scraps and the occasional kindness of strangers. Her small, malnourished frame made her appear frail, but even as a child, there was something different about her.
When she turned ten, something inside her awoke. Her mana core emerged not in the typical way—through ritual or training—but during a moment of sheer desperation. Alera had been cornered by street thugs who wanted to sell her off as a slave. Fear gripped her, and that was when her magic lashed out for the first time.
It was dark, cold, and filled with the whispers of something ancient. Shadows danced around her, moving with a life of their own, twisting and writhing until they devoured the thugs completely. When it was over, there was nothing left of them but darkened, empty streets.
Alera had awakened her Shadow Element, but this wasn't like the standard shadow magic that some mages possessed eons ago as the legends described. Her connection to shadow was deeper, darker, as if the shadows themselves had chosen her as their vessel. The incident left her terrified, and from that day on, Alera became even more isolated.
Experience tales at empire
No one in the slums dared come near her, fearful of the strange power that clung to her like a curse, no one believed it was magic since she awakened before age and the nature of her element left everyone in the small town terrified to mention it to anyone.
What is she came for them at nighttime! Her "curse" was feared by all!
For years, Alera struggled to control her power. The shadows whispered to her constantly, offering her protection but also gnawing at her will. The more she used them, the more they seemed to want to take over. Some nights, she couldn't tell if she was still in control or if the shadows were leading her.
When she turned sixteen, Alera left the slums, wandering from town to town in search of something, though she wasn't sure what untill she alived in the Dragon empire where no one knew her.
When she met a group of fellow awakeneds who offered her a place among them, she joined them out of desperation, hoping to learn how to control her magic and find some semblance of belonging but she never used her powers only relying on the little strength her awakening gave her.
But things never turned out the way she hoped.
The group used her for her—pushing her to fight, always taking the best spoils, and leaving her with nothing. They feared her for the aura she exuded, but also knew she wasn't strong enough to take them on. They planned to get rid of her after their hunt in Blackscale Grove, thinking that no one would ever find out.
After all, who would care about a girl with no family, no allies, and magic just unnatural strength.
But he was different!
What Pyris saw in Alera after analysing her with the system, though, was something entirely different. Apart from that they shared the same element that had formed a unique connection between them... Her shadow magic wasn't just another element—it had a rare ability: Living Shadows. Unlike his shadow element, Alera's shadows had their own consciousness, capable of independent movement and action.
[Her shadows can fight, defend, and track targets without Alera needing to focus on them directly. She's capable of using her shadows as an extension of herself, even splitting her consciousness between them, allowing her to be in multiple places at once!] Lia had clarified.
Lia had knowledge of her powers although it was little since her powers were rare and only two individuals before Alera had ever actually wielded the same magic and they were all secretive.
But there was more, the Shadows Alera wielded came from something ancient, something not tied to mere elemental magic. The whispers she heard weren't just from her magic; they were from the Void, an ancient force that predated the Mortal Realm itself.
Pyris could tell that much, he also had the void element, one he didn't tell his mother and sisters fearing they might be implicated if word got out, that was Lia's advice before they realized his mother had the children of the void itself hidden in the mortal realm thanks to her technology, no one was able to feel their presence even as they loomed freely.
Pyris feared if he let Alera weild these powers and then coupled with the connection to the void, she would loose herself in madness.
The shadows clung to her like an armor, a protection from the world but also a burden. Alera herself didn't realize it, but she had the potential to wield Void Magic, the rarest and most dangerous form of magic tied to the forgotten spaces between worlds. It was this untapped potential that made Pyris pause.
She was a risk, yes—but also a powerful ally if trained correctly.
After rescuing her from the group that had betrayed her, Pyris saw more than just a fragile girl with dangerous magic. He saw potential. His experience in Blackscale Grove had taught him that to survive and rise in power, one needed strength, strategy, and the ability to control the uncontrollable.
Alera, despite her lack of training, had a gift—one that could be cultivated into something formidable.
Pyris was also someone who knew what it felt like to carry a burden of power no one else understood. He saw that same struggle in Alera. Her shadows were a part of her, just as his many elements were a part of him. And yet, she had been abandoned, discarded by those who feared her potential. He couldn't let that happen again.
"Lia, she's dangerous," Pyris had admitted as they walked back from the deeper parts of the forest, leaving the bodies of her attackers behind. "Her magic… it could consume her."
[Or it could become something far more powerful,] Lia replied. [You saw it too. She has the potential to wield the Living Shadows connected to the Void Magic. But the question is, can she control it?]
Pyris glanced at Alera, who walked silently behind him, her eyes still hollow but filled with a glimmer of hope now. "I'll teach her. If I don't, someone else will find her… or worse, she'll destroy herself." As long as she asked, Pyris will take her in.
Lia's voice softened. [You're doing the right thing. She needs someone who understands.]
Pyris nodded, his decision solidified. Alera was no ordinary awakened, and while she was dangerous, he couldn't deny that she was also a valuable asset. With the right training and guidance, she could become an ally unlike any other.
He didn't have a banner in the traditional sense, but in time, he would need those he could trust—those who could stand by his side when the time came to reveal his true power.
Alera, despite everything, was worth that risk.