Fractured Moonlight

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Discomfort welled in Kai, thick and black as an oil spring. But in the back of his mind, he felt his soul stir as if it wanted to raise its hackles and hiss back at the man. He wouldn't turn over on to his stomach and show his weaknesses, but, at the same time, he wondered what the man meant by his earlier words.

"What do you mean?" Kai asked the mysterious man.

The man's jade green eyes flashed with a brilliant light before he stepped swiftly before Kai. A growl echoed through the forest and Kai finally remembered that he was still facing the Blue Frost Isthmus. The man reached down towards Kai's hand that was still gathering a golden light and tapped down on the base of his wrist. Immediately all of the gold faded away as if it had never been there in the first place.

"Watch, this is how you control it." The man's languid voice called out to Kai before he turned towards the Dire Beast and raised a hand.

Kai watched as the air seemed to burst with color before a large ball of air swirled in the palm of tha man's hand. The air turned into a small tornado until it increased in size and the winds howled with intensity. WIth just the single step, Kai realized that, instead of focussing on one point, the man was gathering in and spreading the Element all over his body before willing it to do as he bid.

This method made gathering the Element faster and also made the power stronger. It also did not threaten the life of the user by calling on their own life force as Kai had done. Elemental cores dispersed energy through the cultivator's entire being and it was not just located in one central point. If the cultivator called every single pore to attract the energy, this would cause the body to glow and would also increase the rate in which Elements were drawn towards the cultivators.

The way Kai had been taught to control his Elements was the backwater way and would harm his cultivation more than influence it into a high releam. This was the reason why the man had stopped Kai from harming himself. He sensed potential in this young boy and did not want to see another end before they even began.

With a single flick of his wrist, the man sent the hurricane force towards the Blue Frost Isthmus. The wind howled as it crashed against the beast. It struggled valiantly, but, in the end, the beast fell, it's blue scales cracking as they sprinkled everywhere like snow. The enemy dealt with, the man turned back towards the boy and saw him biting his lower lip with his eyebrows scrunched together. He was deep in thought and had gained enlightenment over the way to use Elementals.

Nodding solemnly, the man turned and began to dissect the corpse of the beast. An hour later, the man was sitting in front of a small fire, chewing on the cooked meat of the Blue Frost Isthmus. Faylor and Jaelen had regained consciousness and were chatting quietly with the man. Every so often, the two would glance over to where Kai still sat with a frown on his face as he murmured unceasingly.

The golden haired man learned that this young boy was named Kai and he was on his way to the Capital for the yearly aptitude test. The man knew, just from the burst of golden power, what Kai's results would be. However, he did not mention this to anyone.

The golden haired man was named Cian and, as he took another bite of the Blue Frost Isthmus beast's meat, he took another glance at the boy. Pretty didn't begin to describe Kai, Cian thought from his spot at the camp. The girls who tittered and flirted with him when he was in town were pretty. Kai, on the other hand was energy itself, like a bright, white lily among scarlet roses. But roses had thorns, and even though this lily seemed not to be like the roses, his petals were dripping with an unidentified poison.

Late into the night, Kai finally opened his eyes. He had finally been able to comprehend exactly how to form the Elements around him. With this new method, he wouldn't harm himself. Both Faylor and Jaelen were fast asleep as they were still healing from their wounds. The golden haired man had told the two that he would keep watch while they slept. Knowing that someone who had saved them wouldn't try to kill them, they two had immediately dozed off.