The Green Eyed Immortal.

The afternoon sun hung high in the sky as Mirielle, Arian, and Aster wandered through the university grounds in search of a quieter place.

The main training grounds were overcrowded with students practising their abilities. Gusts of wind whipped through the air, fire flickered from fingertips, and even a few shimmering waves of water swirled midair as students honed their skills. 

Mirielle had watched them silently, an ache deep in her chest that she tried to ignore. She had felt out of place in that environment, surrounded by people who had already begun mastering their magic.

So when Aster suggested finding a smaller, emptier space to test things out, she hadn't protested.

"Here," Arian said, stopping in front of an empty training ground at the far end of the university. It was an open field, much smaller than the main training area, with patches of dry grass and an old stone bench at the side. There was no one else around, just the three of them. 

Aster grinned. "Perfect. Now, let's begin."

Without warning, he dropped down onto the ground, stretching out on his back as if he were about to take a nap.

Mirielle and Arian exchanged bewildered glances.

"What are you doing, Aster?" Arian asked, brows furrowed.

Aster waved a lazy hand. "Testing a theory." 

Mirielle quietly looked at him as if asking him what he meant.

"Well," Aster began, folding his arms behind his head, "if your element is Earth, you should try lying down on the ground and see if you feel a pull." 

Mirielle stared at him, with a twinkle in her eyes. "That's it?"

He nodded. "Yep. Earth magic is about grounding yourself. So it makes sense. Some say if you're truly attuned to the element, you'll feel some kind of energy beneath the surface, a pull, or even warmth."

Arian scoffed. "Or maybe you just wanted an excuse to lie down."

Aster rolled his eyes. "Maybe."

Mirielle hesitated, glancing down at the dry grass beneath her feet. The logical side of her told her this was ridiculous, but a part of her—the part that was desperate to find something told her she had nothing to lose. 

She exhaled slowly and knelt, then stretched herself onto the ground, her palms pressing against the earth. The soil beneath her was cool and dry. She tried to focus, to feel for something, just as Aster had described.

She lay there for a few minutes, completely still.

Nothing happened.

A few feet away, a patch of dead plants twitched slightly. Tiny veins of green flickered at their stems as if life were creeping back into them.

But none of them noticed.

After a while, Mirielle sighed and pushed herself up, shaking her head. "I don't think this is working."

Aster sat up with a grin. "Then maybe it's not your element. No big deal, Miri. Now get up."

She dusted off her clothes, her chest tightening with frustration. She had wanted this to work, even if it wasn't her true element.

She just wanted proof that something or anything was there.

Aster turned to Arian. "Alright, your turn. You're an air elemental, right? Explain how you first tapped into your power."

Arian hesitated before rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't really do anything special. It just… happened." 

Mirielle's fingers clenched at her sides, but she remained quiet.

Arian continued, "When we were in class, I closed my eyes and focused on the space around me. I tried to sense movement, pressure, anything. After a few moments, I felt a shift, like a small tornado wrapping around me. And when I concentrated harder, the air actually responded to me."

Aster nodded. "Alright, Miri. Try that."

She took a deep breath. "Fine."

She closed her eyes, steadying her breathing, and reached out with her senses just as Arian had described. The air around her was still, quiet.

She focused harder, waiting for something to respond.

Nothing.

Her fingers curled into fists.

She tried again.

Still nothing.

Frustration gnawed at her insides, but she kept her expression neutral as she opened her eyes.

"Well?" Aster asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

Arian frowned. "You didn't feel anything at all?"

"No."

Aster scratched his chin. "Huh. That's weird."

Weird.

That was an understatement.

Mirielle glanced at Arian. They were twins. Born together, raised together. If their lineage had anything to do with their powers, shouldn't they have shared something? But Arian had easily connected with his element, while she— 

She felt nothing.

She swallowed against the lump in her throat.

Aster, ever the optimist, shrugged. "Alright, maybe air isn't your thing either. No big deal. We'll try something else."

Mirielle nodded, but the doubt had already sunk deep inside her. 

How many times would she have to try before she realized the truth?

Maybe there was nothing for her to find.

Maybe she was powerless.

Meanwhile, Eren sat in his quiet cabin, a book open in his hands, though he hadn't turned a page in the last ten minutes.

The wind outside had taken on an unusual rhythm, shifting in unpredictable directions, whipping one moment, still the next.

It wasn't natural. 

His sharp, green eyes flickered toward the window. 

For years, he had studied and mastered the flow of elemental energy, making him highly attuned to the slightest changes in nature. The wind should have followed its usual course, bending gently with the terrain. Yet, what he sensed now was different. 

It was controlled. 

Eren slowly set the book down, his fingers lingering on the worn pages for a moment before he rose from his chair. His expression remained calm, but his mind was already racing. 

Wind was an elusive element, one that few could control with precision. Raw power wasn't enough, true mastery required an intimate understanding of how air currents behaved, how they ebbed and flowed, and how even the slightest disturbance could change their course.

Only someone with immense skill and experience could manipulate it so deliberately. 

And yet, someone was doing it. 

Who? 

Eren stepped toward the window, his long fingers pushing it open just enough to let the air wash over him. His silver hair shifted slightly as he closed his eyes, focusing.

He reached out, not physically, but through his senses feeling for the unnatural touch controlling the wind. 

For a brief moment, he caught it. 

A disturbance. 

Something or someone had bent the natural course of the air.

But just as quickly as he sensed it, it was gone. 

The wind fell back into its normal rhythm, coursing as it had before. 

Eren opened his eyes, his frown deepening. 

This wasn't an accident. Someone had momentarily grasped control of the air, even if it had been fleeting. But who? 

His mind sorted through possibilities. 

A rogue elemental? No. It lacked the erratic nature of an uncontrolled force.

A student experimenting with their abilities? Unlikely.

There weren't many in the realm of Serenith who could influence air to such a degree. 

Which meant… 

Eren's fingers tapped lightly against the wooden window frame as he exhaled slowly. 

If this wasn't the work of a known air user, then the answer was both intriguing and alarming. It meant that someone, somewhere within the grounds, had just brushed against the kind of control that took years to master. 

And they likely had no idea they had done it. 

His gaze flickered toward the training grounds in the distance. 

In the next second, he moved towards the training ground.