The Divine Elements

“Master! Master, I have something to ask you!”

Ellie began babbling with excitement, as she tilted her face up to glance at Calron.

“Hmm, what is it?”

“I want to see the princess!”

Ellie’s eyes shined like the stars, her cute and adorable face staring at Calron in a pleading way.

“Do you really want to? I heard it was just going to be a bunch of boy fighting on stage to show off their strength.”

Calron sighed, knowing already that his words would not dissuade the little girl.

As he guessed, Ellie’s bright eyes remained fixed at Calron, not at all deterred by what he said.

“It’s fine, big brother, we already sold most of our planned goods for today, so take Ellie to see the princess. Avor and I will join you after we close up the shop.”

Roran interjected from the side, causing Ellie to jump up and down in glee and rushing to the side to hug the muscular boy.

“Let’s go, Ellie.”

Calron held out his hand to the little girl.

With her hand in Calron’s grasp, she skipped towards the shop’s door while humming a pleasant tune. It was always her dream to see what a princess looked like.

“Master, do you think that the princess is going to be beautiful? I think she will be! I bet that she sings songs as well! Can we go talk to her?”

Ellie chattered non-stop once they exited the shop and were on their way to the palace.

The celebration was being held outside the palace, and a special stage had been set up just for today so the citizens of the city could all be present for the princess’ birthday. The location was close to the Raizel clan’s mansion, so Calron knew the way.

“I think she will be just like any of us. Princesses are not much different than regular people… ”

Calron started, but abruptly stopped when he noticed the aghast look on Ellie’s face.

“Princesses are not beautiful? But, mother said that all princesses were beautiful…”

Ellie whispered in a quiet voice, her voice slightly quivering.

Oh shit. This was why she was so excited to see the princess.

Calron wanted to punch himself for not realizing why this was so important for the little girl. It was probably a story that her mother used to tell her.

“Of course princesses are beautiful, I meant that they behave similarly to normal people like being kind to each other, helping strangers and I’m sure that they are great singers as well.”

Calron talked, not even sure whether he was making any sense, but simply wanting to appease Ellie and reaffirm her beliefs concerning princesses.

“Really? Then, mother was right!

The little girl exclaimed while nodding her head and resumed skipping.

The perks of being a kid.

Calron took a relieved breath at seeing Ellie return back to her normal self.

“There! Do you see them, Ellie?”

Approaching closer to the palace, Calron sighted the massive crowd gathered in the center, along with a large decorated stage at the back.

Ellie cried out with excitement and sprinted towards the crowd, dragging Calron behind her.

“Master, I can’t see!”

Ellie conveyed in a disappointed voice, her short height restricting her vision as the crowd surrounded her.

Calron simply picked the little girl up and placed her on his shoulders. Ellie hardly weighed anything, and for someone with Calron’s strength, her weight was completely negligible.

“Yay!”

Ellie shouted while in the air and stretched out her neck to search for the princess.

Meanwhile, Calron was captivated by the people present on the stage. In the center of the stage, a large golden throne was placed where a blonde-haired man was currently occupying it while three other smaller thrones were placed on either side of him.

Each of the seven thrones had a banner erected behind it, signifying which power they belonged to. Calron knew that the one in the middle was the King, who represented the royal family, whereas the other six were the Tower Lords of the city.

He knew this because the Patriarch of the Raizel clan himself was seated on the throne to the direct right of the king. There were several guards standing behind their respective thrones, and Calron even spotted Kail leaning at the back in a casual pose. However, observing his uncle’s sharp eyes, he knew that the man was high on alert.

“Master, I found the princess!”

Ellie screamed while shaking her body on Calron’s shoulders and pointing her hand to the left corner.

Following the little girl’s gaze, Calron spotted a table hosting a mix of young girls and boys. From their appearance, it was clear that they were either children of high-ranking nobles or royalty. Amongst all the other youngsters, there was one girl dressed in a lavish white dress that contrasted greatly with the rest, indicating that she was the birthday girl today.

What is Asra doing there?

Calron noticed the dark-haired young man with a glance and saw him speaking to a slightly older man who closely resembled him. Calron guessed that the other young man was most likely Asra’s older brother.

“Hey! What are you doing back here?”

An astonished voice sounded from behind Calron and Ellie.

“Linda?”

Calron muttered, looking back at the auburn-haired girl who walked up to him.

“Harol said that you were not coming, so I did not want to disturb you again with the invite. The others are all behind the stage, chatting with the members of other towers. We have a surprise party planned for Vivy tonight, so I was about to go and help out. Let’s go together, it’ll be fun!”

Linda playfully pinched Ellie’s leg as she was seated on top of Calron. However, the little girl was oblivious to the newcomer and her eyes remained glued to the white-dressed girl.

“Vivy?”

Calron asked in confusion.

“Ah, I forgot you’re still new to the city. Vivy is the name of the princess whose birthday we’re celebrating today. Well, her name is actually Vivian, but I like to call her Vivy.”

Linda flashed a grin at Calron, and then pulled Ellie’s cheeks seeing that the little girl was utterly ignoring her.

“Ehh?”

Ellie mumbled in bewilderment while her cheeks were being stretched. Turning her head around, the little girl recognized Linda and cheerfully greeted her.

“Big sister Linda!”

“So you finally see me, huh?”

Linda teased the little girl, letting go of her cheeks. Back when Calron was talking privately with the Patriarch, it was Linda who took over the task of giving Roran and Ellie a tour of the Raizel mansion, so she was already familiar with Calron’s little companion.

“Big sister, look! The princess is right there! Isn’t she so pretty?”

Ellie tapped Linda on the head and pointed at the young girl dressed in a white gown.

“Vivy? Hahaha, so you’re a princess’ fan? Ellie, what do you say about going over there and talking to the princess?”

Linda laughed with mirth at seeing the elation on the little girl’s face.

“W-what!? We can go and talk to the princess?”

Ellie bounced on Calron’s shoulder, her large and innocent eyes boring into Linda.

“Of course, let’s go!”

Linda answered with a smile and then turned to look at Calron. Tracking his eyesight, she saw that he was intently spectating the battle currently taking place in front of the stage.

One of the contestants was a member of the fourth tower, while her opponent was a member of a famous martial sect within the city. Looking closer at Calron’s face, Linda realized that he was not only spectating the battle, but there was also a shocked expression etched on his face.

Just as she was about to inquire, she heard Calron mutter.

“Mirane?”

Mirane was one of the contestants in the battle, and it seemed that contrary to her clumsy appearance, the girl was a powerful cultivator as well. Although she was not overwhelming her opponent with raw strength, her nimble movements and agile martial arts were something that even Calron would not be able to contend against.

The tournament did not allow the use of essence or legacies, but it was a contest of pure martial arts. This was to prevent anyone from getting hurt and to portray one’s skill and talent in combat.

“You know h-”

Linda was in the middle of asking Calron a question when a sudden roar thundered throughout the area.

It was the distinct roar of a dragon.

Calron instantly reacted to the roar and glanced up at the sky sensing a threat of danger. The sunlight struck his eyes, impairing his vision, but in that brief moment, he detected a winged creature hovering near the sun.

Calron felt an ominousness that he hadn’t ever experienced in his life before. From the corner of his sight, he saw the Tower Lords and their guards all stand up straight in fear.

Why are they afraid?

Calron pondered, but before he could think any further, a dark light shone in the sky, as a black orb floated from the winged-creature to the direction of the sun. In a blink, the sunlight was blocked by the black orb, bringing forth a darkness over the entire city.

It was then, that Calron saw all the Tower Lords, the King, and all the guards collapse momentarily as their knees hit the floor. Several others in the crowd tumbled to the ground, almost as if they had lost all the strength in their bodies.

However, Calron and the other young people remained unaffected and were staring in confusion at the dark sun above. Most of them had not even witnessed their Elders and their clan members collapsing on stage.

They were all in the Saint stage or above…

A horrifying thought came to Calron, as he began to realize what was happening.

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